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Behind the Scenes: My Secret Snowflake
I’m excited to take you behind the scenes of My Secret Snowflake. When I write a book, I like to write in the season in which it is set, and I really enjoyed doing all the holiday activities when writing My Secret Snowflake in December 2023.
Here’s the blurb:
Burned by love, Sebastian has sworn to remain single, but he may have just met his match.
Sebastian: I admit I’m attracted to my co-worker Iris—and not just because she was wearing glowing cat paw underwear. But even though she’s breached my first line of defense, I’m set in my Grinch ways. I need to prove myself—and dating my co-worker is definitely forbidden.Iris is the Secret Snowflake for her perfect man—who is definitely not Sebastian.
Iris: No more naughty heartthrobs for me. Catching my rock star ex cheating cured me. All I’m asking Santa for is my work bonus and a nice—dare I say boring?—guy. And that’s my Secret Snowflake recipient: Ernest. My plan: Befriend Sebastian, Ernest’s colleague, to figure out the perfect gift for Ernest to spark his interest. But now our company has been hacked, and secrets abound. I’m working around the clock to figure out who and why—with our aloof, but oh-so-attractive company counsel, Sebastian—before I get a stocking filled with coal for the holidays. The last thing I should also be trying to decipher is him. But then I get blamed.
When things are definitely not what they seem, sometimes it takes the light of the holidays to reveal the clues to love.Take a behind the scenes tour of New York City during the holiday season
Of course, I visited the Rockefeller tree, where Iris and Sebastian go ice skating as part of a company holiday party.
Thank you to Kat Paige for this photo from 2025. But I also went with a friend to see all the decorations in Dyker Heights. I highly recommend checking that neighborhood out if you’re in New York City for the holidays. Here are some photos from Dyker Heights in 2023:
This is the house of the woman who started it all:
Here are some other houses:
And me:
One house created a green wonderland, which you can see live in this YouTube video.
But of course, there’s also hot chocolate at a cafe:
Sebastian and Iris also shop for Secret Snowflake gifts for their colleagues and then end the day with Iris’s sister’s party at her family’s bar in the Lower East Side. Iris organizes a scavenger hunt for her sister’s guests, and one of the clue answers is this metal stag. Here’s a photo of the one in real life:
Iris runs with her brother around the Central Park reservoir, and here is a photo from Central Park in January 2024:
Remember, My Secret Snowflake is available from my website and a signed, personalized copy makes a great gift.
Click on the image above or below to visit kathystrobosbooks. Plus we have gift boxes with a theme of cat paws (IFYKYK):
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!
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Behind the Scenes: Rock Star RomCom
I want to take you behind the scenes for my rock star, fake dating, frenemies-to-lovers romcom, My Rock Star Neighbor!
Here’s the blurb:
When a rock star and a reporter fake date to bury a scandal, will true love be the real story?
Nick: I do my best songwriting while playing my guitar on the fire escape. Unfortunately, my in-bed-at-ten next-door neighbor, Maddie, is not a fan of my music. She clambers out on the fire escape to yell at me about making “noise.” In bunny slippers, no less. But then she trips and falls into my arms. That photo of Maddie plastered all over me hits the papers, just as my dream recording company wants to sign my band. Which is a problem, because an obsessed fan is claiming that I’m her boyfriend and now the media is blowing up that I’m two-timing them both. Good-bye recording contract, unless…
Maddie: I’m supposed to cover the story. Not be the story! But when Nick begs me to fake date, I can’t resist the chance to be Nick’s girlfriend—even if fake—the opposite of my life as a city desk reporter. But my ex said I’m a terrible kisser, and there’s no way I want Mr. Hot Rock Star saying the same thing. Hence, clause 11 in our contract: There will be absolutely no physical contact.
Nick: When Maddie receives a threatening photo of the two of us with an X over her face, my desire to protect her suddenly feels all too real. It’s either a troll or her undercover investigation has been compromised. With both our careers at stake, is breaking up the only way to keep Maddie safe?
