Subscribe to receive Birdie Song's newsletter by email.

July 2024

Hey there,

In an unexpected turn of events, my kangaroo paw has come back to life!! My partner spotted an odd looking stalk last week, which continued to grow and sprout a flower.

Spending time in nature gets me thinking about writing a romance set in a garden one day. So many lovely and random things can happen in that kind of environment. Stuff that once seemed to die can suddenly spring back to life, which sounds a lot like a second chance at love. Plus, gardens have so many delightful metaphors for relationships: tending, feeding, caring, pruning, blossoming.

But that’s a long way off still. The Guy from the Wedding comes first. Beta feedback is trickling in, with final revisions due to start soon. Yay!

A book I enjoyed recently was A Psalm for the Wild Built, a cosy and light-hearted science fiction novella by Becky Chambers. It’s not a romance, but has a romantic quality about the way the main character Dex develops a relationship with their sense of self, their existence in a bustling world, and with their new sapient robot friend. To be honest, the book bored me at first, but continued to grow on me with every chapter. Until at last it reached a finale so beautiful I burst into tears right there in the pub on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cosy fiction and doesn’t mind a smidge of fantasy and sci-fi.

Speaking of cosy fiction, my friend Kris Bock has a new book out! I meant to tell you about this last month: Pride & Prejudice at the Cat Café is the latest title in her Furrever Friends sweet romance series for cat lovers and romance enjoyers alike 🐱

Finally, thank you to M from Australia for giving me her best tip for getting out of the work headspace and back into the real world: Go out and be social. It’s better for your health and you’ll feel fresher with a more balanced routine. (Boy, did I feel told.)

Peace,

Birdie 🐦

From friends and around the way

Falling for my Grumpy Boss by Willa Lyons
This mismatched pair finds it challenging to ignore the attraction blossoming between them around the ranch, but the past threatens to keep them apart.

Starboard Hearts by Diana Dawn
Between a toxic BFF, a rich suitor, a karaoke contest, and the charming cruise ship director, Charlotte will need to put her foot down or lose her chance at happiness.

Clean and Sweet Romance
Low-heat and closed door romance book fair. Ends 31 July.

Low Spice & No Spice Romantasy
Fantasy tales with clean and sweet romance storylines. Ends 31 July.

June Love Library: Clean/Sweet Romance
A sweet and clean book giveaway. Ends 14 July.

You might enjoy this too:

A piece on “partner convergence” by Faith Hill via The Atlantic:

But you don’t need to be similar to your partner in every way, nor should you necessarily want to be; if one partner gets panicky in stressful situations, it’s helpful for the other to remain calm. If one partner tends toward insecure attachment, research suggests that a more secure partner can do wonders to build their trust.

Read the rest: Couples’ personalities can become more similar over time—but the causes are still enigmatic. (If you have trouble accessing that webpage, try this archive link instead.)

By the way, reviews are a huge help to small-time indie authors. Both good reviews and bad ones help readers hone in on the books and authors they resonate with. If you’ve enjoyed one of my books, I’d love it if you would leave me a review or star rating on BookBub, StoryGraph or Goodreads.

The Guy from the Wedding – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Internet – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Library – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Park – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

The Guy from the Flower Shop – BookBub – StoryGraph – Goodreads

Well, that’s it for now! Subscribe to my newsletter if you’d rather get these updates with pictures, sent to your email inbox. You’ll also get a little thank you gift for signing up.