new year, new me

Jk. This mentally unwell bitch isn't going anywhere.

As we entered into the new year which also coincides with my birthday (It’s January 5th and I wear a size L preorder of Wedding Dashers if you want to get me a gift), I thought, oh I should write a newsletter. Something thoughtful and earnest for the new year. But alas, my brain has been a dumpster fire of chaos lately and I didn’t have a clue what I’d say. You know that episode of SpongeBob where he forgets everything except fine dining and breathing and it shows all the mini Spongebobs running around inside his brain while everything is on fire? Relatable. Except instead of “fine dining and breathing” it’s “debut anxiety” and “[redacted].”

But then I sat down last night to work on my book 2 and I was just…overcome? Like I love this sooooo much?? The writing part. The part where I get to wrestle with the words and spin fictional worlds out of thin air. The part where I get to turn a blank page from nothing into *something.* I love it so much I could cry just thinking about it.

So I got to thinking: None of this is guaranteed and there’s so much anxiety about what’s next, if I’ll get to keep publishing, if I’m good enough, etc. But then I think about how much joy writing brings me. How fulfilling it is to massage out the words into something I’m proud of. How magical and special it is to fall in love with a story and characters I’ve created. And that’s how I know I’ll be okay. Because no matter what, whether this all goes away or not, no one can take away my passion.

I think it’s really easy to get caught up in *gestures vaguely* all this. But at the end of the day, the only part of this that’s truly mine to keep is my love of writing. Not the reviews or the sales or the lists or the contract or the opinions of others. All of that is fickle. Fleeting. The only part of this that’s really mine, is my passion for the work itself. The can’t eat, can’t sleep feeling that keeps me up past my bedtime. The desire to create. To tell stories. To invest in the lives of people who don’t exist. That’s the part of this that’s mine and only mine. And that’s also the part of this I love the most.

Okay that’s enough dear diary time!

Book Stuff:

We are now less than 30 (!!!) days out from the release of WEDDING DASHERS (cue internal screaming). If you’d like to support me and my writing career here are a few things you can do:

• Preorder from Third Place Books (and received a signed copy!!)

• Request from your library ( for free!! very economic!)

• Tell a friend! Seriously, word of mouth is the way most books get in the hands of readers. Do not underestimate the power of the yap!

• Add to your “want to read” shelf on Goodreads

• If you’ve read, leave a review, tell a friend, gift the book to someone you think might enjoy it, share on social media, etc.

I’ve also got not one, but TWO great giveaways going on right now!

First up we have the final WEDDING DASHERS Goodreads gîveaway running now through January 27th

And second, we have a sweepstakes that makes me feel like the little sister who has found herself hanging out with the cool, big kids and doesn’t know how she got there, but is happy to be included nonetheless! The New Year, New Romance Sweepstakes is running now through Jan 10!

What am I reading??

Last:

Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar. This was a masterclass in the art of the second chance romance. A total do-not-miss read that’s hitting shelves January 14th. RUN to preorder

About to start: Take Me Home by Melanie Sweeney AND Left of Forever by Tarah Dewitt (out May 20th) (jealous much???)

Next: Idk what order these will be read in, but here are the ARCs I’ve got lined up:

• Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel (out January 14th!)

• Roommating by Meredith Schorr (out June 10th)

• Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid (out April 1st)

• Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler (out June 24th)

• Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine (out April 1st)

*if there are typos please know I wrote this in a fever dream and have no recollection and therefore cannot be held responsible. Legally, speaking.

Talk more soon!!

Heather xx