It’s Update Time!

It’s been a while, huh? Months, in fact, since I last updated the blog. That was, of course, because I decided to take another hiatus. I’d promised an update at the end of the six-month contract I was engaged in until October 2025.

It’s a bit past that date, but here I am, with an update on all things Cherry Pickett.

Summer 2025 Hiatus

Before jumping into what’s going on now, I’ll take a moment to quickly refresh your memory. I took a hiatus starting in July 2024, due to the fact that I’d had a baby and my father passed away, which created a lot of emotional turbulence for me. I managed one book launch in 2024, and that was it.

In early 2025, I was making plans to release quite a few books. Then factors conspired to derail me once more. We weren’t able to secure daycare for our child until late in the summer, I landed a full-time contract starting in the spring, my husband went back to school in the fall, and my grandfather passed away at the start of the summer, just days shy of the first anniversary of my dad’s death.

Whew. Life has thrown me a few curveballs in the last 24 months. I’m not going to lie, it’s been pretty rough at points, but I, for one, think (and hope) things are starting to smooth out for me.
So, my contract was supposed to end on October 31, and I wanted wait and re-evaluate everything then.

Hurrah for the Day Job

An anecdote: I’ve been friends with my massage therapist for a long time. I told her that my contract was ending in October, and in November, I’d be free. I told her about all the stuff I was planning to do once that contract wrapped up: deep clean the house, get back to my workout routine, go get my hair did, kickstart publishing stuff. I’d have time for lunch plans, I promised.

Folks, she laughed at me. “Hun,” she said, “you know your luck. Do you really believe you’re going to be free?”

I … cannot argue with her, because she was right. My luck is that I always find a way to muddle through with work. I’ve been unemployed (not on leave) for about six weeks in the last twenty-two years. Even when I’m working freelance, I have been remarkably lucky to almost always have more than enough work on my plate.

That’s the case again now. That damn contract, folks. It renewed, so I am now gainfully employed into the foreseeable future.

What Does That Mean for Me as an Author of Mpreg Books?

I am not complaining about this. While my husband is in school, I remain the breadwinner of our household. We also just put our kid in daycare, which means our monthly expenses have increased a fair bit. And with inflation and tariffs and all the nasty stuff going on in the real world, the cost of things just keeps climbing. Having some form of job security and income is a huge relief, in a lot of ways.

Of course, that’s the upshot of things. The downside is that it means I’m going to remain on hiatus from publishing. That means no new mpreg books from me, not until this contract ends.

When Will I Publish New Mpreg Books?

You might think I know an exact return date for this hiatus. After all, the contract renewal has an end date on it. So why am I not announcing a for-sure return date and the launch date of new m/m mpreg books?

See above. I thought the first contract was going to end in October, and it didn’t. There is a slim chance it will renew again. I’m not banking on it or anything, but I also don’t want to start locking in preorder dates and telling people, “I will absolutely be back on this date” before I am absolutely sure there will not be another contract renewal.

I can be optimistic about when I’m going to be back, but if that contract renews? I will be re-upping it. My husband doesn’t graduate until 2027, which means he won’t be looking for a full-time job until then, and there’s no guarantee he’ll have gainful employment soon after graduation. So, the longer I can lock down a secure paycheck? The better it is for everyone’s sanity over here

Am I Just Making More Promises to Break?

I’ll admit, I’m somewhat notorious for delaying books, taking breaks, and effectually disappearing from the publishing scene. I hate seeming flighty and unreliable, but that’s what happens when you need to do other work to pay the bills, as I’m sure virtually every other creative knows.

I know that I’ve been, well, a flake when it comes to getting books out, though. So that’s part of the reason I’m just extending this hiatus, instead of trying to lock in dates when I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t really have the bandwidth to be the breadwinner, a housewife, and an effective parent, plus a publisher for indie books. I mean, maybe if I wanted to do cocaine or not sleep or something?

So. I’m not committing to any dates until I have an absolute, written-in-stone end date for the contract. Once the contract is actually over, I’m pretty sure I’ll know if I’m available or not!

Believe you me, this isn’t the only area of my life where I’m playing wait-and-see with this. I run a freelance business otherwise, and this contract has put the kibosh on advertising and building that business. That said, I’m not looking to start booking projects for dates when I might not be available; that kind of foolhardiness has already bit me in the ass once. You know what they say: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice …

So, extending the hiatus and not committing to a specific return date is my way of ensuring I’m not breaking promises yet again.

What Mpreg Books I’m Working on Now

All that said, I have a lot of irons in the fire at the moment. I want to be prepared for my return, whenever that happens to actually be, so I’m working hard behind the scenes to get things in order. I’m building out social media plans, creating graphics, and even creating a blog calendar. I have plans coming out my ears.

I’ve also found a fair bit of time to write, surprisingly, so I’m also starting to stockpile some projects, which should mean I can lock in more when I do return. And I’m also waiting for some good news about finances, which should come to fruition sometime in 2026. That news could change everything, although, again, I’m being cautious. A lot could change in the coming months, so I don’t want to count chickens before they hatch.

Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff that’s in the works right now:

•   Six completed drafts, ready for editing
•   Two WIPs on the go
•   Five in-progress cover designs
•   Writing schedule and plan
•   Outlines for several more projects

And, of course, that’s not all. There are a lot of pieces to this indie publishing puzzle, and I’m trying to get them all into some semblance of order before I announce my return date.

If You Can Write That Much, Why Can’t You Edit and Publish?

This is a legitimate question. The answer is that editing is very time-consuming, and doing it isn’t always the most enjoyable thing. Since it’s such an intensive process, it also means I can’t do much else while I’m preparing a manuscript for publication.

Publishing also comes with a lot of deadlines. Some of them are self-imposed, but often, once you’ve set them, you’re committed. Whether self-imposed or not, these deadlines create stress—which I absolutely do not need to add to my life right now.

I’m also tired of half-assing my approach to publishing. I’m getting very close to having the stars align so I can actually take a proper crack at this whole indie author thing, and I want to be prepared to do it right. That means taking the time to do the behind-the-scenes work and prep, which I find I can do right now, free of deadlines and self-imposed stress, so I am absolutely taking advantage of that.

TL;DR: I love writing and find it a wonderful way to escape from the stressors I face in every other realm of my life, so why the fuck would I opt to make it into a stressful activity right now? No, thanks.

Instead, I’m going to take my time and prepare. And, with a little luck and whole lot of organization, we’ll all reap the benefits of that when I start publishing new m/m romance and mpreg stories again.

See You in Spring 2026!

So, that’s the long and short of things in Cherry Land right now. Am I disappointed that I’m not getting back to the business of publishing my books? Yes. Am I sad that I’m, once again, putting my readers and my stories on the back burner? Absolutely.

At the same time, I think the end result of this extended hiatus is going to be so worth the wait, and I hope you’ll stick around.

While I can’t promise my exact return date just yet, I will check in again in about six months. It might just be another update post like this one—or it could have a lot of exciting book news. I’m not going to promise anything, but I will hope to see you then, and I will definitely have news for you, one way or another.

So, until mid 2026, stay safe and healthy, and keep reading amazing mpreg books!