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I keep having the same thought on loop: Wait, people can just… go buy it now? Wild.
This book has been living in my head (and my Notes app… and like twelve different drafts) for a long time. There were definitely moments where I was convinced it would never make it to the “finished” stage. But here we are. It’s out. It exists. I can breathe. The super quick rundownIf you’re new here, 15-Love 🎾 📖 is a YA coming-of-age story with:
Both ebook and the paperback version of 15-Love are available through the links below to get your copy! Ebook 💻: LINK Paperback 📕 : LINK 15-Love is also available on many other platforms. Check out my website to see where you can get an alternate copy. vincentrussowrites.com If you end up reading: Thank you. Like, genuinely. Whether you’ve been following along for a while or you’re just now hopping in, it means a lot. And if you have two seconds after you finish, a quick review helps more than you’d think. Even a short “I liked it!” kind of review is huge for indie debut authors. Seriously… thanks This whole thing has been equal parts exciting and terrifying, and I’m really grateful you’re here for it. More soon, Vincent #VincentRussoWrites
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Hey friends,
For all my ebook lovers out there, my debut novel 15-Love is officially available for pre-order! 📚 💚 “A crush he wasn’t ready for. A dream he can’t give up. A year that could change everything.” Follow Rion Miller as he juggles high school tennis dreams, a messy mix of friendship, first love, and figuring himself out—one serve at a time. 📘 Pre-order your copy now! 👉 AMAZON 👉 BARNES & NOBLE 👉 APPLE BOOKS 👉 GOOGLE PLAY If you are also a Goodreads junky (like me) follow my Author page and 15-Love.  Hey friends, When it came time to design the cover for 15-Love, I had a pretty clear vision, or at least the feeling I wanted it to give off. I knew it needed to feel modern and clean, with a quiet nod to tennis and subtle hints of pride colors woven in. More than anything, I wanted the image to capture a sense of longing, like the character was waiting for something, or maybe someone. That’s where Julia came in. Julia and I go way back. We’re former coworkers turned real-life friends, the kind of people who can swap creative ideas and bad puns in the same conversation. When I reached out to see if she’d be interested in designing the cover for my debut novel, she didn’t even hesitate. She just said, “Absolutely.” And honestly, I might’ve done a little happy dance right there. Julia’s an incredibly talented designer based in Boston, with a style that seems that is continuously evolving. (Take a peek at juliadonahoe.com) From the start, we were totally in sync. We both understood the vibe right away: keep it simple, heartfelt, and unmistakably young adult with a subtle LGBTQ+ hints. The creative brief I sent her covered the essentials—clean, legible typography that pops online, bright but balanced colors, and a clear connection to tennis. The main figure (Rion) needed to feel real and grounded, not overly stylized, and those small details—like the rainbow wristband—had to feel effortless, never forced. We went down a lot of rabbit holes looking at YA covers for inspiration, everything from What If It’s Us, Act Cool, Out of the Woods (other reads you should check out). We wanted something that felt modern and emotional without being over the top. I even shared a few early AI mockups I’d made for peer feedback, and the responses were super helpful. The favorite concept wasn’t clear, but after a lengthy call with my editor I came to a general concept. Rion standing on the court, looking ahead, sky wide open above him a quiet, thoughtful pause right before the next serve. The final version is everything I hoped it would be. The green court that are slightly weathered and soft mountains give it that small-town, while the bright sky adds this cinematic, almost daydreamy quality. Rion’s stance, calm, focused, maybe just a little unsure, captures the heart of 15-Love perfectly. That moment of figuring out who you are and what you’re really playing for. Even the small details tell their own story. The drink in his hand (a little nod to coffee obsessed teens), the scattered tennis balls, and of course, those rainbow wristbands. Each one is a quiet piece of Rion’s world, layered into a single image. Working with Julia reminded me how magical collaboration can be when two people are on the same wavelength. Every tweak, every color adjustment, every little shadow felt like a step closer to seeing 15-Love come to life. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out—and I can’t wait for you all to hold it in your hands soon. More soon, Vincent #VincentRussoWrites Excerpt from the Cover Designer
Hey friends,
