Back in 2016, I found a stack of old pictures of my grandma and a man named Nick. He was incredibly handsome, she was incredibly beautiful, and the pictures had what could only be described as ~vibes. If you're a romance reader, you know exactly what I mean—it was very clear these two were into each other. When I asked about it, my aunt told me that Nick had been a family friend, almost like a brother, to which my grandma swiftly replied, "not MY brother." It turned out that my great-grandma hadn't wanted them to date, because Nick was older and also because my great-grandma was a dream crusher, so their mutual infatuation stayed just that. They never got together, and ended up marrying other people (or four other people, in my grandma's case!). At any rate, I tucked that story into my pocket, thinking it'd make a great story someday.

Then, in 2020 when the pandemic hit, I signed up for a little app called TikTok. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and quickly became obsessed with the format—the endless scrolling possibilities, the way I could get a 60 second glimpse into someone else's life. I started seeing quite a few TikToks of people who'd lost touch with loved ones or exes or old friends, and were hoping against hope that they'd somehow reconnect with them, and my brain put two and two together: what if a woman found old pictures of her beloved, recently passed grandma with a mystery man? What if she wanted to know the story, but didn't know who to ask? And what if, in a moment of desperation, she turned to social media to help connect her with the mystery man—and it worked? The rest is history.

The content considerations are the following:

- Death of MC's grandmother, which is off page in the past, of natural causes in her 80s. No terminal illness involved.

- Grief is experienced, discussed, and described by the MC throughout the text.

- There are brief discussions of a strained parent/child relationship between the LI and his father. There is plenty of healthy family dynamic representation with the MC's family.

- Given the overall themes of the book, I feel it's also important to mention that everyone's parents are alive and well in the book and remain so. This is true for everyone in the book.

- Open door sex scenes.

I know how easy it is for grief to surprise you, even when you think you have your arms around it. It's not a linear experience, and while I wanted to write a book that prominently featured a healing journey, there are certainly moments where grief walks alongside the MC. Please take good care of yourself!

Yes! In fact, I'm in the middle of writing my second contracted book for Berkley Romance right now. It's publishing in 2024 (exact date TBD) and I can't wait to share more details with you.

I really try to keep it simple as far as resources go, because I find that craft books and advice tends to really overwhelm me and make me feel like I have zero idea what I'm doing. Not ideal when you're trying to write, you know, a 90k (okay fine, 100k) manuscript! So, I lean on Romancing The Beat by Gwen Hayes, because it's a very easily digestible book about structure, specifically for the romance genre. You get an explanation about what each beat (aka, portion of the story arc) does, and there's even an example of the beat, which I find super helpful. It's the sole craft book I go back to again and again, and I think it's really helped me improve my writing.

Other than that, my favorite resource is people! My critique partners, my trusted friends who read early drafts and let me know what they're loving and what they're not, and other writers whose work really inspires me to level up. Writing can be such a solo endeavor, and for a long time I just did it on my own. I only started improving dramatically when I found my community. No craft book can give you specific, measurable feedback on what YOU are doing, but other people you trust to bring into your process can. I wouldn't be anywhere without my cavalry of brilliant friends! If you're looking for critique partners or beta readers, I highly recommend following other authors on Twitter, connecting with them via Instagram, and looking into groups like FridayKiss (on Facebook) where you can build some relationships.

Hold on as tight as you can to the initial spark of joy that made you start writing in the first place. Remember specifically what it feels like. If you feel yourself drifting from it, find your way back. That joy is the tether that will keep you going when you hit rough patches, whether it's in drafting or querying or being on sub or even being published. Each part of the business side of the process has its highest of highs and its lowest of lows, but the unchangeable part is why you love writing in the first place. Hold onto it. That's what will keep you moving forward.