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I’m delighted to be haunting your inbox today to tell you that I will be embarking on a little east coast book tour to celebrate the release of She Haunts Me Still in August!

At each stop, there will be an in-conversation chat, an audience Q+A, and a chance to get your book signed. You can find all of the information below:

She Haunts Me Still Book Tour

August 11, 2026 | 7pm

Kiss & Tale Bookshop | Collingswood, NJ

In conversation with Taylor Grothe

Tickets: Click here

August 12, 2026 | 7pm

Lovestruck Books | Cambridge, MA

In conversation with Kelly Andrew

Tickets: Click here

*Tickets will be available soon at the link above!

August 13, 2026 | 7pm

Love & Legends Bookshop | Brooklyn, NY

In conversation with Cait Jacobs

Tickets: Click here

✨ For up-to-date information about all events, please visit my website.

Other Bookish Updates

Let’s do a rundown of some other fun updates and reminders as we get closer to She Haunts Me Still’s release. Can you believe it’s just about two months away?

Signed Copies + Art Overlays

You can get signed and personalized copies of She Haunts Me Still from Kiss & Tale Bookshop, and they all come with a beautiful transparent art overlay. Make sure to write your personalization requests in the comment box at checkout!

Get Signed Copies

Ink & Edge Edition

If sprayed edges are your thing, Ink & Edge has created a gorgeous edition of She Haunts Me Still. You can snag yours below, and the first 50 preorders will come signed! This edition ships to the EU.

Get the Ink & Edge Edition

Other Preorders

She Haunts Me Still is also available for preorder at all major book retailers and indie bookstores, in paperback, ebook, and audio. You can learn more below:

U.S. Edition

UK Edition

Australia/New Zealand

Canada

Coming Soon…

Stay tuned for some additional updates including UK preorder incentives, audiobook casting and teasers, some more giveaways, and a few additional pieces of gorgeous character art. I can’t believe we’re just two months away. Soon, Mal, Ezra, and Saskia’s star-crossed love story will be yours. 🖤

About She Haunts Me Still

These violent delights have violent ends.

After surviving a shadowed childhood marked by ghost stories and loss, Mallory Webb is ready to start fresh as a theater major at her mother’s alma mater, a sanitarium turned liberal arts university in Rhode Island. Landing the lead role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet feels like a dream—until the blood-soaked spirit she suspects caused her mother’s death resurfaces after years of quiet. With nothing to go on but cryptic symbols in an old college notebook, Mallory hopes the reason behind her mother’s haunting lies somewhere on campus, and resolves to find answers before she meets the same fate.

She’s surprised to make an unexpected ally in Ezra Pierce, the magnetic fourth year directing the play, and takes solace in their undeniable chemistry. But Ezra is a master secret-keeper, and it’s clear he knows more than he’s letting on about Saskia Garin, Mallory’s elusive understudy whose past eerily mirrors her own.

When an ancient, bloodthirsty evil calls to collect on a bargain that dates back to the New England vampire panic, Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia will have to untangle the tragic ways in which their histories are linked—and face the devastating consequences of their own star-crossed love story.

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Publishing August 11 from Dutton Books

CHAPTER ONE

Secrets are a kind of sickness.

They can warp cells and hollow out bones, wear through muscles over time. They can chew away organs, turn a person into a husk of themselves, until the shape of their entire being and their ugliest, most poisonous lies are one and the same.

Mallory Webb has been infected with secrets her whole life, but tonight she’s keeping only one: the silver blade tucked carefully inside her bag, wedged between a tin of mints and her brand‑new cell phone.

She’s ten minutes late but takes her time on the stone steps outside the theater, fingers skimming the railing, relishing the burning September twilight and gentle swish of her favorite black dress against her thighs. The hushed quiet of the lobby greets her as she slinks past dimly lit rehearsal studios and poster‑covered walls, twisting through dark corridors until she finds the door she needs. Dressing Room A.

Arden is likely waiting inside, where they’d agreed to meet before a slew of hopeful first‑years descend upon the theater. To most people, the last hour before an audition can feel like a slow, miserable death, but it’s also when Mallory feels most alive. Soon, the walls will be rattling with eager voices, the air thick with sweaty bodies. But right now, the empty building breathes with seductive possibilities, with all the ways she could succeed.

And all the ways she could fail.

And not just at tonight’s auditions, but why she’s at Shore College to begin with. The reason no one else can know.

Mallory swallows that last thought like a pill. Plastering a smile on her face, she shoves the dressing room door open with a hollow clang.

“Did you bring the knife?”

Arden doesn’t even turn to ask. She phrases it like one long word—didyoubringtheknife—as she leans toward the bulb‐lined mirror. Her highlighted hair is freshly curled, and her gold cross necklace catches the light as she applies coat after coat of mascara.

Mallory nudges the door shut with her lace‐up boot. A mothball cloud washes over her as she drops her bag onto the counter, but she hardly minds the smell. The dressing room is the heart of any theater, where preshow butterflies fly freely and inside jokes are forged. One day, it’ll feel like home.

“Obviously.”

“You locked yourself out of our dorm three times this week and lost your phone twice,” Arden says, capping the mascara and looking at Mallory in the mirror. “It’s a fair question.”

“Not the same thing. I had my keys.” Mallory rummages in her bag for the pocketknife she purchased earlier that day. “Something is wrong with our door—the lock sticks.” She huffs a shock of chestnut hair away from her lip gloss and flips the blade. “Ready to commit a crime?”

Arden arches a razor‐thin brow. “Vandalism is hardly a crime. And besides—we’re not the first ones.”

Mallory follows her stare to the letters and numbers carved into the makeup counter: the ghosts of theater majors who came before, lingering in the wood, sleeping in silent haunt.

She and Arden first noticed the carvings during Shore College’s orientation over the summer, skin sticking in sundresses as they wandered the school’s sprawling thousand‐acre grounds. The tour took them from the brick dorms of west campus all the way to the white wooden chapel at the eastern border. They peered into academic buildings with old oak tables, climbed the dome‐roofed library’s teetering four floors, and finally combed the quiet halls of the theater, where they’d spotted the counter. It was Arden’s idea to add their initials on audition night, seal themselves into the foundation as if to say, We were here, too.

“You go first,” Arden urges. “I’ll watch the door.”

Mallory scoots onto the counter, the edge clipping the bare skin above her knit tights, and traces a pair of heart‐framed initials. Who were you?

“We should do this every year,” Arden says, watching Mallory scrape the careful corners of MW. “Make it another ritual.”

Mallory smiles. Arden and her rituals. It’s been this way since they were kids. Wishes during a November snowfall. Picnics on the final day of school. Commemorating firsts and lasts, moments that might otherwise pass without notice.

Most people might roll their eyes, but Arden was the first person who made Mallory want to memorialize parts of her life. Everything that came before is best buried, sealed. Forgotten.

“Are you nervous?” Arden asks, taking the knife.

“No.” The lie is bitter on Mallory’s tongue. “Are you?”

“Extremely.” Arden’s blonde‐streaked hair spills forward as she bends, scratching out a messy AT next to Mallory’s initials. “I know it’s Shore’s policy to make us complete a show before we officially become theater majors, but an entire Shakespearean play with less than a month of rehearsals? On top of classes? It’s diabolical. But we won’t mess up. We’re gonna get lead roles.”

“Stop. You’ll jinx it.”

Arden nudges her. “We’re manifesting, bitch.”

Mallory fidgets with the brass locket at her neck. Arden doesn’t reel in her hopes; she names them, weaves them with intention into prayer. But Mallory knows better than to let her own thoughts run wild, lest they push her toward an inevitable cliff of disappointment.

Noticing her expression, Arden presses the knife handle into Mallory’s palm.

“Fine, I’ll play by your rules. But just know I’m silently conjuring great success for us both.” She slaps the pocket of her denim jacket. “There’s rose quartz in here.”

Mallory shakes her head and slides off the counter, now engraved with a rough MW + AT, 1999. She thinks of the same letters scratched into the bench outside their old boarding school in New Hampshire, lit up at night by the cigarettes they’d sneak out to smoke after curfew. They’ve been a unit ever since they met in seventh grade, when Mallory was alone in the cafeteria, wrapped in an ill‐fitting uniform and sagging knee socks. While other students hadn’t paid any attention to the strange new girl, Arden had. Plucked her from the shadows, as though she were a scrawny kitten in a shelter. From that moment on, it was them against the world.

By winter that year, their special pact was written on paper, sealed in a folded triangle. Going to the same college, rooming together—it was all part of their agreement, forged beneath a stretch of ivy and brick. Never leave each other behind.

Arden slings her bag over her arm. “Did you finish the reading for psych?”

Mallory sighs at the reminder. “Not yet. We could get pizza and work in the lounge.”

“Perfect. I wasn’t able to eat dinner. Too nervous.”

“I . . .” Mallory starts folding the pocketknife. “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

“Did you leave your curling iron on?” She eyes the cluttered counters. “I smell smoke.”

Arden frowns, scanning plastic Caboodles of makeup. “I don’t smell anything.”

Mallory pauses in the doorway, sniffing again. This time, there’s no mistaking the tangy, ashy scent. It curls under her nostrils in bitter gray tendrils. Smoke, like from a campfire, but with an undertone of something rotten.

Like skin burning.

Most people would shrug it off. The theater is an old building with an array of unpleasant odors. Surely there’s an explanation—a failing furnace, perhaps.

To Mallory, however, the smell means something else.

It conjures images of the blue house she once called home, a forgotten cottage at the end of a dirt road where she lived for five short years with a mother she can barely remember.

But there is one memory of her mother that’s crystal clear. The final one, tinged with this exact odor: something burning, something rotting.

Something more dead than alive.

Mallory takes another deep breath. Another. Another—

“Mal— Oh my god, your hand!”

Arden’s voice is like a burst of cold water, and Mallory snaps her gaze to where she’s still clutching the knife—the knife she didn’t close all the way.

She’s squeezing the blade like a stress ball, completely unaware she’d sliced open her hand. As if the pain were secondary to the memories threatening to break free.

“Shit,” Mallory mutters, dropping the blood‐slick object with a clatter. Her knees buckle at the sight of her palm slashed down the center, the edges of the wound puffy and raw. She flexes her fingers, and pain follows in a zigzag, crimson trickling toward her wrist.

She takes another dizzying sniff, but the odor is gone now, like she imagined it altogether.

“That’s a bad cut.” Concern is woven into Arden’s peach‐toned complexion as she peers down the hall. “Let me see if I can find help.” She pauses, waving her hands like she’s directing air traffic. “Hey! Hey, you! Over here!”

“Arden, what are you doing?” Mallory hisses, cradling her palm.

“You need stitches,” Arden says before turning toward an approaching dark‐haired man. “Are you heading to the first‐year auditions for Romeo and Juliet?”

The tall man fixes them with a curious stare. “Yeah, I’m actually the—”

“Fantastic,” she barrels on. “Can you tell them Mallory Webb and Arden Thatcher had a medical emergency? I’m taking her to the ER.”

“No, Arden, wait . . .” Mallory inhales unevenly. The room tips on its side; dizzying stars float beneath her lashes. “We can’t miss auditions. Are you serious?”

“Are you?” Arden’s expression turns incredulous. “You need to go to the hospital. They’ll let us audition a different day—they have to.”

Mallory dares another peek at her injured hand. Her normally creamy skin is flushed purple around the cut, and her palm is throbbing. Deep down, she knows Arden is right, but the idea of being last to audition makes anxiety coil in her stomach.

She didn’t get this far to miss the most important moment of her college career. She’ll do her monologue bleeding out if she has to.

“We can go to the ER after,” Mallory says. “I’ll find something to wrap it with in the meantime.”

“Mal, that’s ridiculous—”

“What did you say your names were?” the man asks, and Mallory looks up, fully registering his presence.

He’s wearing a long dark coat with the collar pulled high, the edges skimming the hard lines of his jaw. Black pants. Black boots. The pale slices of his cheekbones gather shadows in the dim light, and Mallory’s mouth suddenly feels like cotton.

“Mallory Webb,” she answers. “And Arden Thatcher. We’re first‐years.”

He nods, dark green eyes cutting toward the shelves. “Here.” He reaches for a bin of vintage scarves and handkerchiefs. “Use this. To wrap your hand, I mean.”

“What? Absolutely not.” Disgust blossoms on Arden’s face. “Mal, don’t listen to him. You’ll get sepsis or something.”

The dark‐haired man gives Arden an amused smile as he pulls out a lace‐trimmed white handkerchief embroidered with violet flowers. “I’m fairly certain the theater department is obligated to wash these. She’s got to stop the bleeding before she passes out.” He turns to Mallory. “May I?”

Too lightheaded to argue, Mallory nods. She extends her wounded palm to this stranger, trying not to notice how large his hands are, or the engraved silver rings on his long, bony fingers. But her face flushes anyway as she anticipates what’s sure to be a firm grip, the meticulous way he’ll clean her up, the—

“I’ll do it,” Arden says suddenly, snatching Mallory’s hand before he can.

“Wait,” the man protests as Arden plucks the handkerchief, “that’s going to—”

Arden flattens the cloth into Mallory’s palm, and Mal cries out at the swift sting.

“Hurt,” he finishes with a sympathetic wince.

Breathless and dizzy, Mallory holds his gaze over Arden’s shoulder. He’s far too old to be a first‐year, but too young to be a professor. She studies his face, trying to recall if she saw him at orientation, and something flips inside her at the inquisitive way he’s staring right back. As if he’s trying to place her, too.

Arden drops the bloodied handkerchief onto the counter. “I can take it from here,” she clips, snatching a second scarf from the basket. She softens her tone. “Thanks, though.”

“You seem like a good friend,” he says as Arden winds the cloth around Mallory’s hand. “If she starts to feel weak, or her temperature drops, take her to a hospital.” He returns his attention to Mallory. “No audition is worth hypovolemic shock.”

