LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE: A Guided Tour

Good Morning, All!

So ever since I announced my book deal, I've been getting this question a lot:

"What is your book about?"

For some reason, I find this to be a very difficult question to answer. I'm always afraid I'm going to say something stupid. Or worse, make my story sound stupid.

I promise, it's nothing close to stupid. But this is why I write - because when I'm asked to say things without the help of a backspace key, I'm exponentially more moronic.

So today I thought I'd put together a little show-and-tell combo that would answer this question for me, and hopefully explain why I love this story so much, and why I hope you'll love it, too.

Here goes:

LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE is a book about Kelsey, 

Isn't she love-lyyyy? 

who lived in a small town in Connecticut called Norwood (which doesn't really exist.) The house Kelsey grew up in looked something like this:

A small, boxy split level like all the other homes in her neighborhood. This house, BTW, really *does* exist. And I used to live in it.

Kelsey much prefers the surroundings of her yearly vacations at her uncle's summer home in Newport, Rhode Island, where the houses look like this:

Okay, so maybe these are not actual homes, but some of the preserved Gilded Age mansions that overlook the beach. Still, Newport has a ton to offer compared to Kelsey's hometown, and it also happens to be the place where she meets her best friend the summer before high school starts.

Everyone, say hello to David.

Anyone else hear Pony by Ginuwine playing in their head
right about now? No? So it's just me, then...

As it turns out, not only does David's grandfather own the house next door to the one Kelsey's family vacations in each summer, he is in the process of moving to Kelsey's hometown in CT. The two of them become fast friends, inseparable in either Connecticut or Rhode Island.

Unfortunately, life is about to throw Kelsey some curve balls in the form of old friendships unraveling, health scares, bullying, and worst of all, David turning his attention to Kelsey's sworn enemy, Isabel.

Aren't flawlessly beautiful brunettes just
the most disgusting thing ever?

When Kelsey's father is offered a job just outside of Newport, Rhode Island, she's convinced there's no reason for her to ever want to stay in Connecticut - until the night before she's ready to leave it all behind, and David confesses his love for her.

Furious that David would turn her whole world upside down when she's on the brink of a fresh start - and even more furious at what she sees later that same night - Kelsey runs off. And doesn't look back.

Fast forward to a year later, when Kelsey is living in Rhode Island. She's succeeded in shedding her old life for new friends, a new look, and even a yummy new boyfriend named Ryan:

Someone please tell me they feel
the need to bust out with their best Leighton Meester
impression of Good Girls Go Bad right now.

So imagine Kelsey's surprise when, on the first day of senior year, a piece of her past shows up in the hall at school - David.

Now Kelsey is forced to face the past she thought she wanted to forget, and the reality that her new life may not be as perfect as she once thought. She'll have to decide what's more important - the life she thinks she loves, or the boy who never stopped loving her.

And that's it in a nutshell.

Liked the sound of it? Feel free to add it to your shelf on Goodreads!