It's a Hot Hex Summer
Help me -- I'm melting
If you read that title and imagined a group of perimenopausal women in pointy hats sweating around a cauldron on a hot summer night — HELLO, YOU ARE MY PEOPLE.
But Hot Hex Summer refers to my witchy romcom novel, HOT HEX BOYFRIEND, and the fact that it releases on September 3rd, which is still the Melting Times here in Texas. Will my penciled eyebrows drip down my face during the launch party? Who knows? But since my eyebrows seemingly all but disappeared during the pandemic, it’s a risk I’m going to have to take.
Here’s a photo of me holding my brand new galley (a paperback ARC) inside my airconditioned office, while having my best Hot Flash Summer, which by the way, is nothing like a Hot Girl Summer.
But more about hot flashes and hot hexes later. First, I just want to say WELCOME and THANK YOU for taking the time to read this newsletter. It’s a new one. My old one was delivered via Mailchimp, who in their very small print, plainly inform you that if you go more than two years (cough cough) without sending out a newsletter, they will close your account and delete all of your info, including your subscriber list.
That was a super fun thing to find out during my Hot Flash Summer. Am I on fire or did I just lose my newsletter subscriber list? Who knows? They feel the same. In short, if you think you’re already signed up for my newsletter, you’re definitely not.
What to Expect From Carly Bloom Spills the Tea
If you’ve read my Once Upon a Time in Texas books, including BIG BAD COWBOY, you know what you can expect from a Carly Bloom book. Because it doesn’t matter whether it’s cowboys or covens, I desperately try to make you laugh and swoon and cry just a little. And by desperately, I mean I write while I, myself, am typically crying (my process is my process) and laughing (maniacally) and swooning (from lack of food/water/sleep). It’s a fun time. You should try it. And if you seriously want to try it, or currently are trying it, I promise to use this newsletter to talk a bit about the craft, too.
No, not that Craft (although it is one of my favorite movies and a scene in Hot Hex Boyfriend is inspired by this very image). I mean the craft of writing. Because yes, it’s a craft. And it’s a learnable one. I’ll also shed light on my writing process (in the hopes of showing you that anything is possible), and I’ll spill the tea about my journey to becoming a published author, including the many bumps along the way (and how I got my agent).
BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOKS!
But right now, I’m going to talk about HOT HEX BOYFRIEND, because it’s my current baby, and I’m a little bit anxious and also a little bit tickled, because I freaking adore this book and I hope you do, too. Because nobody wants to hear that their baby is ugly.
You know what’s not ugly? This cover! My God. Thank you to Caitlin Sacks for designing it.
When it Comes to Love, Hex Marks the Spot!
I can’t wait for you to read Delia and Max’s love story! It’s about a hexed family of witches and the family who hexed them, and yes, Delia is from one and Max from the other. It’s a quirky tale filled with eccentric old ladies, a super hot guy with an uncontrollable lock of hair that hangs insistently over one eye, a curvy heroine with a bit of fairy magic, and a centuries-old sarcastic imp named Nikki. I felt totally surrounded by Practical Magic vibes while writing it.
HOT HEX BOYFRIEND is available for pre-order pretty much everywhere books are sold, and if you want a signed copy, be sure and order via Nowhere Bookshop. There is a space on their form where you can request personalization. Feel free to make it weird. Options to consider:
To Barbara, I’m so sorry about last night.
To Helen, I hope you find your fish.
Or, as David Sedaris once wrote in a book personalized to me:
To Carly, our slutty, lazy friend.
I did not have to fill out a form to get him to do that. He did it on his own. Actually, that’s a lie. My friend Mandy encouraged him. First, she told him I write steamy books with bare-chested men on the covers. Then she told him I was too exhausted after standing in line for wine to stand in line to get a book signed. Both of those things were true.
MORE BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOKS!
If witchy romcoms are your thing (and I hope they are), you can also pre-order Celestine Martin’s upcoming October release, DEJA BREW! It’s the third book in her Elemental Love series, and I’m dying to read it.
Another book I’m seriously looking forward to is Sam Tschida’s new spy romcom, ERRANDS AND ESPIONAGE, which releases in August.
And the book I’ve just finished reading is A Witches Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, by Sarah Hawley. How-to guides are the BEST, are they not? I give this one five witchy broomsticks, because I love a funny, curvy, obstinate witch. And I adore a good (bad?) demon.
I almost finished this with have a great weekend! but my God, it’s only Tuesday.
Until Next Time,
Carly
xoxoxo