For a while I found excuses to be in the common areas of the apartment, hoping Art would come back out and I could mount a solid defense about my mad romance skillz, but he stayed holed up in his room and since I couldn’t hear his music, that probably meant he had on noise-canceling headphones and couldn’t hear me conspicuously walking down the hall­way, or washing the dishes, or, uh, moving the couch so I could sweep under it, which I’d never done before and was so gross I might never do again. There was no point if he wasn’t coming out to see what I was doing so I could triumphantly brandish my disgusting dustpan like a…like a very passionate-about-cleaning hero out of a romance novel? That was probably a thing, right? I’d interned under the romance editor, Adams, and I was pretty sure I could sell her on cleaning as a romantic gesture. Well. Maybe. Adams was kinda hard-core. Let’s just say, if it was a thing, she’d probably seen it already and could cite every in­stance of it in every romance novel published in the last fifty years. I finally gave up and went in my…

It didn’t take long to finish the details and open the account. I let [Diego] know how to set up the online portal and gave him the usual rundown on our services. Blah blah blah, don’t hesitate to contact me, you might find X, Y, Z interesting, here’s a big packet of things you won’t read. I set his own folder on top and settled it on the desk in front of him. “That’s it? That was…relatively painless.” I couldn’t help allowing the hint of a smirk into my expression. “Did you think it would be painful?” “Not exactly. But when you put something off for years before doing it, I think it tends to collect an…air of morbid dread around it. When it’s then accomplished in thirty minutes sitting across from, uh, you, I guess it seems a little silly to have worried about it for so long. Of course until recently I wouldn’t have had a you to take the edge off.” “I’m…glad I could help. In all the ways.” Which felt true. All the ways. The account. The alleviation of dread. The…mutual appreciation. He patted down his pockets, pulling out a crumpled receipt, keys tangled with a…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE HATE PROJECT 2–What is it about? Two grumpy frenemies accidentally falling in love! 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love inventing new towns in my beloved East Bay in California! It’s the best of both worlds: it’s broadly a real-life location I know very, but specifically a setting I completely made up! 4–How did Oscar surprise you?  Oscar is both more funny and more emotional than I thought he’d be when I sat down to start this book. His voice came quite easily, but each time I turned a corner he surprised me, which is a great combination! 5–Why will readers love Jack?  Jack is that classic guy who acts like he doesn’t need anyone, but in fact totally does. I don’t know if that’s why readers will love him, but it’s definitely why I do! 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  This book was a pleasure to write because I enjoy the hell out of dialogue, and Oscar and Jack like talking to each other (even if they don’t want to admit it). The biggest challenge was…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Kris Ripper! Writes: I write stories about queer folks finding love and discovering themselves along the way! Also there’s usually coffee. My newest book is The Love Study. What do you get when you combine a goofy, commitment-phobic office temp with a thoughtfully non-dating YouTuber? The Love Study. Declan swore off dating after he left his last boyfriend at the altar, but Sidney isn’t interested in altars. They’re interested in humans. Specifically, they’re interested in Declan, who agrees to go out with people and discuss his dates on Sidney’s YouTube channel. Awkwardness, chocolate, and giggling ensue. About: Hi, I’m Kris! I like long walks on the beach (actually I prefer running–oooh, the running-in-sand muscle burn!), candlelit dinners (…that should probably read “screen-lit” but I’m trying to stop eating in front of the computer so much!) and curling up with a cup of tea and a good book (oh good, that one’s accurate as-is). I also love romantic stories that challenge traditional…