Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare (whose former pen name was Mary Ann Rivers) have partnered up to write under the pen name Mae Marvel. And under that name they’ve released their first contemporary sapphic romance, Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous. It’s a lovely second chance romance for high school best friends who separated before they got to test what their feelings for each other really were.

Katie Price is a small-town girl who has made it big in Hollywood, but that fame has come with a price; not just losing her anonymity but having been emotionally/psychologically controlled by an older male actor, Ben, who had taken her ‘under his wing’ when he was thirty and she was eighteen. Having eventually realized what was happening, she’d left him one night but had never reclaimed herself, letting him still control her career by not refuting what he’d say to the media.

A decade after leaving Wisconsin, Katie is coming home to recoup at her mother’s place while trying to figure out how to move forward, especially with what she really wants to do – direct. And being back home means she can reconnect with her high school best friend Wil Greene.
Wil is at a bit of a crossroads in her own life, still recovering from the death of her father and not using her law degree to its full potential. She’s started a side gig though – kissing different people twice a week on her TikTok channel. It’s a hit with a wide-ranging audience, including Katie (who watches it secretly). When Katie and Wil get together, it’s almost as though no time has passed, but with the heady awareness of what they could have been if things had been different. Will this be their second chance to really explore how far their relationship can go?

The first thing I thought of when I read about Wil’s kissing challenge was Mary Ann Rivers’ novella The Story Guy, in which a lawyer puts out an online ad to meet with different people every week for kissing on a park bench. (It’s an excellent story). So she’s taken a similar plot idea but woven it – with her co-writer – into a completely different story that is just as emotional and engaging.

Wil and Katie have an attraction to each other that was present in high school but never acted upon. Then they were separated and lost touch while Katie was pursuing her career and under Ben’s control. Being together again is just like old times, including riding in Wil’s father’s old Bronco, and they have no problem reconnecting. But being older and having had some difficult life experiences, they have new things to tell each other, opening up some painful wounds that can start to heal. I really enjoyed how their relationship develops, how their friendship is rekindled and the sparks of attraction between them that lead to some sweet and sexy scenes. This is a slow burn romance as neither Katie nor Wil is sure how deeply they should become involved, believing that their time together is limited. Katie’s life comes with the challenges of fame – paparazzi everywhere and privacy limitations that Wil has to adapt to. But she’s willing to do that if it means a chance to be together permanently. The road to a happy ending comes with challenges, strength, and courage and the character growth of both Katie and Wil is touching and emotional. Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is a wonderful collaboration from these two romance authors.