Starting strong with a nerdy accounting joke... Boy, are you in for disappointment if you think you're going to get proper jokes this month. 

Well, to everyone’s disappointment, April has been... well, it’s just been. It arrived, took its shoes off, sat on the couch, and contributed very little to the group project.

We finished March with T.R. Sherring’s debut novel launch for A Tale of Cursed Tides. If you came – thank you so much for showing up to support a local indie author launch. It was a great time and, as always, it was wonderful to get together and talk books, life, questionable fictional men, and everything else that naturally comes up when book people are left unsupervised.

We held a raffle that night for anyone who purchased a book. The winner was a lovely man who had previously expressed excitement about us doing a meat raffle.  Note: It was not a meat raffle. No meat changed hands.

After the official launch ended, we did in fact go to karaoke, where T.R. and myself sung our hearts out to Linkin Park with the full emotional commitment of two people who believed, incorrectly but passionately, that the room needed us. I then performed a duet with her father to The Eagles’ “Hotel California” – 10/10 will duet with him again. Stunning range.

I also got home at a very respectful 3am, much to my husband’s shock. I don’t go out often, but when I do, I apparently commit to the bit with my whole body.

We then went into Easter Weekend and, honestly, I could not tell you what I did this past weekend, let alone what I did three weeks ago. April has been suspiciously normal. Children were parented, household chores were done, husbands were present and accounted for, and books were read. It has been a great reset month after a hectic first few months of the year, and man did I need the chaos to take a seat for five minutes.

One exciting change in April was moving to the mezzanine level of our warehouse fitout. The floor was installed, and Matthew, no longer wanting a desk smaller than one metre across, said it was go time. A man can only be expected to endure so much.

The first week we had to climb a ladder to get up, which was mildly terrifying to begin with and made every trip upstairs feel a little more dramatic than it needed to be. The next week we encountered stairs with no landing, so you had to pay attention or you would fall right through. Then, thanks to the horrendous rain Wellington experienced, the building team suddenly had time freed up and we got fully functional stairs AND A FIREMAN’S POLE!

Unfortunately, the slide would not fit with the space available, which is devastating, as we are obviously very serious business owners making very serious business decisions. But when presented with the option of installing a fireman’s pole, we did what any reasonable adults would do and immediately said yes. It fulfilled a life achievement none of us knew we had.

We also installed festoon lights for the vibes, not for illumination, as they provide no functional light whatsoever. They are there to suggest we have ambience, not to help anyone locate a pen.

We also designed the bookcase that will sit behind my desk. If everyone wants to go and buy an in-stock book or two to fund the bookcase, it would be much appreciated. Think of it as community-supported shelving.

Now that we are no longer hiding in the warehouse kitchen, and are instead out in the warehouse where the temperature has made its feelings very clear, thermals have been dug out of the wardrobe, long johns have been purchased, and my hot water bottle has made it out of my drawer. It’s going to be a cold winter, but we are moving forward and it is honestly so much fun.

We even purchased Nerf guns to get each other’s attention when we have our headphones in and are moving around listening to audiobooks, of course. This has led to some rather intense battles between the shelves and desks, which I would argue is excellent for team morale and probably not covered in any HR policy.

No headshots though. I was promptly told off within five minutes of taking mine out of the packet after directly shooting my husband. Apparently, marriage has limits.

Moving into May, we are planning and preparing for an exciting author who is due to visit in June – more to come when we can share – and some great book releases. What else does May have for us? Who knows, but I am sure a peaceful month will not be in the cards given how calm April was. Peace feels suspicious at this point. Usually it means freight delays, surprise invoices, or me confidently putting my coffee down somewhere and never seeing it again.

Read on for something very special happening next week, plus all the updates, upcoming releases, May chaos, and more.

Behind the Pages | Bookish Updates

Giveaway incoming: NEXT WEEK there is a giveaway coming. Eyes peeled on socials. That is all we can say for now, but it’s a good one.

Duskbound confirmed: Duskbound, the sequel to Riftborne, has been confirmed today.

Furybound – ANZ and US Editions: Furybound is coming in both ANZ and US editions, and it looks amazing.

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman, US Edition: Book 8 of Dungeon Crawler Carl is coming this May, and it is something the office is very excited about. Who else has read and is loving Matt Dinniman?!

Twisted Series by Ana Huang – Collector’s Editions: The Twisted series by Ana Huang is getting hardcover collector’s editions this May. For those not in the know, Twisted is a popular four-book contemporary romance series following interconnected stories within a friend group – Ava, Bridget, Jules and Stella. It’s known for grumpy-sunshine dynamics, possessive alpha heroes, high spice and intense, dramatic relationships.

May releases: We are stacked once again. See below for some of the line-up, because apparently May looked at our shelves and said, “make room.”

Releases Coming in Hot This May!

TR Sherring's Launch: Hell Yes!

T.R. Sherring’s A Tale of Cursed Tides entered the world in very good form — with a beautiful Wellington launch, a sold-out event, and a debut we were genuinely proud to celebrate.

We had the pleasure of hosting the launch at Southern Cross Garden Bar Restaurant, and it was a really lovely night. There was a reading from T.R., a Q&A on her writing journey, signings, drinks, genuinely excellent food, beautiful artwork by a local New Zealand illustrator, matching bookmarks, and a giveaway put together by T.R. herself.

One of the most special parts of the evening was hearing T.R. speak about what it took to bring this book into readers’ hands. Debuts ask for a lot — not just writing, but persistence, editing, patience, self-belief, and the determination to keep backing a story all the way through to publication.

It was also special to see T.R. meet so many of her beta readers in person, alongside friends and family, and to watch those long-held connections around the book become real ones in the room.

We loved being part of this launch and are seriously proud of T.R. Sherring. A Tale of Cursed Tides is a brilliant debut, and it was such a joy to help celebrate it.

For anyone interested in romantasy, especially a darker fairytale reimagining with mermaids, magic, bargains, shifting loyalties, and a thread of mystery, and keen to support a New Zealand author, you can grab your copy here.

Thank You Grim Fam!