Good in Theory

Dr. Lacey Sturm is having a banner day—if banner means catastrophic. Her lab springs a leak, her apartment becomes uninhabitable, and her boyfriend turns out to be a walking red flag. With nowhere else to go, she lands on the doorstep of her estranged cousin, determined to rebuild her life one awkward step at a time.

Enter Colin: a brilliant, gentle, maddeningly handsome engineer who seems to know her heart better than she does. Even stranger, Lacey has been dreaming about a man who looks exactly like him for years.

As she untangles lab mysteries, mends old wounds, and tries not to overthink every interaction with Colin, Lacey discovers that sometimes the universe gives you a nudge. Or a shove. Or a recurring dream. And as they grow closer—through late‑night talks, shared laughter, and a connection that feels written long before they met—she begins to wonder if trusting her heart might be the bravest thing she’s ever done.

But when fate hands you exactly what you’ve been dreaming of… will you be brave enough to believe it’s real?

“The story grabbed my attention from the beginning. The way this mystery unfolds kept me guessing, and I felt so connected to the main character throughout the story. The author’s shares the story with humor and wit, along with thought provoking pieces that stopped me in my tracks. Excellent book!”

~SLF

Tropes

• Outdoorsy
• Cousins Reunited
• Scientist + Musician Love Story
• Small Town
• Shady Ex
• No Spice

Behind the Story

The idea for Good in Theory started when I recalled something a chemistry professor said over twenty years ago. The memory floated into my head as I was thinking how cool it would be to write a story about a female scientist.

My professor was actually fun and candid with us. One day she started talking about how everyone has a price. I don’t remember what triggered the conversation, but it was funny to think about. How much would someone have to pay you to quit your job? Would it have to be enough to set up a lab in your basement so you could keep doing what you love and not really get paid for it? She might have been talking about winning the lottery, but whatever the trigger, that idea stayed with me. And it became a major driver for this book.

Then, the rest of the story came at me in layers, and the last one that dropped into my head almost didn’t get to be part of it!

When I first set out to tell the story of a scientist who was thrown back into her cousin’s world after a decade of estrangement, I meant to entwine that storyline and the one where something sinister was happening at the lab. But, for a few years, I had also wanted to write about someone who dreamed about her soulmate and then actually met him.

I had read a post where a friend said that she had experienced the dreaming part but hadn’t met him in real life yet. It was like he kept coming to her and saying hi in her dreams, but then never showed up in person. Of course, I was intrigued by this and wanted the happy ending for her, so I decided to give it to Lacey.

Once I had the main plot of the book laid out, I played with the soulmate idea until I finally felt like it would work. The final result was a story that I was so excited to write because it not only had that “trudging into the unknown” quality with the lab story and the reconnection with her cousin, but it also had the beautiful rush of new romance.

And, funny enough, some of my favorite scenes to write were about Colin playing his guitar. I grew up as a musician, playing trumpet in marching band, clear through college, so I loved being able to describe the way the music feels and how a room changes with a live performance. It gives me chills!