Thankful for you!

Sharing gratitude and my best Thanksgiving hosting tips

Hello friends!

I want to start off by saying how grateful I am for each and every one of you. 2024 was the year my author dreams came true and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your enthusiasm and support. Thank you to everyone who has purchased, read, and promoted my books this year. Thank you for coming to author events, introducing yourselves at conferences, chatting with me on social media, and celebrating the publication of Till There Was You. It has all meant so much to me and I am truly so appreciative of your kindness.

We are three months out from the publication of Never Planned on You, and if you haven’t preordered a copy yet, I’d be so grateful if you would do so. Preorders are one of the best ways you can support an author. It shows publishers and bookstores that a book is desirable; plus, preorders increase the likelihood that a book will land on a bestseller list.

To show my gratitude, I’ve got a preorder incentive for you! The first 50 people who order Never Planned on You from Cupboard Maker Books will receive a bookmark of Graham, the book’s love interest. He’s the bespectacled, British dreamboat of our collective fantasies, and you do not want to miss out.

Preorder here!

Speaking of gratitude, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I’ll be taking this next week off from writing in order to prepare. Like my fictional characters, especially Ali, I love to cook, host, and entertain. I host most of the holiday dinners for my family, including Thanksgiving, and I’ve learned a lot over the years.

When it comes to hosting, the key to success is preparation. Here are a few of my best tips to make the holiday run smoothly:

• Set the table early! If you’re going to use a tablecloth, make sure it’s pressed and ready to go. If you don’t want to dry-clean, you can throw linens and a pair of ice cubes into the “permanent press” cycle.

• Make a master grocery list and check it twice. There’s nothing worse than making a recipe and realizing halfway through that you don’t have an ingredient you need. I also break my grocery shopping into multiple days so it doesn’t get overwhelming.

• Create a master schedule. My to-do list starts the Monday of Thanksgiving and then breaks tasks down by the hour on Thursday. I live by this schedule and it makes everything so much less stressful. It’s also helpful for planning out when you will put things in the oven. (Don’t forget to account for any dishes guests will bring and need to re-heat!)

• Stock up on to-go containers. These are useful both for leftovers and for packing up food at the end of the night. My family likes to help with clean-up and having a variety of storage containers on hand makes that easier for everyone. The last thing you need is to be digging around your drawers, trying to find the matching lid for your old Tupperware containers.

• Have fun with details! This can be as easy as buying a turkey-shaped butter for your table or something more challenging, like baking cornbread into cute cakelet pans. Put your own spin on your food or decor and make the holiday your own.

Here’s what it’s on my 2024 Thanksgiving menu:

You might be asking yourself, is seven desserts too many desserts? And the answer is no, there is no such thing as too many desserts. Besides, my family loves to bake and holidays should be fun. And everyone knows Thanksgiving is all about the leftovers anyway. :-)

Hope your holidays are filled with joy and plenty of time to read!

Until next time,

<3 Lindsay