Humidity is sticking... and so is summer!
- Rosie Burke
- Aug 2
- 7 min read
Day late and a dollar short, but here we are!
How is it possible we're nearing the unofficial end of summer? I know technically summer isn't over until Mid-September, but am I alone in thinking Labor Day Weekend is the unofficial end? Like, it's the last time we can typically, realistically count on to get together with friends and family before the temps drop, before the chaos of school and life pick back up without the promise of sunny days and the smell of the grill.
It is just me?
Maybe.
This summer definitely feels like it got away from me. I was in a big transition at work--not with my author job, but with the other job. The one that gives me a semi-steady paycheck and insurance! haha We had a big event that spanned several weeks and I was training for a promotion, which is all kinds of intimidating. Now that both of those things are wrapping up, I took some time to look back on the summer and realized that I got so little done.
And it was still busy!
Since the new role would require me to change my hours slightly, I went ahead and adjusted my "Home schedule" accordingly. I upped our dinner time slightly--I work night shifts at a warehouse so, whereas I would work 11pm - 4am four nights a week, I now work 7pm - 5am those same four nights.
The end of summer is when my kids' sports start picking up so now we're going a hundred miles an hour in a million different directions! There's one night where Babe is getting home just in time to grab a kid and head to a sport; an hour or so later, I'm taking the other kid to their sport and heading straight to work. Babe then has to circle back and grab Kid 2... and suddenly it's almost 9pm. Bath and bed and a quick snack because 2+ hours is grueling and then it's time to start all over.
And yet, I wouldn't change any of it. I love my job. It's flexible enough that I can be at nearly every sporting or school event my kids have. I have the weekends to hang out with them and Babe so we try to balance going out and doing things with staying home and recuperating from the week before!
We Have A Date!
Fake Out, book 4 in the 6th Man Series is so close to releasing! In fact, I'm going to do something I haven't done in years: I'm giving a pre-order date! That's right: JP and Honey's story is schedule to release on Monday, September 1st. Labor Day feels like the right time to launch these two into the world. They've been through the wringer--aka: Put ME through the wringer!-- and I can't wait for everyone to read their story. It's fake dating. Coach's Daughter. (Pseudo) Hidden identity. And Banter with Spice because it wouldn't be a Rosie P Burke book without those two things.
Justin “J
P” 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?
What Happened to Man Coverage?
Ever wonder what it feels like to work really hard on something, hype it up to your friends and kind of the world (on a small scale, but still...) and then you have to turn around and say "Sike! Just kidding!" It sucks. And it sucks more when it's the second time it's happened.
I've thought about how I want to handle this situation. Part of me wants to just lay low and do the "ignore it and hopefully it'll go away" thing. But the other part of me is tired of having my name dragged through the mud because of other people. So. Here's the whole story.
Back in Like July/August, I started working on getting contracts for ALL of my books to be produced as audiobooks to be sold on Audible. I hadn't quite finished Man Coverage yet, but I reached out to a few narrators to gauge their interest. One person had quality samples on their website and said they could do it. We agreed on a date for the 15 minute check point (once the book was published) and then a final deadline that would give us enough wiggle room for edits and still release on time for Spring Break.
Fast forward to February. The contracted narrator said they'd need an extension. "Life happened" and whatnot. Look, I get it. Life does happen. And so, I granted a 2 week extension. A MONTH after the deadline, they finally submitted their files. I reviewed them and they were... bad.
Like Beau's voice in his POV chapters was a different voice every single time. Almost like a different character, they were so different. And there were entire chapters that had a background radio-mush sound. So, ultimately, I would have had to redo 3/4 of the book. And it was a month late. I went back and forth on whether or not to stick it out. If I stayed with that narrator, there was a chance the book could get done, but I was already unimpressed with the quality. I decided to cancel that contract and find another narrator.
Brings us to Take 2. I reached out to a narrator I had worked with previously. I asked if they could do this project. Realistically. What were we looking at. They said they had 1 other project in their line up but could start mine in like early- to mid-May, be done by the end of June. Again, we agreed on a checkpoint deadline and the final deadline. Between the signing of the contract and the deadline, they messaged how the other project wasn't getting them the material, so they were going to work on mine. Then there was a delay. Then storms. Etc. 10 days after their deadline I reached out, asking what to expect. They said they were working through editing the files. I said I wanted what they had so I could start listening and doing my own edits. They uploaded 9 of the 39 chapters.
On Day 17 post-deadline, I said they had to upload to terminate. Again, they chose to terminate. They made comments about how my project as a Royalty Share had to take a backseat to any project that was a paid per finished hour. Ummm, no. See, that's not how contracts work. You want to wait and do mine at the last minute but still get it done by the deadline? Fine. Great. Go You. Want to push mine off indefinitely because I can't afford to do PFH projects? That isn't legal. That thought process is exactly why there are contracts.
Now I'm back to square one. Only this time I'm frustrated with the process and I feel like I've let you, the readers down. Do I feel bad that I technically fired two people? Not really. I gave grace and extensions and both times I was taken advantage of. I'm Southern, not stupid. So while I don't love looking like an idiot delaying a book a second time, I'm not willing to let people walk all over me, either.
Man Coverage is coming. I swear. But I don't think I'll talk more about it until I've sent the project over to ACX for their final reviews... whenever that might be.
Last month I did release two other books onto Audible though!
Playing Hooky is my Insta-lust, super spicy winter romance. I went heavier on the smut than plot this time, though I do think there's a fun story there too. Especially since it's one of the shortest books I've written. I mean, when it's under 200 pages and you have a BDSM exploration situationship, there's going to be a lot more spice! Paxton Hite is the narrator and he did an incredible job bringing both Conor and Ginny to life. The Irish brogue was chef's kiss and his take on Ginny was both sweet and feisty.
In The Zone is book 3 in the 6th Man Series. This is a summer romance between the black cat student trainer and the weirdly enough golden retriever athlete. He's a bit grumpy because of his injury but she's got the medicine he needs. Louise Cooksey narrates this one and she's perfect! I know some don't want to read books out of order, but since all my books are interconnected stand-alones, you actually can enjoy them in any order you want!
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!
*These books with the new designs will release at the end of 2025.
Which Style Do You Love?
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