Mallory fiddles with her hair, unsure how to tell both this stranger and Arden that she’s been clawing her way toward this moment for years. Tonight isn’t just an audition—it’s the first crucial step in unraveling the knotted pieces of her past.

Because her mother went to this school.

Like her mother before. And before. And before.

If she spends the next four years at Shore College, perhaps she can find answers to the questions that have plagued her for her entire life. What was my mother like? What did she dream about? Who did she hope to become?

What, exactly, killed her?

Instead of saying any of that, though, Mallory forces her mouth into another smile.

“I’m a big girl,” she says, looking right at him. “I can handle a little blood.”

Inside the theater, Mallory shakily fills out her audition form with her left hand, trying to ignore the whispers around her. Do you know when the cast list is going up? I can’t believe Winston fucking Hendrix is directing this. . . .

Somewhere along the line, students nicknamed Shore’s theater “the Crypt,” an apt moniker for a space perpetually bathed in darkness. Endless tiers of metallic scaffolding loom like a space station, while red velvet curtains form the gaping mouth of a cave. Rows of cushioned scarlet chairs flank the stage on three sides, each seat bearing a plaque in memory of a deceased professor or alum.

Mallory doesn’t have to look to know that the third seat in the thirteenth row holds a constant reminder of the way her past and present are all tangled up.

In memory of Jasmine Webb, class of 1977.

She’d first spotted her mother’s plaque during orientation and assumed Aunt Penelope was behind it. Mallory has called Penelope “aunt” her entire life, even though she’s not a relative by blood—just a close family friend, and Mallory’s legal guardian since her mother’s passing. Penelope has always been a human vault, containing countless stories about Mallory’s mother yet keeping most of them locked up. When Mallory asked about the plaque, Penelope denied responsibility. It must’ve been an anonymous donor, she reasoned. Your mother had many friends at school.

Mallory traces the edges of her locket now. The brass and ruby butterfly is the only item she has left of her mother, and touching it usually comforts her.

But tonight, there’s only a vague sense of dread, coupled with a question that’s been emerging since that rotten smell permeated her nostrils in the dressing room.

If something happened to my mother at this school, could it happen to me, too?

“Good evening, everyone!”

Professor Golden snaps the room to attention as she steps onstage. One of the youngest faculty members, Ruth Golden is a professor of theater history, Mallory’s advisor, and the head of Shore’s performing arts department. Her name was cemented in every student’s memory during orientation when she positioned herself as a Final Boss of sorts, the matriarchal overlord of everything that happens inside the Crypt. Today, she stands before them in a pressed collared blouse and velvet skirt, her rose‐tinted skin and copper hair glowing beneath a triangle of light.

“It is my great pleasure to welcome another group of prospective theater majors to these renowned halls,” Golden says. “Being a Shore alum myself, it’s an honor to see so many new faces on the cusp of your theatrical careers. As you know, this production will be your official ticket into Shore’s dramatic arts program. Some might find it sadistic to put you through another test after being admitted, but make no mistake: Beyond these walls, the professional theater world is even more rigorous. Cutthroat, even. Only the most persistent endure.”

Mallory fluffs out her dark brown bangs; her hand is still throbbing.

“It’s worth remembering,” Golden continues, “that this campus carries an important history. As you’ve surely heard, some of these buildings were once home to innovative medical facilities in the nineteenth century, watching over those who had fallen ill. Typhus. Smallpox. Tuberculosis.” She pauses, feet planted in a perfect pool of silver. “There is a sobering origin to this campus, one that compels us to reflect on the values of life and learning. Today, Shore is a place to think, but decades ago, it was a place to survive.”

Golden smiles in a way that’s too bright for the dark shape of her words. It reminds Mallory of orientation, when her tour guide dropped macabre pieces of campus lore between tidbits about credit requirements and dining hall hours. Some people believe Shore is one of the most haunted colleges in the country, he’d said while leading their group of first‐years between ivy‐soaked buildings. That the people who died here never left. If you’re quiet after midnight, you might just see a ghost in the gardens.

It shouldn’t have been a surprising statement—after all, it’s impossible to live in Rhode Island without hearing legends about haunted cliffs in Newport or witchcraft in Narragansett Bay’s remote islands. But something about the way the guide said it got underneath Mallory’s skin. Like he wasn’t just reciting a rumor but a fact. You might just see a ghost.

But Mallory learned this truth a long time ago.

“For this group,” Golden adds, reclaiming Mallory’s attention, “Shore is also a place to perform. To find your light.” She gestures with a delicate hand. “Which is why it’s my honor to formally introduce the director of this production, visiting professor and award‐winning artist Winston Hendrix.”

Everyone turns to look as a tall man hops onto the stage. Mallory has seen him only in photographs, but she recognizes his warm‐brown skin, his artfully shaved goatee. When he rattles off his biography, the entire room nods, as though they haven’t been obsessively studying Hendrix’s résumé all summer. Mallory could recite it word for word—his Juilliard training, his impressive credits: King Lear. Angels in America. Othello. Rent.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone,” Hendrix says. “While I might reside in New York, Rhode Island is one of my favorite places to visit, and Romeo and Juliet has been my dream show for years. And while I love a good modernization, we’re going the traditional route to pay homage to the poetry and core of this tragedy: a love that’s doomed from the first spoken word. Tonight’s going to work like this. Monologues. Cold readings. And then boom. Tomorrow? Cast list. As soon as our student assistant director arrives, we’ll start with your prepared soliloquies. Do the fourth‐years ever show up on time for anything?”

No one answers, unsure whether to laugh.

As if summoned, the side door flings open, and Winston turns with a relieved smile.

“Ezra Pierce, as I live and breathe! Thought you were standing us up.”

Everyone turns in unison, and Mallory’s eyes widen just in time for Arden to slap a hand on her thigh.

Because they’re staring at the man in the black coat. The one who offered to clean Mallory’s bloodied palm.

The one who tried to tell them, minutes ago, that he’s their assistant director.

Mallory tilts her chin down before their eyes have a chance to meet. She shouldn’t have stared at him earlier, shouldn’t have let that lilt creep into her voice when she made that comment about blood. Maybe if she were a normal girl, she could flirt with a handsome stranger, dare to let herself think a shared gaze could be the beginning of something.

A haunted girl should know better.

Mallory raises her scarf‐wrapped hand to her nose. And somehow, before she inhales, she knows the scent won’t remind her of the dressing room, won’t conjure memories of crisp linen or fresh cotton.

She knows it will smell like the faintest hint of something burning.

Excerpted from She Haunts Me Still, copyright © 2026 by De Elizabeth

Want to read more? She Haunts Me Still by De Elizabeth publishes August 11 in the U.S. and 27 August in the UK. It will be available in paperback, ebook, and audio. You can preorder your copy below!

Preorder the U.S. Edition

Preorder a Signed Copy With Art Overlay

Preorder the Ink & Edge Edition

Preorder the U.K. Edition

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It’s been a minute since we talked craft and process on here, and since I’ve been on double deadline for most of this year so far, I thought I’d chat a bit about what I’ve been up to!

If you follow me on socials, you’ll know I’m in full promotion mode for my upcoming dark academia theater novel, She Haunts Me Still (more on her in a minute). But behind the scenes, I’ve been working on my next two books. A quick rundown of what’s ahead:

• Coming in Summer 2027 is A DEATH KISSED SONG, an upper YA dark fantasy about a cellist at a prestigious music conservatory who joins a secret society led by her childhood-best-friend-turned-academic-rival. There, she learns that her classmates are using a dangerous magic to enhance their talents—magic that just might claim the life of the boy she still can’t help but love. You can add ADKS on Goodreads here.

• Then in Spring 2028, there’s THREE OF SWORDS, an adult dark romantasy that follows three magicians who form a reluctant alliance in Revolutionary-era France. But when one commits an ultimate betrayal, they inadvertently invite an ancient evil into Paris that’s primed to devour the city whole. Goodreads info to come!

So what’s the status of each? A DEATH KISSED SONG is currently in copyedits, meaning all the major edits are done, and now it’s time for fine-tuning before formatting the interior art and layout.

To paint a picture of this book’s life-span, here’s a timeline from pitch to now:

A DEATH KISSED SONG’s Timeline

• September 2024: A DEATH KISSED SONG was sold on proposal to my YA editor, aka my editor acquired the book based on a synopsis and three sample chapters. Because ADKS wasn’t slated to publish until Summer 2027, I had a lot of time to draft.

• April 2025: I turned in my first draft. I knew there were a lot of things to fix and flesh out, but I was excited about what this story could become.

• July 2025: I received my first edit letter, which consisted of broad developmental notes on structure, stakes, world-building, and character arcs.

• November 2025: I turned in my second draft, which was my first huge revision on this book. During this time, I rewrote a lot of scenes to elevate the stakes and streamline or reshape plot threads. I struggled a bit during this edit because something kept feeling out of place to me, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. It clicked during a drive one night, and I immediately had to voice note myself an idea for a new plot thread. This ended up solving my vague “I don’t know what’s wrong” problem, and it’s become one of my favorite elements of the story.

• December 2025: I received my second edit letter, which consisted of smaller scene-based edits rather than sweeping developmental notes. This felt like a crucial turning point in the editing process, because it meant that my last revision really worked, and we were closer to this story being book-shaped.

• March 2026: I turned in my third draft, incorporating all the edits.

• April 2026: I did line edits, which is my favorite part of the editorial process. This is when I get to polish the prose and make sure all the sentences flow the way I want them to. I also tried to trim my word count as much as possible, because ADKS is chonky.

• May 2026, aka NOW: Copyedits are next, followed by pass pages, which is when the book is formatted into its pretty interior with all the artwork and fonts, etc. Then after that comes the cover reveal and everyone’s favorite: ARCs. There’s lots happening behind the scenes for this one, and later this year, I’ll start talking much more about it.

As for THREE OF SWORDS, I’m currently in the midst of my first big developmental edit, so I’m quite earlier in the process. I submitted my first draft in March of this year, so much of my drafting deadline for SWORDS was spent simultaneously revising ADKS. Navigating a double deadline can be tricky, especially when they activate two different parts of your brain: drafting and revising.

With that, here’s some things I’ve learned from a year of double deadline, along with some things that have kept me sane!

Thoughts on drafting and revising:

Before a book is a book, you have to make a mess. When it comes to first drafts, we’ve all heard it before: “just make it exist, you can make it good later.” This can be challenging if you can sense that something is off with your draft but you just don’t know what, or if you struggle with connecting with your characters right away. Whenever I sense myself stalling out because I don’t immediately love my draft, I know I need to write through it. Something I’ve learned about my own process is that I need to write a messy zero draft simply to tell myself the story, and then I backtrack and rewrite, using that zero draft as a skeleton. There’s always a gem or two there that makes it through to the final draft, which I think is cool.

It’s okay to deviate from an outline that doesn’t serve you. I used to be a really detailed outliner, but as I’ve written more and more, I’ve started writing broader outlines. With every first draft, I find that I discover new plot twists and ways to elevate the stakes as I write, and I almost always abandon my outline or end up changing it. A strategy that’s worked better for me is to write a broad outline, and then create detailed outlines two to three chapters ahead as I’m writing. This way, I always have a clear idea of where I’m going next, with room for the characters to surprise me later on.

Sometimes, the answer is to make it weirder. There were a couple times with both SWORDS and ADKS where I found myself struggling with conveying a piece of exposition or moving from point A to point B in the narrative, and the only way to un-block that creative hurdle was to just get weird with it. To have fun with the prose and structure, and maybe write something a little strange.

Some of my essentials while drafting and revising:

Coffee. This one is self-explanatory. I cannot work without coffee, and also a good-smelling candle.

Instrumental music. I have trouble listening to music with lyrics when I’m writing, so I usually opt for film + TV scores or classical music. I compiled some of my favorites in an Instagram post earlier this year.

Items to help me focus. Focusing can be a challenge sometimes, especially when there’s so many things going on, and I’ve found that the best way to stay on task during word sprints or editing sessions is just to gamify it. I keep a timer on my desk, and I also am a big fan of the Focus Friend app. Basically, you set a timer and while you “work,” there’s a little cartoon bean who is busy knitting. The more the bean knits, you can decorate his little habitat. Is it random? Yes. Is it adorable? Also yes. And for some reason, it works for me! TBQH this little bean deserves a shoutout in my acknowledgments.

My revision spreadsheet. If there’s one thing to know about me when I revise, it’s that I need a spreadsheet. This is my lifeline when I’m doing developmental edits, and I’ve used it for every book so far. It’s honestly quite simple, but it helps me every time. It consists of four columns:

• Column 1: Chapter numbers

• Column 2: A summary of everything that happens in each chapter

• Column 3: All my goals and plans for revising that chapter

• Column 4: This stays blank, and I take notes in it as I revise. Then this column becomes my “to-do” list after I make it through the manuscript—things I want to circle back to, things I need to streamline or review for continuity, etc.

I’ll put a blank one below in case you’d like to download it! And you can read more about how I use it here.

Revision Template For Downloading (1)

38.1KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Lastly, a change of scenery (sometimes). I love my writing office, but occasionally I get tired of the same view. If I find myself stalling out or reaching for my phone a lot, I’ll pack up my laptop and head to a coffee shop for a change of scenery (and more caffeine).

She Haunts Me Still - Updates and Coming Soon

If you’re still reading (hello, welcome to the last portion of this newsletter), here’s a quick roundup of some recent updates pertaining to She Haunts Me Still!

Preorders

You can find every preorder link for She Haunts Me Still by clicking the button to my author website below!

Preorder She Haunts Me Still

Signed Copies & Overlay Art

If you preorder from Kiss & Tale, you will receive a signed and personalized copy of She Haunts Me Still, along with page overlay art depicting the three main characters.

