We chat with author Cassie Miller about Meet Me Under the Lights, which is a Romeo & Juliet-inspired small-town baseball romance where the son and daughter of two rival families must decide if their love is worth the risk.
Hi, Cassie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a former high school English teacher turned elementary librarian, and I’ve been teaching for 19 years now. I love all things baseball, movies, and music–especially musical theater, and I’m married to a high school band director (so that checks-ha!). I also am a mom of a tween and teen boy, so there’s always something going on. I love to read and will read pretty much anything and everything although my go-to genres are romance, contemporaries, mysteries, and historical fiction in the MG, YA, and Adult realms.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Honestly, I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember. One of the first stories I ever wrote was about a girl who had a best friend that was an alien, and I think I wrote that when I was around seven years old. But it was much later in life when I was teaching in the high school Creative Writing classroom that I found my love of story-telling again because I took the time to journal and write with my students. Fun fact: that was the same classroom where Meet Me Under the Lights was born!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Secret Garden
- The one that made you want to become an author: Matilda
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Olivetti by Allie Millington
Your debut novel, Meet Me Under the Lights, is out March 3rd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Swoony, summertime, rivalries, baseball, theater
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a lot of drama and banter between the two main characters, Eliza and Reed, and, of course, a lot of swoons! It’s a small-town summer romance about a forbidden love between kids from feuding families, so those two characters have a difficult time keeping their relationship a secret since both of them are almost always under the spotlight.
Readers can also expect a deep dive into baseball with lots of sports on the page and the technical behind-the-scenes aspects of theater!
If you think The Notebook but with baseball (and a less depressing ending), then you’ve got my book!
Where did the inspiration for Meet Me Under the Lights come from?
It came from a few personal places and spaces. First, my love of baseball. I’ve watched the game my entire life, including sitting in the stands to see my brother play and my father coach. I love baseball–the tension and high-stakes of it. There’s a local minor league stadium not far from where I now live called Calfee Park, and a lot of my baseball scenes were created from my experiences watching those games on warm summer nights. Although every position is important, I believe the one that holds the most pressure and the one who is under that spotlight more than any other is the pitcher.
It also came from my experiences in the theater. As a young girl, I was privileged enough to see lots of community productions because my mom’s side of the family was directly involved in the costuming and props-side of the theater through their small business. Much later when I was teaching at the high school, I was asked to direct the Spring musicals, and during that time I got involved with set design and eventually, lighting design. I never expected to fall in love with the technical side of theater as much as I did, but from the moment I stepped in the booth and started learning the controls, I knew I was in my happy place. Lighting a show is a special, unique kind of art because it has a direct impact on the atmosphere of not only those on the stage but also those watching the production. It was important to me to show this side of the theater since so many other stories I’ve read focus more on the characters under the lights. I wanted to show a character who controlled those lights.
Balancing those two worlds then came easily for me: one character has to be under the lights and the other chooses to be behind them.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really enjoyed writing Eliza’s character because it felt like I was writing myself. She has a strong bond with her grandmother, a woman who had a direct influence on her decision to pursue theater like mine did with my dream of becoming a writer.
I also really enjoyed writing the smaller and quieter moments of Reed on the farm because those were also born from real experiences I had with my grandparents. The smells and textures of the farm life compared to Eliza’s clean edges and fancy lifestyle were a lot of fun to explore.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was honestly patience. It took me years to understand to trust the timing of my life, and I’m so glad I did. Being a mom of two young boys during that early time of my writing journey was how I overcame the challenges of patience because I didn’t want them to see me as someone who gave up. I wanted them to see their mom as someone who held fast to her dream. Sharing the milestones with my kids continues to be how I overcome every obstacle I face in publishing because through their eyes, I’ve already done something miraculous.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It was a very long and arduous process over ten years in the making, but I wouldn’t have changed any of it. It took me a few years to find an agent after I queried other stories before what would become my debut. I had well over 200 rejections collected during that time. After signing with my fabulous agent Ann Rose, we worked hard on revisions and cutting out some subplots that were taking away from the romance between Reed and Eliza. Four years and a pandemic later, we got the “yes” from someone I dreamed of working with, Dana Leydig, and the rest is history!
What’s next for you?
More small-town romances, of course! My next YA romance is called MEET ME ON MISTLETOE LANE, and it will hit shelves on October 6, 2026, so you won’t have to wait long at all! It’s a Christmas romance about a girl caught in a love triangle between her best friend and a city boy whose father holds the fate of her small town in his hands.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m in the middle of (finally) reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and I’m hoping to get my hands on Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet and Carley Fortune’s new book Our Perfect Storm.
