Happy Ten Things Tuesday! It’s Tuesday, September 29, and in addition to being both National Coffee Day and National Biscotti Day (talk about soulmates), it’s also time to take a little trip through the camera roll of paranormal author J.D. Monroe!
For this Ten Things Tuesday, I thought it would be fun to share a little about me by metaphorically handing you my phone. Don’t get too excited, it’s about 37% memes to send to my friends, 32% cat pictures, and assorted other nonsense for the remaining 31%. (For legal purposes, these numbers are fictional and do not constitute material reality…but they’re not far off.)
If you don’t know me, I’m J.D. and I write paranormal and fantasy romance about smart heroines and the supernatural hunks who love them. My most recent book is SHADOWMARKED, a fantasy romance in which a shrewd young woman from an oppressive theocracy is “sacrificed” to the terrible, wicked demon king only to discover he’s not so wicked and the world is far bigger than she’s ever known. I’m currently pecking away at the sequel to that one, as well as building the world of a cozy, small-town monster series that is occupying a LOT of my brain. Right now, I can share: gargoyles, magic mushrooms, podcasts, and cryptids. More to come!
But let’s get into the fun stuff, shall we? Strap in, and let’s take a Stroll Through the Roll!
- Sunny Morning at Hilton Head
Bright and sunny and beautiful? Check. Warm and comfy? Well…
One of my dear friends picked up a week-long stay in a condo at Hilton Head at a silent auction. Her family planned to come throughout the week, and she asked me if I wanted to come stay for a few nights.
Listen, my friends, the answer to “Do you want to come hang out at the beach?” is almost always yes, so I jumped on it. It was still pretty cool and windy in the mornings, but we had a great time walking on the beach and finding artists taking part in the “Plein Air Paint Out” that weekend!
- Show Your Rack!
My stepmom got into mahjong last year, and invited me to play when I was visiting for the holidays. As a lover of board games, eating snacks, and yapping, a social game like mahjong was a perfect fit for me. Since then I’ve played a good bit, organized a ladies’ group to play somewhat regularly, and finally bought my own set of tiles! Have any of you gotten in on the American mahjong craze?
- Loco for Coconuts!
Last year, I got lucky enough to score Bananaball tickets, and we went to see the Savannah Bananas play the Party Animals in Charlotte. My friend got the Bananaball bug and managed to get into K Club (the Bananas fan club) for this season. She grabbed tickets for several weekends, and we took a trip down to Orlando to see the Party Animals play one of the new teams, the Loco Beach Coconuts. (I’m a Party Animals girl, but I almost became a Coconut convert!)
If you haven’t made it to a Bananaball game, you must! It’s a party from the minute you walk into the stadium, and they are 100% committed to an amazing fan experience. Thunder and lightning forced us inside before the game, and they brought the party into the arena at the Wide World of Sports with games and meet-and-greets until the rain let up. This is me with Jordan Brewer before the game!
- That Time I Made 150+ Friendship Bracelets
This summer I went to the Knockout Book Bash (KOBB) in Lexington, Kentucky for the first time. I decided I’d make friendship bracelets for EVERYONE. (Yeah, as in 500 people…) I started doing friendship bracelets when we had our Book Besties theme at Coastal in 2024, and ever since, I’ve used them for various giveaways or gifts. A friend and I made about 60 of them for our castmates in the show School of Rock, but I’ve never been quite this ambitious.
As I made bracelet after bracelet, I eventually pared that down a little, but I still rolled out with a huge selection and every one of them found a new owner by the end of the day. I watched all three seasons of Dark on Netflix while making these!
- The Thiccest Cookie Cake of All
My fella had a birthday a little over a month ago. He’s told me a number of times since we started seeing each other that his mom used to always get him a cookie cake from the Great American Cookie Company when he was a kid. This year, I decided to make him his own cookie cake with homemade buttercream.
Side note – I used to be a teacher, and I baked from scratch a lot! I’d make something for fun, then take it into work to share with my coworkers so I didn’t have batches of cookies and cupcakes at home. Now that I mostly work from home, that’s a dangerous proposition! (Although I save recipes like I’ve got an unlimited grocery budget and a small army living in my home.)
In any case, the cake turned out delicious, although it was much thicker than I expected! But with a scoop of ice cream, it was, and I quote, “A religious experience.”
- Matilda, AKA Maddie, AKA Stinkyface, AKA Madison Square Garden
No trip through my camera roll would be complete without a picture of my favorite calico girl. As I said previously, she gets a lot of real estate. This little cutie pie has been with me since 2020, after her previous humans (my neighbors) moved cross-country. Though she still sometimes yearns for the outside (from which she is sadly forbidden), she is the sweetest, cuddliest girl. She’s always down for a midday nap, and she only drinks the finest tap water from her own personal cup. A woman of taste, truly.