I’ve never been the kind of reader who picks books because they’re on a bestseller list or because everyone’s talking about them online. I’m more of a “fall in love with the story” type. It’s never about the author’s name or the hype, it’s about the vibe. You know that feeling when you open a book and instantly get pulled into someone else’s world? That’s the magic for me. Give me the eerie, glitter-soaked wonder of A.R. Kahler’s The Immortal Circus. Faeries, secrets, and big-top drama? Absolutely. I love when a story feels a little dangerous but still full of heart, like there’s beauty hiding under all the chaos. That balance between sparkle and shadow stuck with me when I started writing 15-Love. Then there’s Luanne G. Smith’s The Vine Witch. Honestly, the world-building is so lush you can taste it. You can practically smell the vineyard air and the spellwork simmering in the background. That book taught me how setting can be its own kind of character. I wanted 15-Love to feel like that too, like you could hear sneakers squeaking on the court or feel the summer humidity in the air. And I can’t forget Kristy Boyce’s Dungeons and Drama. A total comfort read. High school theater, fake dating, and D&D? Come on, that’s a perfect mix of chaos and charm. It reminded me how much I love stories that don’t take themselves too seriously but still sneak up on you with all the feelings. That’s the energy I tried to bring to 15-Love: heartfelt, awkward, funny, and a little dramatic, in the best way. Basically, I’m a sucker for books that feel alive. The ones that make you laugh, ache, or see yourself in a character who’s just trying to figure it all out. Those are the stories that shaped 15-Love, the ones that reminded me that messy can still be beautiful, and that connection always beats perfection. More soon, Vincent #VincentRussoWrites Hey friends,
I started 15-Love when the world hit pause in early 2020. I was freelancing as a wardrobe/prop stylist, and photo shoots were canceled. I needed something to do with my hands and head. I opened a blank doc and wrote tiny stories, just enough to feel creative when everything else felt stuck. When production came back with “COVID protocols,” the writing slipped to the sidelines. Work needed me, and I needed the work. I picked up writing again in July 2023. A close family member got very sick after surgery, and I traveled to be with them. What should’ve been a quick visit turned into nearly three months of hospital days. I went daily. Asking questions, offering comfort, and acting as a medical proxy. I couldn’t be on set, so I wrote. On my phone in parking garages. In waiting rooms. Early mornings before visiting hours. Writing was the one thing I could control, and it steadied me. Those small stories I was writing for myself grew into a book. 15-Love isn’t my memoir, but pieces of my teen years are woven into Rion’s story. I did fall for tennis, later than he did, but what hooked me was the rhythm of a match and how a single point can change everything. That’s the title for me: fifteen-love is the first point. Not a trophy, just proof you showed up. A tiny lead that says, keep going. Sitting in those hospital halls made the “small wins” feel urgent. I wanted to honor them: a returned call, a laugh you didn’t expect, a page written on a hard day. I wanted a hero who’s not flawless, just persistent. And I wanted that hero to be a queer kid at the center of a sports story. When I was growing up, I didn’t see many LGBTQ+ books on the shelves, especially ones that felt warm and everyday. The shelves are fuller now (thank goodness), but I still wanted to add my voice. For the kid I was and for readers now: you can be ambitious and messy, athletic and soft, scared and still brave. You can love the game and also love yourself. Rion’s world is second chances, awkward moments, found family, and the buzz of a crush that makes life both terrifying and electric. There’s sweat and grit, and also tenderness and humor. That’s what adolescence felt like to me. What does 15-Love mean to me? The courage to begin again. A reminder that one point can change the feel of the whole set. Love of the sport, of yourself, of the people around you. If you pick up the book, I hope you find a familiar corner of your own story. And if not, I hope you leave feeling a little less alone. That was my hope on those hospital days, and it still is. More soon, Vincent #VincentRussoWrites Hey friends,
I’ll be honest with you, I overwrite. Like, a lot. My first drafts are full of paragraphs so long they could double as endurance tests. Half the time, I look back and realize I could’ve said the same thing in three sentences instead of three pages. But in the moment? Every detail feels absolutely necessary. Here’s a good example from an early draft of 15-Love: “Another day, another class. Oddly enough, the gym teacher, Mr. Konnor, was also the coach for many of the school’s sports teams. He insisted that all students call him ‘Coach,’ whether or not they were on one of his teams. As the class waited on the uncomfortable gymnasium floor, I wondered, had this floor ever been cleaned? How did the basketball team even play here?” Not terrible, but it’s… a lot. Here’s how that same section ended up in the final draft: “Another day, another class. Oddly enough, the gym teacher, Mr. Konnor, also coached half the school’s sports teams. He made everyone call him ‘Coach’—whether they played for him or not.” Way cleaner. Version one overexplains and drifts into side thoughts, while the final version is sharper and gets right to the point. Readers don’t need the extra filler to understand who Coach Konnor is. Honestly, I think I do this because I want readers to see the scene exactly the way I do in my head. I’ll start thinking, “What if they don’t picture the gym the right way? What if they don’t get how annoying this