FRIEND REQUEST

Posted October 1, 2026

Exclusive First Look: Friend Request

Dear Reader,

Soon, my next book, Friend Request, will come out in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. It’s one of my favorite books that I’ve ever written. In Friend Request, Maya, Lily, and Anne were the closest of friends in high school and college. They bonded over being only children and called themselves The Onlys. They were determined to be each other’s family the rest of their lives. They had visions of vacationing together, being auntie to one another’s children, growing old together.

Until.

There’s always an “until,” isn’t there—at least in good fiction.

Until Lily and Anne fell for the same guy, and Anne married him, crushing Lily’s heart. Poor Maya was caught in the middle, keeping up separate friendships with both of her best friends, even though they refused to see each other.

Then there’s another “until,” which I’ll let you discover in the exclusive Members Only excerpt below. Don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler—it’s what the book is about.

The hardcover will debut with a deluxe limited edition. Not only will the deluxe edition have painted-edge pages, but it will also have stunning endpapers! I have an exclusive sneak peek of those endpapers for you in this newsletter, as well. I was a bit shocked by how quickly the limited edition of The Bookstore Diaries sold out, so my best advice to you is if you want this beauty for your bookshelf, preorder now.

ENDPAPERS TO SWOON OVER

Take a look at the stunning endpapers that will be in the deluxe limited edition! I love the wish-you-were-there feeling that it creates. This book is a true escape, and the endpapers capture that beautifully.

 

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK: FRIEND REQUEST

     The handsome lawyer smiled. "And you're Anne. I feel as if I know both of you already. Maya talked about you all the time." His smile faded and something very close to sadness filled his eyes. "It's always difficult when we lose a client, but as you both know, Maya was very special. She will be missed by everyone who knew her, including me."

     Lily did her best to pay attention to what Graham was saying, but it was difficult when she kept wanting to look at Anne. They hadn't seen each other in more than seventeen years. Yes, they'd both been at Maya's funeral, but they'd been so careful to avoid proximity and eye contact. She'd seen the other woman had two children. The oldest should have been what? Sixteen? Jeff hadn't been there. Lily hadn't known what to think about that. Had he been working or were he and Anne not together anymore? Wouldn't it be ironic if after all that had happened, all the betrayal and hurt and destruction, they hadn't managed to stay married?

     "Maya's will was much like Maya herself," Graham continued, drawing Lily back to the conversation. "Irreverent, unexpected and yet exactly what you'd want her to do. She was fearless right to the end." His voice cracked and he had to pause to clear his throat.

     "Sorry," he murmured. "I still can't believe she's gone." He looked at each of them. "You were her friends and she loved you very much."

     Lily felt her eyes start to burn. "She was amazing."

     "So you stayed friends with her, too?" Anne asked, speaking for the first time.

     "Of course," Lily glared at her. "We did everything together."

     Anne didn't seem cowed by her tone. "So did we."

     Lily wanted to roll her eyes and point out there was no way Anne and Maya had been as close. She and Maya had traveled together, spent holidays together. She mentally paused. Not all of them, but at least every other one. They had memories and plans and when Maya had been dying, Lily had been there to do what she could.

     "She never talked about you," Anne added, her voice more conciliatory. "She said she wouldn't."

     "She didn't talk about you, either."

     For the first time, they looked directly at each other. Lily realized she would have recognized her former friend anywhere. Yes, she was a little older and her hair was short—cut in a bob rather than left long. There were a few lines, but otherwise, she was the same.

     "Shall we?" Graham asked, drawing their attention back to him. "I won't read the entire will. It's extensive and Maya wanted the beneficiaries to hear only the relevant sections."

     Meaning Maya had left her something. Lily tried to imagine what. Maybe that painting in her bedroom that she'd admired. Or a light fixture or two. Maya did have an amazing collection of light fixtures.

     He pulled out a small console from the desk and pushed several buttons. Immediately automatic shades began to lower, as did a screen on the wall opposite him. Lily turned in that direction as Graham typed on his computer. Seconds later her breath caught as a picture of Maya appeared on the screen. For a second it was still, allowing her to take in how her friend looked.

     Maya had always been the "pretty one." Maybe not technically but between her infectious laugh, her larger-than-life personality and the way she'd made every person she spoke to feel special, she'd commanded each situation and had made people think she was everything they needed her to be. She'd been the one you remembered, Lily thought.

     Now she greedily took in the large green eyes, the vibrant red hair. Maya looked good. Healthy. Oh there were hints of the disease that was ravaging her in the faint lines under her eyes and how her face looked too thin, but compared to how she'd been at the end, she look fantastic.

     "Maya recorded a series of videos for you," Graham told them. "This is the first. As we move forward, she'll continue to tell you her wishes."

     He pushed a button and the lights fell a little and the video came to life.

Preorder Friend Request today!

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