Episodes

  • Young, Black, and Digitally Lynched

    Young, Black, and Digitally Lynched
    Aug 18 2026
    I’ve done it.Last week, I told you I was on deadline, and now I am free. That is right—I have finished my 32nd book.I turned it in to my publisher. It will be my next historical fiction, coming in at 105,000 words, and I am so excited.I did something I’ve never done before. Multiple POVs. Caribbean history blended with American history. I have cars and horse-drawn carriages. Letters written and sealed under wax. Candlelight and electric lights.I can’t give you much more detail yet, but it is my brand—a powerful saga, women-centric, with women doing things we need to know about, finding rooms they weren’t supposed to be in and pushing forward questions we all should be asking and answering.So I should be coming out of deadline talking about nothing but joy.But at the same time, one of the most disconcerting things has been happening.There is always nonsense going on in the book sphere, the academic sphere, and the tech sphere—the three worlds I pay a lot of attention to.And this past week, it was academia.There was a young Black professor at Cambridge named Jason Arday. He was not a perfect person. None of us are. But he suddenly became the center of accusations of plagiarism and an enormous public storm.In a matter of days, it became a nightmare in the press.An investigation by NewsCord, which I will link her, counted every substantive and distinct article about Jason Arday from July 24 through August 14, 2026. Their count was:* 249 articles in 22 days* 188 articles in the final nine days—from his August 5 resignation through August 14* That’s an average of 20.9 articles per dayArticle after article. Imagine the tons of social-media impressions fueled by this much press. People attacked him, defending him, picked him apart. 9 days, his final 9 day, 188 articles.That looks like a digital lynching.It must feel like that.And it proves something I’ve talked about: when somebody has a grievance, when somebody needs a scapegoat, why so often a Black neck, a POC neck, or a woman’s neck becomes a doormat to step on.Today, I don’t want to use my words to talk about what happened to Jason Arday.I want you to hear his family’s words.While the rest of the world was debating a professor’s humanity, they watched someone they loved go through this storm.Now they are grieving him.This has been an incredibly painful time for our family, and we are still coming to terms with the tragic loss of our beloved Jason. What has become clear over the past 72 hours is the profound impact he had on people.We are grateful to all who have created light in this dark time through kindness, generosity and solidarity. Your presence here to remember him this evening means a lot to us, and while we cannot be there in person, please know that we stand with you in spirit.The public cruelty Jason was subjected to was too much for any man to bear. The outpouring of love, support and grief since his death means so much to us, although it is bittersweet. Kindness is needed in life, not just in death. We’ll never know what might have been different had he experienced more of it while he was still here.What we do know is how deeply he was loved, and we wish to especially thank those who knew Jason in life and tried to get through to him, who supported him in his darkest hour, and who saw the person in the middle of this awful storm.If you would like to share a message of condolence, memory, or support with Jason Arday’s family, please do so using this contact:TheArdayFamily@gmail.comNo book recs today. I want to publicize a legitimate Go Fund Me for his family.https://gofund.me/ce60c7ec0And if you are struggling with your mental health:In the United States:Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It is available 24 hours a day.In the United Kingdom and Ireland:Call Samaritans at 116 123, free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.In England:For urgent mental-health help, call NHS 111 and select the mental-health option.If someone’s life is in immediate danger, call emergency services—911 in the United States or 999 in the United Kingdom.If you are worried about somebody, ask about them. Help them connect with professional support.Kindness is needed in life, not just in death.Let’s be better and have a better week.* Support your local bookstores, especially your indies.You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, VanessaRiley.com, under the podcast link in the About tab.Hey. Let’s keep building together. I need you. That is the truth. Like, share, subscribe, and stay connected to Write of Passage.Thank you for being here.I want you to come again. This is Vanessa Riley. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit vanessariley.substack.com/subscribe
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    9 mins
  • Deadline Hell Exposed

