Finished Reading “A Bloom in Winter” and Editing is Moving Along

Editing Alien Desires is moving along pretty well. I had a bit of a hiccup on one of the comments my editor made, but thankfully after talking to some writer friends, the fix was super easy (and I had the perfect spot for it, too). I really do enjoy this part of the writing process: finding out where my problems lie. I know I have them, but I’m just too close to the darn thing to see them.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 4

Dates read: February 17-25, 2025
Title: A Bloom in Winter
Year of publication: 2024
Author: J.R. Ward
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series:  Black Dagger Brotherhood #22.5
# of Pages: 447
Paper or plastic: Hard cover
How obtained: Purchased from B&N
Blurb from Book: For his entire life, and especially during his century in the prison camp, Apex never believed the bonded-male vampire myths. But when he crossed paths with a sexy wolven, the assassin was done being a lone wolf himself. Tragically, fate had other plans for them, and in the decades since, the world has held little interest—and even less warmth—for him.
    He has never forgotten the male, however…
    Even after all this time, Callum remains haunted by the horrible abduction that destroyed him down to his marrow those many years ago. Living as a loner, drifting from place to place, the wolven has finally returned to upstate New York—and he is not expecting to see the vampire who has always been on his mind.
    As a plot to overthrow the King threatens the Brothers down in Caldwell, Apex and Callum find themselves face-to-face—and caught up in a deadly, treasonous plot. Can two lonely, lost souls find a way back to each other…or will destiny once again condemn their hearts to isolation?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: Two romances in this book. For a half book (#22.5), it packs a lot. And while it has 447 pages, it is a small hard cover and the print is larger than normal. This is no novella, though. It’s probably the length of what your average author writes. And like I said it packs a lot. I had a lot of fun reading it.

Not much else is going on right now. Our next trip isn’t until May. Shocker, huh? But that should give me all the time I need to finish Alien Desires and get that thing published. As long as I don’t come across another hiccup. And yes, I skimmed over the comments, but that doesn’t mean they hit me as a problem. The first hiccup (and hopefully only) didn’t hit me when I first read it. It’s not until I’m actually back in the story that I get the comment. And I appreciate every comment I get. I’m all for making the book better. That’s my goal.

Happy Reading!

Stacy