What is the title of your latest release?
WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART is a sapphic romance about a witch hired to ethically haunt a small-town bed-and-breakfast…only to find herself falling for her non-magical client.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I love the flexibility of being able to make up a town from scratch, and I generally set those towns in a vaguely “upstate” or Central New York to ground the location in the geography and weather I’m used to. With this book in particular, I wanted to capture autumn in CNY, which is really gorgeous.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! I think Pippa and I would get along great! We both understand the struggles of being a small business owner in an ever-changing landscape, we’re both into witchy things (though she has very cool magic that doesn’t exist in real life), and we both have a special place in our hearts for red heads.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Pippa is stubborn, creative, and tender.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
My books don’t lend themselves toward a ton of research, so I often learn the most about myself through the process of writing. With this book, I learned a lot about the ways grief and joy intertwine and how to make space for both. While there can certainly be times where grief is all-consuming, but in my experience, there’s lots of silliness and fun that can happen even during those challenging periods.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I generally like to get Act 1 revised and the story at that point really solid before I move on to drafting the rest of the book. Once I have that first section the way I want it, I tend to draft the rest of the book before I really dig into edits. I find it really helpful to have the perspective of the full book before I devise my revision plan.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Now that we’re getting into fall, I love really warm dishes like buffalo chicken chili, Thai red curry, and Indian dishes like chicken tikka masala or butter chicken.
Describe your writing space/office!
I recently did a DIY remodel of my office, so I love this question! I have a finished basement in my home, and I painted it this lovely bluish-purple color, installed new flooring, and built a bunch of Ikea bookshelves. My spouse helped me organize all my books into a rainbow gradient, and I upgraded to a large L-shaped desk, so I have plenty of room to journal or take notes without needing to move my computer out of the way.
It is so soothing and beautiful down there. It’s really become my happy place.
Who is an author you admire?
I always have such a hard time with these questions, because there are so many! There are the auto-buy authors I love as a reader. The authors who are just stunning storytellers and inspire me to continue to grow my craft. I also really admire authors who are really prolific and can write across multiple categories and genres.
Someone who ticks all those boxes for me is Jennifer Dugan. Since we both debuted in 2019, she’s published SO many books, including YA romance, YA horror, YA graphic novels, and adult romance. Her most recent adult release is ANDERSON IN BLOOM, which is a sapphic former celebrity second-chance romance.
We’re actually going to be on a panel together with Dahlia Adler (author of many books, including Soon By You) on Sunday, October 11th at the Colonie Center Barnes & Noble in Albany, NY! So excited to chat about writing across YA and Adult romance with both of them!
Is there a book that changed your life?
Speaking of Dahlia Adler, her second novel, UNDER THE LIGHTS (which came out in 2015) was one of the first sapphic books that I read after I came out as bisexual that year. Getting to see two girls in an obviously romantic position on the cover of a book for the first time gave me a lot of hope as an as-yet unagented writer. In fact, it affected me so much that I included a reference to it in my 2019 sapphic YA debut, THESE WITCHES DON’T BURN.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
My agent actually texted me to make sure I was free to chat, so I had time to go find my spouse before she called. I took the call on speaker phone so we can both hear the news and celebrate together! It was so fun to share that moment (and to have another set of ears to catch all the details). It was toward the end of the work day, so we went right out to dinner after to celebrate!
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I tend to bounce back and forth between romance and cozy fantasy! (And books always get bonus points if they have queer protagonists.)
What’s your favorite movie?
I loved Practical Magic growing up – I’m so excited to check out the sequel that’s finally coming out!
What is your favorite season?
While I don’t actually like scary things, I love “spooky season.” Give me sunset-colored leaves, crisp air, and cozy sweater weather any day of the year!
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I keep it simple – dinner with my family and a birthday cake! (Chocolate cake with strawberry frosting is a personal favorite.)
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I recently read Edward Underhill’s THE HOUSE OF NOW AND THEN and I really, really loved it! The love story was really sweet, and the speculative element (the little house on Cape Cod where the protagonist stays is a little bit haunted… by living people from his past) was really interesting.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I have no talent for cooking it, but like I hinted at above, I really love Thai food. Red curry with chicken is my go-to order.
What do you do when you have free time?
In the cooler months, I love to crochet while I’m watching a movie or listening to an audiobook. I also do a lot of reading year-round: both books and tarot cards.
What can readers expect from you next?
If readers enjoy WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART, I’m happy to say that I’ve written another book set in the same world! They can expect more ghost hijinks and a familiar face getting a well-deserved happily ever after.
WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART by Isabel Sterling
A witch hired to ethically haunt a small-town B&B instead finds herself spellbound by her non-magical client in this cozy and enchanting sapphic romance.
Steadily losing clients to the new DIY-magic shop on the other side of town, Pippa Ainsley is getting desperate. Instead of hiring the witch to correct their magical maladies, local mundanes have been taking their chances with the cheaper—and unpredictable—crystals and herb blends. So when Pippa’s best friend hires her to inspect his newly acquired bed-and-breakfast for ghosts, she doesn’t think twice about it.
That is, until she learns that his unfairly attractive co-owner, Elle Thompson, doesn’t want Pippa to rid their business of spirits. She wants Pippa to give them an edge over the competition by haunting their B&B.
It’s the perfect challenge for Pippa’s experimental magic, but just because she could figure it out, doesn’t mean it’s a smart or safe idea. But Elle is persistent, and the financial boost could save her own business if Pippa succeeds. Soon, Pippa finds herself testing the limits of her magic… and her ability to stop the growing attraction she feels toward Elle, a woman with a painful secret of her own.
Romance LGBTQ | Paranormal Romance [ Berkley, On Sale: September 8, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780593956649 / eISBN: 9780593956656 ]
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About Isabel Sterling
Isabel Sterling is a writing coach, LGBTQ advocate, and author of These Witches Don’t Burn, This Coven Won’t Break, and the forthcoming f/f vampire novel The Coldest Touch. When she’s not writing, Isabel can be found crocheting projects she’ll never finish, completing crosswords with her wife, and trying not to destroy her garden. She lives in Central New York, where the winters are frigid, the summers are too hot, and autumn is perfect.
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