We did it.
Well I guess I did.
It’s weird thinking that I have spent six years learning the ins and outs of the indie publishing world. That I put so much time and energy into curating who I am as an author. Branding and rebranding because I felt like I never quite found my ‘lane.’
You know the lane that everyone jumps into after they begin publishing.
People hear all kinds of bullshit.
If you want to write paranormal romance stay there.
Romantasy? Stay there.
Women’s fiction? Stay there.
OR
For social media. You can only be xyz. Or this or that.
It’s a whole lot of noise that just tells you who you should be.
Well I’m the whole damn intersection!
I want to post about my random 4am thoughts. I want to talk about my separation. I want to talk about what makes me feel intuitive or hey maybe I had this dream that just came true.
I want it all.
So what’s holding myself back?
It’s me. The answer is me because it’s always the self!
What Actually Happened
I first started writing Elle Lincoln as a way to overcome anxiety and depression. It was huge for me. I just didn’t realize it but I outgrew that form. Hindsight tells me that it occurred when sales started to slow. When people didn’t connect with me as an author. I outgrew romance and instead of moving on I held onto it too tight.
Like that saying about holding onto sand and it slipping through your fingers. I guess it’s like that. I was holding onto something that just didn’t resonate with me anymore. And I kept pushing through because… What else was I supposed to do?
Starve?
I think not.
But here’s what I didn’t say publicly: I was terrified. Terrified that if I changed, you’d all leave. Terrified that admitting I’d outgrown something meant I’d failed. Terrified that being more of myself would be too much for readers who came for the books.
AND not only that but I kept to myself. Remained behind the scenes.
I have written millions upon millions of words over the last 6 years. A lot of those words resonated with you all and I’m so goddamn thankful for that. Really it means a lot. But it’s time to finally show up in my business.
The Consolidation Decision
I know it all seems chaotic right now.
I promise it isn’t.
Well I’m trying to make it not so terribly complicated. I’ve begun streamlining everything in my business from becoming an official business to reviewing old material and editing it. I know this was overdue. Honestly I had an editor and she was lovely but she’s no longer editing. And that’s okay. We are all on our own paths and people come and go.
So I made a choice: If I’m the whole damn intersection, I’m going to show up like it.
Sarah Lancaster writes women’s fiction – the books about second chances, personal transformation, coming home to yourself. The emotional depth. The bittersweet hope. The “I see myself in this” recognition.
Elle Lincoln is where the romance lives – everything I still love about it. The fantasy, the heat, the escapism. I’m bringing back the old catalogue, refining it, editing it properly. Making it what it always deserved to be before Ashes comes out.
Different emotional territories. Different heat levels. All authentically me.
Bathtub Books: The Real Me
One of the changes I made is Bathtub Books.
See I had a TikTok account for just my intuitive musings.
Yes I had one of THOSE accounts but it felt… off somehow. Like I was once again trying to travel in a lane that didn’t really exist for me. I liked it but it wasn’t really me.
So Bathtub Books is my personal account. This blog? It’s personal. It’s not the business front it’s… just me. It’s me showing up for the first time not just as an author but as a person.
I know. What a concept.
I’m going to talk about all the books – romance, psychology, spiritual. The random thoughts. The separation. The dreams that came true. The messy, intuitive, 4am version of myself that I’ve been keeping behind the curtain.
From my bathtub.
No, I’m not lying. Why would I lie?
What This Means For You
If you’re here, you probably signed up for one of my pen names at some point. Maybe Elle Lincoln. Maybe one of the consolidated ones I’m retiring and folding back into Elle’s catalogue.
Here’s what happens next:
You’ll get emails from me – the real me – through the business side, Sarah Lancaster and a preview of the blog side, Bathtub Books. Personal updates, book talk, life musings.
The New Era
Anyway. Here’s to a new era. A new path, one that finally blessedly feels like home.
And yes, I won’t be holding back about any of the things. I’ll be talking books. All kinds of books. Romance. Psych. Spiritual. In my bathtub.
I’m done hiding. Done pretending I fit in a single lane. Done being just an author instead of a whole person who writes books.
Welcome to the intersection. It’s chaotic, it’s honest, and it finally feels like home.
;sarah