M.C. Vaughan's Blog

 

I'm so proud of this book! I mean, I'm proud of all of my books (writing is...not the easiest thing in the world, but I'm thrilled I get to do it). But the banter in this one is so delicious, and I finally got to do the only-one-bed trope. #AchievementUnlocked.

So, if you like a good time, a vacation in your pages, and exploring complicated family relationships, have I got a book for you! Grab your copy here: https://books2read.com/u/4ErWGg

The end of a year--well, the end of anything--makes me reflective. And today I've been thinking about beating myself up about not accomplishing everything I set out to do any given day. Didn't hit my word count, my page edit goal, or post on social media to remind people that hi! hello! I'm here! (Psst: I'm not on TikTok or X for...reasons.)

This is the curse of the overachiever. I expect I will get 28 hours' worth of work done in the 24 hours I've got. I've always been like this. In third grade science, we were supposed to pick an object in space on which to write a report and create a poster. Your girl picked the solar system. That's right. THE WHOLE SOLAR SYSTEM. I've decided to stop fighting it.

But! I've added something into my routine that helps--retrospectives. I meet my desk every day, but some of those days...oof. A cold can throw me off, one of my kids or my spouse having a tough day, existential dread because *gestures at everything*...  Anyway, days are too brief a window to evaluate progress. Weeks, too, if I'm being honest. Months are good for look-backs, and I do that. Instead of always looking forward of the UNdone work, I remind myself of what I've completed. 

And years? A full year is amazing for that. Because in 2024, I:

Turned in line & copy edits for ROMANCING MISS STONE (70k words / 289 pages), which released on June 25, 2024, my debut with Harlequin Afterglow; Finalized the title for DESTINATION WEDDINGS AND OTHER DISASTERS, my 2nd book with Harlequin Afterglow, weighed in on cover concepts; worked on developmental & line edits (75k words, 300 pages), and started promo for it's July 1, 2025 release;
Joined a Christmas anthology, WRECK MY HALLS, and in six months, drafted and edited my first Christmas novella AS WE DREAM BY THE FIRE (40k; 160 pages) in time for its indie release on November 19, 2024 release;Pitched, submitted a synopsis + 3 chapters, and sold CODE NAME GORGEOUS to Harlequin Afterglow in August, 2024. I drafted 92k and edited it down to 75k words / 300 pages (release date TBD 2026).Participated in 6 in-person author events, and 2 online panels.

That's...that's a lot. More than I've done in other years. My next deadline isn't for a little while, so I'm giving myself a break. So, if you feel like you didn't hit it out of the park today, take a look back over the past month, maybe year, and see how things stack up. You might be surprised.

 

I'm so excited to be a part of this steamy small town Christmas anthology! Each novella is based on a holiday song, and ooh, the vibes! Available here as of 11/19/24! Honestly, how can you beat 10 holiday novellas for $2.99? My contribution, "Dream by the Fire," checks all the boxes, promise! Set in the Christmas tourist village of Ember's Ridge, Georgia...  

 Temporarily moving back home with her parents in quaint Ember’s Ridge isn’t the life Mackenzie Collins imagined for herself, but money’s tight and she’s determined to finish the degree she abandoned to travel the world. Most importantly, she can help her parents care for her five-year-old nephew while his parents are serving abroad. But she’s already screwing up. Case in point? While her parents are on a well-deserved date night, she nearly misses the annual fire truck visit from Santa.     

When the Volunteer Fire Department’s chief gets the flu, all eyes turn toward the one guy who can literally fill the massive Santa suit—Captain Oswald “Oz” Peterson. This holly jolly nonsense is a waste of resources as far as he’s concerned, but the company refuses to cancel. Good thing, too. As they’re leaving the last neighborhood on their route, a mom chases them down and blocks the fire truck’s path. Wait, he knows that kid, and that’s not his mom—she’s his aunt, which means she’s also his old flame’s little sister.     

Judgment’s thicker than Christmas snow in these parts, so he pays the town’s gossip about her no mind. He always liked Mack. The least he can do is smooth over her reentry into Ember’s Ridge, and help out with her energetic nephew. As he spends time with the adorable duo, the embers of a crush flare into a full-on inferno. But he would be all kinds of wrong to let the flames between them burn bright, especially since she’s leaving after the New Year and he can’t imagine leaving their small town…wouldn’t he?

It's meeeeeeee! My delicious spy / heist / road trip / relationship-in-trouble rom-com  is coming to you in 2026. If you took 'Ghosted,' 'Date Night,' and 'Spy' and tossed them in a blender, you get 'Code Name Gorgeous.' So happy this novel will be hitting the shelves!

 

This has been both the longest and shortest year and a half of my publishing life.And I mean that in the best way.

