July

Before Friendly Fire Finds Its Way Into the World…

I've been thinking a lot lately about stories.

Not just the ones we read, but the ones we carry.

Every person has chapters they rarely talk about. Some are beautiful. Some are ordinary. Some are painful enough that they stay tucked away for years.

For a long time, I wondered if parts of my story were better left there.

Then something unexpected happened.

The more honestly I began writing, the more people quietly began saying, "Me too."

Not because our stories were identical.

But because pain has a way of recognizing pain.

Healing does, too.

Friendly Fire is almost ready to meet the world, and if I'm honest, that sentence makes me equal parts excited and terrified.

This book has been years in the making.

Thousands of hours.

Countless rewrites.

Tears.

Prayers.

Coffee.

A few moments where I was convinced I had lost my mind.

And somehow...here we are.

As publication gets closer, I don't just want to talk about the book.

I want to build a place where readers feel like they're sitting around the kitchen table together.

We'll talk about writing.

Books we're reading.

Faith.

Family.

Forgiveness.

The complicated work of healing.

The ordinary moments that somehow become extraordinary when we stop rushing past them.

And yes, I'll share behind-the-scenes glimpses of Friendly Fire—what inspired scenes, what almost didn't make the final manuscript, funny publishing moments, cover decisions, launch updates, and all the wonderfully messy parts of becoming an author.

But more than anything...

I hope this becomes a community.

A place where kindness is the rule.

Where people don't have to pretend they're perfectly put together.

Where stories matter because people matter.

So today I'd love to start with something simple.

Tell me about you.

Where are you reading from?

What's one book that has stayed with you long after you finished it?

Or if you're more of a listener than a commenter, simply say hello. I'd love to know you're here.

Thank you for walking this road with me before Friendly Fire even reaches bookstore shelves.

It means more than you know.

— Sarah