- That Time When I Was Breathing the Same Air as Amy Lee
I’ve loved Evanescence since college, wearing out a copy of Fallen in my CD player (how’s that for dating myself?) and entering my Sad Girl Rock era. An Evanescence song – “Hello” – was the inspiration for my first published book, Phantom Touch. So when Evanescence announced a 2026 tour, I was READY.
This turned into a bit of a cosmic joke because as we got to the gates in Charlotte in June for the concert, thunderstorms in the area prompted a shelter-in-place order. I griped about it, but it ended up being lucky because we hurried back to the car to wait out the storm. Had we gotten through the bag check, we’d have been stuck in the venue with no AC! Nearly 90 minutes later the venue finally canceled the concert. Thankfully, they rescheduled for the end of the tour.
And then…y’all, I thought I was going to lose my mind. On the rescheduled date, it was raining again. On the drive I was refreshing the weather apps constantly, knowing darn well in the Deep South it’s going to change on a dime anyway. I was just crossing every finger and toe that the lightning stayed away.
It did rain. It was humid as all get out, but there was no lightning, so the show went on! We got to see Nova Twins, Spiritbox, and Evanescence up close! It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen, and definitely my favorite. (Very closely tied with Nine Inch Nails last year, but Evanescence has such a special place in my heart that it wins out!)
Amy was incredible, the band was amazing, and the show itself was so much fun! It was worth the wait – even with the unfortunate delay! (Also, pro tip for other middle aged concertgoers – pack a battery-powered fan!)
- The Hunt for the Diet Coke Ghost
As part of my author marketing goals, I’ve been back on TikTok. Though this will sound like an excuse to scroll (and it partially is), I do in fact spend some time scrolling to see what’s trending to get ideas for content. The algorithm do be algorithm-ing and I have ended up one DietCokeTok. (It really does know me.)
Apparently there is a cute little ceramic “Diet Coke Ghost” that pops up at HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, and other stores like that. I have scoured my area and had no luck, but I mentioned it to a coworker who immediately started hunting for a 3D print file. And the next week, she returned with two little 3D-printed ghosties for us! Mine currently isn’t holding a crispy Diet Coke, but he’s ready to carry the caffeine when I am.
- Job #32
If you ask me what I do for a living, I hope you have a few minutes! In addition to being a writer and a fitness coach and planner creator and all the other things, I’m also a freelance musician. And currently, I’m playing in the orchestra for a local production of Beautiful: The Carole King musical. This one is a ton of fun, and I’m super excited to see it on the stage! As a musician, we’re usually in the pit for shows and don’t get to see anything. But we’ll be on stage as part of the scenery, so I’ll get to see some of it when I’m not playing!
(In case you’re wondering, yes, that’s an iPad for my music. The Apple Pencil is protruding from it because I have a bad habit of forgetting to charge my devices.)
- Coastal Magic Book Besties
Y’all didn’t think I was going to share a collection of pictures without talking about Coastal Magic, did you? Without a doubt, the best thing about Coastal Magic is the people. Yes, it’s great to be on the beach and do Murder Mysteries and wear jammies for a Saturday night planner party…but this event is all about the people.
This was Melissa (a wonderful Coastal regular!) and me during a Blind Date with a Book meetup that I hosted along with Hildie McQueen and Veronika Kane at this year’s Coastal Magic. I love that the event is so cozy and leaves some breathing room in the schedule to allow meetups with readers and other authors!
Well, I could keep sharing pictures and blathering about cats and concerts and all the things, but I think I’ll follow the rules and keep it to ten things. If you want to find my books, you can find me online at www.jdmonroe.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/writerjdmonroe. I’m also somewhat active on TikTok (@writerjdmonroe) as well!
And if you want to join us at Coastal Magic, here’s the info:
Coastal Magic Convention
15th annual reader weekend in Daytona Beach, FL, Feb 25-28, 2027
For a full list of Featured Authors and info about the weekend registration, visit
http://www.CoastalMagicConvention.com.
Shadowmarked
Every year, nine women are taken beyond the walls of the Holy City.
Every year, nine women are sacrificed to the Demon King.
Every year, nine women are lost forever.
This year, Lena Tessyr is chosen.
Determined to escape the fate that claimed her sister, Lena has no intention of becoming a sacrifice on her city’s yearly Offering Day. She wants nothing more than to take her surviving sister and make a new start far from the Holy City and its cruelty. But when her escape plan is thwarted, Lena is taken to the dark city of Shan Iranath, a place where nightmares reign and hope dies.
There, she catches the eye of the Demon King, who claims her as his own. But instead of meeting a quick and grisly end, Lena is plunged into the shadowed city, where secrets unfold all around her. Her beliefs about demons, gods, and the world itself begin to fracture. And greatest among the surprises of the demon city is the king himself.
But Lena’s desire for the king is only outpaced by her growing despair for her family. With her failed escape as a stain on their house, her mother and sister are in danger. She vowed to return for them, and nothing will stand in her way.
Not the walls of the Holy City.
Not the Demon King himself.
Not even a love she never thought possible.
