One of my favorite parts about working on a new book is creating a book playlist.

Come on — I can’t be the only one who does this.

Sometimes books come so quickly (I wrote a book this summer in like 11 days, after all) that I don’t have the time to create a book playlist, but when I work on the first draft for a while, I have so much fun curating a list of songs that fit the book perfectly! It also helps me think about the book and want to get back to writing when I listen to it. I’ve gotta be sneaky with myself at times. 😏

Sometimes a particular song will speak to me during a scene, and I can actually hear the song playing while the scene is happening in my head. It’s so much fun!

Other times, I feel like the lyrics or melody really connect with the book either overall or as a particular theme in the book.

Either way, the songs on my playlist are specially chosen to fit with The Prophecy of the Codex (which comes out in just ONE WEEK, by the way!).

Ready?

If you’ve read my first book, The Secret of the Codex, you know that I love romance. Kayla and Grady are #couplegoals, and I just loved writing their story.

But except for some fairly steamy-but-still-clean kissing scenes, I didn’t get too much into the romance part. It didn’t feel true to the characters or the story.

In the second book, The Prophecy of the Codex, I explore this a little further. Don’t worry — I don’t get into a lot of details, but you definitely get the point.

I suspect the subsequent books will stay in that same vein.

You have to write what works for the story.

But on February 9th, I started a new book. And this one’s a romance. Like a full-on steamy romance. For mature audiences.

Why the switch?