Author Q&A: You Can Feel It In The Silence

You Can Feel It In The Silence is the first book in the upcoming Magnolia Blooms duet. Releasing on July 1st, 2025, this novel is a complete standalone.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗜𝘁 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀?

This novel is short and sweet, compared to my other works. It's going to be a perfect summer read to give you all the feels and spice, with a little healthy dose of suspense. It's an effort in escapism. I'm showing off the best of small-town life with festivals, fairs, and farm life scenes. Not to mention supporting characters you'll love and town secrets you'll want to uncover just as much as our protagonists.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁? You can expect to cry, swoon, and rejoice as Emmett and April find the love they've always deserved in one another. This book is so sweet. Yet, it hits home on so many levels. I think readers will relate to some of the emotional struggles Emmett and April face, including their abandonment wounds, fear of taking a chance on love, fear of losing the person they love, and confronting parental neglect.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹? I love the scene of them in the bathtub. Makes me think of 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, except this one is steamier. But my fave microtrope is how they create their own signs for quick communication. April is deaf and Emmett makes it a priority to learn her. This is just one of the ways their emotional intimacy and relationship develops. It was something unexpected that just came out as I was writing.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹'𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆? April's mom passed in a car accident before she was old enough to remember her, leaving her to be raised by her single dad. She grew up on a construction site and fell in love with the process. After April and her dad lost their home in a hurricane, they set out to travel the country, restoring old, forgotten places in small towns like theirs. But another car accident took April's dad from her and her hearing.

After recovering, April sets out to keep the dream alive. Ten years later, it brings her to Magnolia in the hopes of restoring an old inn. It's there that she meets Emmett and realizes the inn isn't the only thing in need of restoration. Her heart has been broken by loss. Emmett will give her everything back she's lost--a family, a home, love.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘁𝘁? You'll love how patient Emmett is. In this way, he reminds me of Gio. But I think you'll also love how rough he can be. The spicy scenes in this novel are rivaling some of the hottest I've written. I'll let you be the judge of which book is spicer...this one or Mine to Love.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿? There was a moment of inspiration for this novel, but what really made me fall in love with the idea is realizing how little words matters. How many times do we as women express our needs and desires in relationships only to be ignored or lied to? Our words don't matter and neither do his. What's most telling is someone's actions. How do they show up? How do they make us feel safe? How do they make us feel loved? Do they put in the extra effort when things aren't easy?

While there is still dialogue in this novel, I wanted to write a novel that puts the emphasis on the character's actions and the feelings those actions evoke. I wanted to write an MC who hears his FMC, even though she can't speak or hear him. I wanted to write a novel that portrays healthy and intentional communication--learning someone in order to love them better. I hope this novel encourages women to focus on how they feel in relationships rather than on what they're told. Let's stop falling for pretty lies or men who don't hear us, see us, or learn us. We all deserve to be loved the way Emmett loves April.

With that said, this story isn't one-sided. No true love story is. April supports Emmett and loves him in ways he's been missing. They're both the missing puzzle piece in each other's stories and together, theirs is beautiful.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗳 𝗙𝗠𝗖? It's amazing! Firstly, we all have things that make us unique. One of April's unique qualities is that she is deaf and mute. It doesn't alter her ability to enjoy or engage in sexual activity. She has an amazing sex life with Emmett.

As a writer in this situation, it's important that the characters communicate consent--especially when they're first crossing lines. And I think I handle that perfectly. Communicating consent where verbal communication isn't an option requires them to be hyper-focused on their partner's body language and eyes. Honestly, it's a beautiful thing, because how many men are so focused on their pleasure that they don't stop to consider if their partner is comfortable or perhaps has changed their mind? And just because verbal communication isn't something April engages in, that doesn't mean we don't hear her inner thoughts through her narrative. And Emmett still engages in both verbal and nonverbal communication during these intimate scenes. So, the reader still gets everything she wants, including those spicy lines like, "Cum pretty for me." 😏

PREORDER "YOU CAN FEEL IT IN THE SILENCE" now on Amazon!