Willa Drew: Hi there. What should I call you? Do you prefer a nickname?

Sarah Connor: Just Sarah, thanks.
 
WD: And your last name is…
S: Connor. I know. But nothing to do with the Terminator. Mom named me after her mother Sarah Cote. Owner of the Cote Fraise bakery chain.
 
WD: I’ll check it out next time I’m in Canada. Do you bake?
S: Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit her baking skills. 
 
WD: I’m sure you have other talents we’ll get to discover today. Thanks for agreeing to talk to us. 
S: No worries. My roomie, Siobhan, told me you were looking for Canadians living in the US.
 
WD: Yes, the Great White North.
S: I keep hearing that. But I was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. That’s further south than Portland and Minneapolis.
 
WD: I’m going to have to look at the map before my next interview. As a thank you, can I get you something to drink? Water? Soda? Coffee? Wine? Whiskey?
S: Usually I’m the one asking that question. I bartend at The Diamond Club. I’m going there after the interview, so a ginger ale would be great. 
 
WD: Coming up. We know where you are from, but what brought you to the US?
S: I came to LA last year to become a screenwriter. 
 
WD: Didn’t you say you bartend? Or is that a hobby?
S: My current job is bartender at the Diamond Club, but I’m working my way through a new screenplay. (leans in) I submitted a sample of my writing to the Starlight Foundation. I’m hoping to win a spot in their Future Film Maker’s competition this summer.
 
WD: That’s ambitious. Moved to a new country, trying for a prestigious competition…Do you like to take risks? 
S: I wouldn’t say like…Meme, the one I was named after, she’s the real risk taker in our family. I try to follow in her footsteps. 
 
WD: Sounds fun. What's your greatest fear?
S: I don’t want to give into my fears and then regret not trying for my dreams when I’m older.
 
WD: Tell us about someone important to you?
S: Well, there’s this guy. He made me believe I could be a screenwriter again. 
 
WD: Ooh, this sounds good.
S: (Laughs nervously) Yeah, we met on Christmas Eve. Have you ever talked to someone and known that’s your person? And you could spend the entire night talking to them? They got you?
 
WD: I think I know what you’re hinting at. Are you in love?
S: Love? That’s too big of a word. But I can imagine that happening with him. Wow, I’ve never thought I’d ever say that.
 
WD: Love sure makes us do silly things.
S: (Rolls her eyes) I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but if I knew where he lived, I can see myself surprising him. Just showing up on his doorstep. So unlike me.
 
WD: I say, go for it and then come back and tell us the story.
S: Or write it in a screenplay.
 
WD: If you could have done one thing differently, what would it be?
S: Go home for Christmas. My…grandmother was battling cancer, and I didn’t know it would be her last Christmas. I thought there would be more time.
 
WD: We always think that. Do you have a secret?
S: I’m an open book. I tell the truth, and I expect the same form the people around me. I don’t have space for liars in my life.
 
WD: Are you happy we know your story?
S: I hope it inspires others to go for their dreams. This is just the beginning for me.
 
WD: Can we look forward to reading more of your story?
S: You bet. But next time, why don’t you come over to the Diamond Club, and I’ll make us both an Old Fashioned.
 
WD: I’d like that. Looks like our time is up and you need to get to work. Keep us updated on all your stories, including that love story.
 
If you’d like to read Sarah’s story and find out more about the boy she’s hoping to see again, check out cool pics on Instagram or join the discussion in our Facebook group. 

About the Book:

My life isn’t a screenplay, but if it were, my story pitch might read something like this:

Aspiring screenwriter/bartender decides to take a risk when her plane gets stranded in the Windy City, the hometown of her holiday crush.

…on Valentine’s Day. 

Cupid’s idea of a cruel joke? Or maybe fate hid Shawn Rosstav’s driver’s license in my pocket for a reason.

If I wrote our reunion scene, showing up on his doorstep unannounced would be the perfect grand gesture. We’d pick up right where we left off: in each other’s arms. 

I wish just this once I could be like the bold heroines I write. 

What if true love isn’t just for the silver screen?

Will my mystery man want to see me again… or does he kiss and forget?

Misses, Hearts, & Us is a missed him by that much novella continuing the story from Kisses, Lies, & Us, a Christmas novella. Sarah and Nick’s love story spans a year of their lives and is told with the backdrop of major holidays across five books.