Preorder from Kiss & Tale

ARC Giveaways

Be sure to follow me on Instagram, where I’ll be posting another physical ARC giveaway next week! This one will come with an art print.

Coming Soon…

Be on the lookout for the following exciting things in the final three months (!!) until launch:

• Tour Announcement - I’ll be visiting some bookstores along the east coast on a tour to celebrate the publication of She Haunts Me Still in August. Details coming very soon.

• First Chapter Teaser - Newsletter subscribers will get the first look at the ENTIRE first chapter of She Haunts Me Still later this month.

• More Art - I have more character art to share between now and launch, including some gorgeous gothic portraits of our main trio.

• UK Preorder Incentives - UK readers, stay tuned! We are planning something special for you too.

And more! Until then…

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

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Hi friends! Somehow, it’s the end of March, and time is flying. We’re a little over four months (!?) away from the launch of She Haunts Me Still, so I thought I’d pop into your inboxes with a roundup of updates.

And at the end of this post, I’m going to drop a little behind-the-scenes snippet, as a newsletter exclusive. 👀

So let’s get started!

Barnes & Noble Preorder Sale

She Haunts Me Still is currently 25% off to preorder at Barnes & Noble, and the sale ends today! Preorders are one of the best ways to support a book, so if you’re considering getting a copy of this dark academia theatre novel for yourself or a friend, this is a great week to do it!

Preorder from Barnes & Noble

Signed Copies and Character Art Overlays

As both an author and a reader, I love indie bookstores, and I will always encourage my readers to shop indie whenever possible.

With that, I’ve teamed up with Kiss and Tale Bookshop to offer signed and personalized copies of She Haunts Me Still, along with exclusive character art as a transparent page overlay.

Click the button below to place your preorder, and don’t forget to write your personalization requests when checking out! Want me to write my favorite unhinged Ezra line? A Shakespeare quote? A doodle of a raven? I’ve got you!

Get Signed Copies Here

Goodreads Giveaway

There’s still one more day to enter the Goodreads giveaway to win a print ARC of She Haunts Me Still! But if you don’t win this one, don’t fret; there will be other ways to win ARCs over the next few months, including an annotated ARC giveaway that I’ll be sharing on my Instagram very soon.

Enter the Goodreads Giveaway

UK Edition of She Haunts Me Still

UK readers, this is for you! She Haunts Me Still will be coming to the UK this summer, publishing 27 August!

You may have seen a previous pub date of October, but the date has been moved up to be closer to the timing of the U.S. edition. It’s been so exciting to see the enthusiasm and response, and I cannot wait to share this story with even more readers.

The UK edition of She Haunts Me Still will have the same beautiful cover as the U.S. version, and the team is working behind the scenes to arrange signed copies and some exclusive character art for you as well. Stay tuned here and on my Instagram for updates!

Get the UK Edition

Read a Snippet from She Haunts Me Still

Okay, now that we’ve gotten all of those updates out of the way, let’s have some exclusive newsletter fun.

First, here’s an exciting piece of news: I will be dropping the ENTIRE first chapter in this newsletter soon. As in, very soon. I’m so excited to share it with you as an official welcome to Shore College.

But until then, I thought I’d share a snippet from the opening chapter that offers a hint at the vibes you’ll find in the first few pages of this story.

Ready? We’re jumping right into the middle of a scene in three…two…one!

Breathless and dizzy, Mallory holds his gaze over Arden’s shoulder. He’s far too old to be a first‐year, but too young to be a professor. She studies his face, trying to recall if she saw him at orientation, and something flips inside her at the inquisitive way he’s staring right back. As if he’s trying to place her, too.

Arden drops the bloodied handkerchief onto the counter. “I can take it from here,” she clips, snatching a second scarf from the basket. She softens her tone. “Thanks, though.”

“You seem like a good friend,” he says as Arden winds the cloth around Mallory’s hand. “If she starts to feel weak, or her temperature drops, take her to a hospital.” He returns his attention to Mallory. “No audition is worth hypovolemic shock.”

Mallory fiddles with her hair, unsure how to tell both this stranger and Arden that she’s been clawing her way toward this moment for years. Tonight isn’t just an audition—it’s the first crucial step in unraveling the knotted pieces of her past.

Because her mother went to this school.

Like her mother before. And before. And before.

If she spends the next four years at Shore College, perhaps she can find answers to the questions that have plagued her for her entire life. What was my mother like? What did she dream about? Who did she hope to become?

What, exactly, killed her?

Instead of saying any of that, though, Mallory forces her mouth into another smile.

“I’m a big girl,” she says, looking right at him. “I can handle a little blood.”

So, are we ready for even more after this? 👀

I’ll be back in your inboxes soon with the whole first chapter, and I truly can’t wait to share it with you. And while I’m at it, there’s something else to look forward to…stunning gothic portraits of Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia, along with character profiles of each, so you can get to know them as well as possible before diving into the book this summer.

Because in just a little over four months, She Haunts Me Still will belong to you.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

Subscribe now

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Somehow, we’re just about six months out from the launch of She Haunts Me Still, which is absolutely wild. I’m convinced time is fake. Or at the very least, someone out there is messing with physics magic à la This Raging Sea.

But with the six-month mark officially upon us (physics magic or not), there’s a lot of amazing things happening behind the scenes, including the kickoff of the official She Haunts Me Still street team!

To celebrate some of the incredible early interest and excitement for this book, we’re putting together a street team of bookish content creators who want to read She Haunts Me Still early and join in on the hype! If you’re someone who loves dark academia, theatre, unique vampire stories, Mike Flanagan-style horror, love triangles, and books with bi rep, then this street team is definitely for you.

Let’s get to the details!

All street team members will receive…

• an eARC of She Haunts Me Still via a NetGalley widget

• a sticker pack

• postcard with Shore College campus map

• plus exclusive giveaways, discord group chat, book discussions, AMAs with the author, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, and more!

Street team responsibilities include…

• reading and reviewing an eARC of She Haunts Me Still

• posting about the book on Instagram and social media

• building hype!

• and, of course, having as much fun as possible

Some fine print…

• Signups will be open through next week

• Must be 18+

• Street team members are not selected by me personally. I have a street team manager who handles all applications and acceptances.

• All social media account sizes are welcome! We definitely welcome bookish creators with smaller accounts. 🖤

If you’re ready to apply to Shore College, you can do so at the form below. I can’t wait to celebrate She Haunts Me Still with you all.

Street Team Application

Bookish News and Updates

While we’re here, how bout a little list of recent updates and other things to look forward to in this newsletter!

Goodreads ARC Giveaway!!

My publisher is currently giving away 12 print ARCs of She Haunts Me Still over on Goodreads! This giveaway runs through the end of February. You can enter here.

(Note: Must be 18+ and U.S.-based. International readers, I’ll have more giveaways for you on my Instagram over the next few months, and stay tuned for news from my UK publisher as well!)

Coming Soon….

Preorder Campaign & Merch

I’ll be back in your inboxes in the near future to share the official preorder campaign for She Haunts Me Still. I’m partnering with an amazing indie bookstore to offer signed and personalized copies, along with a beautiful art piece, and I’m very excited to tell you all about it. I think you’re going to love it.

Character Sneak Peeks

In the final few months up until launch, I’m going to be sharing some newsletter-exclusive sneak peeks of the characters, including some stunning gothic portraits of our main trio. 👀

First Chapter Excerpt (!!)

Later this spring, you’ll get to read the first chapter of She Haunts Me Still right here in this newsletter! I can’t wait to share the official ~first look~ at Shore College with you all.

So many fun things are ahead! In the meantime, you can find all the essential links for She Haunts Me Still preorders, Goodreads, and NetGalley ARC requests on my website here.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

Subscribe now

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Oh hey again. I generally try not to appear in your inboxes more than once a month, and certainly not twice in one week, but I hope you’ll forgive me because I come bearing exciting news!

ARCs of She Haunts Me Still are officially available to request to read on both NetGalley and Edelweiss!!!

Request on NetGalley

Request on Edelweiss

While I’m here, a few ARC-related FAQs:

Do you approve ARC requests? If I slide into your DMs and bribe you with an oat milk latte will you get me one? - While I do love a good latte, ARC approvals are not up to me, alas. All ARC approvals and distribution are done by my publisher.

I’m a bookseller / journalist / bookstagrammer. Could I get a physical ARC? - To inquire about physical ARCs, please reach out to my publisher! I have more info on my author website about this.

Is She Haunts Me Still adult or YA? - She Haunts Me Still is an adult novel.

Some Thoughts 🖤

I’ll keep this one short and sweet, but I will add this:

I’m very excited for early readers, booksellers, and reviewers to get the first peek at Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia, and their haunting, star-crossed love story. This book has been such a long time in the making, and it’s one that’s incredibly special to me. It’s a bit emotional to send these characters off into the world, because for so, so long, they were just mine.

If you were to ask me what She Haunts Me Still is about, I’d probably say that it’s a dark academia theater book about three university students whose fates are linked by a tragic curse. And it is. But it’s also a book about generational female rage, about all the ways love can feel like a haunting, how theater can be a lifeline, and how, sometimes, in the dark, we make our own light. For Mal, Ezra, and Sas, it’s a ghost light.

I hope you enjoy spending time at Shore College. Don’t go in the prop loft, stay out of the hedge maze, and make sure you carefully count all the ravens. ;)

As it’s said in the theater world, the house is officially open.

She Haunts Me Still - Essential Info and Links

• She Haunts Me Still is set to publish on August 11, 2026 from Dutton Books. It will be available in paperback, audiobook, and ebook.

• Info for UK readers will be available soon!

Add to your TBR on Goodreads

Preorder your copy now

And be sure to save your preorder receipts for preorder goodies down the line!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

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For more writing content, come hang out with me on Instagram and TikTok!

Happy New Year! I’m so excited to be kicking off January with an announcement for a new book, one that I’ve been working on in secret for many many months now. But secrets don’t stay secret forever, and today I get to tell you about Three of Swords, my second adult novel, coming Spring 2028.

I’m also thrilled to share that not only will Three of Swords be published in the U.S. with Dutton Books, but it’s coming to the UK as well, having found a home across the Atlantic with Bedford Square.

Three of Swords is probably the biggest, most challenging project I’ve undertaken so far, but it’s also been so enchanting to dive into this world. The book follows three magicians—a cartomancer, an illusionist, and a diviner—who form a tension-filled alliance in revolutionary-era Paris. When sinister betrayals cause a rift in their partnership, a dangerous rivalry ensues, all while an ancient evil creeps closer, primed to prey on the entire city.

This dark romantasy book is an exploration of love and destiny. It asks questions like, What would you do if you had the power to see your own death in the future? What risks might you take if you could predict catastrophe as easily as you could predict success? How far would you go for the things you believe in, and how much would you give up for the person (or people) you love?

There will be a lot of time to talk about the vibes, themes, and tropes of Three of Swords, of which there’s plenty to say. It’s twisty, steamy, and full of dangerous magic, and the romance is unlike anything I’ve written before. I’ll share much more about it when we’re a bit closer to release. 🥰

That said, I do want to share something ~extra~ for this newsletter, so here’s a quick rundown of our main cast—all of whom are bi, bi the way. I’ll give you names and three facts for each:

Augustus, the illusionist:

• He’s a Gemini.

• He’s wanted to be a magician since he was a little boy, and for a very heartfelt reason.

• You know how the Phantom always swooshes his cape dramatically in Phantom of the Opera? Augustus is that exact vibe.

Sabine, the diviner:

• She’s a Virgo.

• She doesn’t always view her magic as a gift, but more like a curse.

• She has what some might call an invisible friend.

Lucien, the cartomancer:

• He’s a Capricorn.

• He has a black cat named Felix.

• He prides himself on adhering to magical ethics…until he’s compelled to break all of his rules at once. 👀

I can’t wait for you to meet this chaotic trio. For now, let’s take a look at this gorgeous, gorgeous art by InnGreen:

Publishing Schedule

Since Swords isn’t publishing until 2028 (that’s wild), I thought I’d give a quick rundown of all my books and their current stages:

OUT NOW

This Raging Sea - An upper YA dark fantasy about a boy who vanishes from time and the haunted girl who remembers his existence and has to team up with her enemy to save him. (Published in 2025 by Holiday House in the US and Walker Books in the UK/Commonwealth. Also translated into German, Polish, and French! You can buy here.)

PUBLISHING THIS YEAR

She Haunts Me Still - An adult dark academia theater novel that follows three university students who must race against time to untangle a curse dating back to the New England vampire panic. (Publishing from Dutton Books on August 11, 2026, with UK info to come. You can preorder here.)

COMING IN 2027

A Death Kissed Song - An upper YA dark fantasy that follows an ambitious but struggling cellist at a prestigious music conservatory as she joins a dangerous secret society led by her former best friend-turned-academic rival. (Publishing from Holiday House Books in August 2027. You can add to your TBR on Goodreads here; preorder info to come.)

COMING IN 2028

Three of Swords - An adult dark romantasy about three magicians with complicated romantic ties who form an academic society in revolutionary-era France to study forbidden card magic—until one commits the ultimate betrayal, awakening a long-dormant evil in Paris’ catacombs that threatens to devour the city whole. (Publishing Spring 2028 from Dutton Books in the U.S. and Bedford Square Publishers in the UK. Goodreads & preorder info to come.)

Well, thank you for being part of my announcement day! I’m excited to tell you more about this book down the line.

I’ll be back in your inboxes in the near future with more fun things about She Haunts Me Still, including ARC info, preorder goodies, and some special newsletter exclusive teasers. More very soon!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

Subscribe now

For more writing content, come hang out with me on Instagram and TikTok!

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Happy holidays, everyone! What a year it’s been. We started 2025 with the beautiful cover reveal for This Raging Sea, so it’s only fitting to end it with something related to Briar and Finn as well.

