debut year
the anti-resolution year
“Two things can be true at the same time” is a phrase I use a lot. Possibly to the point of overuse. And yet just over a week into the new year as I sit down to write this rather tardy newsletter, I find myself thinking those words yet again.
The changing of the calendar is a reflective time for a lot of people. I’m no different. I don’t really believe in making resolutions or tying change of any kind to an arbitrary date on the calendar. It’s sort of the same reason I don’t really like Valentine’s Day — love should be celebrated year round, not just on the day Hallmark decrees it so (and every publication in existence puts out a think piece on romance that’s inevitably filled with passive aggressive digs at the genre, but that’s a whole other newsletter).
Last year, 2025, was a perfect (shit)storm in many ways. Being a debut author is a unique kind of pressure cooker. Navigating your place in the broader publishing world comes with boatloads of imposter syndrome for just about everyone. On top of that, author friendships inevitably shift. Every author I’ve spoken to about my personal circumstances told me a story that if not identical was very similar to some of what I’ve struggled with. It’s a tough business with a lot of big emotions, and if you don’t have your own head straight with yourself, the pressures and emotions that come along with a dream that is also a business can (and probably will) eat you alive.
Since I prefer to not be the industry’s not-so-tasty snack, I’ve spent a lot of the last 8-12 months sorting out my own shit. I started EMDR to try to find some peace with the CPTSD & ADHD of it all that I now understand has had a MUCH bigger impact on me than I ever realized. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and it was made harder by events over the course of the summer that not only forced me to take an uncomfortably close look at my own shit, but ripped open a lot of old wounds that weren’t quite stitched shut the way I thought they were.
In the middle of all of this, I started drafting my second book for Berkley. Yes, the timing was complete shit, but a deadline is a deadline. Writing this book has been incredibly difficult. I wanted to challenge myself with the way I told this particular story, and while in the end, I do still believe this will make it a great book, the early parts of the process have been ugly.
This is the part where the two things can be true at the same time. If you’ll forgive me for being cliche for a moment…that whole thing about stars shining brighter for the darkness that surrounds them? It’s kind of true. I’ve been going THROUGH it — but I have also had friends show up for me in ways that have made me feel so incredibly loved and supported. Friendships that, if I’m honest and maybe a little too vulnerable for a newsletter, have healed wounds left behind by people who couldn’t or wouldn’t be there when or how I needed them.
So yes, last year was ugly in many, many ways (including The Horrors that continue to unfold daily). I cried A LOT (but was still so productive!) and I had some really low, really bad days. But as I look down the road at 2026, I’m still weirdly grateful for the mess of 2025. It got me to a place where I’m calmer, my mind is quieter, and I’m finally learning how to say “that’s none of my business” or “that’s not about me” and mean it.
I’m sure there are still going to be hard moments in 2026. Debut year comes with its own challenges and emotions to work through. Some of them are just pure finding the hours in the day. Some of them are emotional. But thanks to the work I’ve done in 2025, on myself, on my writing, and especially when it comes to friendships, I’m feeling like I’ve set myself up for a successful debut year as much as I can.
And when I say successful? I don’t mean strictly in terms of sales and other publishing metrics. As I look into 2026, what I want more than anything is to be able to enjoy the magic of being a debut. I want to celebrate with my friends, my wins and theirs. I want to show up for people the way they’ve showed up for me. And I want to show up for the five-year-old version of me that wanted so badly to be an author, the seven-year-old version who got told it wasn’t a practical choice, the twelve-year-old who stayed up writing until two in the morning, and all the other versions of me along the way that wanted this so badly but thought it would never happen.
Less noise, more joy.
CHASE ME IF YOU CAN
I can’t thank everyone enough for the love, joy, and kindness that followed in the wake of the cover reveal. I’m obsessed with the cover, but it’s MY book, and it’s a debut at that, so of course I was going to be excited. The excitement over the cover from people who are not me or my close friends has been so incredibly special. On top of that, waking up one morning to a text informing me that CMIYC was Berkley’s most requested arc on NetGalley, never mind how high it got in the romance / all NetGalley requested rankings, completely blew my mind.
To everyone who shared the cover, commented, included me on an anticipated list, requested the arc, got excited in my DMs, or otherwise helped make the last few weeks so magical, THANK YOU.
Blurbs are also starting to roll in fast and furious. One of the very cool parts of being an author is that you get to have author friends, and some of them have written some VERY nice things about CMIYC. A few have made me cry (in a good way!) and others have come from authors that I respect and admire deeply that I’m not only stunned took the time to read my book but had the loveliest things to say.
Galleys are on their way to me as I type this, which is going to be a whole new layer of OMG when I finally get to hold a copy of the book in my hands. I’ve got a bunch of plans for what to do with my copies that will be announced a bit later, but for now you can sign up to (potentially) be part of a traveling ARC I’m sending out on the road once the box comes in. The form will stay open until whatever time I drag myself out of bed on Saturday morning (January 10th) and can be accessed HERE.
Reading…
Drafting eats up a lot of time so I haven’t made it through quite as many of the January releases as I’d have liked, but the ones I have gotten to have all been absolute bangers.
Heather McBreen’s Sunk in Love is a masterpiece of second chance, marriage in trouble, dual timeline, get your feelings hurt and have an absolute blast while it happens. The yearning. The angst. The spice. All top notch. Heather is one of my very favorite authors when I’m in the mood to FEEL all the feelings.
Kara McDowell’s adult debut, The Write Off, is another second chance (I was apparently in A Mood) that also brings in dual timeline and does it so well I frequently had to put the book down to stare at the ceiling and reflect on how artfully the timelines were woven together. Kara will also hurt your feelings (especially if you’re an author) but you will have a great time while she does.
Jo Segura’s The Lust Crusade is one part brother’s best friend, one part destination romance, and one part sheer romp fun. As someone with a lifelong interest in antiquities, I loved all the research and detail Jo put into the Greek setting and artifact at the center of the plot. Also, it’s just HOT.
Hannah Brohm’s Love and Other Brain Experiments had me laughing and swooning. From the opening scenes, the way she balances banter and vulnerability makes for such an engaging and fun read, and I really appreciated how she leaned into the science and academia. It’s a fabulous debut and would recommend for anyone who loves a smart FMC and the MMC who adores her for it.
Debuting is such an odd experience, I relate to all of this so hard! Excited to read CMIYC and thank you so much for shouting out Love and Other Brain Experiments