    Deadline Hell Exposed
    Aug 11 2026
    That deadline you confidently agreed to because you were absolutely certain Future You would be organized, disciplined, and completely undistracted?Yeah. Future You lied.I’m exposing deadline hell. How writers get here—and how we get out.Deadline Hell Exposed: How Writers Get In—and How We Get OutNo, I haven’t disappeared.I’ve been in deadline hell.And since I’m currently working my way through it, I thought I’d take a moment to explain exactly what deadline hell is.Deadline hell does not necessarily mean you waited until the last minute to finish your book. Though, yes, sometimes that happens.Deadline hell is what happens when you have an unforgiving deadline—either one you set for yourself or one you agreed to—and suddenly the calendar and the manuscript are having two very different conversations.The problem begins when we agree to deadlines while imagining ourselves as completely different people.We imagine Future Writer Us.Future Writer Us is studious. Diligent. Disciplined. Future Writer Us wakes up every morning refreshed and inspired. Life is going perfectly. Nobody needs anything. Nothing breaks. There are no emergencies, unexpected trips, illnesses, distractions, family obligations, or days when our brains simply refuse to cooperate.Future Writer Us just writes.And because we know approximately how many words we can produce in a day, a week, or a month, we look at the deadline and think:Absolutely. I can deliver that.Welcome to the dreamworld.Here is something I’ve learned: until you really understand how you write and have developed the discipline to consistently produce, give yourself 1.5 times longer than you think you need.Trust me. You’ll be grateful for the padding.Of course, some of us know this and still let that beautifully padded time slip away.Hello. It’s me.Know How You WorkI’m an everyday writer.That means I’m going to write or research every single day until I get that bad boy done.Sometimes I have an actual word-count goal. I use Scrivener, which has a wonderful—and occasionally terrifying—feature that lets you enter your target word count and deadline. It calculates how many words you need to write each day to get there.In the beginning, maybe that number is five hundred words a day.Notice I didn’t say five hundred good words.I said five hundred words.Then life happens.Suddenly that daily target is 2,500 words.When you’ve been in the game for a while, that number doesn’t necessarily frighten you.It probably should.But fear isn’t going to finish the book.Right now, my deadline for my next book is August 15. This will be book number 32.With the exception of one book during COVID—and perhaps one or two deadlines that had to move by a couple of weeks—I’ve hit my deadlines.I don’t say that to brag.I say it because deadlines are about knowing yourself.As a writer, you get better by writing. There is no substitute for putting yourself in the chair and doing the work. There will always be something more interesting happening somewhere else.The book does not care.You still have to finish it.So, from someone currently residing somewhere around Dante’s fifth circle of Deadline Hell, here are the things that keep me moving.1. Limit Social MediaYou can scroll forever.What looks like a huge block of writing time can become a very small one frighteningly fast.But as an author, I also can’t simply tell you to abandon social media. Social media is one of the ways we get our stories into the world. Publishers expect authors to participate in promotion. As you develop readers, they’re going to want to know what you’re writing, what you’re thinking about, and what’s coming next.Connection matters.I’ve taken long social-media breaks before, and I’ve found that rebuilding that connection afterward can be difficult. Algorithms aren’t necessarily kind when you’ve been gone for a long time—particularly if you don’t already have an enormous following.So don’t disappear.Set boundaries.Do what you need to do, then get back to the book.2. Accept That You Don’t Have All the AnswersI have a decent outline.I have a plan.That’s it.I’ve mentioned before that I’m a plantser. I plan my books, but I deliberately leave room for inspiration and for the story to change based on how the characters begin speaking, behaving, and moving through scenes.An outline is a map, not a prison.Characters reveal things. Scenes develop differently than expected. Something you thought would be important becomes unnecessary.And something you barely noticed becomes the heart of the book.Leave yourself enough room to discover the story you’re actually writing.3. I Don’t Truly Know the Ending Until I Type “Done”I know.That sounds scary.I usually know where I’m heading. But because I allow the manuscript to change, I don’t know exactly how the book will end until I get there.I don’t completely know what will stay.I don’t completely know ...