See, in September 2022, I'd gotten together for dinner with friends and we all talked about how much we loved 'Romancing the Stone' (RIP, Diane Thomas). In a flash of jokey inspiration the title "Romancing MISS Stone" came to me. The main character, too--Alex Stone was as fully formed that day as she appears on the page today. A couple of days after that, the synopsis was complete.

Then I went on a writer's retreat and thought... You know what? I'm just going to bang out as much of this as I can. Ten thousand words in three days and I knew this story was mine to tell. My agent and I pitched the story to Harlequin and they asked for chapters. They requested revisions, and I turned that back into them in November of 2022. I kept writing while we waited. A gamble, yes, but I wanted to write this novel no matter what.

On February 2, 2023, I was on a train to New York City with my husband to catch a taping of The Daily Show (we'd always wanted to attend a live taping of a show and finally scored tickets). My agent called with the fantastic news that Harlequin was offering a 2-book deal based on the revised chapters, synopsis, and a blurb for book two. Huzzah!

Since then, my life has been drafting, revision, laughing at the hilarious comments my editor leaves me, more drafting, more revisions, and OMG, so much social media promotion. I've adored every second of it, and I hope you like the result! This truly is a book I needed to read, which is why I wrote it. As a child of an era where all of the competent, can-do people were dudes with bulging muscles, I wanted to see a woman fill that role. Not because she was a super-soldier, or protecting her kid against robot overlords, or imbued with magical and/or alien powers. No, Alex Stone is a regular person who is incredibly capable, maybe a little short on patience, and full of heart.

The back cover blurb is below...

His perfectly planned life is about to go wild.  

By-the-numbers Bo Ferguson has his future all planned. Then his archaeologist fiancée dumps him. Via text. From Belize. Navigating the rainforest to win her back is way out of Bo’s comfort zone, but so is the idea of starting over. Fortunately, he’s secured a tour guide willing to lead him into the unmapped jungle. Unfortunately, she’s annoying, impulsive—and attractive as hell.  

Jungle expert Alexandra Stone is in no position to turn down a job after her regrettable ex stole everything from her family business and ran. Sure, Bo might be frustratingly uptight, but Alex needs the money. And besides, there’s something…fun about pushing the guy’s adorably rigid buttons, especially when it clearly gets a rise out of him.  

But the close confines of their shared camp make it hard to ignore the tension beneath the bickering, prompting the sweltering heat between them to erupt into sweaty, wild passion. Bo can’t deny his brief time with Alex has been the most exciting of his life. But the journey they’re on still leads to one place—his ex-fiancée—forcing Bo and Alex to confront their pasts, their fears and the question of just where this adventure will take them… 

Order today: https://books2read.com/u/b6lMK0

 

Romancing Miss Stone releases on June 25, 2024, and I'm so excited! And, if I can be a little vulnerable with you, nervous. 

Why am I nervous? The Harlequin Afterglow platform is large and able to cut through the noise, which means more people than I can imagine will read my work. That's absolutely the goal! But the nerves are real. Which is a weird feeling, because I'm an optimist at heart. It's not my habit to borrow worry from tomorrow, and I manage risks like a boss. This is just some low-key (unhelpful, unproductive) anxiety. 

My solution? I've decided to game-ify my "ugh, what if that happens" concern. I present to you: M.C. Vaughan's Author Milestones.

This list is a combo of things I want to happen + things that might happen (even though I really, really hope they don't). That way, if they do, I'll take some sick pleasure in being able to cross it off the list. I don't want to manifest all of these things, obviously, but even the less-than-stellar moments in publishing are worth recognizing because that means I'm in the arena. You can't get a bad review if you haven't published, right? And you can't have a no-show signing if your book isn't on the shelves!*

Anyway, here's the 'game' part -- for every 5 of these milestones achieved, I will treat myself to... I don't know, a nice dinner? Maybe a spa day? Something to celebrate the fact that, good or bad, I'm in the mix!

*I promise this isn't me complaining my diamond shoes hurt. I'm proud of myself for achieving some pretty major milestones I dreamed of 10 years ago -- an agent in my corner; a contract with a big publisher, and advance... I just needed to exhale, I guess.

 

Romancing Miss Stone releases on June 25, 2024, and I'm so excited! And nervous. Previously, I've published independently and with a small press. The audience for those channels are...let's say...not as large as Harlequin Afterglow. That doesn't mean I didn't hustle, but the Harlequin platform is indisputably larger and able to cut through the noise better than I can on my own.

Which means more people will read my work. Which is absolutely the goal! But I can't help but think about the things that come with a higher profile that might sting a little. Anyone who pays attention to Publishing on social media sees authors going through low points. 

 Now, it's not my habit to borrow worry from tomorrow. I'm an optimist at heart, but with a healthy dose of realism! So, I've decided to game-ify my "ugh, what if that happens" concern. 

I present to you: M.C. Vaughan's Author Milestones.

