MONDAY INSPIRATION ♠️

A little whimsy, a little wonder...

Apr 21, 2025

Dear Beloved Reader,

Have you ever woken up and thought, Is this it? The same coffee. The same routine. The same questions with no new answers. If so—you might just be an Alissa Maravilla.

In just over a week, my newest novel, Spades, releases—the first in my Aces Underground series. It’s a story close to my heart, one that plays with the whimsy and weirdness of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland while remaining grounded in the world of the romantic and emotional thrillers I love to write.

Alissa’s journey begins not with a grand gesture, but with a whim. She wanders into a dusty haberdashery run by the enigmatic Maddox Hathaway—a man with secrets stitched into every button and bowler hat. She has no idea that this single decision will change everything… leading her down a path of strange cocktails, shadowy secrets, and a speakeasy called Aces Underground, owned by the glamorous and utterly bizarre Rouge Montrose.

Sometimes, the smallest step outside your routine is the one that changes your life.

As Lewis Carroll once wrote:

“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”

Change is uncomfortable. Newness can be unsettling. But so often, what we’re searching for—connection, adventure, love—waits just beyond the boundaries of what we already know.

So this week, dear readers, I encourage you to try something new. Take the detour. Enter the odd little shop. Say yes to the invitation that feels a little outside your comfort zone. You never know what—or who—you’ll discover.

I cannot wait for you to meet Alissa, Maddox, Rouge, and the rest of the Aces Underground crew. Spades releases in just a few days… preorder now and be ready to fall down the rabbit hole. 🖤✨

With wonder and love,