Jenn McKinlay's News

Hello, Readers!

After a year long hiatus from newsletters…I’m back! For those of you who have subscribed before, you know my old newsletters had four categories book news, events, contests, and what’s on my mind. It seemed to work, so here we go…

BOOK NEWS:

I’m thrilled that my summer romcom I CAN'T EVEN will be released on 04-08-25 in e-book and print and will soon be coming out in audio! Yay! It’s an enemies to lovers romp, featuring sun, sand, and surf in a small town on the California coast! What’s not to love? Click the title link to order and THANK YOU so much for the support.

I’m especially excited about this title because I started writing it in 2016, put it aside when my publisher had me go in another direction, and then decided to finish it on Kindle Vella (a chapter by chapter subscription service - now defunct) last year. So many readers requested the book in its entirety that I decided to indie publish an e-book, but then was asked for a print version and an audio, so here we are. Honestly, I’m overwhelmed and delighted by the enthusiasm! The audio has been picked up by a different publisher and will be out shortly. Yay!!!

Because I only have this book coming out until my first fantasy WITCHES OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN drops in October, my book news is mostly about me just working away.

Current projects include revising my next romcom THE SUMMER SHARE (2026), writing the first draft of the next Library Lover’s mystery BOOKING FOR TROUBLE (2026) while noodling an idea for the next Cupcake Bakery mystery (TBD) , which will likely be independently published since mass market paperbacks have ceased to be carried by many retailers. Next up will be the second fantasy in the Books of Dubious Origin series, which may take place partly in London (Cheers!) and the next romcom also to be set in the Outer Banks, I hope.

EVENTS:

I have no events scheduled presently except a personal one, which is running in Pat’s Run (sponsored by the Pat Tillman Foundation), but I think I need a new header for that called What Was I Thinking? LOL.

CONTESTS:

There will be contests for following me here! My assistant Christie (see picture below) has ordered the coolest hats to promote I CAN’T EVEN so if you subscribe, you will be entered to win a hat and a signed copy of the book! How cool is that? A winner (or more) will be chosen randomly from the subscription list and announced next week, so don’t miss out! There will be loads of giveaways as we get this newsletter off the ground and you only have to subscribe once to be entered. Win win!

WHAT’S ON MY MIND?

I recently celebrated my birthday. It isn’t an age number that ends in 5 or 0 so not a big deal. I don’t know why 5’s and 0’s are so daunting, they just are. I was fortunate enough to spend the evening seeing WICKED at the Gammage Auditorium with the Hub, the Hooligans and their Plus Ones. The show was fabulous and we had a spectacular time. I ended my birthday feeling incredibly grateful.

True confession: When the Hooligans were little and birthday parties were a thing, I loathed throwing parties. A pack of wild children running around my house breaking things and terrorizing my critters (one of our hamsters was found “driving” a Tonka truck hours after the party broke up—he was fine—I was not), pinatas that erupted into brawls, requisite goodie bags that were mostly going to be landfill fodder, parents who “forgot” to pick up their kid and suddenly he was spending the night, and someone always—always—ended up in tears. Usually, it was me. After a couple of these birthday events, I had to tap out.

That’s when Hub and I got savvy and started asking our boys, do you want a party (look bored) or an outing (look excited)? The Hooligans—bless their hearts—always chose the outing. So, the memories of their birthdays are of family time at the zoo, a baseball game, a train ride, bowling, paint ball or laser tag with a few chosen besties, and every outing had a start time and an end time. It was fabulous! Little did I know then that well into their twenties the Hooligans would still expect and require birthday outings. In the past year, it’s been a dinner with live jousting, bowling, line dancing, mini golf, and a museum.

And that is why I was so grateful on my birthday. As everyone I adore showed up to join me on my “outing”, I knew my aversion to birthday parties had started a wonderful tradition. Sometimes, you do something out of practicality (or to keep your peace) but then it becomes so much more.

Wishing you all wonderful birthdays this year, whether you like parties, outings, or to be completely ignored ( a perfectly respectable choice).

And as always…Happy Reading!

XOXO, Jenn