This is a list of things that I want to happen, along with things that might happen (even though I really, really hope they don't). I don't want to manifest all of these things, obviously, but even the less-than-stellar moments in publishing are worth recognizing, because I'm in the arena. Like, you can't get a bad review if you haven't published, you know? There are some things I've achieved already (partnering with an agent; publishing with a small press; good reviews), but I'm starting with things I haven't yet crossed off.

Here's the 'game' part -- for every 5 of these milestones achieved, I will treat myself to... I don't know, a nice dinner? Maybe a spa day? Something to celebrate the fact that, good or bad, I'm in the mix.

We'll see what happens!

 Remember that book deal I announced in March of this year? Well, here she is in all her gorgeous glory!

 I adore this cover! It's exactly the kind of action/adventure vibe I wanted. Authors don't always fall in love with their covers, but I legit need a poster of this in my office. If you're curious about timeline, here are the milestone moments for this story:Fall, 2022: My agent and I pitched a few different series/books to John Jacobsen at Harlequin. They were most intrigued by the "Belize Dreams" series, and asked me to consider submitting chapters for Romancing Miss Stone. Uh, heck yeah! I used an October writer's retreat to draft the requested chapters, then cleaned & polished them.
February, 2023: I got "the call!" Harlequin wanted to buy my book for its "new sexy contemporary" line (later christened Afterglow Books.)March, 2023: The deal was announced. I, of course, have been pounding the keyboard every day.June 1, 2023: I turned in the manuscript. September, 2023: I turned in the developmental edits/revisions, and saw the initial cover concept.October, 2023: I saw the updated cover concept (and appropriately drooled).November, 2023: Cover was revealed!December, 2023: Submitted acknowledgements. 

We'll still need to go through copy edits, but we're getting closer to the finished product, which will be available via all major retailers on June 25, 2024. But! You can pre-order today: books2read.com/u/b6lMK0

Me! (I mean, you didn't actually need to guess, did you?). Last summer, a title popped into my head that made me laugh out loud, which is always a good sign. Then, my deep lizard brain started processing the story that would suit that title... The end result is Romancing Miss Stone, a fun, steamy romp through the Belizean jungle. I've had a blast writing this, especially since it gave me an escape during a time when travel was not really in the cards. I can't wait for Harlequin to bring it to you!

Over the years, I've amassed a random assortment of author advice that can't be combined into a singular essay, workshop, or book. Mostly, because it's so simple. But maybe the simplicity fools people into thinking it's not important?

via GIPHY

Your mileage may vary on any (all?) of the below, but these are things that are core to my writing.

(1) Write what you know want to learn about. Sure, you can plumb the depths of your own experience, but after a while, your well will run dry. Authors have curious minds, though. It's why we eavesdrop on other people's conversations; wonder if that man yelling into his phone is a jerk or just having a bad day; squeal with glee when we encounter love letters in a thrift shop suitcase.* Use that natural curiosity to learn about other professions, cities, quirks of the law that you can weave into your stories.

via GIPHY

*This has never happened to me, but I'm putting it into the universe because I long for it.

(2) But if you're writing outside of your lane, use caution. This seems to contradict #1 up there, doesn't it? Here's why it doesn't... I've written characters who don't fit my personal background, but their central plot point wasn't about that identity. If I have a Black character in my novels, whyyyy would I think it's OK to write about combatting anti-Blackness? I can empathize, but I can't possibly understand. That's not my story to tell. And if you have characters who don't match your identity, I highly recommend sensitivity readers, but you don't know what you don't know. (Shout-out to Salt & Sage Books).

via GIPHY

(3) Stuck on something simple when drafting? Employ "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" lifelines. By which I mean: ’50/50′ (in reality, I flip a coin); ‘Phone a Friend’(send the thing you're struggling with to a friend and get their opinion); ‘Ask the Audience’ (post a poll on social media and get your followers to name a pet, a villain, whatever). Also, if you spend more than ten minutes fiddling around with one sentence? Delete it and start fresh.

via GIPHY

(4) Narrow your number of feedback/critique/editorial voices. We all have writer friends, critique partners, contest judges who provide feedback, etc. It's impossible to agree with that potpourri of voices, because they very rarely align. This one is tough, because it requires you to be vulnerable enough to share your words before they aren't perfect. Over time, you'll discern whose feedback is improving your work, and whose is holding you back.

via GIPHY

(5) Read. Oh, for the love of all that's holy, frequently read recent publications in your genre.  In order to know what's selling, what's popular, evolving styles and voices, you need to read. Beware an other who says they don't have time to read, or uses comparison titles from five years ago. You must read to know what's happening in publishing, and better yet, talking to your friends about what they are reading, too.

via GIPHY

My last tip? Brevity. Find the fewest, beautiful words to express a thought. And, with that in mind, I'll close the post because I try and follow my own advice.