As you know, when I write a book, I try to walk around New York City and visit the places I describe in my book, although of course some places are fictional, like the Books & Banter cafe.
Here is a photo of the Sticky Rice Cafe which is near where Maddie and Nick live on the lower east side:
Here’s a photo from the neighborhood where Maddie’s office is located:
And here are some photos from the Chinese New Year parade that Maddie covers as a reporter, with Nick by her side:
It was raining that day. And in the book, I describe how the streets are pretty with the papers from the poppers:
And here’s the lion that guards the park near them:
Here’s a photo of rowboats on Central Park:
I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes tour. You can also buy My Rock Star Neighbor directly from me:
I’m so excited for this release. Here’s a video of me discussing it:
I also had a great time meeting readers at the Brooklyn Book Festival! Here I am with our club president, author Katy Berritt!
Remember that you can always buy signed paperbacks with bookmarks directly from me at my little shop:
Hope you have a great week!
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My Secret Snowflake Blog Tour
My Secret Snowflake, my workplace, holiday romantic comedy, traveled around the world on a global book blog tour in September 2024 organized by Rachel’s Random Resources. Here are some more highlights! And as I wrote in my previous post, Christmas in July Romcom, thank you so much to all the book bloggers who posted about and who reviewed My Secret Snowflake, my holiday romantic comedy! Your reviews mean so much to me. You help me find readers, and I am so grateful.
Here’s an excerpt from the blurb: A holiday, workplace romantic comedy
Burned by love, Sebastian has sworn to remain single, but he may have just met his match.
Sebastian: I admit I’m attracted to my co-worker Iris—and not just because she was wearing glowing cat paw underwear. But even though she’s breached my first line of defense, I’m set in my Grinch ways. I need to prove myself—and dating my co-worker is definitely forbidden.
Thank you so much to Kirsty Whitlock for this fabulous review:
LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOOOVVVEEE, LOVED IT!!! Another Huge well done, Kathy, on yet another absolutely sweet, festive fun and fantastic heartwarmer. You will absolutely LOVE this adorable story.
And thank you to Stack Those Books for this review:
This was such a cute romance that I completely enjoyed and recommend to all my romance lovers out there. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy close knit family and friends, set around the holidays, nice guy, office romance, and power couples.
Thank you so much for all these great reviews from the blog tour!
“It’s fun, exciting, light hearted and really you will just struggle to want to put it down.” Thank you to Pause the Frame (Instagram) for that review.
“A cute read for the festive season.” Thank you to Kirsty Reviews Books for that review.
“A great book to get lost in.” Thank you to NlCraigwrites.
“Kathy is an amazing writer and you should give her writing a chance for sure.” Aww, thank you to Ana’s column for this review.
Thank you to Tara’s Bookish Blog for this review: “My Secret Snowflake is full of so much humour, great chemistry and a wonderful supporting cast of characters, a simply fantastic festive read.”
Thank you to Lisa Loves Literature who said this is her favorite book in the New York Spark series so far! She just participated in the cover reveal for My Rock Star Neighbor. I hope she likes that one as well.
And thank you as always for a review that rhymes
Thank you to Splashes into Books for this review, calling it a “fun restive romance and mystery” with this poem:
A story that had me smiling and cheering for this pair
Whilst hoping they’d trust each other and really care.
For my copy of this book I say thank you
As I share with you this my honest review.Thank you so much to all the My Secret Snowflake blog tour reviewers for all the time you take to talk about books and recommend them to readers
I appreciate so much the blog tours organized by Rachel’s Random Resources.
If you’re curious about My Secret Snowflake, here’s a teaser video:
My Rock Star Neighbor, the next book in the series, the love story of Nick and Maddie, is coming soon!
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My Rock Star Neighbor!
I am thrilled to announce that I’m publishing a new book, My Rock Star Neighbor, on October 10. Here is Nick and Maddie’s story!
Here is the blurb:
When a wary rock star and a cynical reporter fake date to bury a scandalous rumor, will true love be exposed as the real story?
