We chat with author Britnee Meiser about All My Bests, which is a smart and emotional romance told through playlists and memories follows two young teens struggling to hold onto each other as their friendship changes.
Hi, Britnee! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi there! I’m a writer living in Brooklyn, New York, but I grew up in a small town in central Pennsylvania, which inspired a lot of the stories I write. When I’m not writing, I love walking in the park with my dog, crocheting little creatures, browsing vintage shops on Etsy, and of course, reading. I’m very active in the Reddit subs r/BravoRealHousewives and r/WhatsThisBug. All My Bests is my debut novel, but I’m also the author of the chapter book series Witches of Peculiar, published under my pen name, Luna Graves.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
My mom was an English teacher when I was born, and she instilled a love of books in me long before I had any real concept of what that would mean for my life. For a while I thought I’d be a journalist––I was really involved with my high school and college newspapers––but I majored in Fiction Writing in college because it was my real passion. It wasn’t until I took a YA novel-writing class my junior year that I realized what I really wanted to write. I wrote my first novel in that class, and it was terrible, but I proved to myself that I could do it. After that, I didn’t want to do anything else.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake by Barbara Park
- The one that made you want to become an author: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Seas by Samantha Hunt
Your debut novel, All My Bests, is out November 12th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Just friends… or something more?
What can readers expect?
Expect to be hit right in the feels. All My Bests is a romance, but it’s also a story about teen resilience. My main characters, Immie and Jack, are dealing with a lot. There’s the run-of-the-mill stuff that comes with being a freshman in high school––new friends, new crushes, first kisses––and then there are deeper issues of identity, anxiety, and family dynamics. Immie and Jack have always been each other’s safe space, but for the first time, they’re grappling with who they are apart from the other––while also realizing their feelings for each other might run deeper than they thought. It’s messy! And emotional! And hopefully relatable.
Where did the inspiration for All My Bests come from?
There were a lot of things from my own life that inspired my characters’ emotional arcs. I can’t tell you what they are, because that would be a spoiler! But more generally, I’d say high school nostalgia played a big role in shaping the story. Friday night football games, bonfires, school dances––I wanted to capture the simple magic of that time, when your whole life is ahead of you and you’re just starting to figure out who you want to be.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I’m obviously very attached to Immie and Jack, but there’s a character named Elijah who really surprised me. He was not originally supposed to be such a big part of the story, but the more I wrote about him, the more I wanted to write about him, if that makes sense. There’s a cliché writers sometimes say about characters writing themselves, but with Elijah, that was actually what happened. I’d start a scene thinking it was going to go one way and then he’d take it a different direction. I’ll be really interested to see how readers react to him.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It was unconventional. I auditioned to write Witches of Peculiar and represented myself through contract negotiations. After the series was finished (for now), my editor asked if I had any other ideas, and that’s how All My Bests came to be. Now I have a wonderful agent and am doing things a bit more by-the-book, but my journey should reinforce the fact that there’s no one “right” way to get published. Just don’t give up!
What’s next for you?
My next novel, Jane Stays Dreaming, is also in the upper-middle grade space. It’s about a shy high school freshman who uses her anonymous blog to influence the people around her. It’s pretty different from All My Bests––lighter in tone, but with moments of intense drama––and has been a ton of fun to write. It will be out next fall!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on in 2025?
Some books I enjoyed this year: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. I really want to pick up Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds, When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson, and Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken.
