Hi friends.
We’re 7 days away from the release of my second novel, The Rules of Mistletoe. In pretty much every way, this release feels so different than last year when I released The Luck of Finding You.
For one, I’m not feeling as much anxiety as I felt last time around. I’m still nervous (ARCs went out today, and yeah, I want readers to love this one) but I think one of the biggest differences this time around is truly how much I love this book. It feels like a little part of my childhood stuffed into a book (with a story that’s not like my own in any way.) But I had the time of my life writing The Rules of Mistletoe, while book 1 was a lot harder to get out for me.
So, I’m feeling excited. I’m ready for you to read TROM next week and I hope that you love this fun, fake dating romance too.
I’m also feeling another set of emotions as I am about 20k words into book 3 (Annie and Sam’s story). It’s turning into something I never expected but in the best way. I keep writing all of these tender moments that are making me just sit and swoon. But, more details on book 3 coming another day. I’ve just been giddy writing this week and couldn’t wait until my next writing update to share.
An excerpt from The Rules of Mistletoe
“How about some Chinese food?” I point to the only restaurant across from our gate.
“Sure,” Holly says and now that we’re out of sight from Melissa, she slips her hand out of mine. I grab my camera bag strap just to give my hand something to do. “Surprise me. I’ll get us some seats over there.” She points to some empty seats by the big windows.
“Okay,” I tell her. “Anything you absolutely don’t want?”
Holly’s nose scrunches as she looks at me. “I guess you need to know that I love absolutely any kind of Chinese food. You really can’t go wrong.”
“Good to know,” I nod and head toward the restaurant. I order us dumplings, chicken low mien to share, and a beef dish that looks and smells amazing. The woman behind the counter winks at me as she hands me our food.
“Enjoy your food and fortunes,” she tells me. I nod, because I’m not one for small talk, and head back to Holly.
Holly—my heart seems to stop when I see her sitting in a chair by our gate. She’s one of the few people in the airport who doesn’t have a phone out and I’m fairly certain she’s people watching. Just the sight of her makes me smile. Her hair is piled in a bun on the top of her head. She looks freaking gorgeous. The thought comes so suddenly that I nearly trip over my feet. In an effort to catch myself, I run into a lady who’s rushing past me.
“Sorry,” I call, but the lady doesn’t even seem to notice. I look back toward Holly. She hasn’t noticed me yet, but I’ve noticed her, in ways that I am not ready for. I don’t know what happened last night, but it’s like she cracked something inside of me wide open and I don’t know how to close it again. All I know is that I cannot let myself fall for her. She’s in love with Jim, and I’ve seen her list—as dumb as I think it is—she’s really focused on it. Plus, I’m not husband material. I’m not even boyfriend material. What I really need is a good week-long pretend fling to get all of this out of my system, then things can go back to how they were before. Me alone at home with my normal routine and no woman to distract me on my runs.
And for all of you waiting for paperbacks…keep an eye out on Tuesday next week. They’re coming!
Okay. What else?
If you haven’t read The Luck of Finding You yet, now is the time to do so! You’ll see some returning characters in TROM and while you can read it on it’s own, it will be more fun if you’ve read TLOFY first.
Okay, I think that’s everything. I’ll see you next week on release day!
Happy reading!
I forgot to comment earlier, but I am so excited for this! The world isn’t ready for this masterpiece 🤍