There's just one way to get a signed pre-order of my new book
Hello, good readers!
I’m not going to waste your time. I’ve got a new book coming out in May, the next in my romance series set in the ballet world and in my hometown, Sydney, and after months of behind-the-scenes work I can finally, finally, share the cover with you. And she’s a stunner. Drumroll, please…
Pointe of Pride features Carly, the best friend so many readers loved in Pas de Don’t, as she goes to Sydney determined to be the world’s best Maid of Honor (among other things). It’s a love letter to ballet, to Sydney, and to women who are “kind of a lot.”
Carly Montgomery has only one goal as she arrives in Sydney, Australia: Be the world's best maid of honor. And then, when she gets back to New York City, she's going to figure out how to get promoted so she doesn't spend the rest of her ballet career in the corps de ballet playing Peasant Maiden #4.
But the second she steps off the plane, she runs into trouble—and into Nick Jacobs, the most uptight, judgmental, inconveniently attractive man she's ever met. And to their mutual horror, Nick is also in Sydney for a wedding. The same wedding. In which he is the best man.
As for Nick Jacobs…
Nick is coming back to Sydney with a secret. His life in Paris, where he recently retired from ballet, has fallen apart. With no girlfriend and no new career to speak of, Nick can't bear to tell his friends at home the humiliating truth. And after fifteen years dancing overseas, what does home even mean anymore?
As you can probably guess from the cover, and from what you’ve learned about Carly already, this is enemies to lovers. It’s professional marriage of convenience. It’s the horrifying discovery that the asshole you’ve decided to hate forever is a pretty decent human being. It’s high heat, but—and this part is really important to me—there’s no penetrative sex. Like a lot of dancers (and figure skaters, and gymnasts, and sexual trauma survivors, and people raised in purity culture…) Carly has a pelvic floor condition that makes penetration unbearably painful. So this is that rare thing: a high-heat straight cis romance novel with absolutely no PIV sex. And it’s on-page representation of a fairly common condition that I hope will make a lot of people feel really seen.
And now down to the business of pre-orders. For logistical and scheduling reasons, it’s not clear if I’ll be able to travel around my release date. So the only place to get signed preordered copies will be at Iowa’s own HEA Book Boutique. Those pre-orders will come with Pointe of Pride and Pas de Don’t swag, too! There might be signed copies available elsewhere eventually, but this is the only way to guarantee you get one. HEA Book Boutique ships nationwide, or you can pick up your copy from one of their Cedar Rapids pop-ups.
If you don’t want a signed copy, you can pre-order a paperback of Pointe of Pride anywhere you buy books—and e-books are coming very soon (I’ll let you know when).
Not convinced yet? Check out the full cover, front and back, with Carly’s hair flowing over the spine all fiery and unruly (but not as fiery and unruly as she is):
OK, time for me to stop gushing over these two. Except, look at her absolutely ripped and extremely realistic-for-a-dancer quad. Look at that ocean pool, one of the best things about Sydney. I’m obsessed.
One last thing. For those of you who haven’t heard it before, here’s my quick spiel about why pre-orders matter so much:
Short of handing her a wad of cash, pre-ordering an author's book is the best way you can support her. Pre-orders count toward first-week sales, which means you up her chance of making the bestseller lists in their first week of life. Most books don't make any of those lists (it's fine! they're short lists!) but first-week sales numbers matter for that book and whatever she writes next. Pre-orders also signal to booksellers and publishers that this book will have a significant audience. Booksellers might order in more copies and position them prominently in the store, or be more interested in hosting a book event with that author. Publishers might throw more marketing money at the book, which might mean a bigger presence in the media, online shops, libraries, and brick and mortar shops.
In short, pre-orders kick off a virtuous cycle, and all it costs you is a bit of planning and the cost of the book. If you can afford that, please do it. If you can't, please request it at the library.
That’s it from me, for real. Can’t wait until you all have a copy of this hot little book in your hot little hands. Thanks, as always, for your support,
Chloe.