I am SO excited to announce that my pop star x ex-fan contemporary romcom, Ezra King Is Over Party, releases in digital and paperback formats on September 3rd! 🦦

The Kindle eBook edition is available for preorder now. In the meantime, I’ll be posting about my writing on Instagram, Threads, and Substack!

Reblogs and other shares are SO appreciated! Thank you for encouraging me to write. ♡

bad hair day

synopsis: your hair looks like a rat’s nest, so you flake on a date with caleb. or, you try to, rather. he doesn’t let you.

if your heart beats any harder, it’s going to fling itself out of your chest. which would be unfortunate, but would also cause enough commotion in the mall to distract the man trailing you through it.

as you turn another corner, a fresh layer of sweat dampens your scalp, the added humidity likely making your current problem even worse. 

all you know is, you can’t let him see you like this. if you can just duck into a busy store…if you can get lost in the crowd…

yanking your hood farther down on your head, you force your tired legs to move faster and risk a look over your shoulder. unlike the last time, there’s no tall, broad, familiar figure chasing after you, ready to corner you at the first opportunity. a small relief, but more importantly, where did he go? 

childhood trio caleb, zayne, and mc going to an amusement park together. the day starts off great with sweets and salty snacks, but when it’s time for the rides, caleb’s enjoyment plummets. mc admires zayne so much, she’ll always follow his lead. and unfortunately for our little violet-eyed thrill seeker, the most intense rollercoaster baby zayne can handle is this:

professor!zayne getting jealous of how close you are with the project partner he assigned you himself, so he subconsciously launches a vendetta against them for the rest of the semester. 

he tears their presentations apart, right down to the body language. when they raise their hand—trying to impress you, no doubt—he coldly points out every error, correcting them at every opportunity. he’ll ask impossible questions just to criticize their incorrect answers. 

the whole time, you know exactly what he’s doing. he can deny it all he wants, but envy makes him bitter. 

you feel bad for your partner, but at the same time, there’s this evil little thrill. sometimes, your hand lingers on their shoulder for a bit too long, just so you can see those sage green eyes narrow in poorly concealed possessiveness. 

for the most part, the times you stay back after class, acting completely clueless as to why he's so irritated, are just a game to you both. he sees through your scheme but lets it go, pushing his glasses up and cocking his head in a silent challenge. your partner is a nuisance, sure, but ultimately, they don’t matter much.

by the end of his office hours, his name will be the only one on your mind. 

──────

my romance book comes out september 3rd!

sylus thinks cybertrucks are an abomination to society and every time he has the misfortune of encountering one on the road he either 1) if it’s behind him, drives excruciatingly slowly to piss them off or 2) if it’s in front of him, trolls and tails them to induce extreme anxiety and guilt over owning a cybertruck (he reins it in before any physical harm can be done, of course. he is an expert at these things)

i wrote a romance book!

in case you didn’t know…i wrote a romance novel last year! *aaaa* 😲🤯😱😱😱😱. VERY SOON, i’ll be announcing details & release date for my pop star x ex-fan contemporary romcom! 

stay tuned in the next couple days, but in the meantime, i’ve set up instagram and threads accounts for all things book stuff. i’ll also be starting a substack newsletter for anyone interested in my writing journey, book background, and/or any future projects! 

links:

instagram (@irishamptonbooks)

threads (@irishamptonbooks)

substack (irishamptonbooks.substack.com)

as always, thanks to all of you for giving me the courage to write and keep writing. aaaaa so exciting!!

zayne has a certain fascination with romance anime.

you and i are polar opposites is one of his favorites. he secretly headcanons to himself that that’s what your relationship would’ve been like had you started dating earlier. tani is basically his mini-me, after all. 

the ice guy and his cool female colleague is another good one, mostly for its relatability. he, too, can cause a bit of an indoor snowstorm when he gets flustered by your charm. 

and he would do absolutely anything to try rintaro’s family’s sweets in the fragrant flower blooms with dignity. he has to watch that one on a full stomach, or else his mouth will water. 

every season, there's always some fluffy show with a noble girl who goes to marry a prince. they’re all so similar, it’s really not worth trying the new ones. watch, he’ll prove it! episode 1, starting now. 

…before he knows it, he's imagining himself as the prince and you as the princess, overcoming evil dragons and misplaced envy from female adversaries [zayne shaking his head when there’s internalized misogyny in romance anime so you know he doesn’t support it]. but in the series finale, when the characters seal their love with a kiss, he finds the good moments outweigh the bad.

in some shows, when the hero is being particularly stubborn, refusing to acknowledge his overflowing feelings for the heroine, he gets the rare urge to throttle something. can you just tell her you love her already? he thinks. there are only three episodes left. we don’t have time for you to second-guess yourself! as he runs his hands through his hair, somewhat ashamed to be so invested in a romance between cartoon characters, a sudden thought makes him reconsider all his life choices. 

closed off and aloof despite being in love…does he behave that way around you? 

the next time he sees you, a bouquet will be necessary.

zayne likes romance shows because they’re fun, silly, and sweet. but even more than that, they teach him a lot about love that he missed growing up. as he streams each new episode, watching and learning, he gets a million more ideas of how to express his affections—how to be the loving man and partner that you deserve. 

i hope to have book news this week ヽ(^。^)ノ

linkon’s newest history museum is only a short walk from your apartment, but on the way back, it sure feels like a marathon. 

a tsk sounds from your right as you wince in pain once again. “i told you not to wear those uncomfortable shoes.” 

“i was trying to break them in! you’re the one who bought them for me, remember?”

“sure. upon your request. one more ‘caleb, please?’ with those sad little eyes of yours, and i might’ve melted on the spot.”

grumbling, you bump his shoulder. he graciously pretends like it had any effect. “yeah, well, it’s still your fault. and now i’m gonna have blisters in the morning.” 

humming whimsically, he slows down beside you. “maybe not.” in one quick motion, he plucks you off the ground and tucks you under one arm like an oversized pillow. dangling in his hold, you float through the air. 

“hey! what are you—”

protest is futile. each time you try to wriggle away, he just tightens his grip and adjusts you so your hands and feet don’t scrape the sidewalk. eventually, you simply huff and let your body go limp, no more than a ragdoll in his arms.