What's next for Aurora Palit...
...and other things I both anticipate and fear with relish.
Hi friends!
You know you’re on the edge of losing your grip on reality when you start referring to yourself in the third person (smh). To be fair, September was a whirlwind of smiling (!), trying to sound like I wrote a book (!), hand cramps (!) and appearing normal(!).
In truth, the release of Sunshine and Spice have been equal parts overwhelming and wonderful. Mostly wonderful. And I’m so grateful to everyone’s support, including yours! That’s right, I’m talking to you, you amazing creature.
A quick recap
Here are some of my favourite in-person moments from the last few weeks:
For any subscribers who are writers/aspiring writers, here’s a hot tip for when your first novel debuts: don’t be afraid to lean on the people in your life who are going to hype you up no matter what. You know who I’m talking about — those ride or die friends who will stand by you even when it’s you, hi, you’re the problem, it’s you.
And for those who are sugar-minded like myself and can’t get over that glorious cake, it was delicious, inside and out, much like the baker who happens to be one of my very best friends.
Catch the playback
I’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk about Sunshine and Spice with writing/reading/entertainment communities in the past few weeks. I won’t list them all but here are some highlights if you’re interested:
Sunshine and Spice was featured in the New York Times!!!! (You need a subscription to read, sorry friends!)
My local arts and culture radio station, CKUA, interviewed me! Fun fact, the host had never read a romance novel before and has decided to pop his cherry with MY book. Yasss.
Booklist (the book review journal of the American Library Association) gave my debut starred review and featured me in a Q&A. Sorry to nerd out but I’ve been in love with libraries since I was a toddler so this is a big deal for me!
I received my FIRST EVER fan art:
My five year old drew this to congratulate me on pub day. That’s a red croissant, by the way (his words, not mine).
Now what?
It’s back to the revisions cave for me for Book 2, tentatively titled Honey and Heat. I don’t kiss and tell (actually, I do, but in this case, I’ve under contract not to) so I can’t divulge too much; however, here are some tidbits on what you can expect for my sophomore novel:
If things go as planned, it’ll be published in 2025.
It’s a stand alone romcom that lives in the same universe as Sunshine and Spice.
Some tropes include rivals to lovers, work proximity, and he falls first and he falls HARD (squee!).
Having gone through the process of publishing a first novel, I feel like I can dig a little deeper with this one. I’m excited to share more in the near future. (Hint: cover talks have already started…)
This book was, in part, inspired by the following cringey statement that I heard time and time again after having kids: “two boys? You must be very, very lucky.” Ahem.
Yep, this book is for the girls. Although, the love interest is the swooniest guy ever and I adore him. In fact, if I had to pick a theme song for Honey and Heat, this one sticks out more than the rest: My Home (Love Brings Us Here) by Jon Mero.
That’s right, I have playlists for my novels! Here’s the playlist (on Spotify) for Sunshine and Spice:
For those of you new to the world of authors creating and sharing playlists for their novels, these are the songs that, for me, capture key moments, characters, and vibes in the story. Hopefully you hear something you like!
Until next time friends!
-A