One of the most common questions I get from readers is whether or not I’ll ever return to the world of Loch Creek. And while the ending of This Raging Sea feels very definitive and right for Briar and Finn’s story, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss them. It truly warms my heart to think that you might miss them too.

So to celebrate the holiday season, and to say thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown TRS, here is a bonus holiday chapter, set the winter prior to the events of the book.

There’s no spoilers, so even if you haven’t read This Raging Sea, you can safely read this bonus scene—though readers who have finished the story might spot a vague hint or two of things to come. 👀 This chapter is told in Finn’s POV, so naturally, there’s a whole lot of yearning.

Without further ado, let’s go back to Loch Creek.

THE DECEMBER BEFORE

Finn Adler is starting to lose track of how many holidays he’s spent with Briar Winters and her family; the routine has become familiar as the winter season itself. Earlier on, there was a strangeness to it, and he had difficulty explaining the tradition to his peers or teachers, not sure how to say that his mother likely didn’t want to buy any presents and she certainly didn’t have time or desire to decorate a tree. The only ones who never asked questions about his holiday plans were his other two best friends, Astrid Hoffman and Kai Baisho, because they inherently understood. That’s how it’s always been with them, though. They see one another, without the need for explanation, sometimes without words at all.

This winter, however, things feel different. It’s not just the fact that Finn now has his own apartment, or that Astrid and Kai are joining him and Briar there for Christmas Eve. He wouldn’t be able to articulate it if asked, wouldn’t be able to point to a single shroud of evidence or logic, but somewhere he has a feeling:

They won’t have another December like this for a long, long time.

Finn forces himself to shake off the thought as he decorates his apartment in preparation for his friends’ arrival. They’re graduating in a few months. That must be why he feels like this. Things will inevitably change, with him moving to California for Berkeley, and Astrid and Kai away at different schools. Briar has said a million times that her parents are hell-bent on her staying in Loch Creek, the small Massachusetts coastal town where they’ve lived their whole lives, but secretly, Finn hopes he can convince Briar to move to California too. He can easily envision it: the two of them being roommates, Briar working at an art gallery or taking classes. Best friends, like they’ve always been.

But lately, the vision has wavered a bit. Instead of a two-bedroom apartment, he’s started picturing only one. Finn has found that it’s far too easy to imagine how Briar would look in the morning light, her honey-blonde curls all wild as she’d pour no less than eight sugar packets in her coffee. He thinks of candlelit takeout dinners, watching whatever melodramatic television show she’s into while curled up beneath blankets, falling asleep beside her and waking up like that too.

He thinks about Briar like this all the time now. He wishes he could figure out a way to stop.

Finn pauses to survey his decorated apartment. Astrid had offered to help yesterday after they cooked latkes together at her place with her moms, but he said he wanted to surprise them all. Now he wonders if he went a little too far: string lights hang from all of the windows, even more draped on the fire escape where he and Briar have spent endless nights talking in the salt-bitten wind. An oversized tree sits in one corner of his living room, red velvet bows fixed to the kitchen island. Tinsel glitters in the doorways; battery-lit candles turn the entire space into a golden glow.

In his hands, he holds the last decorative item. Mistletoe, hanging by a delicate red ribbon.

Finn hesitates. Surely, Kai will (lovingly) give him shit for this very obvious tactic—of his friends, Kai is the only one who truly knows just how messed up he’s been over Briar. If Astrid notices the mistletoe, she’ll probably just slide him one of her quiet looks, one that says, I see what you’re doing, Finnegan.

He’s not sure how Briar would react to it.

But he wants to find out.

Finn drags a chair over to the narrow corridor that leads further into his apartment and fixes the ribbon to the ceiling. He doesn’t have time to change his mind after, because there’s a knock at his door.

Astrid, Kai, and Briar enter his apartment in a flurry of conversation, each of them dressed in festive holiday attire. Kai’s button-down white shirt is almost identical to his own, though Kai wears his partially tucked into black trousers unlike Finn’s brown ones. Astrid’s emerald green dress shimmers as she steps further into the room to set a stack of wrapped presents beneath the tree…and Briar is wearing red.

Finn tries not to stare as she puts her own presents down, but he can’t help it. Briar’s velvet crimson dress is the prettiest thing he’s ever seen, cinched with a bow in the back and some kind of lace trim at the neckline. He averts his gaze as she straightens, reaching fast for the cheese platter he’d thrown together before his friends’ arrival.

“Are you guys hungry?” he asks, and all three of them give him a curious glance. Finn clears his throat, realizing that the question came out all rushed together and way too chaotic for the topic of snacks. He forces himself to calmly place the plate back on the kitchen island. “There’s, uh, food.”

“I’m starving,” Astrid says, making a beeline for the counter. “Bee spent an eternity doing her hair and makeup.”

“I did not,” Briar replies, but Finn doesn’t miss the pink that creeps into her peach-toned cheeks, the tops of them adorned with glitter.

“Just teasing,” Astrid says, flopping onto the couch, sending her ruffled skirt out beside her in a pool of silk. Her warm-brown skin is twinkling too, as though she and Briar had shared the same glittery highlighter. “When are we going to open presents?”

“Whenever you guys want,” Finn says with a shrug.

“I need to tell you something first,” Kai says, head partially inside Finn’s fridge as he rummages for a soda. He nudges the door shut with his foot. “I got into Northwestern. Their film department.”

Astrid shrieks excitedly, kicking her feet. Finn meets Kai with a hug, sensing the pride radiating from him. He knows just how important studying film is to Kai, how eager he is to channel all his unspoken thoughts and feelings into his art. There’s so many stories I want to tell, Kai said earlier this year. I think everything would feel a little less heavy, if I knew I was making other people feel seen too.

“First stop Northwestern, next stop, the Academy Awards,” Astrid says, raising her water bottle in a toast.

“We’ll see about that,” Kai says, but when he pulls back from Finn’s hug, he’s grinning, satisfaction woven into his porcelain skin.

“Congratulations, Kai,” Briar adds, and she sounds genuinely happy for him, even though Finn knows there’s a pang of sadness somewhere inside her, too.

Because this is only a reminder of how far apart they’ll all be in less than a year. That, or the fact that there’s another person from their graduating class who is also planning to stay in Loch Creek—and it’s the one girl Briar cannot stand. Morgan Parker-Blake. Finn can usually tell when Briar is thinking about Morgan because her dark blue eyes will narrow and her mouth will set in a thin line, like she’s keeping something trapped.

Astrid twirls one of her dark brown braids thoughtfully. “So, Finn in Cali. Kai in Chicago. Me in New York at Vassar.” She slides a tentative glance at Briar. “Are you sure your parents wouldn’t let you—”

“They won’t.” Briar smiles, but it looks forced. “It’s okay. I’ll hold down the fort here in Loch Creek. Pick you up at Logan when you fly in. I can make those big signs with your names on them.”

But she says it like she doesn’t quite believe it will happen. Like whatever strange, sour sensation that’s burrowed its way into Finn’s chest, telling him There Won’t Be Another December Like This—that same feeling is inside her, too.

“Let’s open presents,” Finn suggests, in effort to quiet the thought. He crosses to where Astrid is sitting, closer to the tree, and Kai and Briar follow with drinks and food in hand.

The four of them have exchanged presents so many times over the years—birthdays, holidays, or just because. Finn doesn’t usually enjoy shopping for himself, but he loves buying gifts for his friends, and this year was no exception. He watches Kai open the leather-bound journal he purchased at an indie bookstore over in Marblehead, while Astrid unwraps the bag charms Briar helped Finn pick out at a Boston boutique a few weeks ago.

When it comes time for Briar to open the gift Finn got for her, he hesitates a moment, wondering if perhaps he chose wrong. But a soft expression spreads across her face when she unwraps the canvas panels and set of oil paints. She’ll probably never know how much he saved up from math tutoring to buy those, which is just as well, and when she ghosts her fingertips over the canvas, Finn wonders if she’s imagining what the blank square will eventually hold.

“I figured,” he says, “you might want to start painting again.” When you move to California with me, he adds silently.

Briar smiles at him, and there’s something hard-to-place about her expression. He wonders if she’s thinking about all the drawings she used to make when they were kids, the ones that resulted in phone calls home from school and the doctors appointments she always dreaded. Sketches of nightmares, of darkness, of death. Things that little kids shouldn’t have to think about, but Briar’s spent so much of her life unable to avoid.

“Our portraits, I mean,” Finn rushes to add, gesturing to Kai and Astrid. “Maybe the coywolves that are always hanging out around this place. The sunset, I don’t know. Something pretty. Whatever you paint will be pretty.”

Finn doesn’t miss the glance that Kai and Astrid exchange at that, and he reaches for the pile of gifts with his name on it to mask the flush that’s creeping up his neck. “My turn, I guess.”

“Finn,” Briar says softly. “Thank you—I love them. The paints, I mean.” Her gaze dips. “I have missed painting.”

“You’re welcome,” he replies, unable to fully explain why this interaction feels so bizarre, like they’re speaking a brand-new language. They’ve spent nearly every day together for the past thirteen years. Briar is his best friend. Being around her shouldn’t feel like this—like he’s forty feet in the sky and about to plummet to the ground.

“Finnegan,” Kai says, pointing. “Presents.”

“Right.” Finn tears his gaze away from Briar and starts with the first gift on top. It’s from Astrid—a sweatshirt with a print of a physics equation, an image of a fluffy striped cat, and the words Schrödinger’s Cat: The Escape Plan. He laughs and puts it on over his collared shirt immediately, before turning to Kai’s gift, a scientific calculator.

“I know it’s kind of boring,” Kai says, raking a hand through his black hair. “But you’ve been using the same one since eighth grade. You’ll need a new one for Berkeley.”

“It’s not boring,” Finn says. “Thanks, Kai.”

When Finn finally opens Briar’s gift, for a moment, he’s unsure what he’s looking at. It’s a translucent statue, shaped like the infinity symbol, resting atop a rounded black base.

“It lights up like a lamp,” she says, catching his confused expression. “And it comes in a set. I have one too.” Briar gestures to the object. “If we both touch it at the same time, it’ll glow a different color. This way, we’ll be together, even when we’re apart next year.”

Finn raises his stare to hers. A piece of him wants to say it—What if we weren’t apart though? The rest of him, not sure he can summon words at all.

“Cuuuute,” Astrid says, taking the statue. “And an infinity symbol. This is so Finn. Where did you get it?”

Briar twirls a blonde curl, still looking at him. “I had it custom made. My mom knows someone, from the gallery.”

“It’s perfect,” Finn replies. “I’ll keep it on my desk in my dorm.” He hesitates, chewing over the rest of the sentence, the one that feels like it’s trapped between his teeth. Unless you come with me.

It would be so easy to say it. The moment has never been more perfect to bring up the topic. Finn searches her gaze for any sign that she might agree, any indication that she hates the idea of them being apart as much as it’s wrecking him. And for a second, he’s sure he’s spotted it—a flash of something sad, like she’s cycling through every word they’ve ever spoken, chiding herself for thinking they’d have a lifetime together when in fact, it all went too fast.

“Briar—”

“Are we baking cookies tonight?” Briar asks suddenly, standing.

Astrid and Kai exchange another look, but don’t say anything. Finn sighs, dragging a hand through his dark blond hair, and stands too.

“Yeah. Everything is over on the counter.”

“Perfect.” Briar grabs Astrid’s hand, hauling her off the couch. “Come on. I’ve only had one caramel latte today, I’m in dire need of a sugar fix.”

The rest of the evening seems to blur. Briar and Kai roll out the gingerbread dough while Finn and Astrid meticulously cut out various shapes—stars and moons, bows and trees. Kai attempts to hand-whisk the icing, sending puffs of powdered sugar on all of them like snow, and Finn battles the urge to reach over to Briar and brush away the white flakes that land in her hair. He cuts out more cookies instead.

Later, while the gingerbread is baking, Briar’s cell phone rings. She slips out to the fire escape to take the call, and Finn watches her through the window, catching sight of the way her body tenses throughout the conversation, how at one point, she even pinches the bridge of her nose in exasperation. He has no doubt it’s one of her parents on the phone, most likely her father, but he’s not sure what they could be talking about on Christmas Eve that’s getting her so upset.

Finn leans over to Astrid, who has been watching the exchange, too. “What’s going on with Briar?”

“Maybe her parents found the Vassar brochures I gave her the other day,” Astrid speculates.

Finn’s eyebrows raise. “What?”

Astrid’s expression only looks resolute. “I know they won’t let her go. But I thought, it can’t hurt to try to help her escape.”

Finn falls quiet, suddenly chilled by Astrid’s choice of words. Escape. For a while, he’d wondered if the idea of being close to home felt just as comforting for Briar as it did for her parents, after everything their family had been through. But perhaps it’s not that way at all.

Perhaps, for Briar, staying in Loch Creek feels more like being trapped.

From down the hall, he can hear the window sliding back open, and Finn crosses to the corridor to catch Briar as she comes back inside. He immediately clocks the slight redness to her eyes, like she had been on the verge of tears and chased them away.

“Is everything alright?” he asks.

She half-shrugs, adding a shake of her head, which in Briar code means Not at all.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Finn tries, and something softens in her face.

“Maybe another time,” she says. “Maybe when you call next.”

He frowns. “What?”

“On the phone,” Briar replies. “Late. Like you always do.”

Finn squints at her. What is she talking about?

Her bewildered expression now matches his, but then her gaze drifts up. He follows her stare straight to the ceiling—

To the mistletoe hanging from the ribbon.

Finn’s stomach flips. He’d nearly forgotten all about it.

He looks back at Briar, who is now staring right at him. Her cheeks pepper with pink, and her eyes move in rapid motions between her feathery lashes, like she’s trying to work out an equation in her head.

