In this holly-jolly chaos-fest, Nikki once again interviews Meg’s romance writer persona Bailey Seaborn to break down Making Spirits Bright, the 2.5 novella in the All or Nothing universe.

Expect:

* FULL SPOILERS from not only this novella, but also Peppermint Bark, All Twerk No Play, and early glimpses of Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Playwright

* An exhausted COO with a fixer complex who desperately needs a nap

* A burned-out whistleblower bartender rediscovering her confidence

* A meet-cute that is 0% drunken hookup and 100% “why are you in my bed?”

* Tinsel, feelings, unresolved grief, and Connor finally learning self-care (begrudgingly)

* Background drama from Kate, Nick, Grace, Alex, and Victoria that tees up Book 3

This episode is guaranteed to make your cinnamon-spiced holiday latte feel underdressed.

What We Cover

* How Connor went from “silent spreadsheet king” to full protagonist

* Why Hannah’s backstory flips the small-town trope on its head

* The ethics of caretaking when it becomes your entire personality

* The emotional grenade that is Connor’s grief arc (bring tissues)

* How Making Spirits Bright bridges Twerk No Play → Playwright

* Easter eggs and timeline chaos from books 1–3

* A sneak peek at early cover options and Bailey’s design choices

* Why squishy men who know the five stages of grief are superior

Making Spirits Bright Release Details

Release Date: December 5Price: $2.99Sale: 99¢ from December 11–13Where: Kindle Unlimited + Amazon purchase

Meg’s strategy corner: if you’re a KU reader, grab it there and then buy it so she gets both KU page reads and the sale. Iconic behavior.

For the bonus epilogue from Peppermint Bark + the first three chapters of Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Playwright …Visit baileyseaborn.com (or here’s the direct download link)

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💌 What We’re Shipping This Week

Meg: Her ARC readers — the real MVPs fueling the indie romance machine.Want to join the ARC list? Email baileyseabornauthor@gmail.com or sign up for the bonus episode at baileyseaborn.com and reply to that email to let me know!

Nikki: The Thorn and the Spire by Catherine McIntyre — a dark, spicy, supernatural Beauty-and-the-Beast retelling with demons, casinos, curses, and a library scene worthy of feral screaming.

Get full access to First Dates & Soulmates at firstdatesandsoulmates.substack.com/subscribe