It is my pleasure to share with you the official cover of my debut novel, But How Are You, Really. It was created by Vi-An Nguyen, who is responsible for some of my favorite book covers. I am ecstatic. Charlotte’s silhouette! The colors! The bisexual pin! It’s giving queer millennial edge. I want to print it as a big foam core board and carry it around Brooklyn with a cowbell. (Spoiler alert: I did and I will.)
But How Are You, Really is now available for pre-order from the big booksellers, including:
If you plan to purchase the book, please please please consider pre-ordering today. Early sales numbers are very important in publishing. Pre-orders send a message that a book and its author are loved and supported, which will impact where the book is available, how much press it gets, what kind of events I might have, and other decisions about my future. That’s even truer for debut authors like me, who are largely unknown and need to prove we are worth reading and investing in down the line.
If you’re not able to pre-order at this time but you want to support the book, share this page with a friend who loves romance, millennial stories, or queer voices! Add the book to your “Want To Read” list on Goodreads here! Or join my Patreon community for free to receive updates on the book as we get closer to pub day.
Here’s what you can expect from But How Are You, Really:
- Bisexual heroine + cinnamon roll bro hero (cinnamon broll??)
- Second-chance romance @ the college reunion
- Laid off, burned out millennial woes
- Queer chosen family
- There’s only one twin-XL bed
- Now That’s What I Call Trauma! AKA abuse survivors deserve HEAs too
And here’s the official synopsis if that’s more your style:
Can a college reunion restart your life?
A burned-out bisexual confronts old demons, her estranged chosen family, and the ex she maybe shouldn’t have walked away from when she attends her five-year college reunion.
Charlotte Thorne does not want to go back to Hein University. Her life postcollege isn’t what she expected—her career in media is stalled, her passion for drawing has fallen by the wayside, and she’s done a terrible job keeping in touch with her queer chosen family since graduation day. Willingly spend a full weekend with her incredibly successful classmates? Hard pass.
But when her demanding boss, tech journalist Roger Ludermore, is invited to give the commencement address at this year’s graduation—which falls on the same weekend as her five-year reunion—Charlotte has no choice but to return to campus.
The minute she steps foot on Hein property, the past comes crawling back in its glory and cringe: disco parties at the LGBTQIA+ program house, sleeping in a twin XL bed, and her chemistry with Reece Krueger, the hockey player she rebounded with after a traumatic breakup. Suddenly the weekend Charlotte has dreaded for months feels like an opportunity to go back in time. Determined to have some fun, Charlotte dodges her best friend’s questions about her mental health, ignores her boss’s constant Slack messages, and tries to avoid the truth about why she ghosted Reece five years ago. But can she really outrun her past and get her life together in seventy-two hours?
Ella Dawson 