Finn is just as frozen, fight or flight. He has no idea what she’s thinking, no idea if she’s horrified by the idea of his lips on hers. Maybe she’s never spent any time at all wondering what would happen if they disobeyed every guidance about friendship and kissing, if they burned the entire rulebook to the ground.

Or maybe, just maybe, she’s just as desperate as he is to light the match.

Finally, it’s Briar who speaks first. “Is that…what I think it is?”

Finn’s pulse skyrockets. The room seems to swim. He nods.

She bites her lip thoughtfully, and Finn is certain he’s going to pass out, that his heartbeat must be racing at some inhuman, science fiction level. He stands completely locked in place, terrified by the possibility that she might not want him in this way. Equally scared by the chance she could.

Briar stares back, an impossible to read expression on her face. Tell me what you’re thinking, he wants to beg. Am I losing my mind alone?

But before he can say anything, Briar leans closer. She hesitates there a moment, as though she’s racing through her own set of questions. And then she says something like, Okay or Well or perhaps just his name, but truthfully, Finn forgets all meanings of words because Briar’s breath is fanning against his jaw and her hand is closing around the back of his neck and the world tips on its side because she’s right there—

A steady buzz erupts from the kitchen, and both of them startle.

The timer. The cookies.

Finn freezes, and Briar does too. Her palm is still curled on his neck, and he realizes his own hands have found their way to her waist, clutching at the crushed velvet of her dress.

They split apart in tandem, arms dropping to their sides as though they’d both just touched a flame.

“I’m sorry—” Briar starts.

“I shouldn’t have—” Finn shakes his head, chases a breath. “It’s okay, Briar.” More than okay, he wants to add. Come back. Let’s start again.

But before he can grow bold enough to say it, she tilts her head toward the kitchen.

“Come on,” she says, extending her hand. “Don’t want the cookies to burn.”

Finn lets Briar lead him back to the kitchen where Astrid and Kai are pulling the trays from the oven. A vague sense of defeat fills him, but he shrugs it off. When Briar releases his hand to fetch the icing, there’s a noticeable coldness that lingers in his palm. He shrugs that off too.

Because Finn didn’t miss the glance she gave him right before they re-entered the kitchen. The one that was full of something starry and weightless. As though Briar has been troubled by all the same questions that have been plaguing him lately, and that getting the barest whisper of an answer might be enough to sustain her.

Finn can let it do the same for him. Let it quiet the fears of final Decembers, of inevitable change, of tides he might not be able to outswim. They’re together now. Here in this apartment that was once just an empty building but has grown to be so filled with so much love because of his friends. His family.

And Briar. His Briar. Maybe he won’t kiss her tonight under the mistletoe, and maybe he won’t be able to convince her to move to California, but it doesn’t matter. They’ll always belong to each other—regardless of whether they’re sharing a room together in an apartment, or separated by time zones, lighting up infinity lamps and remembering what they once called home.

He catches her eye as she ices one of the cookies, confectioner’s sugar still glittering in her hair like snow.

“Merry Christmas, Finn,” Briar mouths silently across the counter, and it is.

This Raging Sea is available in hardback, ebook, and audio now.

Get your copy here

Other Helpful Links

You can preorder my next book, She Haunts Me Still, below. This one is an adult dark academia theatre novel about three university students who must untangle a curse dating back to the New England vampire panic. Perfect for Mike Flanagan fans and readers who love atmospheric dark fantasy, gothic romance, and vampiric stories.

Preorder She Haunts Me Still

Add She Haunts Me Still to your TBR

Parting Thoughts

Once again, thank you so much for spending this year with me. Debut year is undoubtedly filled with a lot of emotions, but a bright spot of mine was all of the wonderful readers I met either IRL at a book event or online through social media. Every kind comment, DM, tag, or edit has brightened my day more than you might know. This Raging Sea is such a special book to me, and it was such an honor to share Briar and Finn’s story with you. 🩵

Here’s to 2026 and beyond. Happy holidays; I hope this season is gentle to you.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

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The day has finally come! I’m so excited to show you the stunning cover of She Haunts Me Still, my adult debut coming August 2026 from Dutton Books. This artwork captures the romantic, haunting, theatrical vibes of this story perfectly, and is honestly the gothic cover of my (fever) dreams.

Are you ready?

Preorder Info

I’ve been thoroughly obsessed with this cover ever since it first appeared in my inbox, and it’s been so hard to keep it a secret! Every item woven into this design bears a significance in the story (wait til you find out the reason behind the raven), and I could not imagine a more perfect cover for a book that’s so incredibly special to me.

While we’re here, should we look at the official jacket description? Obviously!

She Haunts Me Still - BOOK SUMMARY

These violent delights have violent ends.

After surviving a shadowed childhood, Mallory Webb is ready to start fresh as a theater major at her mother’s alma mater, a sanitarium turned liberal arts university in Rhode Island. Landing the lead role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet feels like a dream—until the blood-soaked wraith that caused her mother’s death resurfaces after years of quiet. With nothing to go on but cryptic symbols in an old college notebook, Mallory hopes the reason behind her mother’s haunting lies somewhere on campus, and resolves to find answers before she meets the same fate.

She’s surprised to make an unexpected ally in Ezra Pierce, the magnetic fourth year directing the play, and takes solace in their undeniable chemistry. But Ezra is a master secret-keeper, and it’s clear he knows more than he’s letting on about Saskia Garin, Mallory’s elusive understudy whose past eerily mirrors her own.

When an ancient, bloodthirsty evil calls to collect on a bargain that dates back to the New England vampire panic, Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia will have to untangle the tragic ways in which their histories are linked—and face the devastating consequences of their own star-crossed love story.

She Haunts Me Still publishes August 11, 2026 from Dutton Books.

Preorder Details

The announcements continue, because She Haunts Me Still is also available for preorder! Preorders help authors a ton, because they signal interest to both publishers and bookstores, so if this sounds like a book you’d enjoy reading, I’d love it if you considered ordering early. 🖤

She Haunts Me Still will be available in paperback, ebook, and audio.

Preorder on Amazon

Preorder on Barnes & Noble

Preorder from Your Favorite Indie

More Ways to Preorder

Stay tuned for additional SHMS news in 2026 regarding ARCs, NetGalley, preorder campaign, events, and more! I have a feeling the next few months are going to fly by.

Bookish Updates & Behind the Scenes

Signed & Personalized Copies of This Raging Sea 🎁

Changing gears for a moment to remind you all that there’s only a few days left to snag signed & personalized copies of This Raging Sea for the holidays! As a reminder, these each come with a sticker pack, making it a great gift for any reader who loves dark fantasy books with tons of yearning, alluring villains, and atmospheric magic! (Or, you know, for yourself.)

I’ve teamed up with Pocket Books Shop for these holiday orders, so it’s also a great chance to shop small and support an independently-owned queer bookstore! Order by Friday, December 12.

Get your signed & personalized copy here

Behind the Scenes 👀

As a little parting gift, I thought I’d share the tiniest peek inside She Haunts Me Still as a bonus reveal. Believe me when I say that the interior of this book is just as beautiful as the exterior, so there’s lots more reveals to come. But for now, here’s a sliver of a preview of the gorgeousness you can expect:

Are you seeing a theme? A ribbon perhaps? All will be explained in due time… 😌

I’ll be back in your inboxes before the end of the year with some reflections and musings, and perhaps a little surprise or two. Until then…happy She Haunts Me Still cover reveal day!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

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Happy November, friends! Time has truly flown by, and somehow it’s almost the holidays once again.

My adult debut, She Haunts Me Still, has recently gone up for pre-order and the cover reveal is around the corner (!!) so I thought this was the perfect time for a post I’ve been planning to write for a while: The Origin Story.

Every book has an origin story. This Raging Sea, for example, began with four words in a notebook. My forthcoming sophomore YA, A Death Kissed Song began with two characters (menaces) who wouldn’t leave me alone until I sat down and wrote about them. She Haunts Me Still’s origin is a little different. It’s winding. Non-linear. Full of stops and starts and wild, hopeful dreams.

Before we get into it, I’ve got some updates to share!

BOOKISH UPDATES

🎁 Holiday Orders of This Raging Sea 🎁

My publisher and I teamed up with Pocket Books to offer signed & personalized copies of This Raging Sea for the holiday season! Each book comes with a sticker pack, making it the perfect gift for the reader in your life who likes to be emotionally devastated for 3-5 business days after finishing a book. Order by December 12, and be sure to write your personalization requests in the form!

Order Here

For regular orders of This Raging Sea, you can always get the hardback, ebook, and audio wherever you like to buy your books! Click here for more information.

🫀 She Haunts Me Still Pre-Orders🫀

She Haunts Me Still is starting to appear on retail sites for pre-order! If you’d like to order your copy early, either in paperback, ebook, or audio, you may do so at the links below!

Pre-Order from Barnes & Noble

Pre-Order from Amazon

Pre-Order from Your Favorite Indie

More Ways to Pre-Order

And psst…the cover reveal will be coming in early December! I am so excited to share it; it’s the gothic, vampiric, theatrical cover of my (fever) dreams.

She Haunts Me Still: The Beginnings

I wrote the first words of She Haunts Me Still in 2018, which feels simultaneously like yesterday and also so long ago. Back then, I had the barest bones of an idea: A theater major named Mal. A haunted campus. A curse. And a love triangle that was equal parts romantic and devastating.

I must have stopped and started a million times, putting together pieces of scenes, edges of vignettes. I hit bout after bout of writer’s block, unsure of what I wanted this book to look like, what shape I wanted it to take. Still, the idea stuck with me like its own ghost, and I couldn’t shake it. Somewhere, I knew: This could be a real book one day.

But only if I wrote it.

So finally, in late 2020, I sat down and wrote. And wrote. And wrote. It wasn’t like the other times, where coming up with words was like pulling teeth; this time, I couldn’t stop writing. I looked forward to getting to write every day, jotting down ideas in my notes app when I was away from my desk, daydreaming scenes in my head.

I finished the very first completed draft of SHMS (back then it had a different name) in about six weeks’ time, did a round of self-edits with beta readers, and began querying literary agents in spring 2021. SHMS ultimately was the book that got me my (wonderful) agent, but it was not my first published novel.

There are many reasons why a book may not get picked up for publication at any given time, and they can range from subjectivity of the editors to the market and beyond. But one thing I have learned from this experience—one thing that I hope anyone reading this takes away—is that, in publishing, a rejection on a book doesn’t always mean No, full stop, end of sentence.

Sometimes, a rejection simply means Not Yet.

Over the course of its entire journey, I’ve rewritten She Haunts Me Still from scratch six times. I would have the old manuscript up on one screen, and a blank document on the other, and literally started over each time. I don’t necessarily recommend this chaos unless you feel it’s necessary; for me though, each excavation allowed me to dig deeper and deeper into this book, getting a little closer each time to what it was meant to be.

Still, there was a point when SHMS had to be put aside. As much as I loved it, as much as I poured my entire heart into it, Mal needed to take a rest. I had grown so much as an author from working on her story, and it was time to channel all that craft and sharpened skill into a new one: the book that became This Raging Sea.

Any writer who has ever shelved a book, even temporarily, knows that it can be an emotional process. We get so attached to our characters, give them so much of ourselves, and hold onto the hope that someone will love them as much as we do. Letting go of that is its own kind of mourning. One thing that got me through this was a piece of advice from my friend (and also amazing author) Kelly Andrew, who told me that publishing can be like a relay race. And sometimes, one book has to pass the torch onto the next one. I held onto that metaphor while writing This Raging Sea, imagining Mallory handing over the torch to Briar, and it made the process far less painful. Hopeful, even.

TRS had a vastly different (i.e. faster) journey, in part because it’s an entirely different book. No two publishing journeys will ever be the same. It sold just a couple months into submission, and I was officially going to become a published author.

Sometime after that, I dug SHMS back out. I’d learned so much from writing This Raging Sea and working with my editor on Briar and Finn’s story, that I had a feeling: If I rewrote SHMS again, it would be different this time. Because I was different.

So I did. Two screens. Old manuscript. Blank document. By this point, though, I wasn’t just different—the market was, too. Horrormance had entered our collective lexicon. Dark academia was trending and only getting more popular. Vampires were making a comeback (though tbh some of us never left our vampire eras, let’s be honest).

I’d say “the rest is history” but it’s also this: An email from my agent saying that an editor was interested. A zoom call I took in the basement of a beach rental house, chaotically fastening my ring light to an overturned wicker basket and talking with an editor who loved Mal as much as my agent and I did. Another email a week later with a flurry of smiley face emojis in the subject line. The realization that finally settled in that Mal had officially found her home and that this book, the one I’d ripped up and put back together a million times, the one that wouldn’t let me go even when I had to let go of it, was really and truly going to be on shelves.

This story is getting long, and if you know my overwriting ways, I could easily make it longer, but I want to leave you with this reminder. I said earlier that publishing rejections can sometimes mean “Not yet.” If you’re waiting on your own yes, whether in the querying or sub trenches, I hope you take this to heart. Some people’s publishing journeys are fast, but many others are slower and far less linear than one might imagine.

Moreover, there’s a myriad of ways for shelved books to find new life—whether that’s through a full rewrite and trying again, or mining past WIPs for ideas you can use in future ones. One of my favorite moments in the now-finished She Haunts Me Still actually came from an entirely different vampire book I’d zero drafted and tucked away a couple years ago. And a passage I love from This Raging Sea came from an old draft of She Haunts Me Still.

Our stories can live multiple lifetimes.

No book is ever truly dead.

We hear a lot that publishing is all about timing, and it is admittedly true. For a while, it wasn’t Mal’s time. But not yet eventually became one day, which has turned into now.

She Haunts Me Still will be on shelves August 11, 2026. I can’t wait for you all to meet Mallory Webb and read her story.

Before we part ways, I’ve got a new segment to add to this newsletter to shake things up a bit! I’m going to be spotlighting a fellow author in here each time with some random and rapid-fire questions.

