Hello MTV, Welcome To My Crib

Hey guys! My name is Julia O’Reilly and I wanted to use this first post to introduce myself and explain what exactly I’m doing here.

Basically, I’ve been writing stories my entire life. Ever since little third grade me with chunky glasses and unruly curls conjured up Max and The Cheesecake Factory, for which the first lines read: “Once there was a little mouse named Max. His two favorite things were cheese and cake.” I don’t know how that one didn’t end up on the shelves of Barnes and Nobles, but alas, some art is just too ahead of its time.

Writing has always been a place where I could just be myself, a way of capturing the places and feelings that have defined each stage of my life. But part of me never thought these stories and worlds would leave my laptop. I’d query relentlessly, go to pitch events, writing circles, and love every experience (except for querying, writers know how grim that process can be…more blogs to come on that). I’d always dreamed of finding the right person who would champion these stories with me, but even when I couldn’t find that person, I kept writing anyway. True writers don’t write to be published, they write because they can’t just help but tell stories.

Then the unthinkable, improbable, one-in-a-millionth outcome happened—I found them. After years of querying, and writing, and polluting my Notes app, and wrecking my keyboard (which I still haven’t replaced lol), I found the Editor and Publisher who saw promise in a young writer’s debut novel, and its sequential series. They took a chance on me that just about changed my life.

So, I’m writing this to formally welcome you to my “crib",” where I will ramble endlessly about my writing journey, the incredible wins, the gutting losses (and there’s lots), and the unique experiences that have shaped this early stage of my writing career. It’s only the beginning…

Summer Rayne is coming to you in 2027 from Olive Press Publishing. I signed a 3-book deal with them, in a little series of mine called The Shore Summer Series. The best is yet to come!

-Julia ♥