September 26, 2026: LONG UPDATE - STRAP IN!

As I’ve been going through my, now finished, second draft, I have noticed that a lot of the things I write make no sense to anyone but me :) My brain moves too fast for its own good, and sometimes I forget to add the context necessary for anyone but me to understand. Thankfully, my editor comes in real handy for that. She puts goofy little notes in those spots to remind me what I left out, and truthfully her humor makes it all bearable. To share some light in the dark times of society, and the editing process, I have decided to share some of her funnier comments with you all. You can find them under the Editor’s Notes tab on the Author’s Journal page. 

In other happy news, ARC Reader Applications will open next Thursday, October 1st! If you are interested, make sure to read the information on the Advanced Reader Copies page and fill out the Reader Interest Form there as well. Filling out the interest form is not required to be selected as a reader, but they will be notified before the applications open, and will be given priority application review, so do fill it out if you are interested!

As we round the corner into another phase of the editing process, I can honestly say that this book feels very close to finished. It will need some polishing, yes. But that’s what I’m paying my editor for! 

I’m so excited to be getting closer to sharing this with you all, and I hope you’re getting excited to read it. This has already been a life-changing experience and I am thrilled to see where it takes me. Thank you for coming along for the ride. 

Much love,

K. McClendon

October 03, 2026: ARC APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!!!

If you’re reading this right now, I’m sure you’ve already seen that the Reader Applications for the ARC Team for my debut novel are now open! It’s insanely surreal to me that something that started out as a silly little idea has now turned into a book, and people are actually going to read it. I’m pinching myself every few minutes. 

This week I’m working on polishing some of the moments I think make this book what it is, and reflecting on how proud I am of myself for having the courage to do this. Each day I am closer to sharing this story with the world, and I cannot wait!

Signing off from cloud nine,

K. McClendon

October 10, 2026: Anxiously awaiting final second-round edits

Well we’re at the point where I’m biting my nails and spam-checking my email for the final edits for the second round. I’m so excited to finish them and see where we need to go from there. My editor says it’s made some major improvements after the initial revisions so I’m hoping we’re getting close to done!

ARC Applications are still open! They will be open until 12 PM Central Time on November 1st, so make sure to apply if you are interested and haven’t applied yet.

I hope to have more to say in next week’s update, but for now this is all I have.

See you soon,

K. McClendon

October 17, 2026: (almost) FINISHED THIRD DRAFT!!!

AHHHH YOU GUYS!!!!! My editor finished her second read-through this week, and I officially have her annotated draft in hand. I’ve been making some of the changes as she’s been updating me on her progress, but now I can sift through her comments and find anything I might’ve missed (and hopefully some more funny notes of hers to include on the Editor’s Notes tab!).

As this manuscript comes closer to being finished, I find myself eternally changed by this experience. I have been given so much support from my friends and family, and even some well-intended “you need to take a break” comments from my parents and my husband, but this is what I love. I was actually telling my husband a few days ago, I almost feel like it should’ve been harder. It seems like every other author out there is posting about how they’re struggling through writer’s block or having a hard time editing their book, but this has been nothing short of a phenomenal experience for me. The writing wasn’t always easy, but it never felt hard. And the editing, well that’s just been downright fun.

I finally understand what it means when they say, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” My current paying job doesn’t even come close to fulfilling my soul the way writing this book has. And to that end, I cannot wait to start working on the next book in the series.

Or maybe I’ve already started ;) 

And as I’ve been saying, and will keep saying until they close, ARC Reader Applications are still open!! They will close at 12 PM Central on November 1st, so make sure to apply while they are open if you are interested. 

See you in the final proofread!

K. McClendon