Hello, and welcome back to the blog! For those of you who are new here, I publish a new website post each month and if you check the backlog, you’ll see quite the array of topics! I’ve covered everything from behind-the-scenes insight to a full series on how my decades as a middle school teacher helped to shape the novel. You never know what the mid-month blog will bring, so stick around for the surprises!

Speaking of surprises, I have a special one for you this month. A fellow writer and friend of mine, Chantel Cody, created a gorgeous line drawing of an iconic TQAQ scene that absolutely takes my breath away. As a thank you for your support, I’m excited to share it with you today!

Before writing the novel, I had never even heard of “tropes,” let alone knew how they were utilized in the world of literature. After publishing TQAQ, I quickly realized that identifying tropes was a major component of marketing and I needed to retroactively figure out which ones I used.

The obvious ones were tropes like first love and healing journey, but it wasn’t until just a couple months ago–about a year after publication–that I suddenly realized I had a pretty popular trope embedded within the story.

Forced proximity! 

Oftentimes, this trope is used in romance novels when the main characters end up in a situation where there’s only one hotel room or something of that nature. Of course there is no such situation in TQAQ, but there is indeed…

ONLY ONE BIKE!

Thank you to the very talented Chantel Cody for this incredible line drawing of our favorite main characters. She captured their treasured bike rides perfectly, and I am so happy to share this work of art with you!

Chantel is taking commissions, so reach out to her on Instagram (@chantelcodyauthor) if you’re interested!