Sincerely, Riley

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My Mom and I Started an Etsy Shop!

January 1, 2021

Early on in the pandemic my mom shared with me that it’s always been a dream of hers to have a card company. When she was in her early thirties she and my dad worked as caretakers at a campground for six months to change things up, have fun, and work a job where they could spend time together, and during that time she attempted stitching and sewing handmade cards. While she loved the creative part, it was too labor intensive, and nothing came of it. She showed me her original designs when the . . .

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Holiday Book Recommendations to Read During Christmas

December 19, 2020

This holiday season, with travel plans put on hold and cancelled family gatherings, most of us have a little extra time on our hands to read. Books have always been a comfort to me, and this year more than ever before, I’ve been grateful for stories. While beach reads will always be my favorite to pick up, holiday books are a close second. You can count on most to deliver a bit of Christmas magic, wonderful wintry descriptions, romance, and a good dose of laughter—which I know we all could . . .

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Beach Read Book Recommendations for Summer 2020

July 18, 2020

Summer 2020 might look different than we all expected, but one thing remains the same, beach read books are back and in my opinion, this year, they're better than ever. At the top of my list is, The Lies that Bind, the latest from Emily Giffin. Emily has always been one of favorite authors. I love her writing style, how real her characters are, and the way she explores complicated matters of the heart. The Lies that Bind is now my favorite of hers to date and is a page-turning love story . . .

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How to Choose a Title for Your Book

July 8, 2020

Choosing a title for your book is one of the most important parts of the publishing process. Your book title is a large part of what attracts readers to your story and gets them to pick it up. I thought I'd write about this topic today because I've just changed the title of my current work in progress and thought walking you through why I did this might help anyone else playing around with title ideas. My book primarily takes place during one weekend at a hotel on the marsh in Charleston, . . .

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Five Feel-Good Books To Read Right Now

March 19, 2020

One thing that’s always helped me during periods of uncertainty has been taking time out of my day to get lost in a feel-good story. During the past few weeks sometimes that’s meant reading--and I’ve included a great list of books that I hope will lift your spirits below. Other times, this has involved writing and working on my next love story. And sometimes this has meant “scripting”—which is the practice of writing the story of your own life. With more time at home than ever, it might be . . .

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The Power of Asking ‘What If?’ Questions To Help Bring Your Dreams To Life

January 21, 2020

As an author, I’ve spent a lot of time asking myself 'what if?' questions. What if you met the love of your life before you were ready to settle down? What if you were ready to settle down but hadn’t met the love of your life? Those two questions led to the idea for my first novel, Waiting at Hayden’s. The book I’m working on now called The Influencer started with this what if question: What if each chapter of a novel opened with a photo from a woman’s Instagram—that told one side of . . .

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Hi, I'm Riley! I'm bringing the romantic comedy back — and to the written page.

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My mom and I started an Etsy shop! 💕 Early on i My mom and I started an Etsy shop! 💕 Early on in the pandemic my mom shared with me that it’s always been a dream of hers to have a card company. When she was in her early thirties she and my dad worked as caretakers at a campground for six months to change things up, have fun, and work a job where they could spend time together, and during that time she attempted stitching and sewing handmade cards. While she loved the creative part, it was too labor intensive, and nothing came of it.

She showed me her original designs when the pandemic started and told me she still wished there was a way to bring them to life. So, I said we’ve got the time right now—let’s find a way. And we decided to start a shop an Etsy shop!

We’ve spent the past six months designing printable cards, wall décor, bookmarks, and more. 

It’s been really neat to see my mom’s dream come to life and to get to work together on building a brand that’s inspired by her vision. 

2020 was really tough for all of us, and creating this store with my mom was a little bit of light. I’ll always remember getting to work side-by-side with her on this. Link in bio to our store. We’ll have new designs each week! Happy New Year!💕 #bookmarks #bookstagram #etsyshop
Finished!!!! 💕✨🌟 Such a journey! Thank you Finished!!!! 💕✨🌟 Such a journey! Thank you for all your encouraging messages this weekend! This book was very challenging to write, but I also felt lucky that I had this story idea at this time & that I got to do this work during quarantine. It brought a lot of light into my life, a lot of laughs, and lots of new, interesting perspectives—and that’s what I hope it brings to all of you next. I can’t wait to share ONE PERFECT WEEKEND!! #thend #oneperfectweekend #writinganovel #womensfiction #newbook
We’ve changed the title for my next book! This w We’ve changed the title for my next book! This was a change I wanted to make for a number of reasons: the main one being that the book, at it’s core, is a love story just like Waiting at Hayden’s and I didn’t feel like The Influencer reflected that. The book’s new title is One Perfect Weekend and I feel it fits the story SOO much better. 💕 If anyone is curious about what goes into picking a book title or if you’re working on a WIP of your own, I wrote up a blog post about the topic and it’s linked in my bio. I talk more in there about the title change for this story too! #oneperfectweekend #womensfiction #newnovel #beachreads 📷: @ryanselewicz
Got my first pass edits back from my editor and sh Got my first pass edits back from my editor and she said The Influencer reminded her of Before, Sunrise - one of my favorite movies! Who has seen it? There are lots of philosophical conversations in this book just like in that movie about what it really means to live a good life, how to truly live in the moment, fate, etc etc. It’s been really interesting to write and now I’m onto draft 2! #newbook #beforesunrise #womensfiction
Though I’ve been sitting at my desk 95% of quara Though I’ve been sitting at my desk 95% of quarantine, I’ve felt like I’m here at @montagepalmettobluff - the inspired setting for my next novel. Though it’s located in Bluffton, South Carolina, I used my artistic license to move it to Charleston so my characters could go downtown to the local shops & to my favorite beaches. I like including real places in my books (even if I often change the names of them) so my readers can visit the locations and because I think it makes the story feel more real! The first half of my book is off to my editor this Sunday ✨ so today I’m tweaking a scene that takes place at this firepit and another where my characters are shopping downtown at two boutiques in Charleston that I love @graceandhudson (brand new!) & @beckettboutique. Consider shopping local and checking them both out online right now before all stores can reopen. #southernliving #montagepalmettobluff #newnovel #shoplocal
Sharing five of my favorite feel-good books on my Sharing five of my favorite feel-good books on my blog this evening for anyone looking for some light reads right now. I’ll also post all the books I’ve been reading these past few weeks in my stories for extra recommendations. Sending lots of 💕. Link in bio. #bookreccomendations @ryanselewicz
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