A hodge-podge of some of my favorite lines from RIVAL RADIO (Sexual Tension Edition)

The air crackled around us, like it usually did, but this tension had a sexier kind of edge to it. A seductive quality that had my fingers itching to fist my hands in his shirt and kiss that smug look right off his face.

How did I tell a woman I couldn’t stop arguing with that she made me feel utterly alive?

I didn’t think true intimacy was possible without true honesty. But it didn’t matter how this relationship with Daria progressed, whether we were friendly cohosts or two people who had desperate, angry sex in closets. Our authentic selves were at permanent odds. And for the first time in my life, I couldn’t find it in myself to care.

There it was. That feral-sounding growl Theo made in my presence, presumably because I pissed him off. But the energy vibrating from his body was a different kind of frustrated—a coiled, controlled sexuality I wouldn’t have expected from him.

It had been two days since Daria and I had unleashed three months of irritation and sexual frustration on each other in that closet. I was now a man suspended in a permanent state of desperate longing for my raven-haired rival.

Rival Radio is live! 🔥

You’re listening to K-SUN FM…which means RIVAL RADIO is now live and free in KU!

Enemies-to-lovers. Workplace. Forced Proximity. Stephanie Rose read it and declared Chapter 26 “one of the steamiest scenes I've ever read from Kathryn or period, gave me a new life goal” so you’ve got that to look forward to.

But don’t just listen to me. RIVAL RADIO’s early reviews had me doing happy cartwheels in the front lawn:

What Emily Is Reading ~ "This book was anything but ordinary! It was full of joy, steam, and so much love, I couldn’t put it down!"

Preet K's Reviews ~ "Kathryn Nolan comes through with a romcom that hits you big in the feels."

Tied Up In Books ~ "Character development was *chefs kiss*. Supporting characters were perfection. Full of sarcastic remarks between Daria and Theo. You can really feel the tension. Enemies-to-lovers GOLD"

Devon Wolf's Reviews ~ "Kathryn Nolan's best book to date!"

Since you’ve got some on-air enemies to enjoy, I won’t keep you long. I will say that writing Theo and Daria falling head-over-heels in love brought me so much joy.

I hope they bring you a little bit too. ❤️

When it comes to this being-a-human thing, none of us are experts. So I hope you get to sing a little, dance a lot, and roller-skate beneath disco balls while eating a funnel cake, because life’s too short not to. (a very specific reference that will make much more sense once you’ve finished reading 😘)

Go have fun in Sunrise Beach this weekend. And thanks, as always, for tuning in.

One week 'til RIVAL RADIO! ❤️‍🔥

Theo: You’re listening to K-SUN FM, radio for the people. And it is a gorgeous Friday here in Sunrise Beach. I’m your host….what, may I ask, are you looking at?

Daria: Me? Nothing. Nothing at all. Just sharing the airwaves with my favorite coworker. The one who never annoys me by being a smug jerk with a stick up his —

Theo: Oh, yes please, do entertain our listeners with your creative insults, Daria. It will only make people respect our new show more.

Daria: I think the listeners like it. I think the listeners agree with me that you, Dr. Theodore Chadwick, need to loosen up a little. Have some fun. Go wild. When was the last time you got laid?

Theo: None of your business. And that’s also not the only way a person can go wild. Long walks on the beach. A candle-lit dinner just for two. A romantic ride on the —

Daria *muttering*: You are so fucking boring it’s insufferable.

Theo: The fact that you find romantic gestures to be ‘boring’ and ‘insufferable’ shows me that whoever risked your wrath in the past to bring you a bouquet of flowers was doing it all wrong. Maybe you just need someone to do it right.

Daria: Oh, and that person would be you, I’m guessing?

Theo *smirks*: Please, Daria, I spend way too many hours of my life with you in this damn sound booth. Taking you on a date is my idea of a waking nightmare, yet I’m wondering why you’d jump to that conclusion. You weren’t…asking me on a date, were you?

Daria: Is the sky purple? Have frogs started falling from clouds? Has a portal from Hell suddenly opened up and —

Theo: Why I thought I could ask a simple…listen, just tell them why we’re here? Please?

Daria:…our book comes out in seven days. Friday, May 20th. Be there or, uh…miss out on whatever shitshow is happening between me and the good doctor over there, currently gripping his microphone like he’s about to break it in half.

Theo: You are….very frustrating to me. As you, the listeners, our entire staff and all of Sunrise Beach is aware of now.

