Hello, April 2024

NOLA book festival, my thoughts on sequels, & why can't I ever write anything short?!

Writing Updates

Last month, I had an incredible time at the New Orleans Book Festival! As always, I got really nervous for my panel, and, also as always, I quickly realized I had nothing to be nervous about and ended up having a lot of fun! My post-panel signing line blew me away; some readers were just discovering The Summer of Broken Rules while others brought all three of their beautifully tabbed K.L. Walther books! It was fantastic to talk reading and writing with all of you—and also extremely reenergizing. Writing can be a solitary sport, and before this trip, I was really feeling stuck in my head. I loved connecting with readers in-person again, to see and hear how much they love my characters and their stories and can’t wait for what’s next. It gave me a huge confidence boost and motivation to bang out the rest of my revision!

Actual writing updates: While We’re Young (which you can add here on Goodreads) is in the homestretch. We finished copyedits last month, which were straightforward. My grammar must be getting better, but my factual accuracy? This comment speaks volumes...

Yes, you can safely conclude that I am a Starbucks girl.

(I chose almond milk).

I also recently turned in developmental revisions for Swiftie 4. It was not my favorite revision for a lot of reasons, but I’m very happy with how it turned out and am excited for next steps (fingers crossed a title is one of them)! I love every inch of it, from the protagonist to her family to the setting to the romance to the ensemble cast to my interpretation of folklore’s teenage love triangle. Sometimes I stumbled across lines and thought to myself, How will I ever be able to write something this witty again?!

That’s when I suspect I have something promising!

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So, I have some thoughts on young adult romance sequels…

It’s time to tell you a secret: I adored Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I've Loved Before, but I haven’t read its sequels…and I’m not even tempted to…and it’s not because Teen Kaethe lost interest in Lara Jean and Peter by the time those sequels were published.

If anything, I’m never going to read them because I love LJ and Peter so much. They are, hand on my heart, one of my all-time favorite young adult OTPs. (For those who might not know—ahem, my Jane Austen-hero fiancé—or if this acronym has gone out of fashion, OTP = One True Pairing).

The same goes for the Netflix adaptations; the first movie is pure cotton candy perfection and I pretend the two follow ups don’t exist. Jordan Fisher is really cute, but even he can’t convince me to watch the second one.

The following thoughts are mine. They are neither good nor bad, right nor wrong. It’s just my opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Please don’t judge me for not reading Parts II and III of Jenny Han’s genius!

YA contemporary romance sequels are a sticky wicket for me. What I love about the genre so much is that we readers get a happily ever after in the first book. LJ and Peter, Anna and St. Clair, Simon and Blue, Jordan and Henry, Annie and Clay, and Alex and Molly—I smiled, giggled, and kicked my feet after reading the final pages of their love stories. There is nothing like a truly romantic ending, where you know these characters are going to be together. Everything is, more or less, tied up in a pretty bow.

Guys, there is nothing I love more than pretty bow (my wedding save-the-date even has one), so I have little interest in seeing an OTP torn apart. And, based on the books I’ve read (which is a lot, but far from all), this tends to happen often in YA romance. Friends-to-lovers, fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine takes a turn to second-chance romance.

Why?

Because…plot! Books need a plot, and a gorgeous love story is The Romance Novel’s central plot. As much as we might want them to, these books can’t just be ~vibes~. Something more has to happen.

And I’m not hating on second-chance romance. What Happens After Midnight is second-chance, and I can’t even express how much I love that book. I am so beyond proud of that book! But if the book is a “falling-for-my-best-friend’s-brother” storyline (what first came to mind) and everything feels wonderfully complete at the end? I’m good, I’m great, I really don’t need to be in those characters’ heads again unless I’m relishing a reread.

But I do love seeing and hearing and learning more about those characters after their story ends. Don’t get me wrong!

