Inside the mind of Will Langford

The bonus scene is here. Plus, blabbering.

I know Will Langford. And yes, obviously, but wait—I knew Will years before I wrote Will, because there’s a Will Langford in every humanities department across the country. There’s a high school Will: overly precocious, weirdly articulate, probably not hot yet. And in college and grad school, Wills are sometimes intense and quiet, and sometimes quite the opposite—God’s gift to English departments, the voice of a generation, et cetera, et cetera. So yeah. I’ve known, rolled my eyes at, and lusted after many a Will. It’s like if you took the confident arrogance of Logan Huntzberger and combined it with the literary diet of Jess Mariano. Infuriating, insufferable, but self-assured and smart in a way that people like me can’t help but want to take apart.

What’s this man thinking about??? Wildly inappropriate things, for SURE.

Developing Will was easy—but figuring out who would dismantle him was harder. Because beneath the surface, behind the tortoise glasses, between the lines, if you will, this type of character is a tough nut to crack. They’re insecure, see, so they harden themselves. Build up a lot of walls. I needed someone who was going to destabilize him—someone who was exactly the same as him and yet took the total opposite approach to life. Someone who, instead of building up a wall, would actually build a mirror. Someone who would morph herself into whatever someone else wanted. The fawn to Will’s freeze. How infuriating he would find that, to see his own insecurities projected right back to him. How delicious, to have them slowly melt away.

I wrote You Between the Lines in Leigh’s point of view for several reasons, not least because this is primarily her story, but also because the tension and climax of the novel are heightened if you, the reader, don’t know what Will is thinking. If Leigh has to suffer, you do too! I’m sorry! (I’m not!)

That said, I’m just a girl. I was desperate to write something in Will’s POV. Just a little something. Just a treat. So I wrote the Halloween scene, one of my favorites in the book, from Will’s perspective. I did it in third-person because Will needs to be read one step removed to be truly understood. And once I started, it was the easiest bit of YBTL-related writing I’d ever written, lol. No notes, no edits, just me channeling the boy I’d been creating filthy daydreams about since 2022. Like I said, I know Will Langford.

Readers who preordered and filled out a form got this several weeks ago, but I can’t continue to gatekeep! Will Langford must be unleashed! So here it is—about 13 pages worth of neuroticism and insecurity and yearning and, yeah, horniness. I hope you enjoy lmao¹.

Read the chapter here:

The password, obviously, is “lavender” (all lowercase).

Let me know what you think :)

A small tease of what you will get from the bonus scene. Small batch artisanal locally grown yearning :)

Other YBTL-related things

Book clubs! Got a book club that invites authors to your virtual hangouts? I’d love to join any discussions about YBTL if that sounds fun - just let me know and I’ll see what I can do. The caveat is I live in Sweden, 6 hours ahead of the US East Coast…otherwise…I’m flexible haha.

Come see me in Sweden! If you’re in the Stockholm area, I have one final event of my book tour happening on April 9 at 6pm at The English Bookshop on Södermalm. There will be limited stock of books to buy, so if you don’t want to chance it, I recommend buying from Blackwell’s, which has free shipping and duties if you deliver to Sweden (and other EU countries, I believe.)

Listen to me ramble! If, for some reason, you wanted to hear my meanderings, I’ve been on a few podcasts talking about YBTL and writing! Find me on The Well Read Podcast, The Incoherent Fangirl, and So, I wrote a book…now what? If you’re more of a reader than a listener, I also did a Q&A with Nerd Daily here.

Find another Will(yum)! Need more Will? I wanted to shoutout my friend Shameez Patel’s romcom debut which came out in January, PLAYING FLIRTY. The love interest is also William, and like my William, he is tall, has massive shoulders, and is fabulously nerdy. I had such a blast reading this book and there’s a first kiss scene that truly stopped me in my tracks. Read it and come back to me to discuss!

Non-YBTL things

What I’m reading: I recently finished Ana Holguin’s sparkling UP CLOSE & PERSONAL which is about a celebrity spin instructor and the “hater” journalist who’s writing a story about her. You know I love a writer!! This had excellent exploration of mental health, and was the exact book my soul needed right now. It’s sexy, witty, perfectly paced and I can’t wait for everyone to read it. You’ll gobble it up in one day. Comes out April 29!

What I’m watching: My husband and I started Severance and I’m ashamed it took me so long. Why is this literally the best show on television? The emotions I went through during the MDE (real ones know)….I’m obsessed. I haven’t felt this way about a piece of media for a while. We’re in the middle of season 2 now, so no spoilers please!

What I’m eating: If chocolate-covered mango has 1 fan on earth, it is me, and if chocolate-covered mango has no fans, I am dead. So, uh, yeah, I’m eating that, and also the last remains of Swedish semla season, which is a classic Swedish pastry that involves a bun (lightly flavored with cardamom), almond paste, and a ton of whipped cream.

That’s all for now! Hope everyone is surviving in these frankly horrible times, and know that I am deeply grateful for your support.

1. Not for relatives. Please lol