Author of You Were Always There
By Corinna Kloth
What was the starting point for You Were Always There—a character, an emotional question, or the narrative device of Addy’s posthumous letters and videos?
HD: I think what You Were Always There came from was a bit of a blend of these. Yes, the “big” premise of the novel was Addy’s little adventures for Jessie, but I think what also started this story is the idea that family isn’t necessarily who is related to you by blood. A lot of times, family isn’t just relatives, they’re the people who you choose to be in your life who may matter more.
This is your fourth novel – how did your experience writing your previous three books shape your approach to structure, pacing, or emotional risk in this one?
HD: I think writing is like any hobby or job: the more you do it, the better you get. With my other three, the plotting, pacing, and subplots may not have been totally up to par. With You Were Always There, not only did I get a professional editor, but I also felt like the outlining, plotting, and writing for this novel went a lot smoother since I have had more experience.
Addy drives the story despite being absent from the present timeline due to an untimely death. From a craft perspective, how did you structure the novel so her presence feels active rather than lost in the past?
HD: Her presence is definitely active throughout the novel even though the story starts with her funeral. This was honestly easier to do than you would think because of her letters and videos. Her videos especially gave her a very active voice (almost as if she’s truly there speaking with them). Not only that, but there are many times that Jessie interacts with Addy as she speaks in the videos. Once the letters and videos slow down as the novel progresses, Addy stayed as an active presence through Jessie’s letters to her and the constant grief that followed Jessie and Andrew.
The story unfolds through planned “adventures” and timed reveals. How did you approach pacing so each outing advances both the plot and Jessie’s internal character arc?
HD: This is probably one of the very first things I did when planning You Were Always There from its conception on to the entire story. Once the idea was solidified, I started by choosing what Addy’s secrets would be through each adventure. Then, I decided what order they needed to be revealed in. This gave me the groundwork and foundation for how Jessie’s character would grow throughout the story, and how her internal and external problems should reflect the severity of each secret revealed. The pacing became very easy to work with once all of this had already been planned and plotted.
The premise carries inherent ethical tension. How did you balance romantic development with grief without letting one overpower the other?
HD: I knew for sure that the romance aspect would always come second to grief. After all, with how heavy their grief was, romance was honestly just a distraction for Jessie and Andrew (and something they truly weren’t open or ready for). Finding balance between the two became a delicate blend of letting them process their emotions, but also being able to find sweet moments of laughter and happiness in between. Knowing that their grief was always in the forefront gave me the knowledge that the romance always had to be tiny things instead of grand gestures.
Addy’s secrets are framed as acts of love, but they also cause harm. How do you – as the author – think readers should forgive Addy, or sit with that discomfort?
HD: When I think of Addy as a character, I see a girl who was scared to lose everything she’d ever known. She was dying, after all, when she created this elaborate plan for Jessie and Andrew. Yes, she created a lot of pain and confusion, but that doesn’t discount all of the love she shared with these two people before she died. Forgiving her, for me at least, wasn’t too hard to do when I thought about how Addy was going through a huge crisis of her own. While this may be Jessie’s story, Addy is still a person in it. Her life, her decisions, and her struggles are still valid. Now, do I think every reader will forgive her? Maybe not. But love is confusing and complicated and layered. That’s what makes it so special when you find someone who can forgive you for your mistakes even through it all.
Compared to your earlier novels, did this story demand a different level of emotional restraint or vulnerability on the page? If so, how did that affect your writing process?
HD: There were definitely a lot of emotions throughout this entire novel for me and all of my characters involved. However, that’s not something that’s truly new for me. I absolutely love stories with a huge emotional impact, and that’s also something I gravitate towards as a reader. This novel in particular probably had a mid-range of vulnerability compared to my previous novel, All the Little Things. I think, overall, I tried to bring the heavy topics with a little levity when it came to You Were Always There. I wanted to tackle those heavy topics, but also give readers fun things to do as they grow with Jessie and Andrew (hence the inclusion of one of my favorite characters: our resident grumpy bookstore owner, Old Man Murphy).
Was there a scene or structural choice that took multiple drafts to get right in this novel? And if so, what finally made it click?
HD: Oh my goodness, yes. The subplot happening with Jessie’s mom took a LOT of drafts to finally get right. Her mom is such a complex and layered character (even though Jessie’s interactions with her may not give you the depth that I know is there for this character). I think what finally made it click was having two professionals in the publishing industry tell me that, “hey, this character can’t just be evil for the sake of being evil”. That finally made me realize that the depth I had planned in my head for her mother needed to be shown a little more on the page than what was actually there.
Looking back now, what do you think You Were Always There represents in your evolution as a storyteller, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
HD: I think You Were Always There has my most developed characters, plot, and especially subplots. When you look back at my earlier novels, you can tell that I didn’t really have that much experience with making sure that characters all had arcs, were fully developed, and came to life on the page. Not only that, but sometimes my plot points would get lost. With this novel, I felt SO much more confident in my abilities because I used a professional editor, I got feedback from readers who aren’t family members or friends, and I really took the time to edit and rewrite what wasn’t necessarily working. When readers decide to pick up this novel and share this story with me, I hope they can see that—even if you don’t have a lot of blood relatives who care for you—the people you choose are sometimes all you need to not feel alone.
You Were Always There
Heidi Dischler
What do you do when your dead best friend’s last wish is for you to go on dates with her boyfriend?
Jessie Hill knows two things: Addy Taylor is her best friend and she’s the only family Jessie has ever had. They know each other better than anyone else. So, when Addy dies from an ongoing illness that Jessie knew nothing about, Jessie is left heartbroken and confused. That’s when Jessie receives a letter from Addy telling her to go to their favorite café. When Jessie gets there, though, she meets Andrew, Addy’s boyfriend and another secret that Addy kept from her.
Together, Andrew and Jessie receive an emailed video from Addy telling them that she has adventures planned for them. As an added bonus, Addy explains that she’ll have letters for both of them after each outing telling them one secret she’s never shared with them before. The catch? They have to be together to solve the password riddles for Addy’s videos, so Jessie can’t exactly do it by herself. Reluctant to go out with Addy’s boyfriend but terrified to let go of the only family she’s ever known, Jessie agrees—if only to keep getting letters and videos from Addy. How hard can it be to pretend to date Addy’s boyfriend if only for a little while?
The more she goes out with Andrew, though, the harder it gets to separate Addy’s feelings and her own. With Addy’s secrets piling up and Jessie’s feelings for Andrew getting more complicated than ever, Jessie can’t help but feel like Addy’s games are threatening the very fragile foundation that she stands on. Can Jessie even consider Addy family if there were so many secrets between them? Does that mean that she has nothing left? Not even a memory?
On-Sale Date: April 16, 2026.
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Article originally Published in the Spring 2026 Issue.