Here's to the beginning.

The Roaring Ridleys is on its way to your bookshelves.

Hello, you…

Okay, I promise you this is not the beginning of a Netflix episode—but no, seriously. Hello, you. All of you lovely, amazing people who have been following my journey, some as recently as a minute ago, and others for the past almost two years.

When I started my writing journey many years ago, I never really thought about the after of writing a book. I only thought about the start. And trust me, I have started over and over and over—with mistakes, learning, deciding, “You know what? This isn’t it.” Sometimes I got bad advice. Sometimes I got good advice. But all in all, I made a decision to start.

I’ve come to the realization that starting something and not finishing it is one of the greatest sadnesses anyone can have.

Just think about it: What if you stopped learning how to tie your shoes when you were younger? Or what if you stopped learning how to write letters in simple sentences? Or did you stop trying new foods because it scared you?

We all started somewhere, at some point. And it’s up to us to use our free will to end it. In my case, I don’t think anything will ever end until you depart from this world. So I’m only continuing.

By continuing, I’m continuing my story by letting you know that The Roaring Ridleys will be coming out in February 2026 with Thomas & Mercer, worldwide.

The Roaring Ridleys used to be called The Remington Roars a couple of years ago. I went through changes—some from not getting the best advice, trying to be something that I wasn’t, getting information that really made my book worse—until I finally said, “I can do this.” Hence, the name change. Still some of the same bones. Still the same seven siblings. Still the same setting. But the story changed completely.

It became a brand-new story.

I started from scratch, where I felt happy with what I wrote, so it had to be different. It had to be a new name. It had to be a totally new everything.

I came to the point of realization that I didn’t want to go by Keturah Maree anymore, but K.M. Colley—the writer. Not Keturah the actress. Not Keturah the one who posted on social media the vibes of her book. But K.M., last name Colley—which holds weight to me.

My grandmother, Aurelia Colley, was once an English teacher for over 30 years. She was the one who made me enunciate my words and made me use a dictionary to learn synonyms—to express myself without using vague things that everybody else says. I would be so elated when I learned a new word that nobody had heard. Instead of saying “it’s cold outside,” I’d say, “It’s a little brisk.” Or instead of saying, “This needs to be quickly done,” I’d say, “Make haste.” (So glad Bridgerton made that popular!)

But all in all, I just want to thank you all—everyone who took a chance on me, everyone who gave me advice to get me here, everyone who pushed me forward to be the person that I am today, the writer that I am proud of today, the woman who authentically wrote every single word flowing through her brain and made it come real.

And I’m thankful to God to share this world with you.

I can’t wait to show you the rest of the books and ideas that I have in mind.

Here’s to the beginning, or better yet, the start.

If you’re one of the real ones subscribed, make sure you take a screenshot of this and tag me! I appreciate you all for the love.

More soon.

All my love,

K.M.