Just a reminder that I’m probably not going to update here on WordPress anymore! I’m over at Blogspot now. 🙂
xx,
Jess
Just a reminder that I’m probably not going to update here on WordPress anymore! I’m over at Blogspot now. 🙂
xx,
Jess
Wow! Can’t believe I haven’t blogged since December. Oops!
Tbf, I’ve had some crazy and challenging Life Stuff happening and I needed a break. But I’m trying to get back into things, so I’m hopefully going to start blogging again.
I’ve missed you all and I’ll play catchup tomorrow! 😘💖

I’m trying to be a lot more open about my mental health recently, especially since I am editing a mental health anthology, SIDE EFFECTS, for Simon Pulse.
I hit a milestone today: something I consider the biggest accomplishment of my LIFE.
I started taking the drug in 2009 and that means I was on it for seven and a half years. 7 and 1/2.
The short and long-term effects are serious.
The worst for me? Short term memory loss.
Imagine writing a 20 book series covering thousands of pages and not being able to remember so many details that you have to keep copious notes.
Imagine tripping in Havaianas because your balance is so off that you trip over nothing.
Imagine not being able to remember things that may have happened only hours before.
Imagine the embarrassment of people having to tell you stuff not twice, but three or four times because you keep forgetting.
Imagine (in the first few years) the drug making you so sleepy that Diet Coke and coffee don’t help. You turn to stimulants like Adderall to even wake up in the morning.
Imagine starting at .5 milligrams and over time developing a tolerance, which is a natural occurrence. Soon, you’re up to 6 mgs a day at the very least. Some days, the bad ones, you take up to 24 mgs. That amount should take down an elephant. But I was addicted and I had a high tolerance.
I was a functioning prescription drug addict. All of my Xanax came from a doctor (a real live psychiatrist!) from Central Park South. He took my money and in return kept feeding my habit.
And you’re mixing it with alcohol* to help dull the white hot poker feeling of panic.
I’m now on Valium and my doctor from Vanderbilt in Nashville is amazing. He saved my life. This addiction would have eventually killed me. And I’m only 29.
I’m on a Valium taper meaning I’m on a similar drug but one with far fewer side effects. I’ll be weaning down over time until I’m off it completely. I can’t wait for that day, but it will take time.
Please, please, if anything I’ve EVER said resonates with you–do NOT take Xanax. Take anything but Xanax. It is a nearly impossible drug to kick.
All spring, I’d thought I was going to have to go to rehab for 30-90 days to get clean from Xanax because I didn’t think I could do it at home. But I did. And I’ll never touch those evil pills again. Ever.
If you’re struggling, you can always email me at hartsforjess AT gmail DOT com.
I love you all. I hope you’re proud of me. 🙂
*Mixing Xanax or other benzodiazepines can lead to DEATH. Please do NOT EVER, EVER do this.Â

My fave vamp from TRUE BLOOD and TARZAN star Alexander Skarsgard is clearly into a very good book in this photo. 🙂 If you need more, check out Hot Dudes Reading on Instagram!
What are you reading? What have you read this summer? I have a book list a MILE long to read!
A stand out for me was Alyson Noel’s UNRIVALED and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC. Another ARC I adored (it’s out this September) is Danielle Paige’s STEALING SNOW. So. Good. OMG.
Share! I wanna know your summer books!
xoxo
Hi all,
I’m so, so sorry to announce that I will NOT be attending BreyerFest this year.
My brother’s bone marrow transplant is occurring during BF and I have to be here with him. I’m terribly sorry for all of you coming to see me–I’ll miss your faces! But I hope you understand why I won’t be there.
Love you much,
J
Hi, everyone!!
I really hope you’re all having a happy, safe summer so far. 🙂 I can’t believe it’s mid-July already! YIKES!!
I have sooo much going on that it’s insane.
#1
I signed with my DREAM agent!! I’m now represented by the amazing Josh Getzler. I met Josh at the Oklahoma Writer’s Conference in 2010 and we hit it off there. Since then, Josh and his partners formed their own agency and I sent him a query and told him I was in need of an agent. Agent Josh and I talked on the phone and he offered to represent me. I am still squeeing with happiness. He’s the BEST and I’m so, so lucky. 🙂 I’m very happy and I know we’ve got a long, wonderful partnership ahead of us.
#2
I’m working on a YA right now that’s in the LGBTQ category. It’s different than anything I’ve ever done and I love it. I’m working on pages and hope to have enough for a proposal for Agent Josh to submit to editors soon.
#3
I had to take 2 weeks off work due to mental health reasons. It’s all VERY VERY good, though, and I hope I can share soon. Just know that I had to take a break in the short term to be able to be healthy in the LONG term.
#4
Jason, my brother, is moving into an apartment on Vanderbilt Hospital’s complex in a few days. He has to have someone with him to care for him so my mom is moving there too. They will be there for about 100 days while Jason undergoes a Bone Marrow Transplant. The doctors did not want to wait for a match from the registry because they are afraid that Jason’s very aggressive and very stubborn stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma will come back, so they are using my mom as the donor. I could have done it in her place, but my psychiatrist and family agreed that my mental health is not in a place where I could go through the procedure and/or deal with the after effects if something, god forbid, went wrong. I feel super guilty that I am not the donor–I want to do this for my brother, but the doctors don’t want me to cause more damage to my mental health. Still, I wish I could do something. 😦
#5
If all goes according to plan, Jason’s transplant will happen on August 6. He and my mom, however, are moving into the apartment next Tuesday because he will be doing preliminary tests as will my mom. It’s advised that a lot of people don’t come in and out of the apartment so only my dad and I will be visiting, so I’ll be splitting my time between the Nashville apartment and here at home in Clarksville.
#6
This procedure is really effing scary. Jason will undergo a massive amount of chemo to kill ANY remaining cancer cells and then he’ll have the transplant. The chemo and the transplant will completely wipe any immune system he has so he will be susceptible to colds, viruses, etc. A common cold could kill him. No exaggeration. He’s going to get extremely sick before he gets better. It’s going to be an incredibly stressful and scary time for all of us. Tensions are already running high as we get closer.
#7
I had a major, major breakthrough with my own mental health and hope to share that with you all soon. It’s one of the top 3 best things to have ever happened in my life. 🙂
#8
I think that’s it . . . if you want to hit me up, you know where to find me! I’m always on Twitter, Instagram and you can find me on Snapchat at jessburkhart.
What are YOU guys up to? Tell me in the comments or on other social media!
Much love,
J
Sadly, my former agent left agenting to go back to publishing *sniff* so I’m sending out a few feelers to find someone who might take on my new contemporary YA. It’s HARD out there to get representation, so I’ve got my fingers crossed.
Happy Friday, all!
xo
I want to wear this dress that Claire Danes rocked at the Met Gala 2016. SO AMAZING!!!

Yaaay! The third installment (of four) of ROYALS (West Coast Prep #1) is available NOW for download on Amazon.com! Click the book cover and it will take you straight there. Or, go to Amazon and search “Royals Burkhart” and you’ll find it.
I had sooo much fun writing a new story with Fallon and Grace. This one features a LOT of horse scenes (yay!) and volume IV (the final installment of ROYALS before we move to book 2) will be all about prepping for a show and then showing. So it will be full of horses and stepsister drama!
I can’t thank you enough for reading! As long as you guys keep buying the books, it allows me to keep writing them. So if this one sells well, I’ll be able to write part 4 even faster and release it sooner. Otherwise, I have to work on other projects. So let’s get to downloading!
ILY, Harts!
xoxo
J