So, it’s been about five years, a pandemic, and a cross-country relocation since I last put pen to paper in a blog.

The last time I was blogging, I was living in rural Queensland, running a cat rescue, studying full time, caring for my sister, and trying to get myself organised to release my first hockey romance novel. I had four books of a planned fifteen-book series written, cover art commissioned, and advanced readers lined up for part one.

Then COVID happened — and the wheels well and truly fell off.

We closed the rescue (gaining eleven permanent house cats in the process), I doubled down on study, and somehow made it through the pandemic completing a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Writing and Publishing), a Bachelor of Creative Writing, and then beginning a Master of History. Life was busy, intense, and not remotely predictable — but also deeply rewarding.

When the world finally started reopening, my best friend put her retirement plans into action and purchased a beautiful historic home in Tasmania. The house is nearly 120 years old, sits on two acres, and at one point in its life served as a police station and residence for the officer in charge. We even still have the original holding cells intact.

So, naturally, we packed up our lives and moved from Queensland and the ACT to Tasmania.

The climate shock alone was unforgettable. We left Queensland on a Saturday in a balmy 34°C heatwave and arrived in Tasmania to wake up Monday morning to –7°C and heavy frost on the grass. I was almost sixty years old and had never seen frost in real life before that morning. It was a steep learning curve — gardening, weather, wind, animals, and seasons that actually behave like seasons — but now I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’ve become an accidental urban farmer and am finally moving closer to the self-sustainability I’ve always wanted.

Somewhere in all that life upheaval, my original book series quietly got superseded — at least that’s what I’m calling it.

While the world was locked down reading their way through the pandemic, reader preferences in hockey romance shifted strongly toward first-person narration. My entire series was written in third person — which I’m very comfortable with — but it no longer aligned with what readers are actively looking for in the genre.

For a while, I seriously considered scrapping the whole thing. New era. New concept. Maybe even leaving hockey romance altogether.

Then I stopped myself.

I’ve poured far too much work, heart, and creative energy into this series for it to only ever exist on my hard drive. And, if I’m allowed a tiny bit of pride — I genuinely think it’s good.

So instead of abandoning it, I’m rebuilding it.

I’ve begun rewriting the books from third person into first, and it turns out the changes required go much deeper than simply swapping pronouns. Voice, pacing, emotional proximity, internal conflict — it all shifts. The process has forced me to rethink structure, character arcs, and how each story connects to the next.

That deeper rethink sparked something unexpected.

Out of the restructuring came a new focused arc: The MacKenzie Trilogy — centred on three Australian triplet brothers: Lachlan, Flynn, and Declan. The brothers leave home to move to Switzerland to hone their craft, develop their careers, and ultimately find themselves all playing in the same professional hockey division. Three brothers. Three very different personalities. Three intertwined love stories. One shared competitive world.

This trilogy lets me tighten the emotional through-lines, deepen character growth, and create a strong entry point for new readers before expanding back into the broader series universe.

The trade-off? My original hoped-for June release is no longer realistic. At this stage, mid 2026 is far more achievable — which, honestly, gives me time to properly learn how to navigate the strange circus that is blogging and social media for authors.

So here I am — back at the keyboard, rebuilding stories, rebuilding platforms, and sharing the process again.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Until next time, my friends. 🏒📚