Welcome to Firebrook Valley! I am so excited to finally introduce you to the rivals, the tension, and the billionaires of my brand-new series. (Includes: cameos from some of my OG billionaires.)

When I first started dreaming up Firebrook Valley, I had a very specific vision for the covers but I couldn't quite find the right fit while shopping for designers. 

 This was the original concept cover. Every masterpiece starts somewhere! 

My concept cover:

Serenity Cardello, my 15-year-old daughter, offered to draw the characters and create the covers for me. I love how they came out, and I hope you do as well.  I've hired her for the entire series. I couldn't be prouder. 

 As you can see, she gets her artistic talent from me . . . (wink). 

My original title for the first book in the series was Not Me, but I decided on Not You. I hope you enjoyed this look behind the scenes. I’m so grateful for my family who puts up with me and for you for coming along with me on this crazy, but often amazing, writing journey.

Use Goodreads? Don't forget to add NOT YOU to your WANT TO READ LIST. Simply hover over the button below and click WANT TO READ!

It’s finally here. Strictly Friends is out in the world! I’ve waited so long to share this story with you, and I’m still grinning thinking about all the twists, laughter, and heart you’re about to dive into. There’s a lot I could say about this book (and believe me, I will), but today, I want to talk about Mark Walker, our reluctant, maple-spiced hero, and why he holds such a special place in my heart.

Mark wasn’t supposed to be the star of the show. He’s quiet. A little too self-deprecating. A guy who would rather fix your porch than talk about his feelings. But that’s precisely what made me fall for him and why I think you will, too.

When we first meet Mark, he’s staring at his reflection in a bathroom mirror, groaning that he doesn’t look like Hugh Jackman. (Spoiler: he doesn’t need to.) He’s only attending a ridiculous celebrity lookalike event because his sweet, meddling parents roped him into it, complete with a syrup sales pitch and a note in his suitcase daring him to “come home with a story you can’t tell us.”

That double-dog dare from his mom? That’s the soul of this story.

Mark isn’t just a good man. He’s the kind of son who puts his parents first. The type of neighbor who shows up when no one else does. He’s been living quietly, almost invisibly, holding everything and everyone together except himself.

Until he walks into that convention and meets a man who looks exactly like him.

The bonding. The dare. Thee absolute confusion that follows . . .

What I love most about Mark is that even in the chaos, mistaken identities, long-lost family secrets, and the wildest maple-syrup-meets-love story you’ve ever read, he never stops being him. Honest. Loyal. Surprisingly funny. That rare kind of man who listens more than he talks and doesn’t realize how much people need someone like him, until the right woman looks him in the eye and says, “You matter.”

If you love romance characters with heart, a little mystery, a lot of family, and heroes who don’t know how handsome they are until you show them, Strictly Friends might just be your new favorite.

Thank you to everyone who’s preordered, shared, reviewed, or messaged me about this book. Truly. This story means a lot to me, and I hope it touches you too.

Now go meet Mark. You’ll be glad you did.

—Ruthie 💛

P.S. Let me know if you’d fall for a guy who owns a sugar shack. This might become a thing.

There was a time when I would write quietly, privately, with no expectation that anyone outside my family would ever read my stories. I told myself it was safer that way. That writing was for me, and that sharing it might steal the joy from it.

The truth? I was afraid.

Afraid I wasn't good enough. That no one would care. That people would read my heart on the page and not just dislike it, but dismiss it.

I look back at that version of myself, the woman scribbling late at night between parenting and life and everything in between, and I wish I could give her a hug. I wish I could tell her that some of the most beautiful things in life begin when you're scared but do it anyway.

Publishing that first book was a risk. I made that cover by myself and back before I had any idea how to. But I did it anyway. And that one leap changed everything.

I’ve learned that the magic of a story isn’t in how perfect it is, but in how honest it is. Readers don’t fall in love with flawless books. They fall in love with characters who feel like family. With stories that speak to their heart. With imperfect people who find a way to love each other through the mess.

If I could go back, I’d tell that scared version of me not to chase perfection but to chase the dream with heart. There’s a reader out there who needs exactly the story you’re afraid you can’t write well enough.

And maybe you’re not a writer, but you’re standing on the edge of something new. A career change, a relationship, a move, or even just speaking your mind. I hope you take the leap. Not because it’s easy but because sometimes the things that scare us the most are the very things that change our lives in the best possible way.

I never imagined I’d be writing billionaire romance success stories or that readers would search for lighthearted romances and find mine. But here we are. And I’m so, so grateful.

So if you’re standing where I once stood, wondering if you’re “good enough,” this is me telling you: You are. And I’m cheering you on.

Be brave.

Follow that dream with your whole heart. It’ll take you on a wild ride and one with many challenges, but you’ll never regret believing in yourself.

Love,
Ruthie