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    18 mins
  • Receipts Please

    Receipts Please
    Aug 4 2026
    You wrote the book. You poured months, maybe years, into every page. But in today’s publishing landscape, that’s no longer enough. Can you prove you wrote it?Every author—and everyone who loves one—needs to know how to protect themselves.Receipts PleaseThe AI Witch Hunt And You’re Already GuiltyThe headlines are rough right now.Books are still being banned. Independent bookstores are struggling. Publishers are grappling with higher paper, printing, and shipping costs.We’re living in a political climate where books that tell fuller histories—or simply allow readers to imagine beyond rigid stereotypes—are increasingly treated as the problem.Now we’re all a part of the new witch hunt. We are watching as everyone from TikTok to the New York Times digs deeply into authorship and asks questions. The cross we now bear: “The author must have used AI.”As a writer who loves words and her job, I don’t fall into crab-in-a-barrel cynicism. I celebrate every book deal. I don’t care whether it’s a debut novelist who lands a six-figure contract or a veteran writer signing another multi-book deal. I want everyone’s story out there in the venue of their choosing, be it Indie or traditional, podcast, TV, film, or stage.The creative industry is hard enough without anyone rooting against another.Every contract or act of publishing represents years of sacrifice, rejection, revisions, and hope.And what I refuse to accept is the growing assumption that when certain authors succeed, they must have cheated.The New AI Witch HuntOver the past year, we’ve seen a troubling pattern emerge.Debut authors have found themselves publicly accused of using AI. Publishers have withdrawn books. Agents have pulled manuscripts and representation. Yet on what basis are these devastating actions being taken? AI detectors. Isn’t that sort of like the fox watching the hen house?Some of the most widely used AI detectors are:There are many more, each with opaque rules and algorithms and methodologies that are used to determine what is human and what is AI. Their judgement is being held up as a holy Grail. But it’s still just the fox guarding the henhouse.Influencers and bloggers have accused works of being AI-generated for having tropes, similar fantasy settings, etc. Newsflash: genre fiction like romance, thrillers, romantasy, is supposed to use tropes to meet reader expectations.The evidence- some screenshots and attitude is being treated as definitive.The result?Authors are increasingly expected to prove they wrote their own books. That should concern everyone.The Latest Targeted Authors: Is there a pattern?Following online accusations that BiPOC author Mia Ballard’s novel Shy Girl contained AI-generated text, Hachette investigated, didn’t stand by the author or the series of editors involved in acquisition, and canceled publication.BiPOC author Ballard has maintained that she did not use AI to write the novel, though she has acknowledged that an early edited version may have included AI-assisted edits introduced by someone else. But the buzz isn’t about editing; it’s about cheating to write the book.Black debut author Jerry Falade, whose thriller reportedly sparked a 14-publisher auction and a proposed $2 million deal, had his manuscript withdrawn after questions arose about its creation. Black author Falade has denied using AI to write the novel, while his agent, Marc Gerald of Europa Content, stated they could no longer authenticate the manuscript’s development.Meanwhile, Nobel Prize-winning Polish Woman author Olga Tokarczuk openly discussed using AI as part of her creative process—not to write her prose, but to explore character development, ask questions about fictional people, even what music they might listen to. The backlash was swift. She had to issue an apology and clarification, stating that her use was strictly for research.The latest banshee torches were raised to celebrated Black novelist H. M. Wolfe for her dark dystopian romance, Daggermouth. An Atlantic investigation questioned whether portions of the novel appeared AI-generated. Black author Wolfe denies using AI, and her publisher, Scarlett Press (an imprint of Simon & Schuster), stood behind the book.As an engineer with plenty of data training and modeling, there’s not enough here to say there is a trend, but if you are a Black author, a BiPOC author, or a woman author, be aware. We seem to be entering an environment where, if accused of AI Generation, we will be presumed guilty until proven innocent.Who Gets the Benefit of the Doubt?According to The Independent, Male Caucasian author Anthony Horowitz, a New York Times bestselling author, says ChatGPT has become part of his research process. He says, “I have absolutely no shame about using it at all. It would be crazy to give up an incredible resource.”He has also made clear that he does not use AI-generated prose in his novels and the Atlantic has not accused him of AI ...