So let’s get to the first one, shall we?

Rapid-Fire Five With Taylor Grothe

Everyone, meet Taylor Grothe, author of the recently published YA folk horror Hollow and forthcoming horror-romance novel Lethal Kiss.

What’s a book you read recently that you can’t stop thinking about?

I recently read The Everlasting by Alix Harrow and it blew my mind. If you haven’t picked it up yet, you absolutely should!

What are five words to describe your upcoming book Lethal Kiss?

Scary, sexy, feminist, sharp, fun.

What would be on your main character’s holiday gift list?

For Marcella (an undead creature called a draugr), an unlimited supply of Snickers bars (since she doesn’t need to eat food, she just eats what she likes!) For Lacie (a mortal assistant professor), a gift card to a spa, very, very far away from campus!

What’s something in your writing routine you can’t work without?

Probably my cello, honestly: if I didn’t have my practice, I don’t think I would be nearly as good of a writer!

What’s one thing you’d tell your younger self about writing?

That I don’t have to be perfect right out of the gate! It’s okay to take my time and hone.

Taylor is a writer of adult and young adult horror, horror romance, and dark fantasy. They hold a nonfiction MFA from Fairfield University, acted as the graduate Assistant Managing Editor of Brevity, and their short works can be found in esteemed publications such as Brevity’s craft blog, Haven Speculative, and Shortwave Magazine. They are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. Taylor lives with three cats, two kids, and their spouse, in SW Connecticut. You can find them online at TaylorGrothe.com.

Coming Soon

Finally, here are some things to look out for:

• The cover reveal for She Haunts Me Still will take place in early December! The official first look will be on Instagram with my publisher, but I’ll be sending out a newsletter with the cover and all up-to-date preorder info shortly thereafter.

• A major announcement in January! I can’t say much about it yet, but stay tuned for a big update coming mid-January that has to do with future books in store. 👀

• The German, French, and Polish editions of This Raging Sea will publish in early 2026, with more international news to come.

More soon! Thanks for hanging out with me and reading!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

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Today is the day: My debut novel, This Raging Sea, is officially on shelves.

Time moves weirdly in publishing (no physics magic from Loch Creek required). It’s slow and fast all at once. In some ways, it feels like I’ve been talking about this book forever. In others, it feels like minutes ago that I first sat down to write it.

In my acknowledgments for this book, I said that I knew This Raging Sea’s ending before I wrote a single word of Briar and Finn’s story. My first draft was messy, as all first drafts are, but every plot point was crafted in efforts to arrive at that final moment. That image was an end-goal for me, a destination. I didn’t quite know how to get there, but somehow, I knew where I was going.

In all its iterations since, through all the revisions and torn-up chapters and rewrites, that last page has not changed. The final line is the same as when I first wrote it three years ago. Back then, I didn’t know what the future held for this book. I didn’t know if it would ever be more than pages on my computer. But I had fallen deeply in love with these characters and their world, and could only hope one day, others might be able to do the same.

This Raging Sea is a lot of things. It’s a mystery about a boy who disappears from everyone’s memories. It’s a fantasy with whimsical, math-tinged magic. It’s a horror of what lurks in dark mirrors. It’s an epic love story across oceans, stars, and time.

To me, though, this book is a treatise to haunted girlhood, to the strength and power of chosen family, to bisexuality and its infinite forms, to the bravery of choosing love in the face of every disaster possible. I hope readers see themselves in Briar Winters, a girl with jagged, rage-dusted edges, but with so much softness underneath. I hope they also feel understood by Finn Adler, a boy who clings to math and numbers, forever in search of something true. I hope this book reminds you that being strong can often be quiet, and that ultimately, no matter how dark an abyss might seem, there is always a light to be found.

Sometimes, though, you have to make your own.

I started this newsletter by referencing my acknowledgements, so it feels fitting to end them that way too. I’ll leave you with what I wrote there:

Thank you for choosing to spend time with Briar and Finn. They were mine for many years, first existing quietly in my head, then a word document—and here, finally, a book.

It’s the honor of my life to say that Briar and Finn’s story officially now belongs to you.

Where to Find This Raging Sea

Available in hardback, audio, and ebook!

Barnes & Noble

Bookshop

Amazon

Get the audiobook!

Indigo (Canada)

Sprayed Edge Edition

If you’re looking for the UK, German, or other editions and translations, you can always find complete up-to-date information on my author website here.

Now, it’s time to get ready for a book tour! 🥳

Book Tour Tickets

Thanks for hanging out with me in this corner of the internet, and for reading my words. I hope you have the most wonderful time visiting Loch Creek with Briar and Finn.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox.

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Remember when I said that the next time I’d be in your inboxes, it would be to celebrate release day for This Raging Sea? Well, I’m very sorry, but that was a lie. I hope you’ll forgive me, because I have some news to share with you:

I’M WRITING ANOTHER YA BOOK!

If you’ve been hanging out with me on Instagram, you might have seen me teasing a music-themed book here and there. I’m so excited to tell you that book officially has a title and a release season: A DEATH KISSED SONG, my next young adult novel, will be publishing with Holiday House Books in Summer 2027.

Alright. Let’s get into it. Because I am so excited to tell you about this one.

Every once in a while, there’s a story that just snatches you with its claws and refuses to let go until you sit down and start writing. A DEATH KISSED SONG was a lot like that—the idea simply wouldn’t leave me alone.

It was early 2024, I had just turned in a massive revision for This Raging Sea, and I fully intended to take a break away from my writing desk. That break lasted five seconds because I couldn’t stop obsessing over these new characters and their world that had suddenly infiltrated my every thought: A cellist with colorful hair and even more vivid dreams. A pianist with an Icarus complex who truly believed he could skim the sun and never burn. And a dark, magical secret between them that could turn their academic rivalry into the deepest tragedy.

I had months until I needed to pitch my next YA book, but I started drafting anyway. At that point, it was just for me. I moodboarded, I made playlists, I freewrote little snippets in my notes app whenever they popped into my head. Drafting this book was like a reset, a reconnection with the joy of writing. Getting to tell you about it now is just as joyful, and I absolutely cannot wait to share Camille and Evander’s story with you in 2027.

So what can you expect in A DEATH KISSED SONG? There will be plenty of time to talk more about it in great detail, but here’s a quick overview of some of the elements you’ll find:

• A prestigious music conservatory setting

• Childhood-best-friends-turned-academic-rivals

• Another science magic system!

• Secret society where everyone is morally gray

• Plot twists everywhere you turn (naturally)

• Bi4bi romance

• If villain why hot (again. of course.)

• Mixed media elements

• Forced proximity in practice rooms and concert halls

• And the softest main character I’ve ever written. I love her. I hope you do, too.

A DEATH KISSED SONG is my love letter to the kinds of dreams that exist outside of you, the ones that are so all-consuming that the wanting of that dream feels like a tangible, breathing thing. It’s also an acknowledgment of the way creative paths are marked by constantly moving goalposts, making it easy to feel like you’re behind no matter how fast you’re running. It’s an ode to the doubt that lingers in the quiet, the one that never quite disappears, but you show up to create anyway.

If you’ve ever felt like that—well, Camille and Evander understand you. These stark realities of artistic pursuits can be hard to articulate, harder still to sit with them in silence. I hope readers have fun in Cami and Evander’s world. And I hope they’ll feel seen, too.

Publishing Schedule

Now that I have three books that have been announced (well that’s a wild sentence!), here’s a recap of my publishing schedule.

Announced Novels

• THIS RAGING SEA - Publishing September 23, 2025 from Holiday House Books (Upper YA, dark fantasy)

• SHE HAUNTS ME STILL - Publishing Summer 2026 from Dutton Books (Adult, romantic horror—this one was previously called A SHARED HAUNTING and has been re-titled by my publisher since announcing it)

• A DEATH KISSED SONG - Publishing Summer 2027 from Holiday House Books (Upper YA, dark fantasy)

Other

• THESE DREAMING SPIRES - Anthology published in September 2025 from Titan Books. My short story is called “Poisoned Pawn,” and you can read it now!

With that (and for real now), the next time I’m in your inbox will be on release day for This Raging Sea! It’s hard to believe that Briar and Finn’s story will be on shelves in a matter of days. In the meantime, here are some links:

• PREORDER HERE

• SUBMIT PREORDER RECEIPTS FOR MERCH

• GET TICKETS TO THE BOOK TOUR

See you on the other side, friends. Thanks for hanging out in this bookish corner of the internet with me.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a spooky minute—and you’ll be the first to learn details about pre-orders, giveaways, and other news!

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I’m so excited to be in your inboxes today to announce something very exciting: I’m going on tour for This Raging Sea! 🎉

I can’t believe we’re down to the final few weeks until TRS is on shelves—it was so far away for so long, and now we’re nearly here. But I’ll save the sentimental thoughts for release day. (And trust me, I have plenty.) For now, let’s get to the fun!

To celebrate the release of This Raging Sea, I will be going on a six-stop book tour across the east coast. At each stop, attendees will get to listen to an in-conversation chat between myself and another author—and we have an incredible lineup of authors ahead. There will also be an opportunity for a Q+A, along with a book-signing of course!

Details vary for each event, as do ticket guidelines, so be sure to click the links below for more information. Are you ready? Here we go!

THIS RAGING SEA - OFFICIAL BOOK TOUR

September 23, 2025 | Collingswood, NJ

Location: Kiss & Tale Bookshop at 7:00 pm

In Conversation With: S.T. Gibson

Tickets: Click here

September 24, 2025 | Cambridge, MA

Location: Lovestruck Books at 7:00 pm

In Conversation With: Kelly Andrew

Tickets: Click here

September 26, 2025 | Brooklyn, NY

Location: WORD Bookstore at 7:00 pm

In Conversation With: Cait Jacobs

Tickets: Click here

September 27, 2025 | Alexandria, VA

Location: Friends to Lovers Bookstore at 4:00 pm

In Conversation With: Claire Legrand

Tickets: Click here

September 28, 2025 | Holly Springs, NC

Location: Fable Books and Café at 6:00 pm

In Conversation With: Brittney Arena

Tickets: Click here

October 3, 2025 | Manchester, CT

Location: The Firestone at 6:30 pm (hosted by River Bend Bookshop)

In Conversation With: Taylor Grothe

Tickets: Click here

✨ For up-to-date information about all events, please visit my website.

Preorder Merch Reminder

A friendly reminder that if you preorder This Raging Sea, please be sure to fill out the form below so you can receive the beautiful preorder gifts my publisher has put together. What are the gifts, you ask?

The preorder merch includes a page overlay with art of Briar and Finn by artist Gaiatri Sud, along with three letters from Finn to Briar. Each letter is written on graph paper (so very Finn), and corresponds with a different chapter in the book.

get the preorder merch!

Signed Copies

If you can’t make it to the tour, you can still get a signed copy of This Raging Sea by preordering online from Pocket Books Shop. Those also come with the preorder merch (so you don’t have to fill out the form), and they’re 15% off with the code PREORDER at checkout. A win/win/win if you ask me!

Preorder from Pocket Books

Be sure to write your personalization requests in the comment section when ordering! Want me to write a favorite Death King quote? A Finn line of yearning? A doodle of a fish or a wave? Just let me know!

Newsletter Bonus 👀

This newsletter isn’t just about updates and links…I also have a special sneak peek of something for you all.

I have some brand-new This Raging Sea commissioned art that I will be dropping on Instagram later this week. It’s taken every ounce of restraint not to share it the second it popped into my inbox, because I am thoroughly and utterly obsessed. But as newsletter subscribers, you can have a tiny preview now:

If you’ve read TRS, you might know what scene this is just from the snippet here—and tbh, I think it’s my absolute favorite scene of all time. If you haven’t read TRS yet, no spoilers, but here’s some emojis for the mood: 🥺🥹😭 The artist absolutely blew me away with their interpretation of this moment, and I can’t wait to share it later this week!

Some Parting Thoughts

I’ll end this with some briefly sentimental thoughts for the final three weeks. (I had to get at least a little emo in this newsletter.)

In the remaining days leading up to debut, I’m trying to focus on the present. But also, I’ve been looking back to where this all started. Because in writing, and perhaps in all creative pursuits, the goalposts move faster than you can recognize your surroundings, faster sometimes than you can realize an actual dream coming true. It’s easy to miss it when you’re looking ahead to the next thing, and the next, and the next. It’s easy to forget to notice that you have something you once wanted.

I recently dug out the notebook where I plotted my very first revision for This Raging Sea—not the one I did with my editor, but the one I did with my agent before we even took this book on submission. Between laughing at some now-deleted scenes that were absolutely bananas and reminiscing about others that I may have to bring back from the document graveyard one day, looking at that notebook helped me remember the one thing I wanted at the beginning of all of this: To share this book with readers.

Twenty days from now, Briar and Finn will be on shelves. Early copies have already been making their way into the world, and I’ve received some truly lovely messages from people who feel seen by both of these characters, who love them not in spite of their messiness and flaws, but because of them. Amid all the emotions that come with releasing a book and being perceived, I’ve been thinking about past me, the one with that chaotic notebook and a singular dream. And so I’m trying to notice everything, for her.

Next time I show up in your inbox, it will be release day.

See you on the other side, friends. I truly can’t wait to share this book with you.

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Somehow, we’re officially 2 months away from This Raging Sea’s release date. It feels a bit like yesterday that I was popping into your inboxes to announce that my “haunted sea book” has found its publication home, and now here we are. Wild!

To celebrate the final countdown, I have a fun game for you: a personality quiz to find out which character from This Raging Sea you’re most like!

You can play it further down below, but first, coffee some updates:

Preorder Campaign & Bookish Merch

ICYMI, we recently announced the preorder campaign for This Raging Sea! If you submit your preorder receipt from any U.S. or Canadian retailer, you will receive a gorgeous translucent art page overlay along with three letters written from Finn to Briar. The letters will be printed on graph paper (which is so Finn), and will come with stickers to tell you what chapter to read them after. Submit your preorder receipts here.

