Character Q&A: Clyde Ali

We’re in Clyde and Danyelle Ali’s Brooklyn brownstone, the kind of home that feels warm before you even step fully inside. The kitchen smells like sautéed onions and something slow-simmering on the stove. Clyde stands at the counter in a fitted tee and apron, moving comfortably between chopping, stirring, and glancing at the clock.

Danyelle took the kids to gymnastics practice. Their daughters are tumbling somewhere across the borough while their young son tags along. Clyde is using the quiet window to get dinner started before the house fills back up with noise and energy.

“I have to be mindful about being less fancy when it comes to dinners for my girls,” he laughs, shaking his head. “They’re not into none of the stuff I make at the restaurant. They turn their nose up at Gouda whenever I put it in their mac and cheese.”

The way he says my girls tells me everything I need to know. Him mentioning family and cooking feels like the perfect place to begin before he fully switches into dad and husband mode.

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

The Turning Point: Rylee Daniels’s Choice in Last Comes Love

Throughout Last Comes Love, we watched Rylee Daniels and her best friend Lennox Walker’s relationship shift right before our eyes. What began as a silly pact made during Rylee’s twenty-first birthday dinner evolved into the two of them fulfilling that pact and creating a child together.

With every chapter, we wondered how these two would move from friends to lovers, and when it happened, it didn’t arrive all at once. It came in waves.

But it was the night Rylee walked into Lennox’s room, finally asking for the “favor” he told her she could ask for whenever she was ready, that truly shifted the story and marked one of Rylee’s most defining turning points in Last Comes Love.

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

Inside the Character: Getting to Know Wesley Bishop from I Hate That I Love You

The very stoic Wesley Bishop. Writing opposites-attract romances is especially satisfying when one half of the pairing is as immovable as Wes. He is rigid, disciplined, and unapologetically set in his ways. So pairing him with a woman he swore he couldn’t stand felt like an irresistible challenge. As he so aptly admits in his serial, Jazmine Reeves is the only person who truly sees him. Wes is the kind of character you don’t forget once you meet him, and because he guards himself so fiercely, there’s far more to his story than what appears on the surface.

So, let’s get to know Wes Bishop a little more intimately.

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

Alternate Story Ending: Jazzy & Wes (I Hate That I Love You)

Jazzy and Wes gave the enemies-to-lovers story I was craving when I decided to work on their story. And they’re still going strong. We’ll be seeing a lot more of these two, especially Jazzy… hint, hint 😉. Once our Draft Diaries series starts, you’ll know exactly what I mean. For now, enjoy this cute update from our subworld’s lovely new couple.

JAZZY

An impatient driver behind the wheel of a yellow taxi pressed down on his horn, adding some profanity to the noise, as he waited at a green light behind a car.

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

My Only Chapter 14: “I’m married, Harper. Married”

This was the chapter we’d all been waiting for, and hopefully it didn’t disappoint.

The moment Hassani was finally faced with the reality of his work relationship with Harper.

The moment she confessed to sabotaging a massive building project just to get close to her “work husband.”

Throughout My Only, readers were practically yelling at Hassani to open his eyes. To see what was happening. Or maybe more importantly… to see what he was allowing to happen.

And in Chapter 14, everything came to a head—in his office, late at night—with the kind of clarity that leaves no room for excuses.

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

Archetype Deep Dive: Hassani Franklin

Honestly, Hassani stole my heart the moment his character profile was complete. There was something about this boy from Long Island—a humble athlete who dreamed of seeing something different in his hometown—falling for the girl from Brooklyn that felt like magic.

It didn’t take long for readers to fall for him either. Hassani and Ayla might’ve frustrated us with their push and pull, but they stole our hearts in the process. We were invested in his growth. In whether or not he’d get the girl he clearly fell for at first sight, and what he’d do to keep her once he did.

Hassani has a way with words. He knows how to make people feel seen, valued, even adored. And while he sometimes struggles to read people’s true intentions, deep down, he’s a lover of love. A romantic at his core. And he’s never been afraid to show it. He doesn’t shy away from commitment. He wants it. He thrives in love, and when he’s in it, he’s all in.

So what archetype does that make him?

The Charmer.

Hassani Franklin’s Archetypes

• Primary: The Charmer
• Secondary Influences: The Hero, The Lover

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

Character Q&A: Micah Black

We meet Micah on his break from classes at Le Cordon Bleu, just a few blocks away from the campus, in a small Parisian square tucked between stone buildings and narrow streets. A fountain sits at its center, water trickling steadily as students, locals, and tourists drift in and out of the space.

Micah leans back on the edge of the fountain, one leg stretched out, the other bent, a small paper cone of roasted almonds and dried cherries resting in his hand. It’s an unassuming choice for someone who spends his days preparing intricate dishes, but he doesn’t seem bothered by the irony.

“I retain information and work better on an empty stomach,” he says with a hearty chuckle, shrugging. “I don’t know why that is, but it just works for me to eat light while I’m at school.”

There’s an ease to him here. A quiet confidence. The kind that comes from finally standing where you once only dreamed of being.

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

The Turning Point: Arielle St. James’s Choice in How to Lose Control in 42 Days

From the moment we meet Arielle St. James in How to Lose Control in 42 Days, it’s clear she’s put together. Immaculately so. Not just on the outside, but internally as well. Arielle is the fixer. The holder of things. The one who steps in before anyone else can even decide if they need help.

Carrying her family’s legacy on her shoulders wasn’t something imposed on her. It was something she willingly accepted. Believing only she could manage what bore the St. James name, she trained the people around her to depend on her. And in doing so, she lived in a constant state of stress, mistaking it for responsibility.

That wasn’t a sustainable way to live. And all it took was a young bartender walking into her establishment to awaken a craving she hadn’t allowed herself to acknowledge. A desire for a fresh start, far away from the life she’d convinced herself was non-negotiable. That desire becomes the seed of Arielle’s turning point.

Subscribe to continue reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

1 2