💌 Sara Ella's Spring Newsletter
Big changes, upcoming events, and a new release you didn't expect!
Dear Friend,
With daylight savings behind us (well . . . it’s always behind me . . . I live in Arizona, after all . . .) and spring just around the corner, I thought it was the perfect time to send a newsletter filled with new beginnings (and maybe an ending or two).
I love this season because the chilly days of winter are behind us, but it’s not too hot to enjoy the great outdoors quite yet (even with AZ’s record early heat this year). In fact, as I type, I’m soaking up some sun in my backyard and sipping on an iced Americano. I can’t think of a more perfect “office” to work from.
I have some exciting events coming up this spring, and I have a couple of big announcements in store, too, one of which I didn’t even expect to be making. Keep reading to be the first to hear the latest and greatest (and enter a bookish giveaway just in time for spring reading)!
Spring Newsletter Highlights
🥳 Upcoming Events: Tucson Festival of Books, Prescott Library Book Fest, and more!
📖 An Unexpected New Release: Coming this June . . .
✍️ Big Changes Ahead: What’s next for writing and Substack?
📚 StoryCon Recap: My favorite part of every conference I attend is . . .
🏆 Realm Makers Readers’ Choice Awards
✨ Book Baby + Starbucks Giveaway: Unblemished is turning 10! ☕
🥳 Upcoming Events
I am so excited to be attending the Tucson Festival of Books this year! I have a wagon full of books ready to sell and sign, and I can’t wait to meet all the new readers who will be braving the heat alongside me. It’s going to be toasty, with a high of 90 degrees tomorrow, Saturday, March 14, so be sure to hydrate and pack your sunscreen.
You can find me from 10 am to 1 pm at the Indie Author Experience’s YA/Teen Pavilion. I will have copies of all my books for sale. Or bring your own from home, and I’d be delighted to sign them!
You can also catch me this May at the Prescott Valley Library’s Book Fest. Just like the Tucson Festival of Books, this is a free event! I’ll be teaching my class on “Storytelling Disney Style,” signing books, and sharing my thoughts on fantasy worldbuilding. The event takes place at the Prescott Valley Library from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
I do have one more event announcement coming your way this year, but I must keep my lips zipped for now. If you have any guesses as to which BIG summer event I'll be attending, drop your best guess in the poll below!
📖 An Unexpected New Release
Some of you may remember my post in the fall when I shared about all the hardships of 2025, including my miscarriage of twins. We experienced so much loss last year, and we had no idea what ups and downs 2026 would bring. All we knew was that we would be relying on the Lord every step of the way. (Isn’t that always the case?)
The last thing our family expected was to be welcoming a new little one this summer. (Surprise!) If you happened to see me hobbling around StoryCon in February, you undoubtedly guessed something was a bit different about me. To be honest, after my miscarriage last year, I was a little uncertain when (or if) I should announce this unexpected blessing publicly. What if this baby’s heart stopped beating, too?
Well, I just had my 20-week ultrasound a few days ago, and baby has a healthy heartbeat and is very active. We will be welcoming this unexpected “new release” this June.
Several of you who knew this news a little early have asked how you can support our family with a new baby coming, or if we have a registry for gifts and baby things. As always, I am blown away by the kindness of my readers and fellow writers in this community. One way to support us right now is to continue to buy or spread the word about my books. Request them at your local library, give them as gifts to friends and family, or recommend them to the readers in your life.
If you still feel led to contribute otherwise, we need a reliable family vehicle and funds to cover medical leave and other costs that have come up surrounding my high-risk pregnancy. If you’d like to contribute or learn more about our situation, you can visit our GoFundMe page.
✍️ Big Changes Ahead
Now that the big secret’s out of the bag, our other news is that we have come to a place where selling the dream home we built two years ago is unavoidable. My husband was laid off shortly after we closed on our home in 2024, and recovering from that the past two years has been a challenge. With the new baby, downsizing, and another move ahead of us, I will be unable to keep up with posting paid content to Substack for the foreseeable future.
