Love and Spaceships, January 2024
Houston, we're go for launch.
Happy New Year, everyone!
What did Santa bring me? An official launch date for CELEBRITY CRUSH! February 11th, 2025 (no, that’s not a typo—it’s actually another full year away, but that’s how traditional publishing is). Let the fun begin!
First of all, welcome to all my new subscribers! Many of you found me from my short story “Trust Fall” offered through BookFunnel. I’m so glad to have you! Since many of you don’t know me, I’ll give you a quick bio:
I’m Christy Swift. I’m just about to publish my first book in a two-book romcom deal with Hachette. I also write sci-fi and fantasy under the name C.P. Swift, but none of that has been published (yet). This is what I look like:
CELEBRITY CRUSH is a wish-fulfillment romcom set in Hollywood that is basically a love letter to all my favorite sci-fi franchises over the years. If you too like Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Terminator, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, etc., you’ll get all the references I drop. And even if you don’t, you can still laugh your way through the backstage antics of the sci-fi dance TV show LOST STAR DANCE TROUPE SAVES THE UNIVERSE and swoon over the love story between Emmy, a writer and social media influencer, and her celebrity crush (I can’t tell you his name—it’s a spoiler).
Book news…
Right before the holidays I got some exciting news on my book. When I signed the deal, my editor told me they were keeping the title HASHTAG, CELEBRITY CRUSH. However, during a staff meeting, they tossed around the idea of omitting the word HASHTAG. The simpler title, CELEBRITY CRUSH is a big one (I mean, there are a lot of celebrity romance books out there), but they decided the book could pull it off. That’s both humbling and exciting for me. Big title, big things, right?
The next milestone will be cover art, and I’ll be excited to see that and share it with you. They did ask for my opinion, which was cool. Here are some of the cover ideas I gave them:
If you have an opinion, I’d love to hear it!
Writing news…
I just finished the first draft of the second CELEBRITY CRUSH book. Woohoo! That’s a big achievement, and scary. As an author, I have to try to make lightning strike twice. Here’s what I posted about my writing process:
I’m building up my social media for cover reveals, pre-orders, etc., including a Celebrity Crush Tiktok series where I talk about all the actors we’re in love with and what they’re up to (so far I’ve done Cary Elwes from the Princess Bride, Ryan Gosling, and Chris Hemsworth, but more are coming!). Check them out on Tiktok.
On a personal note…
Our teenager drove one of our cars into another of our cars in our driveway. Now I have two deductibles and a rental to pay. Ain’t life grand.
Some wonderful friends who work at Disney shared their passes with us and we got to ride the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at EPCOT. It’s like Space Mountain on steroids, and of course it has a killer soundtrack. We also ate at Space 220, which is a new restaurant that takes you up a space elevator and makes it look like you’re eating in space.
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We spent the holidays with family, friends, and more family with lots of beach days. Our nephew and two of his sons came down from Canada, and we gave them the Florida experience, including kayaking with a manatee, seeing alligators, the Kennedy Space Center, and lots of beach time.
But enough about me. Let’s talk about YOU:
Looking for more stuff to read? Of course you are! Here are some options.
I am part of a Free Bookfunnel Romance promo this month (this may be how you found me). You can read a variety of romance short stories and novellas/novels for free by signing up for the authors’ newsletters. As with mine, you can opt out anytime.
Two of my closest writer friends are looking for ARC readers for their upcoming YA romantasies. Basically, you get the book for free in exchange for reading it in a timely manner and posting reviews. Both of these books are fantastic—fast paced, atmospheric, swoony, and freakishly well-written, so you won’t be disappointed! Emily’s is the third book in an award-winning series, and she’s offering the opportunity to read and review the earlier books as well.
When science is the only thing you trust, one boy’s strange magic threatens to shatter everything you believed true—along with your heart.
Sign up to be an ARC reader for An Island Strange and Wild. If you don’t want to be an ARC reader, this is also available for preorder.
and…
In a world ruled by sin, love is a dangerous game.
“A rollicking ride through forbidden love and deadly adventure…I haven’t ached for love like this to conquer all since Tris and Four.” -Leigh Statham, Author of the Daughter Trilogy
“A romantic dystopian with a fantastic—and unexpected—twist...SEVEN SINS is powerful, sexy, hopeful, and unsettling.” -Heidi Ayarbe, award-winning author of Freeze Frame
Sign up to be an ARC reader for the Seven Sins Series. If you prefer to purchase, both SWORD OF THE SEVEN SINS and SIEGE OF THE SEVEN SINS are available now. STORM launches Feb. 13th, 2024.
If you enjoyed this newsletter and know someone else who might, please invite them to subscribe! I have a goal of achieving 1000 newsletter subscribers in 2024 and you can be a part of that. Thanks again for reading! I appreciate the support!