A whole new meaning to the phrase "Labor Day"!

Rosie Burke
Sep 1
5 min read

My newest baby is...

Fake Out is finally here for you!

Justin “JP” Parker

My friends are falling like bugs in a flea bath. One by one, they’ve wifed up and— while I love their partners, consider them sisters— I’m not ready for the responsibility being in a relationship comes with. It’s my senior year! That means girls and games on repeat. I’m not expecting the outgoing blonde bombshell from the bar to be anything more. Funny that…

Honey Turner

I’m a conundrum. That’s the southern way of saying I’m a problem child with a pretty face. My All-American, girl-next-door looks have gotten me out of more hiccups than I care to cop to. More than Mom and Dad want to admit, too. But after a truly epic muck up at my last university leaves me standing on the precipice of achieving my dreams or facing a total crash and burn, I’m bound and determined to get myself together. It’s just… what can it hurt to have a final bang before I clean up my act?

Except my hot-and-heavy hurrah with the cocky basketball player comes to a halt faster than a good offensive screen when Dad unexpectedly shows up to my apartment the morning after my one night with JP. Instead of running for the hills seeing his coach on the other side of the door, JP saves me—by pretending to be my boyfriend.

Fake dating JP is a win-win. Together we’ll have Dad believing we’ve both cleaned up our acts. So why does it start to feel less fake …

And more like we’ve faked out ourselves?

Okay. That was probably the biggest news of the month and I couldn't hold it in any longer. That's right. Fake Out, book 4 in my college/new adult, basketball romance series is live as of today. JP & Honey were so much fun to write. And let me tell you, it was a bit scary when I got to the end and she threw a curveball at me! Oh, didn't you know? We authors are usually just as surprised as y'all are with the twists and turns our books take!

As with all my other books, I am actively working to get this one onto Audible. I know... it's not the most inclusive option for a number of reasons. But, for now at least, this is the option that works best for me as an author. It's the only way I can currently get my books out to my audio-readers. And, since accessibility is my greatest passion--I'm accepting progress over perfection. I'm not willing to wait until the perfect solution falls into my lap--or bags and bags of money! That only leaves me with ACX and Audible right now.

News for Author Elevation Hub

The school year has gotten well underway and my kids are well and truly entrenched in their athletics. I'm also officially a full-time employee again! For the first time in nearly eight years, I am scheduled to work 40+ hours a week. Unlike any of those other times, all my work will be done between 6pm and 5am! YUIKES!

This change will be great for my family and I know that. But it means a lot of other changes for my author-career.

I'm not stepping away from the Hub. Not at all! I'm just having to change my office hours slightly as well as my scheduled writing sprints.

Have you ever wondered about the process of writing and publishing a book? Or maybe you need a community to rally behind you. What if you just really can't grip the concept of branding and contrast and how that impacts accessibility? Could you maybe just want a body double to help spur your ADD-gremlin into action and get those words down?

Amy and I get it. As a matter of fact, I struggle with some of those things myself. Which is why Amy and I started the Hub. She's a certified coach who specializes in getting authors to their best selves. I'm dialed in on branding and more of the visual aspects that come with this job. Together, along with the outside support we find and vet, The Hub is a one-stop hop for anyone aspiring to write and create.

**If you're a PA and looking to add a few additional hours each month, please reach out to Amy Vogel or myself over on Instagram! We're always looking for reputable assistants to aid our Hubsters.*

Coming Soon!

It's never ending cycle for us writers. As soon as we finish the final draft for our most recent project--even before we hit "SUBMIT" to our distributing site!-- we are already hard at work on the next thing.

In my case, that's the next three things!

Of course I am starting to write Kyle's story. His will be the conclusion to this series and that's mind boggling to me. I'm not ready to toss my own proverbial cap into the air and watch the tassels fly as we hit that commencement ceremony one more time.

And yet... I'm so freaking excited about what I've got planned. Two series have been banging away (tee hee, sorry. Romance Author humor) in my head for almost a year waiting to be written. I just have to decide which one I'll tip toe into next.

But even before we get Kyle and his surprise FMC's love story, I have not one but two novellas planned. I'm participating in my own winter-themed promo alongside a dozen other authors to give you a free short story. On top of that, I'm collaborating with Taylor Delong, my cohost for the Romance Hockey League's Virtual Book Signing back in June. Together with even more authors, we'll be giving you holiday-themed shorts.

Those aren't due to release until much later in the year. I can't share more (mostly because I don't have more to share!) but when I do and get the "All Clear," you can be sure I'll be posting all over my socials about these chances to grab FREE shorts you'll love to curl up with when those temps dip into the single digits!

A New Look at our Favorite Hockey players!

I've decided that I want to rebrand the Dropped Puck Series. Each book will be getting a new cover! But... which brand do we love? I mean, these are our Sharks and the incredible women who put them in their place when need be.

This is something I've given a lot of thought to. I mean, I love my current covers. They were a gift from my friend and fellow romance author Lyra Blake. She did an amazing job making them shine and pop and I'm forever grateful for that. But lately something inside of me is saying it's time for a change. Time to freshen them up. These are the three mock ups I have for the series. What do you think? Do you love them? Vote below for your favorite and I'll share the winners in the September newsletter.

As a little funsies... If you vote, share a post on your social media of your favorite couple and tag me in it. Each share will get you into a raffle for a signed copy of your couple's book and DPS stickers!