Nick: I do my best songwriting while playing my guitar on the fire escape. Unfortunately, my in-bed-at-ten next-door neighbor, Maddie, is not a fan of my music. She clambers out on the fire escape to yell at me about making “noise.” In bunny slippers, no less. But then she trips and falls into my arms.
That photo of Maddie plastered all over me hits the papers, just as my dream recording company wants to sign my band. Which is a problem, because an obsessed fan is claiming that I’m her boyfriend, and now the media is blowing up that I’m two-timing them both. Good-bye recording contract, unless…
Maddie: I’m supposed to cover the story. Not be the story! But when Nick begs me to fake date, I can’t resist the chance to be Nick’s girlfriend–even if fake–the opposite of my life as a city desk reporter. But my ex said I’m a terrible kisser, and there’s no way I want Mr. Hot Rock Star saying the same thing. Hence, clause 11 in our contract: There will be absolutely no physical contact.
Nick: When Maddie receives a threatening photo of the two of us with an X over her face, my desire to protect her suddenly feels all too real. It’s either a troll of her undercover investigation has been compromised. With both our careers at stake, is breaking up the only way to keep Maddie safe?
A closed-door, friends-to-lovers, rock star romantic comedy set in New York City!! My Rock Star Neighbor is the 4th book in the New York Spark series!
My Rock Star Neighbor is the fourth book in the New York Spark Series!
If you’ve read My Book Boyfriend, you first met Maddie and Nick there. You may remember that Maddie complained because Nick was playing his guitar at all hours of the night.
“My rock star neighbor wrote me a song. See?” Maddie asks. “It’s dedicated to my neighbor who always complains.”
“You’re someone’s muse,” Jing says.
“That’s so sweet,” Bella says.
“Not really. At the end of the note, he said that instead of getting soundproofing, he used his funds to hire another music editor.” Maddie snorts. “But he hopes I’ll forgive him because he dedicated a song to me.”
I can’t wait for you to read Nick and Maddie’s story!
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Christmas in July RomCom
If you are looking to celebrate Christmas in July with a romcom, My Secret Snowflake traveled around the world on a global book blog tour in September 2024 organized by Rachel’s Random Resources. Here are some of the highlights!
First, thank you so much to all the book bloggers who posted about and who reviewed My Secret Snowflake, my holiday romantic comedy! Your reviews mean so much to me. When I’m feeling discouraged, I pull them out and read them again.
Most of the book bloggers have reviewed my other books, so I thank them for their continued trust in my writing. I’m glad I’ve found my readers 🙂
Thanks to Tizi’s Book Review for this review!
“Picking up a book written by Kathy Strobos for me always feels like picking up a book filled with happiness. Because she always manages to write great stories with great characters but also realistic and just real characters.”
I had high expectations of this book, as I absolutely devoured the previous books of this series and other books of this author… I absolutely loved this book, the author did a wonderful job with this story about love, respect and courage about letting fear miss you out on perhaps the best possible thing.”
For the full review, click here!
“A charmingly romantic tale filled with lovable characters, unexpected twists, plenty of humor, and a heartwarming ending.” – Storied Conversation
Thank you to Storied Conversation for her review, which ends with: “You’ll be cheering for Iris and Sebastian to finally realize how right they are for one another. I couldn’t stop turning the pages!”
For the full review, click here!
A “festive romantic comedy”
Thank you to Carla Loves to Read for this review:
I’ve not read anything by Kathy Strobos, in fact I had not heard of this author before, but I love Christmas romance, so decided to give this book a try and I am so glad I did. I loved everything about it. The two main characters, Iris and Sebastian stole my heart. I wanted to meet them, to get to know them, and spend time doing all the wonderful things they did over the festive season. The characters are all wonderful, especially the friends group and their families. There is mega chemistry between these two and I loved their banter. One thing I love about Christmas stories is the festive activities and there were a lot in this book.
And she also wrote: “This is the first book of hers that I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be my last. “
Christmas in July RomCom?
Do you like to read holiday books in July? And if you’re looking for the blog tour reviews for the first two books in this series, My Book Boyfriend and Love Is an Art, click here.
