Looking Back at 2025

Hi Everyone,

What do you love about this time of year? One of my favorite things about December would be the wide assortment of “Best of” lists. I love scrolling through other people’s highlight reels, and I wanted to share some highlights of my own that I’m especially grateful for. This past year was a wild ride, but I’m lucky to have a lot of great memories from 2025.

The year got off to a terrific start when I signed with Blackstone to publish my eighth novel, the psychological thriller Every Lie I Told. It’s been such a pleasure to work with everyone there, including my acquiring editor Rick Bleiweiss, developmental editor Corinna Barsan, copyeditor Windy Goodloe, cover designer Candice Edwards, and director of public relations Sarah Bonamino. The book will be out on June 16, 2026, and I honestly can’t wait! (Psst, there’s a special preorder offer; click here or scroll to the end of this email.)

No, I still can’t believe this happened. If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me up.

Publishing Love Is Cruel has been on my To Do list for the past couple of years, and 2025 was when it finally came together. I couldn’t be more grateful to my cover designers at Damonza, or to the wonderful editors who published these stories in the first place. Short fiction remains my first love, and I’m grateful to everyone who’s supported my work.

My side hustle continues to thrive. If anyone in your life has celiac disease (as I do) or follows a gluten-free diet for any reason, please point them to this weekly newsletter!

This past October, my husband, Dan, and I went to Rome and Venice to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We’d planned to take this trip in 2020, but I bet you can figure out why that didn’t happen. Anyway, we had the time of our lives! Here’s to many more years of adventures together.❤️

Visiting my eldest niece at college. Hanging out with my parents and friends in Toronto. Thrillerfest in New York. Thanksgiving with my husband’s family in D.C. A high school reunion. Holidays with both sides of the family. Time with friends and family — whenever, wherever — is always a highlight of my year.

Happy New Year to all!

Hilary

PS Have you preordered Every Lie I Told yet? Preorders mean the world to me — and right now, there’s a 25% off deal at Barnes & Noble on all preorders (print, eBook, audiobook) using code PREORDER25. It’s valid until the end of the day on January 1st!