about A Risk Worth Taking

my holiday novelette is available in paperback!

Hello friends! This is old news by now (well, nine days late), but I had to shout here (or scream, to stay on theme with the name of this newsletter) that my holiday novelette A Risk Worth Taking is now available in paperback! It’s available via Amazon here.

I should probably give a little refresher on what this book is, since it’s now a year old (and also since I rarely talk about my cute babies Claire and Connor). Here’s the amazing cover:

Cover design by Kelsey Bowman

And here’s the blurb:

Claire Ashford has always led a careful life—her family didn't nickname her Claireful for nothing. But after ending a relationship that was equal parts safe and unfulfilling, she recognizes just how much her caution has cost her and dedicates herself to leaving her Claireful ways behind. Her first chance to take a risk comes with a job opportunity in San Francisco. It's a fresh start she can't—and doesn't want to—refuse.

Her second chance? That appears on her last night in Portland in the form of a gorgeous attendee at the holiday party where she's bartending. Lingering glances turn into a chemistry-filled exchange, and by the end of the night Claire knows exactly what she wants: one night and no strings with Connor Stella. It'll be one last hot memory to close her chapter in this city.

But the weather has other plans: a winter storm grounds all flights for the weekend, Claire's included, and suddenly one night turns into an entire weekend. It would be a true inconvenience if Claire and Connor weren't already forging an electric connection. Instead, three nights cooped up in Connor's apartment together is the gift that keeps on giving. The only real inconvenience is that she's starting to get attached to the gorgeous stranger who feels more familiar than anyone she's ever met.

Claire's new adventure is on the other side of PDX's de-iced runways, but her biggest—and most worthy—risk might be opening her heart up to the man she's leaving behind.

When I published this novelette (I hesitate to call it a novella because it’s only 20k words), I had no idea so many people would scoop it up and ultimately want a physical version for their shelves. It took me an entire year to get my shit together and make that possible (story of my life, ADHD queen, etc), but I have been equally surprised and thankful for everyone who has bought it thus far! ‘Tis the season for that particular mix of emotions, I guess 🥹

Talking about ARWT was my main reason for sending out this newsletter, but I also wanted to address my absence on social media, mainly because I’ve heard that there has been a bit of concern and also because I know that’s the way most people know how to get a hold of me (which is maybe where the concern is coming from)!

I’ve spent a lot of time building up a wonderful online community since I got my publishing deal back in 2021 (WHAT is time). I’ve loved chatting with people—authors and readers alike—and if you’ve read You, with a View, you know that I love social spaces on the internet and think they can be magical, so connective, life-changing. They have done that for me time and time again.

But over the last three years, and especially since YWAV and The Ex Vows have made their way into the world, I’ve tried to figure out how to exist in these social spaces as an author. I think we all agree that reader spaces should stay reader spaces, but it’s much more difficult to live it in practice (which is absolutely no one’s fault, just the nature of a guardrail-less internet).

I always think about how, from an evolutionary standpoint, our human brains are really only meant to “know” a hundred-ish people. Clearly, with the internet and a public platform, that number grows exponentially. My online experience has been 98% positive, but at the same time, it’s like, I literally was not built for this!!! None of us are! Most authors don’t have media training. They’re not coached on how to deal with being present on social media, with how to process the casual feedback and input and noise of it all. It can be a really powerful tool, but it can also be a really overwhelming one that craters mental health. I do think a balance can be achieved in there somewhere, but I haven’t found it yet. I’ve tried to take hiatuses but the internet is so goddamn fun and I have Z E R O impulse control. Is it my birth chart? A hyper-fixation that won’t quit? Who knows?!

All of that to say, I’ve stepped away from social media for the foreseeable future. Do I already have FOMO? Yes. Will this allow me to focus on my most important job in all of this, which is to write books? I sincerely hope so. Will it heal my brain? In a way, yeah, I think so. Nothing nefarious happened to trigger the decision; it was just straightforwardly an overdue act of taking care of myself. I really encourage everyone to do the same for themselves, whatever that looks like, especially as we step into 2025 and whatever the hell that holds for us.

In the meantime, if you need me, you can get a hold of me through my contact form on my website, which also has the contact information for my agents (book and film) and publicist should you need something of the professional variety, like blurb or event requests.

Okay, may I end this very random newsletter with some things I’ve been LOVING lately?

• Cruel Intentions: the Amazon Prime TV show, not the movie (although, obviously that implanted itself into my DNA long ago). The Guardian called it “utterly mindless” and yeah, exactly. That’s EXACTLY what I want right now. I’m currently watching episode three and I have no idea what’s going on and I find that very soothing.

• Audiobooks!!!: I’ve recently listened to Nothing Like The Movies by Lynn Painter, Love in Bloom by Lucy Eden, and The Co-Op by Tarah Dewitt and all have been spectacular. Highly recommend all of them with my entire heart—you can purchase from any retailer or borrow from your local library!

• The Family Stone: this is one of my favorite holiday movies of all time, which is a very polarizing opinion because it’s actually kind of??? Like, there’s a partner swap somewhere in the middle of it and another pretty devastating content warning I can tell you about if you’re curious (just don’t want to spoil anyone) but it’s also cozy and beautiful and it has Dermot Mulroney in it, so.

• The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover: I recently read this book to blurb (a major perk of being an author, tbh) and oh wow, it is so stunning that I just have to tell you all about it even though it doesn’t come out until September 2025. Like, the TENSION. THE TENSION between Lou and Henry (who is a vet and also very hot and sensitive, sign me up)—it’s unreal. This is Ellen’s adult romance debut, but I highly recommend you check out her YA titles too because they are also spectacular. Sometimes I read books and I think, wow I am so happy I get to live in the same timeline as this person writing such beautiful art, and Ellen is one of those people. It looks like it’s not available to preorder yet but you can add it to Goodreads (and should).

That’s all for a while. Take good care of yourselves and each other, in real life and online.

xoxo

jess