snow snow snow
& the first draft of Sisterhood Above All, done and dusted!
If you’re reading this, that means I survived two snow days following the weekend following winter break. So many Lego sets constructed, so much hot cocoa consumed, so many instances of strapping the kids into their too-small snow bibs and boots. It was delightful, fluffy snow, perfect for sledding and building snow people, but it made confetti out of my schedule, and that, so close on the heels of the schedule-less holidays, was almost too much for my poor little Virgo heart.
But hey, the kids and the pandas enjoyed themselves.
Snow day or not, though, I did manage to turn in the first full draft of Sisterhood Above All, the sorority thriller I’ve been working on with #BamaRush’s Amayah Shaienne (@mayahshai). And, you guys? I’m really, really excited about the way it’s come together. It has three first-person POV characters—one freshman going through rush and two presidents of rival sororities—and I love all three women so much, and I can’t wait for you to meet them! I put the teeniest little taste of their voices on Instagram and here’s another little early peek into the world of the Gammas:
Gammas know how to get things done. Over the past week, we worked our gel-tipped fingers to the bone in preparation for rush. We rose before dawn every day, sipping our iced coffee through straws (so as not to counteract the work of the white strips we used the night before) while we curled our hair and did our makeup in the semi-dark. The more ambitious of us turned the cameras on ourselves and made Get Ready with Me videos, cheerily talking about Work Week as though it wasn’t draining all of our energy and our collective will to live. We hung streamers and balloons; we sang and chanted until our throats were raw and bloody. Lesser girls would have quit when exhaustion set in—I have it on good authority that Shay, the Theta president, sent her girls home before dinner each night so they could “rest”—but we Gammas just opened our sugar-free Red Bulls and worked until delirium set in, and then we worked some more.
And speaking of my penchant for productivity, over the holiday break, I completed the proofread or Both Things Are True. Maybe you remember my last newsletter about the process?
Next, I’ll review the typeset page proofs, and, assuming no further errors are found, it’ll be one step closer to becoming a book! Speaking of, as of today, there are only six months until it releases! *cue the excited screaming*
And I know at this point I might sound like a broken record (or at the very least, a mild narcissist), but I am really, really excited about this book, too! I love Vanessa and Sam so much, and I can’t wait for readers to meet them. An author I really respect told me yesterday that even though Both Things Are True is a different genre than I usually write, the book still felt like me, and that’s honestly one of the biggest compliments I can imagine. I’m hoping that readers who cheered for Josie and Audrey will find fall in love with Vanessa, too. (Audrey and Vanessa would so be friends.)
Usually, by the time I reach the proofreading part of the process, I’ve read my own manuscript so. many. damn. times that I kind of hate it … but I haven’t encountered that with Both Things Are True. (Not yet, at least! Knock on wood.) In fact, each time I read it, I … like it more?
lol, I know, did I say a mild narcissist? Seems like an appropriate time to drop this snippet from BTAT:
Yours and mine both, Vanessa.
Anyway, if you’ve found yourself in the path of all that snow, I hope you’ve been keeping warm and cozy.
Maybe you’ve been doing some reading? Let me know if you read anything good I should add to my towering TBR list! I just finished Darkly by Marisha Pessl (excellent, as I knew it would be) and am about to start The Favorites by Layne Fargo (one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2025! Layne is a rockstar).
One final thing, pals: If your new year’s resolution is to write a novel in 2025, consider booking a Blueprint session with me to get you started! As an
Author Accelerator-certified book coach, I’m authorized to guide you through Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book method, providing feedback along the way, and then we’ll schedule a Zoom chat to talk more in depth about your project. When we’re done, you’ll have a clear idea of the story you want to tell, how you’re going to tell it, and why it matters. The investment is $500. If you want to learn more, reach out to me at kathleen@kathleenbarber.com and put Blueprint Inquiry in the subject line.
That’s it for now! Hope you’re having good Januarys, friends!