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    24 mins
  • Done Is Better Than Finished

    Done Is Better Than Finished
    Jul 28 2026
    Writers, stop trying to finish your book. Just Stop. Let me explain how trying to finish might be killing your writerly mojo.Done Is Better Than FinishedI had a couple of conversations this week with writing colleagues. Some are on deadline, working hard to finish their books. Others have ideas they love but are still figuring out how to begin.These groups may seem as though they are in very different places, but they share one problem:They do not have a completed manuscript.They may have a few sentences here, a couple of chapters there, or even a detailed outline. But an outline is not a manuscript. A collection of scenes is not a manuscript. A beautiful opening chapter is not a manuscript.I’ve stopped asking if you’re finished.Finished is a state that is almost impossible to achieve. Even after a book has been edited, copyedited, proofread, printed, and placed on a shelf, most writers can still find something they would tweak.A sentence could be sharper. A description could be richer. A scene could move faster.Instead of asking whether a book is finished, I prefer to ask:Am I done?Or, more accurately:Am I done with this phase?When I begin writing a book, I do a lot of upfront research. I explore the history. I gather enough information to understand the world and begin imagining what is possible. I collect facts, consider characters, and think about where the story might go.At some point, I will probably create an outline, because I need a place to put all those facts and ideas swirling around in my head.But eventually, I have to stop preparing to write and start writing.Then I go for broke.I write until I reach the end.I do not encourage writers to revise while trying to complete a first draft. I know some people can write and revise at the same time. I am not one who can do that, and I’m not here to criticize anyone’s process. But sometimes we have to stop polishing and simply push through.We have to reach the end so we can see the journey our cursor, pencil, or keyboard has taken.Then we can go back and fix it.During a first draft, I may leave pieces of research unfinished. In any particular scene, I may not know what a character is wearing or the color of the walls of a setting. In the earliest version of a book, you barely see any color mentioned at all.There is no point in spending three hours researching a dress for a scene that may not survive the next draft.At the first and second passes, I do not even know whether the scene is going to stay.I’ve learned that my job is not to get everything right.My job is to get everything written down.Someone once said that you cannot edit a blank page. That person was extremely wise and painfully correct.I need words, at least a third of the word count before I think about revising any words.I need all the scenes before evaluating which scenes stay, get cut or need revisingYou need to see your characters moving through the full story before you can fully understand their motivations, goals, and conflicts. Now I do a lot of pre-work and spend a lot of time in each character’s head. But sometimes it’s not working, and it’s hard to know that unless you see a completed arc.A full understanding of the story your telling comes at the end of writing and you’re in the editing stage.So first, you have to be done.In writerly settings, there’s such a thing as pantsing a book, which literally means sitting at the seat of your pants and writing, whatever comes to your head. That’s the anathema to plotting. Plotting requires foreknowledge, knowing every character, every circumstance, every scene, every turning point until you get to the end. It’s structured.I use a hybrid method—a little bit of pantsing and a whole lot of plotting. Plantsing marries thetwo approaches and together we reach the end.That is the goal.Get done.I had a conversation with a friend about the current state of publishing. They were wondering whether they should focus on independent publishing or continue looking for a traditional deal.I told them the truth: it is rough out here.Writers have to work harder. We have to work harder to bring our books into the zeitgeist. We have to help readers discover them, understand them, and care about them.That work exists whether you are traditionally published or independently published.It is wise to understand publishing trends. It is important to pay attention to changes in the industry and the politics that affect a writer’s livelihood.But none of that matters very much when you don’t have a completed book.Suppose everything magically and deliciously aligned tomorrow. Suppose the perfect agent, editor, or opportunity appeared.Would you be ready?Could you send the manuscript right now?Right this minute?If not, sit down and knuckle down.Do not worry about making every sentence perfect. Once you are done with this version, you can go back. You can edit. You can move scenes, change characters, strengthen motivations, and deepen ...
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    12 mins
  • 55% Gone. Now What?