(Note: Some restrictions apply, please see form for details.)

Signed & Personalized Copies

Signed and personalized copies of This Raging Sea are available through Pocket Books Shop, and they’re 15% off with the code PREORDER at checkout. All preorders through Pocket Books will also come with the art and letters, so no need to submit your receipt if you order through this (amazing) indie. Get your signed copy here!

ARCs

Advanced reader copies of This Raging Sea are currently available to request, both on NetGalley and NetGalley UK. A friendly reminder that all ARC approvals are handled by my publishers!

Alright, now that we’ve gotten all the updates out of the way, let’s play a game! It’s quiz time!

As a millennial who grew up taking personality quizzes in magazines with friends at sleepovers, I couldn’t resist the urge to make a quiz of my own for This Raging Sea. Answer a few questions and find out: Are you a Briar or a Finn? Or maybe you’re more like Astrid, or Kai? Perhaps you’re a Morgan? Or—and I’d be a little concerned in this case—are you a Death King??? 👀

You can find out below!

Take the Quiz!

If you are so inclined to share your results on Instagram, please tag me! I’d love to see who you got matched up with from the world of Loch Creek.

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A very special day has arrived! I’m so excited to be in your inboxes to let you know that This Raging Sea is officially available to request to read on NetGalley!!

To try and snag an ARC, head on over to NetGalley at the link below. You’ll need an account in order to request, but it’s free to sign up.

Request This Raging Sea on NetGalley

Along with this announcement comes a friendly reminder that all ARC approvals and distribution are handled by my publisher. And if you’re a bookseller or reviewer/influencer/journalist wondering about physical ARCs, I would encourage you to reach out to my publisher directly. Lastly, for those wondering about availability beyond the US…stay tuned!

Please know, too, that you can find a list of content warnings on my author website, should you wish to view them before reading.

If you’re active on Goodreads, you might have seen that I shared a quick note to readers after the first ARCs dropped on Edelweiss earlier this spring. With TRS reaching even more people now, I’m going to copy an abridged version of it below for you all as well. 🖤

Dear Readers,

Advanced copies of This Raging Sea are starting to make their way into the world, which is so exciting! As people begin to meet Briar and Finn early, I wanted to take a moment to say a few words.

The first is to express the biggest thank you to everyone who has added this book to your TBR, or generally expressed excitement online. I am so grateful for each and every one of you, and I’m endlessly happy that This Raging Sea will be in your hands soon.

This Raging Sea is truly a book of my heart. It was created from just a tiny seed of an idea: a story about a boy who vanishes from time itself and a girl with a terrible secret who will love him fiercely—in every universe. Over time, it became so much more than that. It’s a love letter to girls with messy, big feelings who are tired of staying small. A tribute to bi people, existing authentically as themselves. A nod to platonic love and that rare kind of friendship that transcends time and space. A story about nostalgia, about found family, about the word “home” and how it isn’t a place at all.

To be honest, it’s been quite emotional to say a goodbye of sorts to this book, as it’s been my entire world for the past three years. But I’m so excited that This Raging Sea is finally going to belong to readers now. My greatest hope has always been that Briar and Finn’s story might help someone feel seen, and perhaps a little less alone.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for choosing to spend time with Briar and Finn. I hope you enjoy your time in Loch Creek…just perhaps avoid the northern shores after dark. <3

🖤 Bookish Updates 🖤

So many things are happening behind the scenes! Here’s a quick rundown:

• My 2026 adult dark academia novel has recently gotten a little makeover. What was previously called A Shared Haunting is now known as She Haunts Me Still. Personally, I am obsessed with this working title change, as it encompasses so many threads of this story at once (you’ll see what I mean when you read it next year). Preorder information will be coming in a few months; for now, you can add it to your TBR on Goodreads.

• I’m currently hard at work creating something for This Raging Sea that I’ll get to tell you all about soon. For now, I’ll just say that if you’ve preordered (from anywhere!), you should definitely save your receipts. And if you haven’t preordered yet, you can do so below:

  Preorder This Raging Sea

• Lastly, I will be back in your inboxes soon with the previously promised newsletter all about She Haunts Me Still’s journey. It’s a long story, but one that I think is important to tell, because so often we hear about those super-fast, overnight success stories in publishing. Some books, however, take more time and can remind us that “no” can actually mean “not yet.” More very soon!

  

  ---

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  Subscribe now

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We are somehow officially five months (!!) out from This Raging Sea hitting shelves, so I’m popping into your inbox today with some updates and a little newsletter-exclusive hint at what I’ve been working on next.

Shall we get to it?

🌊 Preorders 🌊

If you haven’t already preordered This Raging Sea, you currently can get it for 25% off at Barnes & Noble with the code PREORDER25. The sale applies to Barnes & Noble members (it’s free to sign up!) and premium members get an extra 10% off.

Preorder Here

Of course, you can also always preorder TRS at your favorite indie via Bookshop, and a great day to do this is Saturday April 26, which is Independent Bookstore Day! There are many indie bookstores that hold a special place in my heart, but one of my favorites is in the Outer Banks. It’s called Duck’s Cottage—and not only do they have books, but they also sell really good coffee and cute stickers. What more could you ask for in a bookshop?

🌊 ARCs 🌊

Advanced Reader Copies (aka ARCs) of This Raging Sea are starting to make their way out in the world, and it’s been so exciting to see readers get to meet Briar and Finn. Apologies in advance for Act III!

Currently, digital ARCs are available to request on Edelweiss—but keep your eyes peeled because they’ll also be on NetGalley very soon. If you’re a bookseller or reviewer/blogger/journalist wondering about physical ARCs, I would encourage you to reach out to my publisher directly.

Lastly, I’ll be giving away an annotated physical ARC on Instagram next week, so be sure to follow along if you want a chance to snag it.

🖤 What’s Next? 🖤

Word is that I’ll be getting to share some very exciting book news in the near future, so this is the perfect time to do a little hinting. 👀

As a thank-you for signing up for my newsletter, I’m sharing this exclusive puzzle with you below. Hidden inside it are seven words that all have to do with my next YA book in some way. Can you spot them?

🖤 Other Updates 🖤

It’s been a busy few months, which is why I haven’t appeared in your inboxes in a while! With that, here are a few other important writing updates to note:

• A Shared Haunting: I’m currently working on line edits for my adult romantic horror novel, A Shared Haunting, which will be on shelves Summer 2026. Stay tuned for preorder information and a cover reveal later this year, along with an important announcement that might be coming soon….

• Anthology Updates: If you’re into dark academia and short stories, you might want to check out These Dreaming Spires, a dark academia anthology coming from Titan Books this fall! I have a story in it called “Poisoned Pawn,” about a collegiate chess player who faces off against her ex-girlfriend in a tournament that rapidly turns deadly. You can preorder it here.

✨ Some parting thoughts ✨

This newsletter wasn’t very profound or long, and that’s partly because I had a handful of updates to blast out into the world, but also because my brain has been a very crowded place on deadline lately. I have a lot I’d like to talk about, so here are some things I plan on writing about in this newsletter in the near future:

• A Shared Haunting’s very long publishing journey and what it’s taught me about rejection, and how sometimes no means not yet.

• The way the goalposts are constantly moving in publishing and what it’s like to live in a perpetual state of hope that simply changes shape.

• Debut year and how vulnerable it feels to have a book exist outside of you for the first time.

• Being on social media as an author.

More soon!

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Welcome back to Haunted Books & Haunted Girls! I’m so happy that you’re joining me. If you haven’t subscribed already, please consider signing up below (for free!), so you never miss an issue of this newsletter. 🖤

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I had every intention of sending out a newsletter in December with some 2024 reflections and goals for the seasons ahead. But if I’m being honest, New Year’s resolutions have never really been my thing. I am definitely the kind of person who buys pretty planners every January and stops writing in them by March, so it felt more appropriate to pop into your inbox at the turn of the calendar and yell…

IT’S DEBUT YEAR! 🎉🎉🎉

Meaning, my first book comes out this year. In less than 8 months, my upper YA dark fantasy, This Raging Sea will be on shelves, which feels absolutely wild to say after almost three years of working on this book in some capacity. More on this in a moment.

But first, speaking of This Raging Sea, I have some news to share with you. Do you think it’s about time for a cover reveal? Because I sure do!

✨ Cover Reveal Info ✨

Everyone will finally get to see the absolutely stunning cover of This Raging Sea on January 30—and the big reveal itself will be hosted by Teen Vogue!! On Thursday next week, head on over to Teen Vogue dot com at 11 a.m. ET for all the gorgeous details!

I truly cannot wait to share this cover with you all. I’ve been staring at it literally every day since I first saw it, and it perfectly captures the angsty mood and epic romance you’ll find in this book. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.

Onto some thoughts!

Unsurprisingly, 2025 has arrived with a lot of emotions. It’s fitting that I began this year by turning in This Raging Sea for the final time after going through the pass pages (which is the very cool milestone when the book looks like a book). I’ve read this story more times than I can count, but this last readthrough felt different, as I was preparing to let it go.

So much of writing exists in solitude. I wrote This Raging Sea in chunks of early morning hours, compiling silent moments until paragraphs became scenes, scenes became chapters, and chapters, eventually, became a book. Along the way, there’s been points of connection—my CPs who received my messy first draft, my agent who helped get this book ready for submission, my editor who ultimately gave it a home—but for a lot of this journey, This Raging Sea just existed with me. In my head. In scraps of notes app dialogue. On my computer screen, keeping me company in the quiet.

And now, this book is officially out of my hands. It’s flown the coop (or more accurately, swam away from the shore). Eventually, it will belong to readers, where it will get new life through their eyes.

That’s the endgame of writing a book, of course. To share a story with others, to keep them company in the quiet, too. But it doesn’t make it any less scary, to pour a very big chunk of your soul onto a blank page and then set it free into the world. There has to be a letting go of sorts, I think. There has to be a moment where you say a careful goodbye.

But if writing this particular story has taught me anything, it’s that goodbye isn’t always goodbye, and endings can also be beginnings. I hope this is the beginning of something special for this book, and for all of you who choose to pick it up. I had the time of my life writing Briar and Finn’s story, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here. 🌊

As per tradition, here’s a quick status update on other writing-related things!

• A Shared Haunting (my adult debut, coming summer 2026): I’m currently in the middle of my second round of edits on ASH, which has been a mix of developmental and line edits, and has greatly consisted of me cutting excess descriptions of the MMC’s jaw knotting. (Just kidding, although..am I?) Jokes aside, I’m having a lot of fun being back in this creepy, romantic world, and I’m excited to have more updates to share about this book in the coming months!

Add A Shared Haunting on Goodreads

• 👀 Secret Things: In addition to editing ASH, I’m also drafting a book that I truly cannot wait to yell about. To be honest, drafting is not my favorite part of the writing process, as I tend to prefer revising, but this is a story that has festered inside my brain for a long time, so it’s been a blast getting to know these new characters. And in addition to THAT, I might be working on something short and not-so-sweet that I’ll get to talk about…at some point.

• As for This Raging Sea, while edits are done, there’s much, much more in store! Stay tuned for lots of updates to come, including some announcements that I’m very excited to get out into the world.

Add This Raging Sea on Goodreads

Lastly, before I sign off, I thought I’d share a snippet, straight from the pass pages of This Raging Sea! A little bit of Finn and Briar as a parting gift:

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As a subscriber to Haunted Books and Haunted Girls, you get to hear all bookish news and announcements first, so as the great Gandalf once said, keep it secret, keep it safe! 🖤

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be in your inboxes today with this news. This is a moment I’ve imagined for such a long time, and I’m so incredibly happy you’re sharing it with me.

In addition to writing YA books, I’m officially making my adult debut! My first adult novel, A SHARED HAUNTING, will be published by Dutton/Penguin Random House, and is set to haunt bookstores summer 2026.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you might know that I’ve sneakily been calling this one “heart book” for a little while. The nickname has a lot to do with the plot, but A SHARED HAUNTING (aka ASH) is very much a heart book—along with a blood, sweat, and tears book.

Some stories fester inside you for years before you figure out exactly how to tell them. Some stories need to be rewritten before they can be written right, and not just once. Several times. You start and restart. Tear it up and put it back together, rinse and repeat. But the story refuses to go away, refuses to stay on a shelf or in a drawer because it’s a part of you now.

For me, that book was ASH.

Ultimately, ASH has found its perfect editorial home, and in less than two years, this novel will be on shelves. In stores. In your hands. It might take a while for it to sink in for me, but I’ll never stop being so incredibly grateful that I get to share this particular book with the world.

With that, I’m going to save ASH’s origin story for another day—because it is quite a long story. Today, let’s talk about what you’ll find within the pages!

A SHARED HAUNTING is a romantic horror novel (a horrormance, if you will) that follows a theater student named Mallory Webb who enrolls at the same college her late mother attended, in hopes of understanding her mysterious and terrifying death. There, she finds herself racing against time to break a devastating curse alongside two of her classmates, all while facing down the vengeful, supernatural entities that could either force this trio closer together—or toward a tragic end.

A list of elements and themes and vibes? Did you expect anything else?

• An atmospheric (and deeply haunted) college campus in autumn

• A trio of chaotic theater majors in a production of Romeo + Juliet

• Foggy, moody Rhode Island setting

• New England Vampire Panic lore

• Queer rep, with a bisexual main character

• “They each have different pieces of my heart” kind of love triangle 

• A sapphic romance perfect for anyone who still hasn’t gotten over Dani + Jamie from Bly Manor 

• An absolute menace of a MMC with major “fine, make me your villain” vibes

• A dose of lovers-to-enemies

• But also reluctant-allies-to-lovers 👀

• “Is this scary or is this hot?” (Why not both?)

