Spotlight & Giveaway: Now That We Don’t Talk by Rachel Pologe

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Rachel Pologe to HJ!

Hi Rachel and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Now That We Don’t Talk!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Norah Gold returns home for Hanukkah after years of avoiding her hometown—and her former childhood best friend, Henry Cole—only to be forced back into his presence when she learns their moms are dating and they’ll be spending the entire holiday together. Decade-old unresolved issues flare, but they call a truce for their parents’ sakes, which makes them question how much of their history is really in the past.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“I’ve only been in love twice in my life, and both times were with you.”
(Henry is a yearner!!)

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The original title was ME, YOU, AND A LATKE OR TWO, but when the book sold, we needed to retitle it. I was at a loss because I’m absolutely terrible with titles, and I texted my critique partner, Michelle, begging for help. I mentioned that having a Taylor Swift title could be fun, and she immediately came back with NOW THAT WE DON’T TALK, which truly fits Norah and Henry’s situation (I cannot be your friend, so I pay the price of what I lost, and what it cost…now that we don’t talk), but is also a more obscure song so it has broader appeal.
• This story was originally outlined as a screenplay, but three pages in, I was desperate to get into Norah’s interiority, and re-broke the story as a novel.
• There are tiny easter eggs for three other potential books/couples, and you’ll definitely get to see at least one future book in this universe!

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

This is essentially their second first chance because they have so much baggage from their childhood, but after nine years without contact, there’s something about witnessing the kid you knew as the full person they are now. Henry brings order to Norah’s chaos, just like he always did, and Norah’s fiery spirit shakes him out of his comfort zone in the best way possible.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

They get snowed in with only one bed (of course), and that’s when they really start to open up to each other. In my outline, they were only supposed to kiss, but as I was writing it, the characters had other plans! I love when they have minds of their own.

“Please.” I’ve been reduced to that one word, one syllable, my whole brain clouded by years of want, and the fact that Henry Cole is slipping his hand into my panties, which have been rendered useless since I first felt his hot breath on my neck.
“F*ck, Norah,” he says as he makes contact with the place he’s made me impossibly wet, and it’s only then that I feel him shaking ever so slightly.
We lock eyes, and his brows rise with a helpless laugh.
He’s nervous.
He’s looking at me like he would fall into the center of the earth for me.
I’ve been in love with him my whole life.

Readers should read this book….

If they love messy, complicated FMCs, down bad yearning MMCs, characters with a long history to sort through! If they love forced proximity, one bed, snowed in vibes! If they want a holiday book that is both cozy and angsty! If they love a hard-fought and well-earned HEA!
 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I don’t know what I’m actually allowed to say, but my 2027 Berkley book follows a character you meet in NTWDT and it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever written!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 copy of NOW THAT WE DON’T TALK by Rachel Pologe, U.S. only

To enter Giveaway, please share this post on your Socials and Leave a comment below to this Q: What’s your go-to karaoke song? (Norah’s is “Like A Prayer”)

🎉 Giveaway Rules 🎉
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and drop a comment below letting me know you've shared it.
✨ Winner(s) will be selected at random.
✨ No purchase necessary—just enter and cross your fingers!
✨ If you win, I'll need your full name and mailing address to send your prize. 
This information will be shared with the author, publisher, or publicist solely for prize fulfillment purposes.
✨ Giveaway closes 3 days from the date this post is published.  
 

Book Info:

A commitment-phobe finds herself stuck spending Hanukkah with her childhood best friend turned nemesis, only for holiday chaos to ensue and complicated feelings to resurface, in this emotionally resonant debut romance.
Norah Gold is a bolter. She avoids emotional situations at all costs, doesn’t do meaningful relationships, and when things get a little too real, she runs. She hasn’t let herself fall in love in nearly a decade, not since her whole world fell apart when her dad suddenly passed away. Desperate to escape a friends-with-benefits situation gone clingy, she returns home to Chicago for the holidays. Her one goal? Avoid Henry Cole, the boy who blew up her life and broke her heart back in high school. Easier said than done when she discovers that their mothers are dating and insist on celebrating the holidays together.
A decade later, Henry Cole is all custom suits and condescension. He is order to her chaos and absolutely insufferable about it. When Norah and Henry get snowed in together and learn just how serious their moms’ relationship is, they call a truce to make it through all eight nights of Hanukkah without setting each other on fire. As they begin to rediscover the foundation that made them so close growing up, Norah is desperate to keep her distance—the last thing she can handle is reopening decade-old emotional wounds. But even though they’ve tried to escape the past, Norah and Henry have unfinished business too pressing to ignore. Can Norah shake off her deep-seated impulse to bolt, or are they destined to flame out just like they did as teenagers?
Book Links: Amazon
 
 

Meet the Author:

Rachel Pologe writes swoony, character-driven contemporary romance novels about messy but relatable people you can’t help but root for. Rachel has spent her career working in television writers’ rooms, but books were her first passion. In sixth grade, a popular boy said something nice and unprompted about her creative writing assignment, and she’s been riding that high ever since. Originally from Baltimore, Rachel now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. Now That We Don’t Talk is Rachel’s debut novel.
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