My preference for YA sequels is what I call a “companion” novel, where the books exist in the same universe and character cameos are everywhere. IMHO, Stephanie Perkins’ Anna and the French Kiss trilogy is the *chef’s kiss* of a companion series (I know you all want me to shut up about that book, but please indulge me one last time). Lola and the Boy Next Door, the second book, might not directly follow Anna and St. Clair, but they are secondary characters in it, so the novel does have a sequel-like feel. And it’s the same way in Isla and the Happily Ever After, book three. I loved seeing my original OTP and their love grow while also welcoming Stephanie’s new characters into my heart. I never expected to love a protagonist more than I loved Anna, but I was delighted when Isla ended up being my favorite.

All this to say, because I feel this way as a reader, this second approach is what I aim to achieve in my own writing. After finishing Maybe Meant To Be, I drafted two other manuscripts set at the Bexley School while querying agents and being on submission with editors. One followed Luke’s younger sister, and the other was all about one of Nick and Charlie’s Michigan cousins. There were so many connections. Unfortunately, those books are locked down on my laptop, but I loved living in that world and seeing my previous protagonists mature. When Luke and Charlie aren’t center-stage, I can write low-stakes, swoony moments. We can have pure ~vibes~. I was so excited when I wrote the MMTB squad into The Summer of Broken Rules. It’s Meredith’s wondrous story, but okay, how sweet is it that Charlie visits Luke at the bookstore during his lunch break? Or that Sage knows Nick’s favorite Morning Glory pie? Or that it's the Carmichael family that throws the epic Fourth of July party that Meredith and Claire crashed once upon a time? Are their lives and relationships perfect? No, of course not, but these characters have already had the weight of the world on their shoulders. I don’t want them to continue carrying it, both as a writer and a reader. They deserve only good parts now—or, at least, I think so.

I’m not saying I’m never going to write a direct sequel to any of my previous books, but it has to be a story worth telling and one that feels true to my characters. And to me, a second-chance romance is not it. For example, I can’t ever imagine Meredith and Wit breaking up, even just temporarily. It’s not them, so unless Future Kaethe brainstorms a non-second chance romance idea, I’m not touching it.

Many, many, many of you have asked about the role Mer and Wit play in Swiftie 4. It is truly amazing how deeply these knuckleheads are adored, and I am beyond flattered and grateful. Without spoiling too much, they are secondary characters in this next book—and I loved writing them as such. They’ve grown up a bit, so you’ll learn what they’ve been doing for the past several years, what their life is like now, and I promise you’ll giggle and swoon! (I mean, I certainly did).

But this is not their story; they are helping someone new with her story.

And I honestly don’t think I’ve ever loved Meredith Fox more.

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Reader Q&A

Note: the formatting when horribly wrong here, so please ignore that I have three question #1s.

1. Could you put a map of Martha’s Vineyard in your next newsletter?

This is the authoritative map in my family. We have it framed in our kitchen.

Here’s a rough location for the Farm!

1. I read TSOBR and have a question: why did Pravika, Eli, and the others go there every summer? Were they relatives of the Fox family? Family friends? Who are their parents?

   1. Eli, Pravika, and Luli and Jake all go to the Farm because they are either family friends or extended family. For example, Eli’s mom is Claire’s godmother. Their parents are super close. Pravika’s dad is best friends with Aunt Julia from grad school. And Luli and Jake’s mom is Aunt Christine’s younger sister. So Sarah is technically their cousin, but from the other side of that family. They aren’t blood-related to the Foxes.

2. Any YA romance book recs?

   1. Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill. Please preorder this one or snatch it when it comes out on 5/21. I practically begged to blurb it and it’s so much fun!

Courtesy of Kaitlyn’s Instagram (she gave me permission)

1. 1. The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor. I absolutely love historical fiction. This is a dual POV novel with a nonlinear timeline. It follows two girls during pivotal moments in their lives, one rooted in the twenty-first century and the other during WWII. There are also two beautiful love stories!

   2. What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter. I adored this one, and the Goodreads blurb says it all: “Can a love triangle have only two people in it? Online, it can... but in the real world, it's more complicated. In this debut novel Marisa Kanter explores what happens when internet friends turn into IRL crushes.”

