Well, hello there, strangers!
I KNOW. It’s been forever. Again (see the last post I made… Jan 2025. EEK!). At this point, apologizing for disappearing from my own blog is practically a tradition, but here we are. I’m sorry! I promise I’ve been doing things. Lots of things, actually. I just haven’t been particularly good at telling anyone about them.
But today is a BIG day, and I’ve got so much exciting book news that I simply couldn’t keep quiet any longer!
First, though, a little life update.
So… where have I been?
If you’ve been following me on social media, you may have noticed that I’ve been a lot quieter lately. I made the decision to step back from Instagram, TikTok, and the endless pressure to constantly create content, and oh my goodness, what a difference it’s made.
I’ve been publishing books since 2017, and somewhere along the way, I think I forgot that I was allowed to simply enjoy being an author without having to turn every moment of my life into a promotional opportunity. I love connecting with readers, but the constant pressure to stay visible was slowly sucking the joy out of something I adore.
So I stepped away. And you know what? It’s been GREAT.
The other big reason I’ve been so quiet is that my health has been giving me a rather spectacular run for my money. Between a long recovery from Long COVID and years of trying to get doctors to take my various health problems seriously, I’ve spent far too much time feeling like a shadow of myself. But things are finally looking up! I’ve found doctors who are actually listening to me, I’m making progress with my recovery, and for the first time in a long while, I feel like I might actually be getting myself back.
I’m back full force, baby!
Well. Almost. Let’s not get carried away. I’m still learning how to pace myself, which is surprisingly difficult for someone who insists on having approximately seventeen different careers and hobbies.
Speaking of which, I ALSO HAD AN ASTEROID NAMED AFTER ME?!
Yes. An actual asteroid. In space. (20700) saraheanderson is spinning around up there as we speak. As someone who has devoted her scientific career to studying the little rocks and icy leftovers of our Solar System, I cannot begin to explain how much this means to me. Little me, who dreamed of becoming an astronaut, would be absolutely losing her mind.
Anyway, enough about my life. LET’S TALK BOOKS!
COVER REVEAL: THESE GHASTLY DEPTHS!
OH MY GOSH. HAVE YOU SEEN THIS COVER?!
I am absolutely in AWE of the artwork for THESE GHASTLY DEPTHS, a brand-new YA aquatic horror anthology edited by the incredible Madeline Dyer and published by Page Street YA!
And I still can’t believe that my little story gets to be part of it! We’re talking nearly 450 pages of aquatic horror, wrapped in a stunning hardcover with gorgeous stenciled edges. I mean, COME ON. This book is going to look incredible on a shelf. My inner book collector is having a field day.
But the stories inside are what really make this collection special: from sunken towns and haunted bayous to monstrous creatures lurking beneath the waves, These Ghastly Depths explores all the reasons we should probably think twice before going for a swim. There are doppelgängers emerging from the deep, gothic horrors, psychological nightmares, and all kinds of things that go bump beneath the water. (Because apparently the ocean wasn’t terrifying enough already.)
My own contribution is called THE OCEAN SINGS US SILENT, and I am SO excited to finally start talking about it! It’s an ocean gothic horror story set on another world, which means I got to combine my love of planetary science, speculative fiction… and making my characters absolutely miserable. I won’t give too much away just yet, because I have plenty more to share about this story in the coming months. But let’s just say that an alien ocean offers some very interesting possibilities for horror…
THESE GHASTLY DEPTHS releases April 20, 2027, and preorders are officially OPEN!
STARSTRUCK IS GOING INTERNATIONAL! HELLO, BRAZIL!
And as if one big announcement weren’t enough for a single day…
STARSTRUCK IS OFFICIALLY OUT IN BRAZIL!!! Or should I say, ESTRELADA!
I am SO ridiculously excited about this one. My little sci-fi comedy about a college dropout, her anxiety, and the teleporting alien who turns her life upside down has officially made its way to Brazilian readers, thanks to DL Books!
I published Starstruck back in 2017. At the time, I had absolutely no idea that Sally and Zander would take me on a ten-book adventure, let alone that their story would eventually reach readers in another language. And now here we are, nearly ten years later, with Sally getting into trouble in Portuguese.
Seeing my work translated has been a dream of mine for so long. There’s something incredibly special about knowing that a story you dreamed up in your head can travel across oceans, find new readers, and hopefully make them laugh in a completely different language.
To all my new Brazilian readers: Muito obrigada! I hope you fall in love with these ridiculous characters as much as I have. I cannot wait to hear what you think!
And a huge thank you to DL Books for giving Sally and Zander a new home.
So, what’s coming in 2027?
Next year is shaping up to be a VERY exciting one for my books, and I’ve got several projects that I’m practically bursting to tell you about. First, there’s another anthology on the horizon! I can’t share the details just yet because I’m waiting for the official cover reveal, but I am absolutely thrilled to be involved. More on that soon, I promise.
Then there’s a rather important anniversary…
TEN YEARS OF STARSTRUCK!
I KNOW. HOW?! In 2027, we’ll be celebrating an entire decade since the publication of the first Starstruck novel. Ten years. Ten books. A whole lot of aliens along the way.
This series has been with me for nearly my entire adult life. I grew up alongside Sally, Zander, and the rest of their increasingly dysfunctional found family, and it still feels surreal that something I started writing for fun has become such a huge part of who I am. So yes, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I’m not telling you what they are yet, but let’s just say I’m already plotting ways to make this anniversary special. After all, you only get one tenth anniversary!
And finally… TRUFFLES.
If you’ve been following my writing journey for the last three years, you’ve probably heard me talk about a certain cozy fantasy manuscript. The one about burnout? The one I’ve rewritten approximately a billion times? The one that’s slowly taken over my brain, my heart, and a frankly unreasonable number of documents on my computer? (Seriously, I’m not kidding, do you know how many text files it takes to make up a gigabyte?)
This is my book of the heart. I’ve poured so much of myself into this story. My experiences with burnout, my love of cozy fantasy, my fascination with the little things that make life worth living, and my belief that sometimes, finding your way back to yourself is the most challenging quest of all.
It’s also been one of the hardest books I’ve ever written. I love it so much that the idea of finally letting it go, of saying this is finished, this is ready for other people to read, is absolutely terrifying. I’ve spent years living with these characters, getting to know them, changing their stories, and figuring out what I actually want this book to say. And every time I think I’m done, I find another little piece that I want to make better. That, and I live in a constant fear that my own voice “sounds too AI” — GAH!
At some point, though, I’m going to have to accept that no book will ever be perfect, and that keeping this one to myself forever rather defeats the purpose of writing it.
So… the tentative plan is summer 2027!
Here’s to what’s next!
Thank you to everyone who’s stuck around through my sporadic updates, my increasingly chaotic career choices, and my inability to promote my own books consistently. It means more than you know.
Here’s to more books, more adventures, more laughter, and hopefully a little less burnout.
I’m so happy to be back.
With love,
Sarah
P.S. If you’ve made it this far, tell me what you’re most excited about! Seriously, I get so excited to see a new comment on this blog, only for it to turn out to be spam for betting websites. Don’t they know we’re here for the books?