This Week in the BATL: Launch Week Hiccups and Member Welcome

It’s Friday afternoon, and my brain feels like an overripe pumpkin that’s also gotten a little frostbitten. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t post and send out this week’s summary… especially as the BATL is actually now live and I want to make sure you know what’s been happening behind—and in front—of the scenes.

Fortunately, my cat just came to supervise motivate me. Aang sends his slightly antagonistic affection.

Member Welcome

The Books and Tea League officially launched on Tuesday, and I am so thrilled that it wasn’t to crickets. (Thank you for jumping in with both feet, my beautiful friend!)

Please take a moment in the comments to welcome Kelly, Jessica, and Elaine. All three of you are wonderful people, and I felt so blessed and excited to see your names come through as the first members of the League. Over time, we’ll be able to add even more to our cozy group, but having you three as founding members is a lovely place to start. :-)

Whether you’re one of our founding members, or if you’re someone new reading this later, please leave a comment below to introduce yourself to the other members (if you’re comfortable doing so). Nothing fancy, maybe just share a book you’re enjoying and what you’re drinking today. But no pressure. I would love for this to feel like a community of people you know, but you’re also welcome to sit back and just watch from the sidelines. Whatever your social comfort level, that’s fine. I love that you’re here, even if you prefer to sit and observe quietly. :-)

But I’ll get the ball rolling: I’m just about finished reading Storm Front (The Dresden Files Book 1) by Jim Butcher. There are things about it I don’t love—mostly to do with some character traits of the protagonist which I find a little triggering—but overall, it’s been a good read. I’d say 4 out of 5.

And while I’m typing, I’m drinking a homemade almond milk peppermint mocha latte from a giant mug that one of my music student families gave me many years ago.

My Godiva mug, which I adore for mid-afternoon pick-me-ups. I once had two, but I also have children, so it’s been one for many years now…

Launch Week Adjustments

Rarely do new ventures start without hitches, and the Books and Tea League was no exception. However, despite some behind-the-scenes housekeeping items that took much longer than I ever imagined they would, I’m very happy that the first week went pretty well, overall.

You’ll notice I didn’t publish a ton of new content this week. Between those housekeeping items and finally being able to take a breather from launch prep, plus some other business fires I had to put out, I took a slight break from publishing stuff this week so I could get my bearings before I dive into this new phase. However, I did make progress on the next Story Bite I’ll be publishing, as well as significant progress on the back half of Every Bell that Rings. I even spent one sleepless night developing the opening of my next Rise of the Grigori book!

So expect more regular content to kick in starting next week.

That’s it for newsy stuff. And there was still a new chapter published this week:

WIP: Every Bell that Rings

On Wednesday, Chapter 4 was published to the Loyalist tier and above. We finally get our meet-cute! :-)

The first three chapters are available for all tiers, if you want to check the story out:

That’s it for week one, my friend. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and that you’ve been enjoying the rewards I’ve already included in the League. I look forward to creating many more sweet treats for you in the months and years ahead.

Happy Friday, and happy reading!