The 5 Most Personal Novels I’ve Written

 

People often ask which of my books have 'the most me' in them. I usually brush off the question because every book, in its own way, gives away a little piece of me. But some stories cut closer to the bone. They show more of who I was at the time of writing. Their creation asked more of me, but it was the only way to say what I didn’t know how to say otherwise. Here are my five most personal books (so far):

1. The Love We Make

Blurb: A guarded TV star. A warm-hearted executive. Two women who clash, connect, and find more than they ever expected.

Why it’s personal: I’m not famous, but I share Nora’s need to keep life neatly contained.

Like her, I’ve built routines and gotten very good at keeping the world at arm’s length. It’s easier that way—less risk, more control. But writing this book reminded me that ease and joy don’t always live in the same place.

Letting people in has never felt natural to me. (My ability to deflect with a joke is practically a superpower. 😂) But real connection, doesn’t follow rules. It’s messy and inconvenient—and also the best thing there is.

Nora has to learn to loosen her grip. To stop managing everything and start feeling some of it instead.

Telling her story helped me look at all the ways I’ve tried to stay safe, and how sometimes the only way to grow is to just let things go...

2. A Breathless Place

Blurb: A former superstar plans her final goodbye—until a spark of connection changes everything.

Why it’s personal: This book was so hard to write and it's still kind of hard to talk about. Because I’ve stood in Izzy’s shoes. I’ve felt the weight she carries. I’ve had days (much more than days, really) when it all felt too much and when I didn’t see a way forward.

Izzy’s pain is all too real, but so is the glimmer of hope that slowly, stubbornly, returns through art and love. Writing her story was terrifying. But it was also a declaration that I'm still here. (It's all in the author's note at the back of the book.)

I’ve since found so much joy, purpose, and love in ways I never imagined possible. But part of me will always remember what it took to choose life again. This novel carries that part. It's fiction, but the ache behind it is very real.

This is also the book I get the most emails about and I always reply the same: I've been where you are and I know how you feel, but I have the most amazing life now. You can, too. ❤️

3. That Woman Next Door

Blurb: A reclusive woman’s peace is disrupted when a bold, beautiful neighbor moves in next door—and upends everything.

Why it’s personal: A few years ago, I convinced myself that rural solitude would fix all my problems. Full of hope, I moved to the countryside thinking fresh air and silence would equal peace.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. It turns out that isolation isn’t a cure when the unrest is internal.

Through Olivia, I was exploring the fantasy of solitude, the appeal of disconnecting, the idea that peace could be found in detachment. But like her, I had to learn that real peace comes from connection—not from pushing the world away.

I’m back in the city now, and I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. This story was (unknowingly!) preparing me for that truth long before I was ready to admit it. (And, although this has nothing to do with my personal life, bringing back Marie Dievart was so much fun!)

4. Two Hearts Trilogy

Blurb: A solitary woman meets her opposite—and must decide if she's willing to let love into the life she’s carefully constructed.

Why it’s personal: Writing Anna was like writing a version of myself I hadn’t fully met yet. She’s structured, sensitive, and only comforted by routine. As the story unfolded, I realized how much I had in common with her.

Like Anna, I’ve often felt a little out of step with the world. I gravitate toward calm, routine, and solitude and I find too much noise or unpredictability overwhelming.

I’ve written women like Anna again and again: reclusive and a little difficult, but full of love if you know where to look.

This trilogy gave me space to explore that kind of character with some much-needed tenderness and depth. It helped me articulate something about myself I hadn’t quite put into words before.

I wrote this book in 2020, and five years on, I like to think I’ve grown as much as Anna did/had to (although, unfortunately, not in length—argh, here we go again with the silly jokes. 😊)

5. At the Water’s Edge

Blurb: A woman returns to her hometown to recover—and finds something that might just change her life.

Why it’s personal: This is the hardest book I’ve ever written. (And not just because it was my first...)

It’s about going home—even when that’s the hardest place to return to. About believing you’re beyond saving—and then meeting someone who, against all odds, helps you start to believe the opposite again.

It’s also a love letter to survival. To the people who guide us when we think we’re unlovable. To the idea that one moment, one person, can alter the entire course of a life.

Ella’s story is not exactly my story, but the emotions behind it are rooted in truth.

If you’ve ever stood at the edge of something dark and thought you were alone, this book was written with you in mind. (You're not alone and change for the better can always be waiting for you around the next corner. ❤️)

Closing Thoughts

These five books weren’t written with an agenda or a brand strategy. They came from experience. From pain and wonder and everything in between.

They helped me understand myself a little better—and maybe, if you’ve read them, they helped you feel a little more seen, too.

Writing has always been a kind of therapy for me. It allows me to process, to explore, to transform emotion into something that might matter to someone else.

Creating a book I know will sell well is one thing, but writing a book like one of these is something else entirely.

It’s harder. It’s riskier. (And doesn't make much business sense.) But it’s also infinitely gratifying.

Thank you so much for reading and for showing up for my 'heavier' stories as well.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