i wrote another book!

and it has a (perfect) cover!!!

hello friends! i hope everyone is doing as well as possible under…… the circumstances…… 🫠 it feels impossible not to acknowledge how deeply scary everything is right now, even in the context of a newsletter that’s supposed to be about something fun and exciting. it’s especially weird to feel excited about something that’s happening many months from now, while also simultaneously dreading everything awaiting us between now and then.

anyway! if you follow me on instagram, you already know that I recently announced & revealed the cover for my third book, Some Kind of Famous!! It’ll be out on 10/28, and you can pre-order it here. (I’m sure there will be some kind of pre-order campaign at some point, details tbd). it also has a playlist for a vibes preview which in my unbiased opinion is very good!!

In this steamy and emotional small-town romance, a disgraced ex-musician and a local handyman try to resist their growing attraction for each other—until a broken-down house forces them together—from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood and Will They or Won’t They.

It’s been a decade since Merritt Valentine’s peak as a celebrated singer-songwriter… and her subsequent career-ending mental breakdown. Since then, she’s abandoned the glitz of Los Angeles to move in with her sister, Olivia, in the sleepy Colorado ski town of Crested Peak, hoping to heal her lingering emotional wounds out of the spotlight.

Life in Crested Peak would be uncomplicated if not for Merritt’s inconvenient crush on the local contractor and handyman, Nikolaos Petrakis. Niko is disarmingly handsome and too kind-hearted to ever be right for the complex and prickly Merritt. Though tempting, a fling with Niko would only bring the kind of drama Merritt has vowed to leave behind.

After his last heartbreak, Niko is done dating his fellow townies. Still, he can’t shake his fascination with the brilliant Merritt, even as he heeds their mutual friends’ warnings to steer clear of her chaos. But when Merritt needs help fixing up a house of her own, Niko is glad to be the only man for the job.

As the two spend more time together, their mutual attraction sparking a deeper connection than either one expects, they’re forced to confront the idea that they may have underestimated each other– and themselves.

I am OBSESSED with this cover!!! It was designed by Sophia Chunn & Jeanne Reina, and it literally could not be more perfect.

I was a little nervous about all three books having different cover styles, but I actually think they look great together because of the colors!

I’m also extremely excited about the book itself! I know I’ve already talked about this many (many, many– sorry!!!) times, but I really struggled with my mental health both in the lead-up and aftermath of my first two books, to the point that it seemed like it would not be in my best interest to write another one. Obviously, I ended up rethinking that, after a year of working hard to reframe how I felt about my creative self and my career. And as proud as I am of this book, I can’t help but feel nervous as it gets closer to being available to readers.

I don’t know why, but this book feels special to me in a way my other two don’t, which is scary in its own way. Will my new healthy detachment from other peoples’ opinions evaporate as soon as it drops on Netgalley? Will my confidence be able to bounce back if everyone hates it & it totally flops? The suspense is killing me!!! But hopefully, I now have the tools to weather the ups and downs of the process better this time. And in these last few weeks when it’s still mostly mine, I’m trying to remind myself that all that matters is I wrote the book I set out to write, and even if it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, I think the people who love it are going to really love it.

I’m also working on my potential next book– not quite drafting yet, but very very close. I’ve been obsessed with this idea for a while, and after a few months of research & percolation, it’s finally starting to pick up some momentum. my first book where no one is, has ever been, or ever will be a celebrity!!! gasp!!! I don’t know for sure what’s going to happen with it (I’m not under contract for anything else because I learned the hard way that writing a book under contract makes me insane), but as far as things are in my control, I’m crossing my fingers that there will be less of a gap between 3 & 4 than there was between 2 & 3.

okay I think that’s it!! love you byeeee!!!!!