    55% Gone. Now What?
    Jul 21 2026
    Congratulations. You’re still here. More than half the year is behind you, and that alone is worth celebrating. But it’s time to kick things into gear. Let’s stop surviving…and start thriving.55% Gone. Now What?More than 200 days out of 365, 55% of the year is done. Scratched them off the calendar.Every December, I start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. By the time January 1 rolls around, I’ve got my list together. I tell myself I’m going to be bold, audacious, and dream out loud. This is the year. These are the goals.Then the middle of July arrives.And with it comes a stark realization that wakes me out of my dream state. Over 55% of the year is gone. More than 200 days have passed. And if I’m being honest, of all my big, hairy, audacious goals…I’ve accomplished one.I’ve survived.Now don’t get me wrong. Sometimes survival is the victory.So today, I want to do three things.First, I want to congratulate you for making it this far.We’re often too hard on ourselves. Sometimes just getting out of bed in your right mind is an accomplishment. If you’re awake and listening to this podcast, congratulations. You’re a survivor.But survivors want to become thrivers.And to thrive, we can’t sit still.So I’m giving you permission to go back and look at that list you made for 2026. Instead of staring at everything you haven’t done, narrow the list down to one more thing. Pick one goal you want to accomplish in this latter half of the year.Then go after it.“But Vanessa, how do I do that?”First: Reconnect with Your WhyBefore diving back into your list, check in with your why. What’s your raison d’être? What is the thing you believe you’re meant to do on this earth?Now, depending on the season of life you’re in, that answer may change. That’s okay.But right now, where’s your head? Where’s your heart?Take a moment to realign. Choose a goal that matches your personal values and your interests.Some of us still have corporate day jobs. Some of us signed contracts that sounded great at the time. Some of us are out of contract and still wondering, What the hell happened?I’m just going to chalk this year up to the fact that we’re living in strange times.Sometimes you’ve got to put your head down and focus, focus, focus on what’s important.Your why is important.And you’re going to use that energy to accomplish your one thing before this year is over.Psychologists Kennon Sheldon and Andrew Elliot, who developed the Self-Concordance Model, found that people pursuing goals aligned with their personal values put forth more sustained effort and are more likely to achieve those goals.Second: Maybe Your Goal Was Too BigMy mama used to say, “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.”Sometimes our egos are bigger than reality.We only have so many hours in a day. I’ve tested this. It really is twenty-four hours. And somewhere in there you’re going to need to sleep…and yes, use the restroom.You cannot do everything.So take that big goal and break it into smaller pieces. Reward yourself every time you get to check something off the list.For the writers in the house, don’t make the goal, “Finish my novel.”Make the goal, “Write 300 words today without stopping.”Will you have to do that more than once?Absolutely.But novels aren’t written in giant leaps. They’re written through consistent effort.For the savers in the house, maybe the goal isn’t having $5,000 saved by the end of the year.Maybe it’s saving $25 a week.Maybe it’s skipping one unnecessary Amazon purchase every week.I’m not here to judge.I’m just here to say: break the goal into pieces.Researchers Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, in The Progress Principle, found that making meaningful progress on small tasks is one of the strongest drivers of motivation, engagement, and satisfaction.Small wins matter.Third: Stop Waiting to Feel Like ItNow this one is going to hurt some folks.Stick to “doing.”I have a lot of friends who are mood writers. They’ll only write when they’re “feeling it.”The same thing happens with people who want to cook instead of eating out. Or exercise consistently. They’re waiting for the mood to strike.Moods are tricky things.Sure, there are days I write better when I’m angry.Or after I’ve had a delicious caramel torte.But I can’t wait for the vibe to be right.A blank page can’t be edited.Genius—true genius—happens during the editing process.Now, for that magical one percent who can spit out a perfectly textured paragraph on the first try…All I’ve got to say is:“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35.) That is the shortest paragraph and complete statement in the Bible.The rest of us need a plan.Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer’s research on implementation intentions found that people who decide in advance when, where, and how they’re going to act are significantly more likely to accomplish their goals.In other words, don’t just hope you’ll ...
