In a little under a month, I have a new book coming out! It’s my first novel released in over a year (you can blame the pregnancy brain for that). Here’s a quick introduction into what it’s about:

All their lives, Finn and Nate have been inseparable, sharing everything, and when a childhood accident left Finn broken, Nate stood by his side as all his other friends left. After all their years together, there’s one secret Finn still hasn’t revealed: he has been in love with Nate since they were eight years old. Hiding his feelings for twenty-one years—terrified of what might happen if Nate ever found out—has been difficult, but losing his best friend would be worse than living with a bad case of unrequited love. Unfortunately for Finn, Nate doesn’t make it easy.

Nate believes there are some things that just have to be done before your thirtieth birthday. As a gift to Finn, he plans an adventure to check off a list of thirty things to experience before hitting that milestone. Starting in Crawfordsville, Indiana, they tour the country, trying new things and meeting interesting new people. Nate’s having the time of his life, but he can tell Finn is holding something back. As the days count down, navigating the back roads suddenly seems easier than figuring out where their relationship is heading.

One thing’s for certain. There will be no turning back.

Thirty Things is a little lighter than my other books (not that my books are all that dark) and it plays on one of my favourite tropes of all time: Friends to Lovers. It was inspired by an amazing YouTube video my husband showed me. The plot bunny bit hard and once I’d started the book and I couldn’t believe how quickly it came together. The words flew onto the page, and I did something I’d never done before… I plotted a novel. Normally, I am a very fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer, but because Finn and Nate are on a road trip together (and since Nate spent so long planning the trip), I had to put in the same level of planning.

I loved the idea of the two best friends setting off to check of their before-30-bucket-lists together. I had so much fun writing this book, partially just for the research. There are so many amazing things to see and do in the US, and I was able to virtually visit so many places (thank God for Google Maps Street View!) I feel like I took the trip right along with them, and although I’ve never been to Texas or Colorado or Mississippi or Kansas, I feel like I have.

I was able to visit places that are close to my heart, too. The boys drive along the coast of Oregon and spend a day in Disneyland, which, for those who know me know are two of my favourite places on earth. I used Roadtrippers to plot out their course and discover some new places for Finn and Nate to stop along the way. This is what their trip looked like:

Thirty Things will be available from Dreamspinner Press on April 3rd, 2015, but it is available for preorder now.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6217