Daria: Such a gentleman. Oh, look, here come the frogs now.

From Philly to Nashville to California 🌴☀️

We did it, my darlings! I’m currently writing to you from our (gorgeous) former hometown of Sacramento, where we’ll be staying for a bit before moving on up north for the next stop in our 3.5 month journey.

Walter and I began our trek last Tuesday — we ended up driving 570+ miles in the van over six days, from Philly, all the way down Skyline Drive in Shenandoah, then allllll the way down the Blue Ridge Parkway, finally arriving at the Smoky Mountains. ❤️

From there, we coasted west to Nashville, scooped up Rob, and did something like Missouri —-> Nebraska —-> Wyoming —-> Utah —-> Nevada —-> California (I’m definitely missing a few states, those long driving days really blur together 😉). Now, we’re here, the sun is shining, my block has orange trees and the air smells like honeysuckle. We’re back in Cali, baby!

570+ miles. ❤️ What an epic solo road trip and a literal dream come true!

My heart is as full as it can be - and I’m so very grateful for this beautiful earth, friendly campsites, hot coffee at camp stores, people who want to pet Walter on the hiking trail, audiobooks keeping me company and the quiet, soothing peace of a long drive with no real destination except “south”.

This has been a dream of mine for a long time and to do it with my best bud Walter was an experience I’ll never forget. Every morning, we’d wake up in the van and I’d drink coffee and peek through all of the upcoming sights and guideposts on the Blue Ride Parkway that day. From there, I’d throw on an audiobook or some music, and Walt and I would coooooaassssttttt for hours — hopping out whenever we wanted to do mini-hikes on the Appalachian Trail or quick summits of mountain views.

Those from that area know that the whole drive down you are surrounded by the beauty of the blue ridge mountains, as well as gorgeous farm land and forests and streams. We even saw some huge waterfalls!

I’ve wanted to see the Smokies for a long, long time and am not ashamed to say that when Walt and I drove up to the sign, welcoming us to the park, I burst into tears. It felt very affirming, to do this on my own. To explore at my own speed, with no bigger agenda other than taking in the scenery and feeling astonished.

Some other fun details from the road — day one, driving through Shenandoah, and I saw the biggest owl I’ve ever seen. It flew up from the road so low I almost hit it. It was so majestic! When Walt and I stopped to hike at Natural Bridge, the park ranger there told me Walter was definitely a “Charlie” and I should change his name 😂 At Linville Falls, we bumped into a trio of hikers, and when I told them Walter’s name, the one hiker said that the last time he’d been to Linville Falls was with his father, who had just passed away, and that his name had been Walter. ❤️ (my best boy gave him some extra kisses). The first time we drove up to the Great Smoky Mountains welcome sign, there was a couple there walking up to take a picture with their pot bellied pig on a leash! I am not lying, I almost drove off the road 😂😂

I’ve got lots of book recommendations to share in future newsletters — but I will say for now that Cat Sebastian’s Hither, Page and The Missing Page on audio kept me company on the long drives, and during stormy nights I’d keep listening. (Read my reviews here) and also that the Fleetwood Mac ‘Rumuors’ album, as well as the first and second Zeppelin albums really freaking slap when you’re cruising down mountain roads with no destination!

We are so grateful to be back in our non-Philly home for a bit. I haven’t been back since 2018!

This is where I met Rob, and where we lived for eight years before our van trip, and where I was very, very lucky to work alongside homeless women and children, and where I learned how to be a bike commuter, and raised a bunch of money for some awesome places, and where we bought the van and converted it in our front yard, and where I started going back to creative writing groups, and where I wrote and released RIPTIDE (almost five years ago to the month!) and where I got married and on and on….

OH! And it’s also where I was when I first started meeting all of YOU! ❤️

What a wild ride it has been — thanks for tagging along. Thank you for brightening this world with your love of happily-ever-afters. Thank you for bringing so much joy into this space!

On May 20th, tune in and get turned on...🔥

These two on-air enemies can’t stop rubbing each other the wrong way in the booth…and the right way in bed.

Theo

Whoever said “keep your enemies close” never had to share a small, dark sound booth with her. Daria Stone is the infuriating host of “Choosing Yourself.” The name is almost as ridiculous as the concept. Permanently single? Please. The woman’s made a career out of rejecting everything I stand for.

