Sixteen years ago, I got a wild, crazy idea: I was going to write a book. I never thought I’d be published. I never imagined I’d be an author. I just wanted to see if I could.
Eleven years ago TODAY, on May 5, 2015, my debut novel released. And now, SUMMER STATE OF MIND, my thirteenth novel, is out, in stores, on shelves, and–fingers crossed!–on your nightstand or in your beach bag!
Y’all, I’m going to be real: This isn’t an easy business. You spend a year pouring your heart and soul into a story and there is rejection. And people can be mean. And you get within an inch of that award or accolade you want so, so much and they pick someone else. This business has broken my heart a million times in a million ways. And yet…
The stories–and all of you–keep me coming back to the page time after time after time. Because there is nothing in all the world like watching a book take shape, a character take on a life of his or her own.
There is nothing in all the world like hearing that something in one of my books made you laugh or cry, helped you feel something you had been avoiding, made you think about your own experience in a new way. That’s it. That’s everything. That’s my “why.”
So, today, of course, I hope you’ll read SUMMER STATE OF MIND. I hope it will make you smile and feel all the feels. But, most of all, I hope it will remind you what all the characters in this book–and I–have to learn over and over again.
Sometimes it will break your heart. But you have to keep dreaming. The big dreams. The crazy ones. And even if it feels hard. Even if it feels long. Even if you want to give up…
You can always escape into the pages of a favorite book and, just like that, find yourself in a SUMMER STATE OF MIND!
Thank you for reading these books, for sharing them with your friends, for showing up to events, for sending messages and kind notes and for making this whole dream possible. I never take a single bit of it for granted.
Today, I’ll be celebrating on the road—first in Greenville, SC, and then in Salisbury, NC—and if you happen to be nearby, I would absolutely love to see you there.
There is something so special about launch day—about knowing that a story that lived quietly on my laptop is now out there finding its way into your hands.
If you’ve been waiting to grab your copy, today is the day. And if you’ve already ordered, I hope you love it more than I can say.
As I’m signing these books… Here’s to sunshine, blue skies, and a SUMMER STATE OF MIND!
More About Summer State of Mind:
“Queen of the beach read,” (Cosmopolitan) New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with a heartfelt escape to coastal Carolina.
After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.
Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child they’ve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.
But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm. In a novel that proves that “Kristy Woodson Harvey is (the) go-to for elevated beach reads” (People), they will each learn that with love, understanding—and a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!—sometimes life conspires to bring us just exactly where we belong.
Come See Me on Tour!
Greenville, SC and Raleigh, NC are sold out this week, but you can still register for many of these events! Check out my full tour details at the link below:
Thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart for eleven years of unwavering support. I am so incredibly grateful—and I hope you love SUMMER STATE OF MIND!
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