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    11 mins
  • Who Told You That Was True?

    Who Told You That Was True?
    Jul 14 2026
    If Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Gwen Ifill, Peter Jennings, or even Barbara Walters came back today and started doing the news, would you believe them? If you had to stop and think about your answer, you’re not alone—and that’s exactly the problem.According to Gallup’s October 2025 report on Media Use and Evaluation, only 28 percent of Americans say they have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of trust that a report on the news is accurate and fair. That is the lowest level Gallup has ever recorded.In their tracking, they’ve shown a massive decline from 68 percent in the 1970s in Americans’ trust in news on television, in newspapers, or on the radio. That’s over 40 percent loss of confidence in 5 decades.Those numbers should frighten us.Recently, I asked a twenty-one-year-old college student where she gets her news. Her answer was funny, honest, and revealing:“Basically, it’s kind of crazy that I’ll learn about very important things on TikTok or some other goofy social media platform before an actual news source. Then I go to an actual reputable news source to find out if it’s true or not. Shout-out to NPR. I like to tune in to that radio now. That’s my new news source because the other ones stress me out.”I do not want to date myself, but I remember when there was a man named Walter Cronkite on the evening news. He spoke with a serious voice, and people believed that what he said had been checked and checked again. Viewers trusted him to tell them about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. They trusted him to tell them about the war in Vietnam and the first human steps on the moon.I’m not quite old enough to have watched all of that live. Thank you, YouTube, for the things I’ve missed. Still, those recordings remind me that there was once a widespread belief that when we saw something on the news, we were seeing something true.Of course, television news was never perfect. There were ridiculous moments, too. Geraldo Rivera once opened Al Capone’s supposed secret vault on live television, promising the possibility of buried treasure, bodies, or historical secrets. After all that anticipation, the vault contained almost nothing.We have also spent decades wondering whether missing labor leader Jimmy Hoffa was buried beneath some stadium, driveway, or patch of concrete. Even MythBusters got involved in the search.The news has always contained spectacle. But spectacle used to be easier to recognize.Now, spectacle often arrives dressed in a nice suit, a sweet smile, and banter. This is called reporting.I do not know what we are going to do. We are headed toward no longer trusting the news. I find it incredible that journalists and political insiders sometimes save damaging information for books that will be published months or years later. These revelations may involve conversations with politicians that could have changed the outcome of an election, influenced an investigation, or helped the public understand a crisis while it was actually unfolding.But instead of reporting the information when it mattered, someone sat on it until the book release. News reporting seems to be about clicks and money—again, spectacle.People say journalism is dead. I don’t want to think this.. But much of what is on TV is people catering to an agenda and not telling the truth.And I am not so altruistic. Money has to be made. The station, equipment, and reporting all cost money. Frivolous lawsuits have shut down or targeted journalists.In this world of spectacle, some pander to an audience of one person: the autocrat, the executive, the politician, the billionaire, or the power broker whom the journalist believes has the ability to grant access, influence, protection, or money.Many news organizations have disappointed me. They’ll spend days analyzing one president’s poor debate performance while ignoring another politician’s slurred speech, confused statements, or obvious lies. They’ll hold one person to a nearly impossible standards while lowering those same standards for someone else. Right Jake?There seems to be no floor to depravity, no ceiling to the hysteria. I still have beef with a network that swore they had some tax returns of a very powerful man, teased it all day, then when it aired, only had the first two pages, the summary pages, which shed very little detail. You knew that, Rachel. But I digress.Who are we supposed to trust in this society?I tell people all the time that they should journal, especially women. A journal is personal. It should be original and not filtered through an AI program. Your journal should contain your words, your observations, and what you believe is happening in the world around you.That record will become even more important as professional truth-tellers become spectacle peddlers. I’m also not willing to pay per click for somebody’s opinion disguised as reporting. There are publications I still support. I pay for a ...