I’m looking for the one. The right woman who’s ready for marriage and a lifetime together. Not some sultry, stubborn vixen who makes my life a living hell and insists a husband can be replaced by a curated collection of bedroom toys. And I know she’s wearing those skin-tight leather pants just to annoy me.

Daria

Dr. Theo Chadwick is a professional pain in my…workplace. Sure—on the outside, the man is gorgeous. But he’s also obsessed with finding his better half and getting his radio show, “True Romance,” syndicated so he can give false hope to lovelorn listeners everywhere.

He keeps pushing my buttons with his arrogant “expertise” about how wrong I am. I just want to see him snap. Maybe that’s how I ended up here, pinned against a wall with my legs wrapped around his waist…whoops

Can these enemies put their feud on hold and play nice in a shared timeslot to save their popular beach town radio station? Or will their sparks burn everything to the ground?

Author’s Note: One-click this steamy standalone if you love forced proximity, breakroom bickering, “we’re just getting it out of our system” one-night stands, a rag-tag crew of DJs, and beachy, retro boardwalk magic.

Theo and Daria's cover reveal is TOMORROW! 🎡💗🔥

Theo: You're listening to K-SUN FM, radio for the people. I'm your host, Dr. Theodore Chadwick, with some...Daria, I can see you rolling your eyes.

Daria: You're literally just now noticing? I've been rolling my eyes every time you open your mouth for months now.

Theo: I'm so sorry listeners. My cohost undertakes such strenuous efforts to dislike me. I'm sure it's affecting her job performance.

Daria: Oh, your arrogance knows no bounds, Dr. Chadwick. I can roll my eyes and still be better then you, at everything, without breaking a sweat.

Theo: Your incessant need to turn everything into a competition makes you such a pain in my fucking ass, Daria--

Daria: Oh my god, you can't call me that on live radio, you pompous dick.

Theo *sighing forever*: Anyway. All we're really here to say is that you should tune in tomorrow for our cover reveal.

Daria: Commercial-free, of course.


New author portraits just dropped. 🌈✨💖

*screeches* *flails arms*

Well, I got my author portraits back from Heather McBride and she made me look so cool and trendy and like the bisexual dream girl I’ve always wanted to be *screeches some more* so please, enjoy me hamming it up like a true Leo at some of my favorite spots in South Philly!

This is at one of my favorite alleys (right near the Italian Market) and it’s filled with murals and a lot of awesome street art.

One of my favorite houses in South Philly is painted in neon rainbow colors (I don’t know why but, honestly, why not?!) so when Heather said ‘do you mind sitting in front of it?” I was already on the ground, attempting to look “cool” and “effortless”.

Heather is really great at getting you to feel comfortable by encouraging a lot of movement and laughter. And I’m kinda…dance-y…by nature, so we make a great team. Plus the wind that day was spot-on and I’m always excited to appear as if a fan is just softly blowing my hair around like some kind of runway model.

Fun fact, the lovely person who owns this house with the gorgeous, ivy-covered fence came out while I was clearly getting portraits done and was, luckily, totally chill about it. Apparently I’m not the first person to pose here!

She also asked me to please introduce her to Walter the next time we were out, walking around (you cannot beat the folks who live in South Philly — they are the best of the best!)

A million words published. ❤️

A few weeks ago, my publisher sent me an award that simultaneously made my heart explode and had me bursting into surprised tears.

I have officially published one million words!

Just that morning, I’d been struggling through a tough chapter and I’d taken one of my many “procrastination breaks” to read a blog post written by an author, talking about how after hitting the “one million word” mark in their publishing journey, they felt like they’d finally discovered their authentic writing voice. I’ve seen this before, and every time I’ve been like “wowza, one million words?? I’ll probably be 80 when I hit that”…and then 30 minutes later this award showed up on my door.

I had not a single idea that I’d published a million words — had not believed it possible. And if you ever need a reminder that this life is just one step at a time, then this is it. Because so much of this job is broken down into small, tiny deadlines: 500 words a day, or one chapter a day, or one blurb, then an hour of line edits, then another blurb, then 500 words a day again. Whenever I hold my finished book in my hands, it’s truly hard to remember the four-five months prior of endless word count goals, and rewrites, and untangling tricky plot holes, and pacing in my office, and tearing through notebooks trying to remember a random note I’d thought of in a dream.

