February Musings
On recognition, vulnerability, and being seen
After a much-needed newsletter break, where I thought constantly about what I was going to write in my next newsletter, I’m back! This one may be a bit all over the place, as I have some ✨ thoughts ✨ but I also have things to share—exciting things, about giveaways and ARCs and blurbs and all that fun stuff!
I also have some exciting things I can’t share quite yet, about events and media appearances and book release goodies—but we’ll save that for another newsletter. 😏
This newsletter first starting taking shape around Valentine’s Day, hence the initial yapping I do about chemistry and love and all that fun, sappy1 stuff. And then it goes into my fun things I get to share! So, without further ado:
Chemistry (The Quiet Kind)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about chemistry.
Not the fireworks version, not the insta-spark, but the quieter kind. The kind that builds in pauses and glances and half-finished sentences. The kind where two people recognize something in each other before they fully understand it themselves.
When I write love stories, I’m always chasing that feeling. The tension in what isn’t said. The courage it takes to stay in a moment just a little longer than is comfortable, to breathe it in. Chemistry, to me, isn’t about drama. It’s about recognition. It’s about someone choosing to see another person clearly, and not turning away.
I feel like I yap a lot about these things. I hope I convey them as well as I would like to. Anyway, Happy Belated Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate.
A Few Behind-the-Scenes Things
This month has been full of those quiet, in-between milestones that feel small until you realize they aren’t.
I received my pass pages (!!!), which is surreal in a way that’s hard to articulate. There is something about seeing the book laid out as it’ll actually appear, with all the cute fonts and designs and layout, that makes it feel suddenly very real. Okay, I feel like I say this once a month, but it’s true!
I’ve also been working on my Author’s Note and Acknowledgements, which, if I’m honest, took longer than I expected. I’m technically done, but just like the story, these parts of the writing process never truly feel done done. I keep going back and adding names, or changing my introductory thoughts. The Author’s Note especially feels vulnerable—while Acknowledgements get to be more celebratory—because writing about the story, my thoughts and innermost feelings and the journey that led me to this point, is yet another moment in which I lay my heart out on a platter and invite you all to take a look.
I said it best (subjective) on Instagram, so I’m going to share my caption here with you now:
But now that my story is starting to get “out there”—in your inboxes, on your e-readers, living in your hands—I’ve had to come to terms with the unsettling freefall of creative endeavours. The vulnerability of putting your work out into the universe and asking people to love it, judge it, dismiss it, or embrace it. It’s harrowing, if I’m being completely honest.
And I’ve lived in the advice of writer friends for years: block Goodreads, stay away from reviews, protect your peace. But at the same time, I’m hungry for it—to know what you think, how I made you feel (for better or worse!)
My author’s note is an attempt to reveal my soul just a little bit more, beyond the characters on the page, and to give you insight into my feelings—about my story, my process, and my place in all of this. It was cathartic to write and now, as more of you get to enter into my world, into Ethan and Julia’s world, maybe it will also mean something to you to read it.
At its core, I hope I’m able to convey just how much I appreciate you all for being here and sharing in this experience with me. Whatever you bare your heart for in this life, you aren’t alone.
And here is the paragraph that I shared, the last few lines of my Author’s Note:
(The OGs see that last sentence and know what’s up.)
Finally, Disclaimer: If, somehow, you are meant to be in my Acknowledgements and I’ve woefully forgotten you—I AM TRULY SORRY. Just know that a lot of the writing that went into that felt like throwing paint at a wall and then stepping back and trying to decipher it. In other words, I struggled.
It doesn’t mean I care or appreciate all the people who have accompanied me on this journey any less. It just means I am a mess.
More Book News
In other, less “me”-centric ramblings, there are some exciting things happening in MATCHMAKER book land.
✨ ARCs are officially available to request.
For anyone with a NetGalley (or Edelweiss) account and a dream, THE MATCHMAKER’S COTTAGE is waiting for you!
👉 Request on NetGalley
👉 Request on Edelweiss
🎁 There’s also a Goodreads Giveaway happening right now and on until SUNDAY, MARCH 1st at 11:59 PM (2 more days at the time of this newsletter going out!!!)
You can enter here:
👉 Goodreads Giveaway
(Unfortunately, it’s only open to residents of the US right now, but stay tuned for another giveaway for my non-US friends happening soon!)
📚 You can also feel free to add my book to your TBR:
👉 Add THE MATCHMAKER’S COTTAGE on Goodreads
For all other (freshly organized! ✨) links, check out my linktr.ee:
🔗 🌳 All Important Kat Sloane Links
And, for my last bit of fun news…
I’ve been lucky enough in 2026 to receive some incredibly generous blurbs from authors I admire more than I can say. I’ll give you a hint by sharing the (blurred out) cover of one book from each of them. I don’t even know why I’m hiding them (aside from ~*anticipation*~), because it’s the worst kept secret at this point, and not even really a secret, since you can go to plenty of my preorder sites and see them populated there by my lovely team at Berkley. BUT, I do love a little bit of dramatic lead-up, so please indulge me.
I’m very happy that I get to share these very soon, like I absolutely cannot wait, so stay tuned!!
Until Next Time
There are a few more exciting things in the works that are still percolating, but half the fun (anxiety!) is releasing bits and pieces of information here and there as we make our way closer and closer to pub day (less than 5 months!).
As always, thank you for being here. For caring about this book while it’s still in its “becoming” phase. I’ll have more cool things (and maybe a few surprises) to share with you very soon!
vital, human