WOW. It seems hard to believe that ten years ago today, my debut novel, DEAR CAROLINA, released.

I still remember that feeling. I still remember the first person who texted me at 12:01 am to tell me happy pub day. But I never could have imagined that I would still be here, all these years later, writing books, living inside my dream career. It’s the best feeling ever!

So, it would make sense to put together 10 things I’ve learned in 10 years. But 10 felt like a lot for y’all to read, so I narrowed it down to five.

1. That thing you’ve always wanted to do, in the back of your mind? You should go do that thing! I never planned on being an author. And so, sometimes, I wake up in a cold sweat now thinking, What if I’d never taken the plunge and tried to write that first novel? I mean, okay. Maybe it’s not that serious. If I’d never done it, I guess I’d just never know. But I’ve been much braver about taking leaps into the unknown ever since because you never know how your life can change!

2. Nothing is 100% what you imagine it will be. When I started writing, I had this romantic notion of sitting at my desk and creating worlds for readers to visit. I didn’t think about seven flights in three days and endless rental car buses and trying to fit a week of outfits into a carry-on. Or the millions of details that go into promoting a book. Or how hard it is to come up with months worth of social media posts every. single. day. More than that, though, I never imagined that…

3. Writing would help me overcome my fears. My two biggest fears when I started out? Flying and public speaking. I’m actually laughing as I write this right now because seriously? I thought I was taking this safe desk job and, instead, I plunged myself directly into my two biggest fears over and over and over. I don’t even think about public speaking anymore. It feels so normal! Sometimes I still get a little nervous on a plane, but it’s rare. And I certainly don’t stay up at night worrying about it like I used to!

4. You can’t make everyone happy. Oh my gosh, you guys. YOU CANNOT MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY. As a people pleaser, this is a hard one for me. Not everyone is going to like every book. I’m pretty easy to please, reading-wise, and I certainly don’t like every book! I’m still more likely to remember one bad review than 100 glowing ones, but I’ve gotten more comfortable with the fact that not everyone is going to like my books. Or me! I said more comfortable. Not comfortable, comfortable.

5. It’s just a book. Okay. So, this one I’m still bad at. But, sometimes, when you’re in the pre-launch swirl of interviews and social media and tour plans, it all starts to feel so heavy and serious. This has become my mantra: It’s just a book. It’s just a book. If people hate it? Well, it’s just a book. It isn’t life or death, and I know I already have two in the hopper for next year!

   

Whether you’ve been here since May 5, 2015, this is the first time you’ve ever heard my name, or something in between, thank you for being a part of the most incredible decade. Thank you to my family and friends who bought books and hosted events and made their friends come and had me stay at their houses when I didn’t have a budget for tour. Thank you to my parents and Will and Will for packing up and coming along with me. Thank you to all the design bloggers who Mom and I knew from Design Chic who shouted out my debut novel even though it had zero to do with their content. Thank you to the book bloggers…and then bookstagrammers and bootokkers who championed me from the very beginning. Thank you to the editors and publicists and marketing geniuses that have been on all the iterations of my in-house and personal teams. And, most of all, thank you to every single reader who has ever purchased one of my books or written a review or come to an event or said, “Hey, you have to read this,” to a friend. It is astonishing to think about those very humble beginnings, about where we are now, and about where I hope we continue to go together.

Thanks for being along for the ride. Cheers to all of you, to a decade of togetherness, and, fingers crossed, many more decades of reading together.

Nantucket Books Preorders!

I just received 13 big, gorgeous boxes of the new hardback to sign for Nantucket Books! You can still ordered signed preorders with that adorable, exclusive acrylic bookmark from Nantucket Books. OR, of course, you can preorder from anywhere books or sold, or grab your copy on tour. I would be so grateful if you did!

Love from BookTrib!

Thank you so much to BookTrib and my friend Julie Cantrell for including BEACH HOUSE RULES in this fabulous list of “5 Sizzling Summer Reads!” Check out the other can’t-miss titles on BookTrib!

We are just three weeks away from the launch of BEACH HOUSE RULES! Have you preordered yet? If not, I would love it so much if you did!