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    17 mins
  • Making Sure They Get Home

    Making Sure They Get Home
    Jul 7 2026
    I don’t think Southern hospitality is just about sweet tea. I think it’s making sure everyone has a good time and gets home alive.Southern hospitality is supposed to mean something.Growing up, the Fourth of July meant my mother’s barbecue. It wasn’t just dinner. It became the neighborhood gathering, the family reunion you didn’t know you were having. Friends drifted in. A few cousins or uncles might show. No one brought anything because even Mama had already made it with at least three different options. You came because my mother cooked, and everyone knew that meant you were going to leave full, laughing. You were going to have a good time.That was Southern hospitality on a 4th of July Weekend. It was exciting, even before the fireworks.But this Fourth of July felt different.I don’t know many people who gathered with neighbors. Most stayed home. Even the celebrations in Washington, D.C. looked very quiet, quieter than I expected for America’s 250th birthday. Across the country, storms interrupted festivities, forcing some families to seek shelter—even inside the African American History Museum. Others didn’t feel the hospitality as they rode on buses with White Supremacists and Reuters photographers. I’d like to think that the photographers would’ve been neighborly and helped out, but they had a duty, I suppose, to capture the mask-wearing marchers.Sometimes hospitality means making a safe environment. No one should be fearful on the 4th of July.Again. This 4th felt different.No amount of BBQ or sweet tea can make up for fear or anguish. What happened to checking on your neighbors, making sure everyone has a ride, or that they make it home to call their mother?I thought about how my mother always wanted to know where I was, who I was with, and who the adults were. At the time, it felt overprotective.Now it feels like another expression of hospitality.Real hospitality isn’t simply welcoming people in.It’s making sure they get home.There are families who will never forget this holiday weekend because someone they loved didn’t make it home. My heart especially goes out to the family of Nolan Wells, a young Black man who went to celebrate with friends and never came home. Amid the unimaginable grief, his mother publicly thanked the volunteers, the United Cajun Navy, local law enforcement, and neighbors who searched alongside her.That, too, is Southern hospitality, showing up when someone else is hurting.On Sunday, the 5th, I had the opportunity to be hospitable to my readers at a release party to celebrate the of A Deal at Dawn. II held a tea party.What better way to celebrate a Regency romance?Picture tablecloths, teacups, ceramic platters, cookies, flowers, and just enough balloons to make a corner of Barnes & Noble feel less like a bookstore and more like someone’s parlor. We were tucked into the music section, and honestly, what could be more neighborly than books and music sharing the same space?Of course, I have a terrible habit of never doing anything halfway.I love to cook. Left to my own devices, every gathering becomes a catered affair. But Barnes & Noble has a café, which meant there were limits on bringing in outside food.Reality met Southern determination.I had to get creative.Normally, my backup plan is Cheryl’s Cookies. I always keep a stash in the freezer for emergencies. They’re delicious, dependable, and have rescued me on more than one gathering.But this wasn’t an emergency.This was a celebration.I kept thinking about the afternoon my daughter and I spent at the Russian Tea Room in New York. The tiny pastries. The beautiful presentation. The sense that every bite had been chosen with care.If I couldn’t recreate that menu, I could recreate the feeling.Every Southern tea needs cake.So I invented tea cake cupcakes.The recipe grew out of the world of A Deal at Dawn. While writing the novel, I kept returning to preserved fruits and candies. In eighteenth-century Saint Petersburg, oranges were rare luxuries. When people had them, they treasured them, preserving every bit they could in marmalades and jams.That became my inspiration.I took my favorite pound cake recipe, whipped the butter until it was impossibly light, folded in rich orange marmalade, and added buttermilk because Southern baking practically demands it. The result tasted like sunshine tucked inside a cupcake.Maybe it was over the top.But it was neighborly.That’s what Southern cooks do.I get it from my mother.I get it from the soil and the air that she raised me in.I want to feed people.I want them to slow down.I want them to feel safe.I want them to feel seen.As joyful as Sunday was, the weekend as whole kept reminding me why those things matter. I’m often asked which book signing has been my favorite. Every signing is my favorite.Whether one person comes or a hundred, someone has carved out space in their day to spend time with me and my stories. They’ve read my books, shared them ...