2. What is Charlie and Luke’s dream vacation spot?

   1. Luke and Charlie are really happy with their summer Martha’s Vineyard tradition, but they also love traveling throughout the year. They fell in love with Asheville, North Carolina during a spontaneous trip in college and find themselves returning for a long weekend every year. They love watching the sun set over the back patio of the Grove Park Inn, early morning drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and hiking to Baxter Cliff in Pisgah National Forest. Ever the outdoorsman, Nick keeps asking when he and Sage are going to be invited.

3. Do you feel like you write better at particular times of the day and/or year than others?

   1. Definitely. I’m fortunate enough to write full-time for now, so I set my own hours. I am not a 5 AM writer (I enjoy sleep too much), but I love my morning sprints—I light two candles and cozy up on my couch with a cup of tea. Sometimes I’m in my pajamas until noon if I’m on a roll. I’m also a great night writer, but I try not to feed into that anymore—I’ll eventually go to bed and have insomnia because I can’t shut my brain down. I write in the afternoon, but after 3 PM, my productivity level drops. I suspect that’s because I should be taking more breaks throughout the day (I’m not a superstar at that). Times of year: unless I’m on a deadline, I don’t write on the weekends and the holidays are tough. Summer is my favorite season, because I can write outside. I thrive in the heat.

4. What’s your Spotify?

   1. Not sharing my personal Spotify, but my author Spotify is here. I make playlists for all my books, and the MMTB squad was lucky enough to get individual character playlists when the book originally debuted in 2020. My plan is to bring that back in 2025. It’s still mind-boggling that my readers make playlists for my books!

5. Do you ever plan on writing a book or short story about Alex’s life?

   1. I think about Alex a lot. He’s a WHAM favorite, and I loved writing about his and Tag’s friendship. It was a ton of fun and there is so much love between them. While I don’t envision a book, I do have a short story idea I’d like to explore when I have time one day. It may feature Anthony DeLuca. We’ll have to see!

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My Bookshelf

Personally? I recently finished an ARC of Lauren Layne’s Miranda in Retrograde (August 2024). It was my first Lauren Layne romance, and I’ll definitely be checking out her others!

For favorite books this month, we’re doing mystery/thriller. I love to race through a good one every now and again, and it’s the genre my sister and I most trade back and forth.

1. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. I own three editions of this book, that’s how much I love it. If you love Shakespeare and dark academia, read this. The ending kills me every time!

2. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I like to pitch this as Downton Abbey meets Clue meets Groundhog Day.

3. The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson (YA). This book is pure fun, with its homage to Agatha Christie, top-notch banter, and guessing games!

4. Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian. I kept waiting for this book to blow up online, but unfortunately it never did. “Creeptastic” is my word for it.

5. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (YA). Because, of course.

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My Playlist

It’s raining out right now (April showers!), so the theme this month is “tearjerkers.” If I need to write a sad scene, I usually listen to a few before I start the session.

1. Only A Lifetime - FINNEAS

2. Tough Act - Maisie Peters

3. See Me Now - The Kooks

4. I Believe In Us - LÉON

5. 1953 - The National Parks

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Bonus Content

None this month, but I do want to say a few words about bonus content because a lot of the questions submitted asked for more.

I love writing bonus content (and I love that you guys want to read it even more, it’s the ultimate compliment), but it does take care and time to write. And to be honest: my schedule is extremely tight right now. Which I see as a wonderful thing, because it means more books! More books that I am really excited to write!

Those need to take priority, and when I’m not working on them, I have other projects and personal life stuff that deserve attention. Or, okay, I might just be exhausted and just want to sit on my couch and watch Gilmore Girls again.

I also do not want to burn myself out. It’s happened before and it’s not fun.

The point: zero bonus content does not equate to me not loving my characters or wanting to share more with you. I love them so much, I talk about them like real people. It just means I don’t have the bandwidth at the moment!

(But I do have an idea for this summer that I am going to try to make happen)

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As always, feel free to drop any questions or comments below!

Cheers,

Kaethe