"That put me in the mindset of, 'Okay, my book is good, just maybe not suited for the traditional market.'"

Debut author Theresa Christine on switching careers, going the indie route, and her charming new contemporary romance, THE HALF OF IT

Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and order Theresa’s transportive new rom-com, available now.

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Me: Hello, hello!

Theresa: Hello!

Huge congrats on The Half of It! How are you feeling post-launch?

Thank you! I'm so proud to have my debut out in the world. I had that Release Week Glow where everything just felt so incredible, and now that I'm a little over a month post-release, I've also experienced some moments of anxiety as well. So a bit all over the place! I'm trying my best to not just look past the accomplishment to get to the next thing, and instead really celebrate and take time to enjoy what I've done.

That's so great! It's hard to do—too easy to rush past it or get bogged down in anxiety or disappointment for whatever DIDN'T materialize. But the release of your debut novel is a huge accomplishment and worth celebrating!

Agreed! I was recently out with my husband and a coworker of his. The coworker asked how the release went, how I was feeling, all of that, and I found myself already steamrolling ahead and talking about the next book and prepping that and getting it published. My husband was like, girl—YOU PUBLISHED A BOOK. I'm lucky to have people remind me to slow down and who recognize what a feat it is.

100%! A major feat.

Can you share a little about The Half of It?

Sure! The book follows Juniper, a guarded journalist who takes a DNA test on a whim, only to discover she has a half sister in Ireland. When she goes to the small town, Ballygrá, for her sibling’s wedding (and to write an article about the experience), she finds an unexpected romance with her newfound sibling’s best friend, Aidan. He's a man with his own challenging past and who has dreams bigger than his family’s pub. As Juniper becomes more enmeshed in this family and sparks fly between her and Aidan, she’s forced to decide if she’s willing to risk her heart for a family and a love she never expected.

So fun! I've only heard of DNA tests being the catalyst in thrillers, haha. What gave you the idea?

Yeah, having the DNA test and sibling relationship made it a unique challenge to write the blurb. I didn't want people to think that this was a taboo romance—if that's what people like to read, then fine by me, but it wasn't what I was writing!

The idea came from a few different things...I love travel and always knew that, when I did write a book, travel would be a key part of it. I'd also been in Ireland shortly before writing the book. But probably the biggest spark came from my late grandmother's ancestry. She was adopted but raised by people with strong Irish heritage, so she obviously passed that onto my mom, and then that went down to me. We weren't really sure, though, if we were Irish, and that uncertainty—and just my imagination running wild with what if's—helped to shape the plot.

Very interesting! Did you yourself get a DNA test to find out?

I haven't, actually! But my dad did some pretty in-depth ancestry work, and near the end of writing the book, he had discovered my grandmother's birth family and connected with a relative on that side of the family. (As it turns out, she was actually German.)

Got it. Can you share a little about your journey to publication?