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    12 mins
  • Access Isn’t Permission

    Access Isn’t Permission
    Jun 30 2026
    Here’s a dangerous lie the internet tells us: if information is public, it’s fair game. If I have to do a little hunting, a little scraping to get it—well, that just shows how clever I am.If I told you that this can be harmful. And that some of us don’t know that this invasion of privacy can erode trust forever—would you still do it? We are one like away from being unforgiven.Access Isn’t PermissionWhat is unforgivable?That sounds like a grand philosophical question. And I’m not asking this in the courtroom or commandment sense but in the everyday ways we treat each other. What crosses that simple line of right and slightly harmless wrong?Is it oversharing? Gossip? A tidbit of seductive knowledge that you found that no one else has publicly announced?Does this secret knowledge make you feel powerful?Before we go there, I need to define two words that have become part of our modern vocabulary.The first is parasocial.A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship where an audience member feels a deep connection to a public figure. That audience member or voyeur doesn’t actually know the public person personally, but they are invested. I’m guilty of this. I take it personally when people condemn Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, for breathing. When herAs Ever debuted, it sold out in 5 minutes. I was part of that shopping fest.A parasocial relationship is not inherently unhealthy. More and more it’s part of being an artist. Brands and publishers want that vibe to push sales. Readers want to feel like they know an author. It means so much when our words have entertained them on lonely nights and comforted them through grief.The second word is never good, doxxing. Doxxing is the act of publicly revealing someone’s private, identifying information without their consent. Often, doxxing will mean someone has published home addresses, phone numbers, places of work, or more.Recently, my friend, bestselling romance author Kennedy Ryan, appeared on a podcast with Jenna Bush, and during a lighthearted conversation about pen names, Kennedy shared that she originally adopted a pseudonym to protect her professional career and now continues to use it to protect her peace.Her peace. Catch that part.Not because she was hiding. Not because she was ashamed.Because she wanted boundaries. She deserves boundaries so she can keep a piece of herself and her life for herself.Soon afterward, the internet sleuths, parasocial avengers, began circulating her legal name in posts and threads online. Some have actually argued that releasing a legal name isn’t really doxxing because her legal name had been publicly discoverable for years.I’m sorry…Since when did intent or access excuse the action?If someone tells you, “This is private. This is how I protect myself and my family,” and you decide to broadcast that information anyway, what exactly are you accomplishing? Congrats! You’re smart. You can scrape metadata and websites. Feel good.Maybe placate your conscience because you didn’t post her home address.Hey, you didn’t hack a bank account. So clearly you are different. You’re in a category above criminals.Just because you didn’t intend harm, that doesn’t mean you didn’t cause harm. You ignored a clearly stated boundary. That’s the part our conscience should struggle with.Is it an unforgivable offense? That’s not for me to decide.What does this violation do? Hopefully, no legal harm, but you’ve made everyone on the receiving side of a fandom or readership more cautious and potentially more closed off.If you go to threads, you can see this in real time.One person wrote: “One day, in the very near future, y’all are going to lose all access to your favorite authors.”Another author wrote about feeling so violated “after her government name was shared,” that she endured harassment, stalking, and cyber abuse so severe she nearly abandoned writing forever.Another creator, from the gaming community, described having her address and phone number spread online, receiving death threats, and watching her mother become a target of harassment. It took years of therapy before she felt safe again.All of these are different situations.Different levels of harm.Yet, they all share a common thread: Someone else decided that another person’s boundaries didn’t matter.As authors, we want readers to love our books.We want to meet you. We want to laugh with you at signings, hug you at festivals, celebrate release days together. We want to feel close.But there is a distinct difference between closeness and entitlement.Writing is my profession. It is also one of the most personal things I do. Every novel asks me to hand over pieces of myself.My fears.My questions.My hopes.And sometimes my grief.Whether you’re a novelist, painter, musician, actor, graphics designer, or sculptor—every work of art contains something deeply personal. You struggle and learn—really learn—to release ...
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    16 mins