Pepsi, Plot Twists & a Haunted Laptop

'Miss me? Don’t worry, I’m worth the wait.' /Dom Rios

Hello again, lovely people!

It feels a little surreal sitting down to write this second blog post. When I hit “publish” on the first one back in the summer, Driven was a bundle of notes, daydreams, and an indecisive author. Fast forward a few months — and 21 chapters later — and Dominic and Faye have taken on lives of their own. They’re racing, arguing, flirting, and generally refusing to do exactly what I tell them. Typical.

There’s been plenty of late nights and probably too much Pepsi along the way, but also a big milestone: I had to buy a new laptop. My old one decided to give me the fright of my life by deleting text before my eyes — whole paragraphs vanishing like a ghost had moved in. Let’s just say I panicked, backed up everything, and marched straight out for a replacement. This new one and I are on much better terms.

As for the cover of Driven… I’ve started sketching out ideas, but for now I’m keeping them tucked safely under wraps. Covers are like secrets — they need the right moment to be revealed, and I want this one to hit with the full force of an engine roar when the time comes.

So that’s where I am right now: deep in the creative writing process, armed with a new laptop, and fuelled by caffeine and stubbornness. It’s both terrifying and thrilling — a bit like standing trackside with the engines revving, knowing the green light’s about to drop.

Thank you for being here, for cheering me on, and for making this romance author journey feel a little less like shouting into the void and a lot more like racing with friends in the pit crew. For anyone curious about self-publishing romance, I hope these little updates give you a glimpse into the highs, lows, and ghost-in-the-machine moments that come with writing a book.

Until next time — with love, pixels, and plot twists, Maya

Dominic Rios - ready to set hearts on fire.