Mystery/thriller

Signed the sequel!

I’m thrilled to announce, this week I signed a publishing contract for BOY RELEASED, the thrilling follow up to Boy on Hold.

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What’s it about? Well, no spoilers allowed. But here is a teaser.

Ten years after the horrific murder of Sally Hubbard, Tyler Trout is released from psychiatric rehab and Hen, now seventeen, will soon inherit the wealthy Hubbard estate. But all the money in the world won’t fix the Trout family problems. As Marcella continues to fight blindly for her children, Bernie has to calm his own inner demons in order to accept Tyler into his home.

While Tyler struggles to reintegrate into the community, he becomes entangled in another violent crime—this one hitting closer to home. Marcella seems to be the target and, although initial evidence points to Tyler, the true culprit is exposed in the most astonishing way.

Aren’t you dying to know what happens?

Boy on Hold was meant to be a stand-alone book. A complete story in itself, I never thought it could have a part two. Yet, on Christmas Eve 2019, nearly five months after its release, an idea came to me in the middle of the night for a sequel. It hit like a bolt of lightning!

Knowing the next morning would be chock-full of merry-making with the family, I hopped out of bed at 3am and furiously sketched out a rough outline in my journal. A few weeks later, I reached out to Immortal Works to feel out whether they liked the concept. After getting an enthusiastic thumbs up, I put aside my current WIP and started writing on January 20, 2020.

I completed the first draft at the end of April. (Yes, in only 3 months. And yes, quarantine helped my writing productivity.)

After two months of revision, I sent it off to Immortal Works and crossed my fingers they’d like it. Not only did they like it, they “adored” it. And thought it was “beautiful.”

I’m SO excited. In some ways, the sequel is even better than the first. I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Look for it in 2021!

IPPY Gold Winner!

In May, I got word that Boy on Hold won IPPY Gold for Best Mystery/Thriller ebook!

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A rare and prestigious honor, IPPY typically holds a gala in NYC for their award-winners. But alas, with all other public events in the spring of 2020, it went virtual. And though I planned to do a red carpet vlog in heels with my husband popping champagne by my side, summer came and the sunshine ate up all my grand plans. Now, with July in full swing and with it all my boys’ birthdays, I wanted to post before too much time passed.

JD Spero wins IPPY gold

An at-home celebration in lieu of the NYC gala. Still an honor!

Press Release from IPPY

(May 13, 2020 – Traverse City, MI)  – Jenkins Group and IndependentPublisher.com are proud to announce the medalists in the 24th Annual Independent Publisher Book Awards. Conducted each year to honor the year’s best independently published books, the “IPPY” Awards recognize excellence in a broad range of styles and subjects. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the gala award ceremony in New York is cancelled. Winners will instead use #IPPY2020 to post acceptance speeches and related award content.

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From last year’s IPPY gala in NYC. Sad it had to be cancelled in 2020.

All 419 of this year’s IPPY Award gold, silver and bronze medal-winning books have something to offer readers. This year’s contest drew 4,750 entries, and medals will go to independent authors and publishers from 44 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and Guam, 7 Canadian provinces, and 15 countries overseas.

“A book is a lifeline that can help us through all kinds of difficulties,” says Jim Barnes, director of the Awards. “These medal-winning books epitomize how we humans share our stories and help each other solve problems. Each new book you open offers the promise of a new day with new possibilities.”

Congratulations to all this year’s IPPY Award medalists for their independent spirit and dedication to making the world a better place! See the official award listing here.

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A bit about IPPY

The Independent Publisher Book Awards were conceived in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles produced each year, and reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing.