All About Book 2!

Introducing: Back Where We Started

Hi book pals,

I am truly awful at keeping my own secrets. And the last few months, as we’ve tied up edits and gotten ready to announce my second book, my hair has been full of ‘em. A new title! All the details of what this book is actually about! A cover! And today is the day I can finally spill.

(*big sigh*, *giddy squeal*, *runs and hides under the covers*)

Let’s start with the cover designed by the talented Liz Casal who also illustrated the cover for The Christmas Orphans Club:

…isn’t she gorgeous?!

Now, you’re probably wondering what Back Where We Started is all about. Let me tell you:

This book is about Katie and Drew, childhood best friends turned first loves who bonded over their big, ambitious dreams. Dreams far too big to accomplish in their small Pennsylvania hometown. She wants to be a famous actress; he wants to be the president.

Fast forward to today: Katie—now known professionally as Blair Banks—actually is a famous actress, a journey that’s required changing far more than just her name. And Drew is… definitely not the president. When Katie comes home for the holidays for the first time in five years, the two run into each other and realize their spark is still alive and well.

You could think of it as Notting Hill meets Every Summer After with a dash of Sweet Home Alabama. It’s an emotional second-chance romance about people pleasing, our culture’s treatment of female celebrities, the addictive nature of achievement, and how we make room in our lives for what matters most.

Sound good? Well, it’s out in the US on October 13th, and you can pre-order a copy wherever books are sold.

How else can you help?

• If you’re a Goodreads user, I’d love it if you added BWWS to your shelves to help other readers discover it.

• You could also request for your local library to stock it. (There’s probably a form on their website or app. Or next time you stop by in-person, tell a librarian about it!)

• I’ll be posting about the book on Instagram later this morning (newsletter eats first!) and would love it if you shared that post on your stories or with your book club or even just sent it to your book-loving bestie!

If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know this book has been a real journey for me. I’ve been working on it for over 3 years—which isn’t abnormal per se, I just had some real delusional (for me!) ideas that I could do it much quicker—and it really threw me for a few confidence-bruising loops. So, your support for this book (and my author career!) means the world to me.

I just finished re-reading it for maybe (but probably not) the last time as I reviewed my pass pages, and even after 100+ re-reads, I got swept away in Katie and Drew’s story. I can’t wait for you to, as well.

I’ll leave another pre-order link here in case that was the domino that tipped you.

Let me anticipate a couple more of your questions…

Q: Is it a Christmas book?

A: Kind of? It’s certainly less Christmassy than my debut novel, The Christmas Orphans Club. My totally unscientific and highly-biased test would put it at 60% less Christmassy?

The present timeline begins in early December and runs through May. Meanwhile, the past timeline happens all throughout the year. There is a Christmas Eve party and Christmas morning scene about halfway through the book, but it doesn’t hit you over the head with candy canes and elves and carols. My hope is that you don’t feel like you need to save it to read in December, or if you happen to discover it in January or February, that’s fine, too!

Q: Why did the title change?

A: Eagle-eyed readers (and podcast listeners!) might remember that when we announced the book back in 2022, it was called ‘Tis the Damn Season, as the book was loosely inspired by the Taylor Swift song of the same name. You might assume we changed it for legal reasons, but as far as I understand it, song titles aren’t protected by copyright law.

When my editor broached a title change back in November, I was surprised but by no means opposed. The original title served me well through drafting and editing, but it didn’t represent the final product. The book turned out a whole lot less Christmassy than it could have been. Sure, I freaked out for an hour or so, but then I sat down with the book’s playlist and listened to each song while scanning their lyrics for new title inspiration.

I found it in “Stick Season (Her Version)” by Deeps. (God, this song makes me feel things.) “Then we′ll be right back where we were in June” became Back Where We Started. Instantly, I had good idea tingles. I liked that it connoted “home,” a recurrent theme in the book, and had strong second-chance romance vibes. As a bonus, it also ties into this delightful disco song by Maxine Nightingale, which I associate with The Family Stone, one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies.¹ All told, the book was title-less for under 6 hours. A relatively painless process.

I’d like to think I’m a better book-writer than I am a mind-reader, so if you have other questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll try to answer or use them as fodder for a future letter.

I’m so thrilled to have you on this publication journey with me! And my eternal gratitude in advance for your pre-orders, shares, Goodreads saves, library requests, and texts to book-loving friends.

My very best,

Becca

1. And as a bonus-bonus, it abbreviates to BWWS, which I imagine to be the plural of Buffalo Wild Wings, a real plus for me as both a buffalo chicken and chain restaurant enthusiast. If you think I didn’t mention this key point in my pitch to my editor, you don’t know me at all.