But it does, truly, all add up into something magical. As is the case with every beautiful thing we do in this life, one step, one day, one hour at a time. The accumulation leads to something amazing, and it makes the arduous journey all the more worth it.

Theo and Daria’s book will be my 13th published novel. In the meantime, those million words were set in Big Sur bookstores and funky beach townson hiking trails beneath the Redwoods and at a dog rescue in Miami. They told the stories of private detectives from Philly, recovering stolen books, and of big wave surfers in love with their bodyguards. Oh, and we can’t forget the tattoo artist falling for a polite, suited-up Englishman or the marriage-obsessed good girl falling for a cocky bad boy. Or a retired boxer and the girl of his dreams, racing up the Rocky steps together.

Ever since I was a kid, I have known that books are magic, that stories can change our lives, that words can change the world. I know that, because ever since I was a kid, books have been everything to me. To be able to write books, for a living, is a dream I never thought possible. All of you make that dream a reality, so please allow me to heap endless amounts of gratitude upon you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for reading.

Here’s to a million more words. ❤️

Come and get your love. ❤️‍🔥

I posted an update in my reader group on Facebook within minutes of typing THE END on my second draft on Saturday night. It was inspired by severe sleep deprivation and a couple ‘dark and stormy’ cocktails that Rob made to help me cross the finish line. I read it a couple days later (after sleeping) and found it to be both hilarious and very accurate when it came to this book’s “vibes” 😉 So here ya go!

👇👇👇

My brain is still like a hot ball of cotton candy, but here's what I can tell ya so far about this story:

Theo and Daria are workplace rivals who hate each other UNTIL.........they are forced to work in very close quarters. Together. Doing a lot of like you know sexy anger staring and stuff.

It's beach-y and a little retro and flirty and sexy and banter-y. If you love summer boardwalk vibes and funnel cake and indie radio stations and disco balls and arcade games...this book is for you.

If you like sex toys...........this book is for you.

If you like hot enemies who are like "why does she make me so ANGRY it's like I want to KISS HER STUPID FACE OR SOMETHING" ........this book! is! for! you!

obvi they have sex in a closet-like space, I wrote it THIS BOOK IS FOR YOUUUUUUU (I mean me, I wrote it for me)

Vibes-wise, I'd say this book is NOT THE MARRYING KIND with real Freya and Sam vibes (Under the Rose) and a dash of Edward and Roxy with the beach-y/enemies feel of RIPTIDE.

He's the one. ❤️

On February 12th, 2010, I was a brand new Americorps VISTA volunteer living in the world’s tiniest studio apartment (it even had a Murphy bed!) in midtown Sacramento —- all the way on the other side of the country from where I’d grown up, outside Philly. I’d met Rob through a mutual friend just the month before, but through some combination of fate, coincidence and destiny, he happened to be my neighbor too.

That night, he came walking down the little alley that separated the two streets we lived on and picked me up for our first date. I mostly remember looking up from my stoop, where I was impatiently waiting for him, and feeling like my heart was going to climb right out of my chest from nerves alone. Twelve years later, and every time Rob walks into a room I still feel the same, although it’s due to my absolute and astonishing love for everything about him.

It’s not easy for Rob because, as you can see, he does have the world’s cutest face. And often when I walk into a room and he’s there I usually yell something like “WHY DO YOU LOOK THIS CUTE” (to be fair, we both ask Walter something similar every day so we’re just a family that demands answers for our cuteness).

But this man is more than just excessive handsomeness. He uprooted his entire life to move with me into a camper van, and still prefers spontaneous road trips, secluded campgrounds and long hiking trails over anything else. He’s a backpacker, a bird-watcher, a tree-lover and was a person dedicated to being vegetarian (and then vegan) well before I understood the transformative justice of these movements.

He wholeheartedly encouraged me when I wanted to pursue writing romance novels. And he reads my books, cover-to-cover, on release night and is super patient when I say “show me all of your favorite parts” and then he does, page by page. He’s in the process of building me a writing desk, and he cradles Walter like a baby while kissing him on the nose, and he bought me a ‘Happy Bi Day’ cake to celebrate Bisexual Awareness Week.

Twelve years later and Rob remains as funny, kind, generous and thoughtful as the day that I met him. Together, we’ve built a semi-nomadic life with our rescue pup and camper van that’s taken us from California to Canada, Argentina to Vermont, Maine to South Philly.

Every single day we spend together is a gift — I love you, Rob. Here’s to many more years of drinking coffee around campfires.