I have a lot of favorite scenes from this friends-to-lovers romance: Tabitha falling into Dean’s lap at the bar, their water ice date, their – ahem – date at the art museum, when she’s doing the twist with Dean’s parents, when Dean and Eddie talk about his food needs at the end, Pam!!, all of the neighbors on Tenth Street, Alice’s all-caps text messages, Rowan being charming, Tabitha’s entire family, Kathleen’s boozy book club saving the day, the – ahem, again – lingerie scene, their sweet memories of growing up together and going to the Lavender Center…and on and on.

If it wasn’t obvious, I started writing this book in March 2021 – one year into the pandemic – and it was the soft, warm hug that I needed at the time. I was so grateful to be able to escape into the happy, cozy world of one single block in South Philly…and to write about neighbors coming together to help each other out.

It is often said – correctly – that no one loves Philadelphia as much as Philadelphians do. As a born-and-raised resident of Delaware County (Delco, for those in the know), and having lived in South Philly for more than three years, I can confirm that those from this underdog city love it with a ferocity that’s hard to explain. Even as they criticize it or are disappointed by it, Philly is a city of deep roots, family connections and close-knit neighborhoods that will fight to protect one another when they need to.

I have loved this city for my entire life – even when I lived far from it, like Tabitha does in this story, I was always overjoyed to step off a plane at the airport and breathe in that sense of home.

On the Ropes is meaningful to me for a number of reasons – and not just that it’s set in my hometown and in my current neighborhood. As a bisexual lady, I was thrilled to write my very first bisexual main character. The second that Tabitha appeared on the page – with her goofy humor and loveable charm – I felt called to tell her story through the lens of being a queer woman and the many unique ways that her sexuality shaped her life, her struggles and triumphs, her reactions and her relationships to those around her. I’m always overjoyed to see bisexual folks get their own happily-ever-after…and for Tabitha to find that love with Dean was extra special. Dean’s own experiences being raised by gay parents also shaped who he was and his world view, and he was, in so many ways, the perfect person for Tabitha – kind, compassionate, thoughtful, and understanding of the things they experienced and shared in their support group.