The end of January is here, which means that any resolution that wasn’t all that resolute has likely been eased out of mind. But 2020 still hasn’t lost its hope and luster yet. There is still newness on the horizon.

For me, 2020 represents the beginning I have wanted since I was nine years old. In the third grade, my teacher, Mrs. Canavan, made us write short stories. And I loved it. Then, in an effort to battle my sleeplessness—an unfortunate trait that I have passed on to my own child (zzzz…)—my parents bought me a blank book. I journaled and wrote stories in it. And then I got another one and another one, and yet more.

I went on to get a Bachelor’s Degree in writing. And then an MFA. I wrote articles and reviews, short stories and a couple of essays. And I wrote books. But I never published any of them. I’d shopped some around, trying to get agents. I spent hours of time writing query letters, and quite literally years’ worth of time waiting for agents to send word about my manuscripts. When the rejection finally came, I was placated with compliments on my writing, asked to let them know if I wrote anything else.  

And then I stumbled into Romancelandia. It’s a virtual place, peopled with writers and readers who are passionate about passion. The books are about all sorts of things—whether historical romances about pirates or espionage during the Civil War, or contemporaries that address medical insurance and autism. But every single book is crafted so that the heroine/hero wins in the end. And I love a good win.

So I’m sidestepping the gate that I’ve been banging on for twenty years.

This year is the birth of a new author, my pen name, Edie Cay, who writes steamy historical romances about the misfits and the oddballs. Katie Stine is going to continue working on literary historical fiction with no steaminess, but Edie Cay has no problem acknowledging that we wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the spicy bits of history.

I’m happy to announce the birth of my first (published) book, A LADY’S REVENGE by Edie Cay, February 1, 2020.

Available in both digital and print formats:

https://books2read.com/u/38EojZ