Launching "The Found Mama" Update

Hello and welcome!

If you are new here, I am Kristina Brooks. I am a 36-year-old wife and SAHM in rural South Carolina. Some of you may know me from my very first book I published back in 2019, The Princess Who Lost Her Crown. If you have been with me that long, thank you for supporting my author dreams and being a part of my journey to this point - launching my debut devotional series, The Found Mama.

Wait, did you forget this book is just the first one of three? That's okay! Judging my progress on the next two books, you'd think I had forgotten about the other two, as well. But they're simmering around here somewhere, no worries. :) I thrive in chaos and I look forward to sharing those devotionals with you when the Lord says it is time.

In the meanwhile, all engines are currently firing on go to get this first book launched, and what an undertaking it has been! I first started writing these books when my oldest child was even younger than my youngest child is today! That's a wild thought. Holding that book in my hands is definitely worth the cringiest, crinkliest nose smile ever.

So, here's a little of what is going on with the book launch:

• The launch date is set for November 6th.

• Final manuscripts have been uploaded into KDP and IngramSpark.

• I have ordered my proof copy from KDP and it exceeded all of my expectations.

• I am waiting on IngramSpark to approve my files before I can proceed with ordering the proofs over there. This is where my hardbacks will come, and I can't wait to get those in!

• I still need to work on finalizing my ISBN assigned information. I'm not sure why I'm dragging my feet on that. Perhaps should be working on that right now instead of writing a blog post, but here we are.

• I ordered all sorts of goodies to match the book so that I can do a few giveaway baskets! I am especially excited about this and cannot wait to show y'all what I ordered once everything comes in. I will have a separate giveaway on each social media platform I use (so, that's three) and I am PUMPED about this.

• I try to post on each of those platforms every day - it's too much. I recently spoke with a friend about this and I feel like it refreshed my attitude on the matter. I get burnt out easily on social media, and overwhelmed. My favorite part of being a writer is the writing. My favorite part about self-publishing is having total creative control over all of the things which calls on me to use the many hobbies I have curated over the years, but sometimes I have too many irons in the fire, and have to walk away and then the fire goes out. It's a problem. It's a me problem. I'm working on it. :)

• And occasionally I try to update the ol' website, the ol' blog, and send an old-fashioned e-mail because I know that social media algorithms are fickle things that I don't love being at the mercy of... but I often get so focused that I forget. It seems like I am always forgetting something.

Aaaaand I think that's about it for The Found Mama.

As for my other book, The Pink Thread (working title...thinking about dropping the 'the') it has sat on my hard drive collecting digital dust since July 11, 2025. I picked it up and began work on the second official draft and am testing out a new software called Scrivener. I like it! I just need to decide if I want to make the purchase required to continue on this journey or to use the already-purchased Microsoft Word. Either way, second official draft is officially underway.

When will that book come out? I could envision an October release in honor of breast cancer awareness month, although not this October. I could also envision a July release, perhaps on the anniversary of my aunt's passing, although July 2026 sounds lofty. It's hard to say. My creative brain thrives in chaos and the unknown, with a side of list-making. All I can say for sure is, stay tuned for more information on that project.

And of course, there is regular life stuff. We have begun our second year of homeschool, my son's first grade year. My daughter is two, but tries to keep up and participate. She has very strong feelings about not being an equal partner in our first grade classroom. She isn't even picky - she would settle for being my other student or my son's other teacher. (#iykyk)

Some days it's hard to put on all of the hats. There is a fair amount of rotating going on, and I usually can't do it all every day. But that is how the book was written, and so it seems appropriate that the book launch is going the same way. Moms understand. :) When I have a window of time, I try to take it! Between dishes and laundry and a life well-loved, The Found Mama was born. I look forward to sharing The Found Mama with you all very, very soon!

If you are new here and haven't had a chance to get to know TFM yet, allow me to tell you a bit about the book by sharing the book summary:

"I lost myself in motherhood." It's a common sentiment these days, but as Christians, we cannot be lost. It's simple - Jesus found and redeemed us when He saved us. Are we still proclaiming our lostness? OR are we found in the presence of God? Are we found faithful, found diligent, found obedient, found worshipping? Are we found joyfully raising our children to love Jesus? Dive into this thirty-day devotional written by a mom for moms. Each devotion features a key passage of scripture, application to motherhood, prayer prompts, and journaling pages all thoughtfully and prayerfully crafted to help you feel found in Jesus, not lost in motherhood. Welcome to The Found Mama Club. This is where we bloom.

I have gotten my proof copies in and we had a little photo shoot fun together. I’ve never had a copy of a book like this before! Of course the “not for resale” stripe won’t be on anyone else’s copies of the book once it releases, but this was what came as my proof copy to approve the print before finalizing everything.

Make sure you follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok so that you don't miss any of the book launching updates and fun! I will be hosting a giveaway on each platform to celebrate the book launch, so if you follow me on all three - that's three chances to win! My handle everywhere is @authorkristinabrooks or click the links at the top of your page!