• Seances as a form of flirting

• B l o o d (positive)

• And allll the angsty romance woven into one deeply haunted story

In a nutshell, A SHARED HAUNTING is a blood-soaked, steamy book about a college campus with an insidious past. It stars a chaos bi theater major who finds herself entrenched in a supernatural curse that’s rooted much deeper in her life than she ever thought possible.

But this is also a story about generational female rage, about finding the right words for your identity, about throwing away everything you once thought about love and building something new. Even if it’s messy and confusing and perhaps downright terrifying. It’s about how theater can be a remedy, a drug, a balm for the soul. It’s about feeling invisible your whole life and finally feeling seen.

It’s a story for anyone who needs to feel a little less alone in the dark. Because sometimes a book can turn on a light. 

This one, however, will be a ghost light.

I can’t wait for you to meet Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia. They have lived inside my heart for years. And soon, they will hopefully find their way to yours.

Welcome to Shore College. Fall semester ‘26 is going to be a haunted one.

Welcome back to Haunted Books & Haunted Girls! I’m so happy that you’re joining me. If you haven’t subscribed already, please consider signing up below (for free!), so you never miss an issue of this newsletter. It’s always spooky szn here.

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Hello friends! It’s finally fall, and this newsletter will soon be packed with fun bookish updates, secret news 👀, and more. Today, I thought I’d talk a bit about something I know is on plenty of writers’ minds lately: the query and sub trenches.

The past couple of times I’ve done an AMA on Instagram, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to navigate, survive, or generally keep it together while querying or on submission. In truth, it’s a topic that’s hard to dole out advice about, because like many things related to publishing, there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and everyone’s experience with the query or sub trenches is vastly unique.

That said, there are some things that I found helpful while querying and on submission, and more that I’ve learned in retrospect—all of which I am more than happy to share here.

But first, as is tradition:

• The last time I popped into your inbox, it was summer, and I was between deadlines. It’s been a busy September so far, as I’ve been on a couple of back-to-back deadlines—first for copyedits for my YA debut This Raging Sea, and also for a secret project that I’ll get to tell you about very, very soon. (Like…probably the next time you get an email from this newsletter. Ahhh!!)

• Speaking of This Raging Sea, I recently turned in copyedits, acknowledgements, and my dedication, which means it is one step closer to being a book. It’s starting to feel real in all the best ways, and I’m very excited for all the things ahead—including a cover reveal, which is going to be 🌊gorgeous🌊. For now, you can add This Raging Sea to your TBR on Goodreads if you haven’t already done so!

Okay, let’s get into it. Trenches time!

First of all, is it cheesy to say that I think anyone who chooses to query (and then later goes on sub) is extremely brave? I don’t care, I’m going to say it anyway. Because it’s no small thing to put your entire heart into a 100k-word document, ship it off to strangers, and then wait in suspended quiet to hear what will happen next. It takes resilience. It takes patience. And sometimes you have to pivot and write the next thing, while your dreams are still rooted in the previous thing. It’s courage and determination and tenacity (and maybe some hard-earned spite)—and every author who is deep in the trenches can say they have all of those things and more.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s a list of things that helped me while querying or on sub. Or, alternatively, what I’d put in my personal Trenches Survival Kit:

• Make a separate email you only use for authorly things. Confession: I did not do this while querying, and I deeply regret it. I made my official author email only after getting agented, and if I had done it sooner, I would have saved myself a lot of whiplash from seeing (1) in my inbox and having it be a Bath and Body Works coupon. 😭😮‍💨

• Have a plan for learning about passes while on submission. Some authors don’t want to hear anything other than good news; others want to know every detail. (I’m the second one.) Decide what best suits your mental health, and have a chat with your agent about how passes will be communicated in a way that is manageable for you both. As an example, my agent and I had a shared Google doc where she would keep me updated while on sub, and I was able to check in at times where I felt mentally prepared to see potentially disappointing news.

• If you work on something else, try to make it as fun (and maybe as unhinged) as possible. We’ve all heard the advice: “Write the next thing.” The truth is, that can be really hard to do while you’re actively experiencing rejection. If you find it challenging to work on something else as you’re navigating the query or sub trenches, know that you’re not alone. I think the key might be to write something fun. That wild idea that’s been in the back of your mind for a while. Something outside of your genre or comfort zone. A story that’s just for you (forever, or maybe just for now). Interestingly enough, those are the projects that sometimes turn into the “next thing.”

• Consider writing short stories. If working on the next novel feels too overwhelming, it might be worth flexing your creative muscles with a short story or two. Writing short stories ended up being a really helpful creative outlet for me while on submission, because it allowed me to feel accomplished, and it was also a boost of confidence if any of my stories got accepted for publication.

• Find your people. Having a support system during querying and submission is so important. These don’t necessarily have to be other writers, but just anyone you trust with your raw, unfiltered emotions. Both querying and submission can bring a roller-coaster of hope and disappointment, sometimes on a loop, and many times all in one day. Having people to vent with, and to also share in your wins, can make all the difference.

• Write a letter to your main character. This is a little dramatic, but listen, as a Leo sun/rising, I am nothing if not dramatic in all things. Bear with me! Before querying and also before going on submission, I wrote letters to my characters, thanking them for letting me get to know them, and for helping me grow as a writer and as a person. These letters were cathartic to write, and also felt like a little manifestation tactic ahead of sending my book babies out into the ether.

• Prepare for the Friday 3pm slump. The trenches can mess with you in a lot of ways, but perhaps the most outrageous is how it reframes the notion of weekends. Mondays bring about a swell of hope (maybe I’ll hear news this week!) whereas Friday at 3pm can be the pit of despair (welp, no news this week). It can help to have Friday plans, or things to look forward to on the weekends. And when all else fails, step away from the email refreshing and get outside for some air. I honestly cannot count the amount of times I realized that going for a walk could practically cure those Friday afternoon spirals of doom.

• Tape a mantra to your desk or computer screen. Mine is still there, and it reads: “Keep writing, keep waiting, keep being brave.” All credit goes to Erin Bowman, who wrote that phrase in her newsletter a while back and it honestly rewired my brain. I happened to read it while I was on submission, and it was the exact thing I needed to hear at the time. Whatever those words are for you, whatever will help you keep writing, whatever will remind you that you can do this—put it in ink and keep it nearby.

These next and final two points are things that I’ve learned in retrospect. Because hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

One: Know that everything really is as subjective as people say—and your world can change in an instant.

Okay I know we all probably despise the word ‘subjective’ by now because we hear it all the time, but this didn’t sink in until recently, and I feel like it’s worth mentioning:

The reason one agent passes might be the exact thing that another agent adores about your book. One editor might not “fall in love,” but the next one could. And the tide can turn for the better really, really fast.

I’ve told this story elsewhere, but the week before I got my agent offer, I received three query passes all in one afternoon. All of the passes were kind, but hearing “not a fit” that many times in a single day was objectively emotionally draining. I genuinely felt like it wasn’t in the cards for me, that this pile of rejection was some kind of “sign” or bad omen that it just wasn’t going to work out.

But then, days later, I received an email from the agent who would end up being my agent. I remember reading it, bracing myself for the “unfortunately…” but it never came. Instead, she asked to set up a call.

A similar thing happened while on submission with the book that became my my YA debut. It wasn’t my first time on submission, and I was aware of all the possible outcomes—including the possibility that this book would have to go back on the shelf. But days after receiving a “I didn’t fall in love enough” pass, my agent emailed with good news. An editor did love my book. And everything changed lightning quick again.

I guess it can be summed up with this: Rejection is not an omen. Subjectivity is real. There’s so much value in having an agent (or an editor) who not only loves your writing but who also inherently understands the exact way your brain works. That’s not going to be everyone. But it can be someone.

Two: Very often, “no” means “not yet.”

I have a lot more to say on this subject that I’ll save for another post, but for now, I’ll keep it to this:

Publishing can be a strange, non-linear journey. You may tuck a book away after an unsuccessful querying journey or several submission rounds, and there’s no denying how much that hurts. It’s a unique kind of pain that is also exhausting; so much time, energy, and effort has gone into creating and polishing that story. But here’s the thing: You just might take it back off the shelf later. Maybe it’s to rewrite it in a different age category. Maybe it’s to revise after you’ve strengthened your craft. Maybe it’s to excavate the bones and mold it into a new story altogether.

But one way or another, that book might come back to you.

I’m going to leave you with a screenshot of a DM I came across recently. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact context, but it’s certainly from a conversation on a day I must have had a hard-hitting query or sub pass. I think it sums everything up:

When you want something as badly as I know so many authors want to share their books, that wanting starts to exist outside of you. It’s the kind of dream that aches. It’s the kind of dream that you keep chasing because you can’t imagine a world where you don’t. Because the idea of not writing hurts more than any pass or disappointment ever could. Because, quite simply, you have more stories in you.

This is not to encourage burnout; please, please take breaks, go for those “anti-spiral” walks, touch all the grass (roll in the grass, even!).

And then, when it feels right, tell the next story. Your words will wait for you.

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Welcome back to Haunted Books & Haunted Girls! I’m so happy that you’re joining me. If you haven’t subscribed already, please consider signing up below (for free!), so you never miss an issue of this newsletter. It’s always spooky szn here.

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Apparently, this is the summer for craft posts in this newsletter. When I showed up in your inbox last month, it was to talk about my revision strategy (and to share my go-to template for developmental edits). This time, I thought I’d talk a bit about drafting!

But first, some…

• My debut YA novel, This Raging Sea, is officially off at copyedits. It’s an exciting milestone, and also means that more milestones are on the horizon (including one I get asked about pretty much on the daily…hint: it rhymes with sharks). In the meantime, if you haven’t already added TRS on Goodreads, you can do so here!

• In between TRS deadlines, I’ve been working on a few secret projects. I’m dying to yell on main about everything, but if there’s one thing that remains true, it’s that vague eras don’t stay vague forever. And also, newsletter subscribers get any ~news~ first. And there might be something very exciting in the near’ish future. Take all of this however you’d like! 😌

Onward to…zero drafts! Like last time, I’ll preface this by saying that there are no “rules” when it comes to writing, and what works for one author might not work for the next—and that’s okay. Ultimately, whatever helps you get words down on the page is the “right” method for you.

I typically call my first draft a zero draft, because while it’s loosely outlined, it’s mostly a discovery draft. I’m telling myself the story. And, at first, I’m allowing it to be a mess (more on this in a second).

Before I wrote my zero draft of This Raging Sea, I prepped with a few things:

• A general outline following a 3-act structure (I personally like the Save the Cat method for structural beats, but it doesn’t necessarily fit every book)

• Some broad world-building/lore

• A loose idea of the magic system

• Character descriptions and face casts

• And a ton of moodboards and playlists to set the vibes, naturally!

From there, I started writing. My biggest hurdle anytime I do a zero draft is just letting myself write the story “wrong.” I have a tendency to want to make it perfect on the first try, to nail all the plot escalations, to develop each character with nuance—but the truth is, not all of that is possible in an initial draft. All of that fine-tuning comes later on.

Writing my zero draft for TRS was a lesson in letting the story figure out what it wanted to become. In doing so, I deviated from my outline multiple times, wrote entire characters that I ended up cutting, and crafted plot threads that ultimately were too bananas to keep (but might have made it into the book in other ways). 👀

At the end of the day, I had to write it “wrong” in order to get it right.

Here are some things I found helpful while doing a zero draft for TRS:

• A “brain dump” document - This is where I would jot down every idea or thought I had while drafting. This ranged from new plot ideas to things I wanted to fix or tweak later. Once my zero draft was finished, I organized it into categories—this helped guide my first revision.

• Another document for research - Similarly, I had a separate document where I kept all of the research I did while drafting. I broke this into categories too, and it came in handy while I was revising later on.

• Utilizing “clean-up days” - For the most part, I find it helpful not to edit a ton while I’m drafting. However, I’ll typically designate one day every week as a clean-up day to go back and tweak previous chapters. This ultimately leaves me with a fairly clean zero draft, and helps me thread plot twists and escalations.

• “What’s next” outline - Similarly, at the end of a drafting session, I’ll write out what comes next (anywhere from one to three chapters ahead). This helps me avoid getting stuck.

• Word count tracking & accountability buddies - Some people don’t like tracking their word count; for me, I find it helpful! I also love seeing my progress, so I’ll make a little color chart where I fill in a square for every five thousand words. I also find it helpful to draft simultaneously with a friend, where we cheer each other on or swap chapters at designated times.

When I finished my zero draft of TRS, I let it marinate for a bit before making a reverse outline, and then started tackling a list of self-edits. This took longer than the zero draft itself, but it’s where the bulk of the work came in. I used a variation of the revision template that I shared in my previous post, and ended up with the draft that I eventually sent to beta readers and my agent. From there, my agent and I revised again together before putting TRS on submission to editors.

I’ll also add that I don’t love drafting—I definitely prefer revising. It’s hard to go from editing a polished manuscript to drafting something new. It’s hard to let go of the desire to make it perfect. But there’s also something freeing about giving yourself permission to make a mess—to get to know your new story and world and characters without worrying about whether or not it’s “good.” To know that your first/zero draft is just for you. To say, “I’m telling myself this story for the first time. It will be chaotic before it’s pretty. It might be wrong before it can be right.”

Again, there are all kinds of methods for drafting, just like there are all kinds of writers. This is what works for me, and I hope it might help someone else! 🖤 And if not, well, here’s a meme:

Lastly, I thought I’d introduce a new section of this newsletter, where we go a little behind the scenes of my books. Today, I’m sharing a few songs that I have on my playlist for This Raging Sea! One of these might be extra-special for a secret reason…but they all capture the vibes of this book perfectly.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you subscribed at the link below. It’s fully free, and all future issues will go directly to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a minute.

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For more writing content, come hang out with me on Instagram!