Wet hot Will Langford summer
Also, starting something new + book recs
Hello! It’s been a while. But I wanted to sneak in your inbox just for some *small* updates. I’m making my annual summer voyage to Ohio from Sweden, and am doing a few book events along the way. If you’re in Ohio or Oregon this July, I’d love to see you!
Where I’ll be this summer
COLUMBUS, OH / Saturday, July 12, 11:30am-12:30pm - I’ll be hanging out at the Columbus Book Festival! I’m speaking on a romance panel called Tropes, Transformation, and Tension (guess which of the three I like best!) with authors Denise Williams and Anna Todd (!!). There’s a signing after, with books available to purchase (or bring yours from home!), and I’ll also at the Steamy Lit booth at 4pm. All events free to attend.
CLEVELAND, OH / Saturday, July 19, 11am-1pm - For my hometown Cleveland crowd, I’ll be at NEO’s first romance bookstore, Flame and Fable, in Lakewood to sign books! Super casual. Come say hi and help me decide which books I want to buy.
PORTLAND, OR / Wednesday, July 23, 7-8pm - YBTL hits the West Coast for the first time! I’ll be at Portland’s romance bookstore Grand Gesture with my fellow debut Erin Connor (the author of the delightful Unromance) in conversation. Free to attend! I’m psyched! I love Portland and I’m excited to meet Erin in person for the first time and chat romance with y’all! RSVP here.
State of the mind
I’m in a period of transition right now. I was recently, unexpectedly, laid off from my day job, which has upended my sense of stability. I’m a planner, and I love knowing what the next 12 months will look like, which I don’t anymore. A hilarious amount of people here have told me, “summer is by far the best time to be laid off,” I suppose since Sweden’s rare sun is finally out, which, true. But even though I’m so many years out of academia, summer has always been imbued with a yearning for “back to school”—the Target school supplies runs, the outfit planning I’d do for hours, applying wrapping paper to my textbooks so they looked cute, lol. Sweden’s national cadence is similar since we have the right to many vacation days—many Swedes take off all of July and then when you come back after, it does feel like you’re back to school. I’m really not sure at all what my back-to-school will be this year, but I’m trying to enjoy the rare time off.
I’m also between projects. I recently “wrapped” (as much as one can) something up, so I’m beginning a new work-in-progress. This is always the worst bit for me, the getting started, the gathering of momentum. I have a sense of what I want the book to be (another neighborhood of Yearntown, duh), I have rudimentary sketches of the main characters, I know a few “secrets” that will unravel over the course of the book (god I love a secret). I have the Pinterest board (lots of green! maybe a blonde man??)! But I’m impatient. I want to read the book NOW! It’s like too many thoughts jumbled together and I’m not sure how most of them connect yet. We’ll see what happens. I’m hoping Ohio will be the palette cleanse I need to refill the creative well.
Also, question for y’all: I really want to send newsletters more often and not just when I have publishing news. But I want to find the right niche…if you have any ideas of what you’d be interested in from me, please let me know!
Media consumption
What I’m watching: We’re watching The Bear because I’m very into food and Jeremy Allen White’s face and aura. Otherwise, we just finished a rewatch of one of my faves, Fleabag, since my husband had never seen it. Not me losing my mind over the “Kneel.” even when I knew it was coming.
What I’m reading: I’ve got three recs - two ARCs I’ve read recently, and one book that comes out imminently that you should jump on. Out very soon (7/8) is Melanie Sweeney’s WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED, which is this gorgeously lush Texan love story between a single mom librarian and a grouchy gardener. Melanie is a master of tension, and this book (like her debut) has loads. Out a bit later (9/16) is Audrey Goldberg Ruoff’s HOPELESSLY TEAVOTED, which is whimsical and poetic and extremely horny. This had some of my favorite steam I’ve read in a while, and it’s truly the perfect book if you miss Pushing Daisies (but want the HBO update.) Finally, you should preorder SPARKS FLY by Zakiya N. Jamal, which is out 12/4. It’s very sexy, very tender, and very topical (There’s an anti-AI subplot. Love!) It’s sort of a workplace romance, but it’s more about being a late bloomer, connecting with unexpected people on a deep, visceral level, and the complications and joy of friendship.
What I’m listening to: Lorde, of course. I have “Broken Glass” and “Shapeshifter” and “If She Could See Me Now” on repeat.
That’s all for now! I’ll be back sooner than you think ;)
Thank you for the shoutout! I, too, want to read your new project now, so… get to work! No, but the beginning of a book is always the hardest part for me too. Hope you find your way into it with ease, unlike me! 😂
You've, uh, just wrapped something, you say?👀👀
I hope the new wip is good to you. (Please give me a blonde man I BEG)
Apart from just like random bits and updates (you know I can't get enough of you) maybe some regular poetry recs and some like poetry for beginners advice could be fun and on brand??