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Book Recommendations for Black History Month
Here are some fun book recommendations for Black History Month. I really loved reading these books, so I hope you enjoy them too! I’m starting with two romances and then one I read for my Book Club, which was one of my favorite book club reads of last year.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown
Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.
When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?
Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his… um, thighs.
Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?
*Zaf is such a green flag hero! And you know, I love my green flag men.
The Neighbor Favor
Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming an editor of children’s books but has been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author. What begins as two lonely people connecting over e-mail turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain–until he ghosts her.
Months later, still crushed but determined to take charge of her life, Lily seeks a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, whom she feels drawn to for unexplainable reasons. Little does she know that Nick is an author–her favorite fantasy author.
Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and for pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet woman from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over e-mail months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but–not when he can’t get her off his mind.
*Loved the email exchange. I was so invested in this couple, and I couldn’t put it down. Ripped Bodice recommended this, and I’m so glad I bought it. I’m excited to read the next book. I recommended this on Shepherd’s as one of my favorite reads of 2024. I do have to say that it’s hard to choose just three reads.
Sankofa
Anna is at a stage of her life when she’s beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead.
Searching through her mother’s belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president—some would say dictator—of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive…
When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny, and fascinating. Like the metaphorical bird that gives the novel its name, Sankofa expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to address universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family’s hidden roots.
*A very engrossing story about identity and finding yourself.
Let’s Talk
What are your book recommendations for Black History Month? Any favorite romances or romantic comedies?
And remember you still have a coupon code for $1.00 off any of my e-books if you buy direct through my store: BEMYVALENTINE2025!
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Peek into Lily’s New York Life!
Peek into Lily’s New York life! I realized I never did a behind-the-scenes tour of all the places that inspired the scenes in My Book Boyfriend, my enemies-to-lovers, librarian-saving-community-garden vs. developer-who-wants-to-bulldoze-it romantic comedy. But I did previously include photos of the community garden inspiration! Here’s the short blurb: Lily loves her community garden. Rupert wants to bulldoze it for community housing. When feelings grow, will they blossom or turn to rubble?
Here’s the My Book Boyfriend cover – click on the image below for links to your favorite retailers!
So where should we start? She lives in a small walk-up in a brownstone, and she works in a library on the Upper West Side. I used the St. Agnes library branch as inspiration. Here’s a photo:
She goes on a date to the New York Public library gala, which doesn’t go quite as well as expected:
When my date at the ball ditches me to flirt with another woman, and Rupert, my enemy – the hot shot developer who plans to bulldoze my community garden—asks me to dance . . .
“You look like you’re plotting mischief.” Rupert appears by my side as I watch my date dancing with another woman.
Why does Rupert have to be so attractive?
“He’s a fool,” Rupert says.
It looks like I’m the fool.
Here’s a photo of a New York Public Library lion all bedecked for the holidays:
And she hangs out with her friends at a fictional cafe called Banter & Books, which is filled with plants, books, coffee, tea, cookies and friends 🙂
Here are some photos of the community garden inspiration (inspired by the Elizabeth Street Garden):
We may have had too much fun blurring faces I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into Lily’s New York life 🙂
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Thank You to My Readers!
I’m closing out 2024 with a huge THANK YOU to my readers. I love writing stories, and it means the world to me that my stories have found an audience. I feel a great sense of pride in what I accomplished this year (and most of it, before July):
1. One of the highlights of my year is always the Brooklyn Book Festival. This year, two readers who bought my books in 2023, returned to buy more books. In the rain!! And there’s no greater compliment than that. It really makes me so happy. Here’s me with Michael Molloy, another author.
2. Published My Secret Snowflake, my holiday, workplace romantic comedy. Thank you to all my reviewers. I’m so happy with the reviews. “My favorite so far in this series!” – Thank you to Lisa M.!
3. Translated my books into German, Spanish, Turkish, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese! It was so great to correspond with my translators too. Hopefully one day I can meet them in person.