Here’s what it means for me moving forward:
All paid Substack subscriptions will be paused indefinitely. If you are currently a paid subscriber, thank you! I will be sending out an email to paid subscribers by the end of March, which will include additional bonus content and downloadable resources for your use. My hope is that this will more than cover your investment in me and my content for however long you’ve been subscribing. Be sure to take advantage of the paid content I’ve already shared as well.
Newsletters will switch back to FloDesk moving forward. You don’t need to do anything. All current paid and unpaid subscribers will migrate with me over there.
I may still post here on Substack from time to time. I love the blog-style setup and community Substack offers. The main reason for this shift back regarding my newsletter platform specifically is to take some things off my plate as we prepare to move and welcome our fourth child into the world this summer. It also gives me more time to work on the next book, something I’ve been longing to share more about (and I promise I will when the time comes)!
I have been so blessed by and grateful to all who have supported this endeavor since it launched last summer. Thank you for your grace, understanding, and flexibility as we adjust to this new season of life.
📚 StoryCon Recap
Spoiler alert: the best part (by far) of every conference I attend isn’t the book sales. It’s not the marketing opportunity, nor is it getting to stand up on stage and talk about writing for an hour (though those are big bonuses).
No, the best part of every event and conference continues to be the community shared with both readers and writers alike.
While my class attendance at StoryCon this year was modest (who can compete when Brandon Sanderson and Jennifer A. Nielsen are on the schedule?), those who did attend my workshop on facing rejection as an author were incredibly encouraging. One of you even brought me a handwritten note, thanking me for what I shared. 🥹 I know we all face rejection, and my goal is always to send class attendees away feeling both hopeful and equipped as they tackle the road ahead.
My middle daughter was a huge help at my book signing (she’s the inspiration behind Madi Hatter in The Wonderland Trials, FYI). I also snagged an ARC of Sara B. Larson’s upcoming clean adult romance, Every Beat After, releasing just in time for my birthday this June.
Overall, StoryCon was a whirlwind of walking (I got all my daily steps in), talking (never enough time with my author friends), laughing, and signing all the books. I look forward to my next events coming later this spring and early summer, where I will get to soak in more of my favorite people—YOU!
🏆 Realm Makers Readers’ Choice Awards
The Realm Makers Readers’ Choice Awards are officially open for nominations. Glass Across the Sea is eligible to be nominated as a 2025 release!
If you’re a member of the RealmSphere, read GAtS and loved it, and feel so inclined to put it in the hat for award consideration, I’d be ever so grateful.
🌱 Spring Book Recs 📚
I don’t have much time to read these days, but here are some books I recently enjoyed (or am currently enjoying) and LOVED (and think you will love too)!
✨ Book Baby + Starbucks Giveaway ☕
It’s 2026, which means Unblemished turns 10 this year! While my debut novel doesn’t officially turn a decade until this fall, it was about this time of year in 2016 when I officially hit send on my completed and revised manuscript, and that’s a milestone worth commemorating!
With a real baby coming this summer, I thought it appropriate to celebrate with a book baby giveaway this spring. All you have to do to enter to win a paperback copy of Unblemished + a $10 Starbucks Gift Card is share the link to this newsletter post on any social media platform and submit your entry via this Google form. I’ll draw a random winner from the entries in April and announce on social media, as well as in my next newsletter.
Thank you again for your support of my writing these last 10 years! I truly couldn’t do this without you.
How You Can Support Me
📚 Purchase my books by visiting my website or my Amazon storefront. You can also request them through your local library.
☕ Buy me a coffee (or a scone or a cookie). Your kindness means the world!
💕 Follow me on Instagram.
🚙 Donate to our family vehicle fund.
As always, please feel free to review my Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and reach out if you have any questions.
Does Pinterest count as a social media for the giveaway?
Congratulations on the new little one 🥰