Glitter and Grit

Bloom Where You Planted

“Nashville is a place where the glitter hides grit.”

That’s a line from Indie Darling, one my editor loved so much it now appears on the inside jacket.

And it’s true. Nashville sparkles with lights on Broadway, tourists twinkle in bejeweled cowboy boots, and singer-songwriters croon under neon signs, while rents surge, potholes flatten tires, and the city is besieged by tornadoes, flash floods, and ice storms.

But Nashville is so much than just a place with immense talent, unaffordable housing, and inclement weather.

It’s not my hometown. I’m a Georgia girl, born and raised. My first two novels are set in Athens, where I earned two degrees, fell in love, and started teaching.

I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta. In the city, R. Land, a well-known mixed media artist fills streets with “Lost Cat” posters, “Pray for ATL” hands, and “Yuppie Ghetto” signs, but one of my favorites is the capital name graced by dysmorphic creatures popping out of white flowers and the words: bloom where you planted!!

This was the wisdom my late husband Gray and I followed when we moved from Georgia to California, to North Carolina and Virginia: Thrive wherever the wind takes you. And for over a decade, we did: making friends, making music, writing books, soaking in the sun and the sights of whatever state we were in.

But we also longed to return home, to live closer to family, and finally put down roots.

My first book deal allowed us to return to Georgia. We rented a house with a sun-filled office for me and basement recording studio for him. I wrote in the mornings, while he built tracks for his new album. It was a glorious, creativity-filled existence. We’d take walks and talk craft and our goals for the future. We’d planted seeds and were excited to see what would grow.

But then in the early hours of late September, he woke up with back pain.

In the course of a few hours everything I knew about life (and death) changed.

I abandoned my works-in-progress to write down everything I could remember about before. I walked. A lot. I let myself be hugged by family and friends. Some offered words of comfort. Some did not.

I traveled.

I drove to Nashville. I rented long-term Airbnbs.

I sat at coffee shops so I wasn’t lonely.

Then one day a barista brought me an extra cup of tea because the building was freezing.

Someone smiled and held the door for me.

A shop owner stopped for a chat.

A new friend invited me to a show and then for a backyard pizza night and suddenly I had a dozen new friends.

I was embraced by a small-town kindliness I didn’t know I needed. But I did.

I bloomed.

Where I planted. In a city of glitter and grit.

And then my agent called.

That third book I’d been working on. The one in the series set in Athens, Georgia. It wasn’t working. My editor wanted a full revision. A standalone novel. New voice. New location.

So I got out my shovel and planted that novel in Nashville. I added a female P.I. who drives a little red sports car and loves Dolly Parton. I watered it with the love I have for this city that accepted me with open arms.

Then I stood back and watched it bloom.

Indie Darling releases in one week.

At the launch party, we’ll have cake, singers, book signings.

And this city will see what I’ve planted.

What I’m Reading

Just one book I’ve loved lately

Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen

Fifty pages into reading Please Enjoy Your Stay I knew it was going to be one of my favorite reads of the year. It has everything I love about a thriller—an atmospheric setting, an author dredging up past secrets, dual timelines, and a protagonist who will stop at nothing to discover the truth.

After losing her mother, Mia is taken in by her aunt, a famous true crime author, and quickly becomes enamored with her cousin, Tristan. But when her aunt moves the family to a crumbling Austrian castle to investigate the decades-old murder of a pregnant heiress, she sets into motion events that ultimately lead to her own son’s death. At thirteen, Mia is the only eyewitness and casts blame on the castle’s owner and son of the murdered heiress. Now, ten years later, he is appealing his conviction. A popular true crime podcaster is fanning the flames of his innocence. And Mia decides once and for all, she has to know the truth. She takes a job as a nanny for the new owner of the property, a celebrity YouTuber who’s turned the castle into a glamorous hotel. But shortly after Mia arrives, a man goes missing, threatening messages appear, and she begins to question what she really saw that night. Tense, atmospheric, impossible-to-put down, Please Enjoy Your Stay had me speeding through these pages needing to know, as much as Mia, what really happened in the woods the night Tristan was murdered.

Please Enjoy Your Stay comes out on October 13th. You can pre-order now (and please do—it will help support Tara’s fabulous new book!) and if you’re in Roswell on October 10th, you can come hear us talk about it at her launch party! Find her on Instagram for more updates!

Shows Worth Binging

What’s keeping me up at night.

The Great British Bake Off. Confession time: I don’t always watch shows about murder. Sometimes I prefer hosts saturated in pastels, contestants making edible biscuit chandeliers, and the worst thing that can happen is a cake tumbling from the oven! This is my comfort show. I’ve watched every season more than once, but often it feels like the first time, because I have a tendency to fall asleep mid-episode. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. The never-ending pastry. Ready. Set. Bake.

Postcards from Bowie

Caption this photo!

Justin and I just got our wedding photos back from our amazing photographers Ally and Steve Mascarello. Bowie was clearly the star of the show.

From My Writing Desk

A few updates from the author life.

Authors Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, Greg Howard, and I signing books at the Bound Booksellers re-opening!

Last weekend, we celebrated the grand re-opening of Bound Booksellers at their beautiful (and much larger!) location at The Factory in Franklin, Tennessee. It was a perfect day filled with readers and gift-seekers who stumbled upon the bookshop in the converted stove factory, now full of restaurants and local boutiques. But it almost didn’t happen. Two weeks before the re-opening, an overhead pipe burst in the shop, completely flooding the space. Fortunately, owner Sarah Brown was onsite and, with the help of friends and Factory employees, prevented a bad situation from becoming worse. They’re still recuperating from the loss of books, so if you’re looking for a new book (*ahem, I know one coming out soon…) and would like to support them, consider ordering from their Bookshop.org or Libro.fm storefronts!

Indie Darling news!

Indie Darling is a meme!

Indie Darling is a meme! What started with my favorite bookstagrammer @scaredstraightreads making a Dolly-inspired cover has inspired all these indie darlings to take center stage on the cover. Want to make your own? Tag me @laurennossett and I’ll reshare!

You’re invited!

First a launch party…then we’re going on tour!

And finally…a giveaway!

Can’t make it to the launch party or to see me on tour? You can now order signed copies of Indie Darling! Simply head over to Parnassus Books, place an order, and I’ll come in and sign and personalize the book for you!

And just for snagging Indie Darling early, you’ll be entered to win a signed copy, an Indie Darling trucker hat, a Dolly print, a Dolly vinyl single, The Little Guide to Dolly Parton, a disco ball, and book stickers!

How to win:
1️⃣ Preorder Indie Darling (from your fav local bookstore or wherever books are sold)
2️⃣ Send proof of purchase (either respond to this email or DM me on Instagram)

That’s it! Good luck everyone!

Until next time,

—Lauren

P.s. Tell me something good you’ve read, watched, or discovered lately.