4. Published my first audiobook — My Book Boyfriend narrated by Eric Altheide and Stacy Gonzalez.
5. Produced and published my own audiobook of My Scavenger Hunt for Hearts, read aloud by me. (Thank you to Derek Doepker for the audiobook course).
6. Opened my own Shopify store and Story Origin store (for international sales). I really enjoyed wrapping the paperback orders and adding all the little gifts. I added some miniatures, like a holiday miniature shopping bag, a miniature snowman cookie that I made, and glittery paper snowflakes!
7. Held a book club or Leserunde in German (!) on Mein Book-Boyfriend on Lovely Books. So much fun! Thank you to Kris Alice for all the marketing help and for recommending this.
8. Discovered that more of my books are in the New York Public Library and the Brooklyn Public Library.
9. Sent My Rock Star Neighbor off to my critique partners. I so enjoy my conversations with my critique partners, Giulia Skye and Ellen Gilman, throughout the year. I couldn’t do this without them.
10. Attended the RNA Conference. I made more author friends and caught up with friends in person. I met up with Giulia in London for a wonderful talk.
Thank you to all my author friends, my friends, and my family!
But most of all, thank you to my readers for an exciting year.
Wishing you a happy and healthy 2025!
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Meet me at the Brooklyn Book Festival!
I hope you can come meet me at the Brooklyn Book Festival! I will be there from 12- 2 today at Booth 502 selling and signing books (and giving away bookmarks).
Here’s my table set-up from last year:
I will have paperback copies of all my books available. It’s the day I get to feel like I have my own physical little bookstore like my mini bookstore 🙂
It’s always such a highlight of the year and I’m grateful that RWA-NYC sponsors the booth. If you are looking for reviews, please check out my books page.
But if you can’t make it in person, remember that you can always buy e-books and paperbacks from my Shopify store (US only):
And for non-US customers, you can buy e-books from my Story Origin store:
Hope to meet you in person at the Brooklyn Book Festival today from 12-2 at Booth 502!
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My Secret Snowflake Publishes Today!
My Secret Snowflake, my holiday, workplace romantic comedy, publishes today! I’m so excited for you to meet Sebastian and Iris. And the reviews have been great!
My Secret Snowflake Blurb
A holiday, workplace romantic comedy
Burned by love, Sebastian has sworn to remain single, but he may have just met his match.
Sebastian: I admit I’m attracted to my co-worker Iris—and not just because she was wearing glowing cat paw underwear. But even though she’s breached my first line of defense, I’m set in my Grinch ways. I need to prove myself—and dating my co-worker is definitely forbidden.
Iris is the Secret Snowflake for her perfect man—who is definitely not Sebastian.
Iris: No more naughty heartthrobs for me. Catching my rock star ex cheating cured me. All I’m asking Santa for is my work bonus and a nice guy. And that’s my Secret Snowflake recipient, Ernest. My plan: Befriend Sebastian, Ernest’s colleague, to figure out the perfect gift for Ernest to spark his interest.
But now our company has been hacked, and secrets abound. I’m working around the clock to figure out who and why—with our aloof, but oh-so-attractive company counsel, Sebastian—before I get a stocking filled with coal for the holidays. The last thing I should also be trying to decipher is him. But then I get blamed.
I know I can trust Sebastian to help me. It’s trusting my heart that’s the problem.
When things are definitely not what they seem, sometimes it takes the light of the holidays to reveal the clues to love.
Rachel’s Random Resources Blog Tour
My Secret Sebastian is going on a blog tour. First stop is Tizi’s Book Review and Storied Conversations:
Here’s what Tizi’s Book Review wrote, but please check out the full review:
“Picking up a book written by Kathy Strobos for me always feels like picking up a book filled with happiness. Because she always manages to write great stories with great characters but also realistic and just real characters…
I absolutely loved this book, the author did a wonderful job with this story… “
And here is what Storied Conversations wrote: “A charmingly romantic tale filled with lovable characters, unexpected twists, plenty of humor, and a heartwarming ending.”“I couldn’t stop turning the pages.”
Check out her full review 🙂
More Reviews
Thank you so much to my readers for all your support.