teacher is?” So instead of letting the words breathe, I start piling on detail after detail. Of course, that usually makes it worse. For the longest time, I thought editing meant polishing every sentence until it sparkled. Now I’ve learned it’s more about trimming. These days, I’ll write the messy, overstuffed draft, walk away, then come back and ask myself: Do I really need this sentence? Most of the time, the answer is no. Reading my drafts out loud has been a game-changer, too. If I can’t get through a sentence without tripping or sighing, it’s a sign it needs to be cut down. Overwriting was my biggest crutch, but cutting back showed me that simple doesn’t mean boring. The clean version of a scene often hits harder because the rhythm is tighter and the emotion has room to land. Turns out the fix to my writing struggles wasn’t writing more, it was learning to trust less. Less words, less fluff, less trying to force every single detail. And hey, if I ever do get the urge to write a ten-sentence description of a doorknob, I’ll just throw it in the “deleted scenes” folder and call it a bonus feature. At least then it’ll feel intentional. PS. It also helps when your husband is a professional copywriter! More soon, Vincent #VincentRussoWrites 🐉 D&D 🔮 to My First Novel: How 15-Love StartedHey friends,
I never really planned on writing a book. No lifelong dream, no creative writing degree, nothing like that. It actually started with… Dungeons & Dragons. Yep, the dice-rolling, dungeon-crawling, occasionally set-things-on-fire game. Four years ago, I joined my first campaign. Everyone was told to come up with a character and a little backstory. Most people wrote a quick paragraph. I, of course, showed up with a full-page essay. My character had a tragic past, a frenemy, complicated feelings about magic, and way too much family drama. I even went as far as writing little backstories for other characters my hero knew (Friends, Family, Long-time crush). Which, spoiler, never came up in the actual game. That’s when I realized: it wasn’t just the game I loved. It was the storytelling. Around the same time, I was working in creative production, writing briefs for photo shoots and campaigns. Basically, I had to explain to photo production studios across the country and the world what the vibe, tone, and energy of a project should be. Looking back, that was training. It forced me to get clear, detailed, and intentional… all things that ended up sneaking into my writing style. Now, don’t get me wrong, writing 15-Love was not all fun and magic. It was a lot of staring at a blank screen while my coffee went cold. Some days I wrote five pages and deleted four. Other days, I convinced myself that maybe I should just stick to character outlines forever. What helped me keep going were a few free tools: Reedsy Studio – Like a digital corkboard where I could shuffle scenes and keep track of character arcs. Story Planner – Templates that saved me from wandering off into plot chaos. The Most Dangerous Writing App – The name says it all. Stop typing for too long, and poof, your words vanish. Terrifying, but it worked. They didn’t make the writing easier, but they helped me finish. And finishing was the real magic. So yeah, 15-Love basically started because I couldn’t stop overthinking a D&D character, got trained by writing way too many creative briefs, and forced myself to type like my words were on a self-destruct timer. Not exactly the glamorous “how I became a writer” story, but it’s mine, and I love that it’s chaotic, weird, unconventional, it’s 100% me. More soon, Vincent #VincentRussoWrites Hey there! I’m Vincent, and I’m so glad you’re here. This is my very first blog post as a new indie author, and honestly, it still feels a little surreal to even type that. After a couple of years of writing (and rewriting... and editing... and doubting myself... and editing again), I’m finally getting ready to put my debut novel, 15-Love, out into the world later this year So… what’s 15-Love about? At its core, it’s a story about being a teenager and trying to hold it all together when life keeps throwing curveballs—well, in Rion Miller’s case, tennis balls! He’s a high school sophomore chasing big tennis dreams while juggling a part-time job, family pressures, awkward first crushes, and the never-ending weirdness that comes with high school life. It’s messy. It’s emotional. It’s got moments that make you cringe and laugh at the same time, and friendships that are as complicated as they are unshakable. But it’s also full of those little moments—the ones that sneak up on you and end up changing how you see yourself and the world. While Rion’s story is completely his own, it’s lightly colored by a lot of my own teenage memories, late-night practices, cafeteria drama, and those heart-thumping moments of connection you still remember years later. Want to stay in the loop? If you want to know when 15-Love is available for preorder (and get updates as I get closer to launch), make sure to sign up for my email newsletter: 👉 Sign up here – no spam, just honest updates, blog posts, and some behind-the-scenes stuff from my writing life. Head over to the About page if you’re curious about learning more about me. Thanks again for stopping by. I seriously can’t wait to share more with you. More soon, Vincent #VincentRussoWrites |