In the romance author’s Last First Kiss, a closeted Atlanta party planner gets a second chance with the guy who got away.
How have you found the transition from writing YA to writing adult romance?
Growing up, there weren’t a lot of books that featured Black or queer characters who had story lines that ended happily. I write YA because I want to make sure that I give young adults characters that look like them, so they feel seen and loved and supported. But I knew writing my first YA novel that I eventually wanted to write adult romance, too. It’s been an interesting jump. I have to remind myself to refer to a character as “man” and not “boy.” I also have to remind myself that I’m an adult and so I know what I would do in certain situations, and how I’d handle things. At the same time, I also know how messy I can be as an adult.
How did you approach building tension between the leads?
I love overt sexual tension at times, but I also love subtle, sensual moments, and building those between Jamie and Jordan felt so good. Their first romance was casual flirting, eye contact, or “oh, my foot accidentally touched yours.” They didn’t get to explore the physical side or the deeper emotional side of things. With their second-chance romance, I loved showing this slow build to learning about each other. Even as adults, we are not always the best communicators and don’t always get it right the first, second, or third time. That’s okay. That’s the fun of falling in love—it’s not meant to be perfect. It’s just meant to make you feel comfortable and like yourself.
The novel includes some really poignant statements about love. What was your inspiration?
I’m not one to pick favorites, but writing this book, I felt I was going deeper than the first book in the series, I Think They Love You. I felt I had a lot more to say when it came to romance and what it means to put expectations on other people. As I grow older there are things I learn about my queerness and about myself that I would not have known when I was 25. I love being able to show how we are constantly evolving, and how that filters through into personal relationships and the people we fall in love with.
It also doubles as a love letter to Atlanta.
Atlanta is such a perfect setting for telling a really big romance. Piedmont Park, which is featured in the book, was where I went to my first Black Pride, and it was such a huge experience for me to be with both of my communities. I wanted to show how beautiful and how welcoming that could be. One of my favorite scenes in Last First Kiss is Jordan walking around Kirkwood and passing all the different pride flags and realizing how diverse the queer community is.
