Kaitie Howie’s “Broken Like Me” is LIVE & we’ve got fun facts + a giveaway!

SINGLE MOM MOVES INTO HIS APARTMENT BUILDING!! Broken Like Me by Kaitie Howie IS LIVE and it sounds all sorts of angsty and wonderful, and the author (Kaitie Howie is today’s newsletter sponsor, and we’re celebrating with a fun guest post and giveaway.

Mona: I just finished Broken Like Me and loved it! I didn’t want to put it down. It has all the feels!

P.S. Fun fact about me (in regards to two of the songs from her playlist): I LOVE Broken, and Happier makes me cry. And don’t even get me started on that video. But the lyrics alone… ugh. My heart.

P.P.S. She’s a bit terrified of publishing this one, ’cause it’s a piece of her soul. She was desperately trying to find a book in this theme, and couldn’t… and so she wrote it herself. And I LOVE the sound of that.

So what’s it about?

Rose is hiding—from her past, from her own mind, from the world she knows promises no happy endings as she works to make a better life for her newborn daughter. Josh is trying—to make ends meet, to protect his only family from the fears that haunt them both, to keep the darkness from winning while he makes his way through the hurdles life keeps coming.

When Rose and her daughter move into the building Josh and his best friends live in, it becomes clear they’re meant to be a part of each other’s lives—trauma knows trauma, and weary hearts and broken souls grow together. But beyond their newfound friendship, the universe has more in store for Rose and Josh, from falling in love and the baby’s first words to a horrifying court trial.

And when their pasts come back to haunt them, each other is all they have while they face their darkest fears.

Fun facts:

I started writing this book when I was studying abroad in Russia!

So picture me, ignoring the World Cup happening around me and the beauty of this country I’d dreamed of, staying up until ungodly hours in the brightness of White Nights to let the words pour out of me.

This book’s working title was “Learning to Breathe”

The playlist I made while writing this book has both broken by lovelytheband and Happier by Bastille probably more times than is healthy

Inspiration:

This was the story that I needed at the most difficult time of my life; I searched everywhere, read everything with similar subject matter, trying to find one that understood exactly what I was feeling in that moment, and it was just—impossible. But I needed it to exist—my brain was so desperately clamoring for it that I could think of nothing else, even though I was in another country on a trip I could’ve never dreamed of affording. It should’ve been the best time of my life, but I spent every moment dwelling on what ifs and what might have beens, and it got to a point where the only way to make it stop was to get it out of me—by writing it down.

Honestly I’m terrified to publish this because it is genuinely a piece of my soul—one of the most important ones—and allowing other people access to that feels terrifying, especially as someone who hates being vulnerable. But there was a time when I was 15 and struggling, and felt so alone and like I couldn’t breathe, until I found this book that just—got it, put exactly what I was feeling into words. And that moment was—everything. Changed my life. So I feel like I have to put my own book out there on the off chance that it might do the same for someone else.

About me as a writer:

I’m 22, and have been writing since middle school (I like to think there has been substantial improvement since then!)

I read (and write) an embarrassing amount of fanfic, but honestly I think it’s been the most helpful tool to help me hone writing skills, since it allows me to focus on strengthening one element at a time (e.g. just characterization, or plot) and also allows for a lot of instant feedback (especially since it’s from strangers!)

I actually can’t picture when I read or write and so a lot of the early drafts were beta readers saying nice things but being confused when I would go chapters without mentioning any type of scenery—which was then very weird for me to integrate since I don’t exactly have a template in my mind

I have a Bachelor’s degree in psychology but I still insist that the best way to learn about humanity and psych is by reading fiction, because every single choice an author makes is a reflection of the sum total of their experience
I use writing to do a lot of processing and a lot of the time don’t realize all of the facets of what I’m feeling until I’m attempting to write it into someone else

I have ADHD so I tend to go days/weeks/months without being able to focus enough to write and then the writing brain will strike and I sit down, hyper fixate on writing, and crank out 5k+ in one day

I teach middle school social studies, so here’s to hoping they continue to be blissfully unaware of this book’s existence!

Now for the giveaway!

The author is giving away a print or ebook copy (if the winner is in the US – winner chooses) or an ebook copy (if the winner is outside of the US) to one lucky commenter here! 😀

How to enter for a chance to win it?

Just leave a comment below, (and better yet – tell me what theme or trope you wish someone would write that you’re dying to read) and by 10pm EST, Sunday June 20th 2021, I will randomly select one lucky commenter as the winner.

The winner will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond confirming their mailing address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. The book will be sent to the winner by the author.

OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL!! 🙂