Falling Like Snow: A Guest Post from Misty Wilson

A winter festival, an irresistible hockey player and an unexpected love triangle make this a holiday season to remember for Sloane Sullivan. The author of Falling Like Leaves delivers another heartwarming seasonal rom-com. Read on for an exclusive essay from Misty Wilson on writing Falling Like Snow.

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I’ve always loved a book that will break your heart and then put it back together. My favorite stories are poignant and angsty. My favorite part of both writing and reading is the All is Lost beat, the part where everything goes wrong for the protagonist. The worst possible thing that can happen actually happens, causing heartbreak and devastation. So, when I set out to write the Bramble Falls series, I knew it was going to be a big change from my norm. But my norm wasn’t selling.

On tour recently, I was asked if it was difficult to make that transition to something cuter and cozier and more fun. Truthfully? It wasn’t hard at all. I love cute and cozy. I love small towns and tight-knit communities. I’ve rewatched Gilmore Girls and Hart of Dixie and Schitt’s Creek more times than I can count. They were my biggest inspiration for Bramble Falls. The only challenge I faced was not knowing whether I’d have to give up what I loved writing in order to break into the YA space. But as it turned out, I was very easily able to find a happy medium, and in the process, I fell in love with it.

I now have the privilege of writing the feel-good, cozy stories that readers love, while incorporating my favorite things—jealousy, so much angst, grief, and strained familial relationships that sometimes don’t end with a happily-ever-after. I think this combination is what has made the Bramble Falls series so successful, and it makes the books feel wholly me.

The stories I write tend to have stakes that seem low to the reader but feel huge to the protagonist. And that’s one of my favorite things about writing young adult books. I love the big feelings and all the drama. When you’re a teen, everything feels like your entire life depends on this one decision, or this one love, or this one moment. YA doesn’t require life-or-death stakes (though I do love some high-stakes fight-for-your-life competitions, especially in fantasy!) because everything feels like life-or-death, like your whole future is on the line (and sometimes it is!).

I’ve been so fortunate and so happy to hear from readers who connect with my characters and their experiences. And I’m so excited to continue writing this fluffy seasonal series, with small-town shenanigans, complicated relationships, and happily-ever-afters—along with a healthy dose of tumultuous emotions and unrelenting drama. (And maybe some justice for Jake... )

I truly hope everyone has as much fun reading them as I do writing them!