Can you have a second HEA?

I feel like, if you’re here already, you know the answer to that question. And yet, I’m going to talk about it anyway. But first…

I had a significant craving for cold brew this morning. Was it spending a week in the Florida sun? Is it just me subconsciously wishing for warmer days already, even though it hasn’t actually been all that cold? I don’t know, but I’m still on break, so I had some time. I brewed some. I have zero regrets. Well, except the wide-eyed and wired feeling I have right now because I drank three coffee drinks today. But that will wear off eventually, right?

I know enough about romance to have written a couple of pretty decent ones. I’ve taken some classes so I know how to edit them, too. I’ve studied the beats and the tropes. I know what makes people swoon. I know what to absolutely never include, and I know what people expect.

And then I wrote a slow burn romantic comedy about a couple who is already married. They’re already in love. They just have to figure some stuff out.

It may seem counterintuitive to write about a couple who is already married, but there are plenty of big-name writers who have taken on the challenge. Kennedy Ryan, Tessa Bailey, Lyssa Kay Adams to name a few. When I set out to do this, I had studied a few of these books. I knew it could be done.

I liked to joke in interviews that I never had any intention of writing Jenny and Ben’s story, which is half-true. When I started writing The Write Place, I anticipated it being a standalone. But then Jenny’s character was so compelling, and her flirtationship with Ben left a lot of questions unanswered, so I figured I should write their story. I knew I was going to do it (and had it half written) by the time I published TWP.

But, once I knew I was going to do that interconnected standalone, I knew for sure that I wanted to do another one with a married couple. I actually wrote Katie and Brandon into the bonus epilogue for TWP while editing, just so I could write about them later.

Why was this so important to me? Well, in 2009, I started blogging as part of a project for grad school. I basically inserted myself into the feminist blogosphere. In 2010, I got married. At the time, a lot of us were in that phase of our lives, and the feminist discourse surrounding weddings and marriage was very focused on the lack of role models women had after that initial HEA. The princesses and romcom stars all got their happy endings, but then what? The wives we saw in media at the time were either overbearing, nagging, or June Cleaver-esque while they vacuumed in high heels. There was not much acknowledgement that, maybe, the grumpiness we saw as nagging was actually due to the fact that the patriarchal system is stacked against wives and mothers from the start. And there certainly was no road map for how to be a wife and mother and still be, well, happily married.

This had a lot of us asking what happens after the happily ever after? Were we doomed to nag our partners and helicopter over our children? Would we lose ourselves despite our best efforts? Could we redefine ourselves as wives and mothers while still retaining the essence of what made us, us?

I tried to compile a collection of essays about this very topic. I even queried an agent and started to collect the essays, but the project was cut short. I don’t actually remember why, but looking back on it now, I think it was for the best. (Even though that would have been a kickass set of essays.) I say that because, thirteen years into my marriage now, I have seen some of my peers’ marriages thrive and some not. I have seen marital comeback stories that are downright inspirational, and I have seen couples try to stick it out far longer than is probably healthy. My own marriage has had its ups and downs. And I’ve learned a few things along the way.

From what I know so far (which, if you look at the longest-lasting couples, isn’t much, so take this with a grain of salt), for a marriage to have any shot at succeeding, you need to have a lot of love, even more willpower, and—frankly—some luck. You have to want it. Or, in the words of my characters, you have to choose it. Which takes love, yes, but love isn’t enough. You have to work at it. Every day. You have to choose each other. Every day. And you have to get lucky enough to both grow in the same direction, to both want the same things. Some of that is just out of your control.

This might be an oversimplification, but I’m not writing a dissertation on marriage here. I’m saying all that to explain why married romance calls to me the way it does. And to answer the question.

Can you have a second happily ever after?

I hope so. And I hope there’s a possibility for a third, fourth, fifth, hundredth. Because falling in love is great. But falling in love with the same person again and again is magic.

Signed paperbacks are starting to ship out TODAY! I stayed up well into the night to sign, pack, and label everything so I could drop them off at the post office bright and early. This means that, if you ordered one, it could be in your hands before release day!

Haven’t ordered one yet? Good news. You still can! I have about 12 left, with more on the way.

And now here’s where I get a bit redundant to sweeten the deal for you. If you pre-order The Write Choice and fill out this form, I’ll send you an exclusive 4×6 print of the Leade Park Six featuring artwork by the amazingly talented Lorissa Padilla plus some other extra bookish surprise goodies just for being awesome.

You only need to fill out the form if you pre-order a Kindle copy. If you pre-order from my website, I’ll include it in your order.

This offer will be available through January 15. Right now, Kindle copies are at a special pre-order price of only $1.99, and signed copies are on sale, too, so you’re getting this offer AND an amazing deal on a book that you’re sure to love while supporting this indie author. What’s better than that?

Two beautiful books I’ve had the honor of beta reading are up for ARC sign-ups right now. If you’re looking to support more indie authors in 2024, now is your chance. Sign up for these ARCs now, before all slots are filled!

Sign up for an ARC of ‘Til I Reach You by Lorissa Padilla, releasing March 12!

Sign up for an ARC of That First Moment by Stefanie Steck, releasing February 19!

OK, so when I said I stayed up late packing orders, that was true, but I actually wrote this newsletter AFTER that, so please forgive… basically all of it. I am really excited for The Write Choice to be in your hands, though. I think you can tell by everything I’m saying that I feel passionately about this book. So, I hope you read it and love it! Just about two more weeks!

Happy reading!