This story about TOO FAST TO FALL starts with my dear friend, Piper Trace. Piper’s a fellow author, hilarious and smart, sweet and kind. The best.

I do a lot of book brainstorming with Piper. If I get stuck, she helps dig me out of the ditch. So, when I was trying to come up with a premise for the book to follow NOT SO FAST, I called Piper and begged her for a brainstorming session.

Now, these phone calls have varying degrees of success. Sometimes life gets in the way or we get sidetracked and don’t make much progress. This call, however, was like lightning in a bottle.

Let’s cut to the transcript:

Me: “I’d love to come up with a twist on a classic romance trope. Like a nanny story.”

Piper: “Dog nanny.”

Me: (brain whirring at one million miles a minute) “Yes. OMG, yes.”

That was all it took. It was just too perfect. Not only because I am animal lover to the NTH degree, but also because F1 fans (including me) are obsessed with the drivers’ pets, especially their dogs.

So that’s the story of how I came up with the premise for TOO FAST TO FALL, and that’s also the story of how my dog nanny got her name–Piper.

TOO FAST TO FALL comes out May 26, 2026. I’ll have a sneak preview of it way before then. Until then, here’s the blurb:

So what if she’s crushing on a race car driver? That doesn’t mean it’s love at first lap.

But maybe it’s love at first lap dog?

Yesterday, Piper Murphy was just another dog sitter helping her sister with wedding prep while pretending she’s over her own broken engagement.

Today, she’s the fill-in dog sitter for Formula One driver Emilio Baquero. Brooding, gorgeous driver + naughty, cute Lab? Woof, down boy.

When Emilio offers her a five-week gig as his live-in dog nanny in London, Piper can’t help but say yes. It’s out of her comfort zone, sure, but it’s also a ticket to travel, racing, and caring for a dog she already adores. All while escaping the wedding planning that’s put her failures front and center.

Only being under the same roof means there’s no escaping Emilio’s intensity, or grumpiness. Piper tries to be a sunny presence, but their clashes just fuel the slow-burn tension to something near combustible.

Because falling for your boss is risky when you have a broken heart. Falling for your famous boss and his adorable dog? That’s a crash waiting to happen.

You can preorder TOO FAST TO FALL from your favorite retailer!

When I was a teenager, my cousins and I lived for People Magazine. We would save up our money and as soon as we had enough, we’d race to Walgreens or the grocery store to buy the latest issue. Spoiler alert: I was a teenager before the internet was a thing.

I suppose I’ve always been a sucker for celebrities, but growing up in small-town Minnesota, with not a lot of money, made all of those glamorous things you see in magazines just that much more glam-o-rous. Reading People was my equivalent of getting on a plane and flying to another country, something I didn’t get to do in real life until I was well into my 20s.

So when my editor sent me an email last week saying my book, NOT SO FAST, was going to be in the June 9th issue of People Magazine? My teenage self squealed and kicked her feet, while my present-day self shed an actual tear. Because I put a lot of hard work into my books and it doesn’t always get recognized or seen by a whole lot of people. This will be seen by a whole lot of people. And I couldn’t be more grateful. If you happen to catch it on shelves, I hope you’ll think of me, or at the very least your teenage self and all of the amazing things you’ve done to impress the person you used to be.

You’re probably not surprised to learn that I’m an introvert. It’s part of what makes my job so perfect–I’m completely content to stay home all day, dreaming up stories and keeping my people-ing to a minimum. I’m not entirely sure why it takes so much effort for me to go out and engage with others, other than the fact that I am also an empath, and therefore spend much of my social time soaking up the emotions of everyone around me. Believe me–if there is something “off” in a room, I will sense it!

But here’s the other side of this coin: I love meeting readers. I love talking to them about books, sometimes mine, and other times books written by other amazing authors. I think all readers have at least a little introvert in them–a part of their soul that loves the idea of ducking under the covers with a flashlight and reading until the wee hours.

So, since I love meeting readers, I am going on a mini tour of NC bookstores in support of NOT SO FAST. If you are in or near Chapel Hill, Jacksonville, or Durham when I am, I sincerely hope you’ll stop by and see me! I will reward you with a hug (if you’re a hugger), as well as some stickers and a NOT SO FAST bookmark. Fun for all, introvert or not.