Day #26 in A Year of Thanks:
I’m thankful for being able to continue my RTC Series.

There was a time where I totally disappeared from the internet and wasn’t writing anything at all. After 2022-2023 hit, I had no intentions of ever returning to the writing craft, let alone sharing any more of my work and publishing anything new. Priorities changed, and I had lost my spark, and I didn’t care to get it back. However, when 2024 hit, I found a multitude of my fictional characters calling me back to all my notebooks and laptop. It started with the book that’s now lined up next for publication, Finding Sanctuary, which is the sequel to Finding Dakota.

2024 surprised me with some new plot twists to Raising the Crown, though. Until now, I’ve told very few people that Raising the Crown‘s original working title was Raising Dustin, which was a sequel to another novel, Searching for You. It goes without saying that Song of My Heart is the latest edition of that original title and plotline. I only ever intended on playing around with Raising the Crown, because I’d lost the manuscript for Searching For You so many years ago. However, I was so inspired over the summer of 2024 that I couldn’t help but vigorously write down scene after scene in a notebook for Keeper of the King, which came out of nowhere. The characters ignited the spark I had lost, and now I’m not only sharing it online as a sequel, I’m also sharing the one that produced the entire storyline, the one now known as Song of My Heart.

I chose Song of My Heart as a title for a few reasons. For starters, it fits perfectly with one of the main characters being a famous singer. Secondly, writing is one of my greatest sources of joy, one of the songs of my heart that no one can take from me. Lastly, the whole storyline is revolved around the Italian culture, and I can’t begin to express how much fun I get to have with the language and whatnot. It flows so beautifully, and y’all know by now how close to my heart the Italian language and culture is. I can’t wait until I’m fluent enough in the Italian language to fully translate this series from English to Italian, and I’m also eager to create a dual English-Italian format for those who are bilingual learners. I decided a long time ago that Raising the Crown would always be free, so that people can read some of my work and get a feel for my writing style before they purchase what I publish on the market. So, it goes without saying that both sister novels will also remain free for life.

Finishing Raising the Crown has been a longtime coming, though I am ecstatic to be starting the next chapter of this RTC series. I can’t wait to share more of the Palladino past and future with anyone who loves reading, and anyone who’s fallen in love with these characters as I have over the years. It will be slow-going, post-wise, as I am actively working on finalizing Finding Sanctuary for publication, but the Palladinos won’t leave me alone too long, so you can expect new chapter releases soon. For now, you can check out the RTC series by clicking the image below, see where they’re hosted for your reading pleasure, and enjoy the live content that’s waiting for you.

Day 25 | Day 26 | Day 27
Year of Thanks