A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love is a cozy romance from Ann Rose that perfectly sets the mood for fall. The protagonist, Pepper, has a cursed contract managing The Dead of Night, a Halloween store that appears every autumn. When it disappears (instantly, because magic), no one remembers Pepper exists. That’s mostly fine with her, until she meets Christina. When the two begin falling for each other, Pepper’s curse becomes a ticking clock, counting down the time they have left together until The Dead of Night—and their relationship—disappear.
Ann agreed to chat with me about her forthcoming novel (release date: September 9!) and share more about her writing process and all the love that went into A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love. The following interview was edited for clarity and length.
Susanne Salehi: Do you have a formative novel? One that shaped you, in some way, to be the writer you are today?
Ann Rose: Wow, are you asking why I am the way that I am? Answering that one feels like we’d be here for a long time. I’m not really sure. I’ve always told myself stories.
One day, my niece called me and she was crying about a book. So I told her I’d write her a book, and maybe this sounds bad, but it wasn’t that hard! I’d already been having conversations with characters in my head, so it all just came naturally to me.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery by Kacy Ritter. I’m also reading another witchy novel, What Became of Magic by Paige Crutcher. I’m also reading a nonfiction book, Women Living Deliciously by Florence Given. There’s another nonfiction I haven’t finished, and it’s another witchy one: In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet. I’m almost at the end and it’s great! If you like female empowerment stories and women’s history and how we got here… it’s well worth a read!
I’ve always got a random list of five or so books going. I can never read just one! It’s similar to how I have five different writing projects all going on at the same time.
Sounds like you have a wide variety of interests! Do you have a specific genre or interest that you love to read?
I like to read witchy things, books that empower women, and feminist stories. I support women’s rights… and I also support women’s wrongs! I love a good revenge story, a smash-the-patriarchy story, a story where women uplift each other, a story where strong women stand together in some way, shape, or form to make a better whatever it is—the world, themselves… I’m always interested in those types of books.
That’s a good segue to your book, A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love, which comes out next week! How did the idea for the story come to you?
I got the idea from a social media post. It was something like, “Don’t be in the Spirit Halloween store at midnight on Halloween.” I thought that was brilliant, so I immediately texted my agent a screenshot of that post and said, “Hear me out… There’s this woman and she’s cursed! Once the Halloween store closes, everyone forgets her. Oh, and it’s a romance. Do you like the idea?”
Luckily, she thought it sounded fun. She was enthusiastic and said I needed to make something happen with it. She’s very good at managing my ideas and telling me which ones she thinks will do well. That’s critical, because I could come up with a hundred ideas a day. Everything is a plot bunny—everything!
What were some of your inspirations?
I love Halloween, it’s my absolute favorite! I was inspired by everything I love about the holiday. A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love was my quintessential love letter to Halloween and the autumn season. I live in Houston, Texas, where there’s no cool weather or fall leaves. So everything in A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love was my idealistic, perfect picture of what autumn and Halloween should be.
The Dead of Night store is loosely based on the Spirit stores, though I took some liberties. I also took inspiration from a local Halloween store that’s open year round. It’s got floor to ceiling costumes, there are rentals… Honestly, it’s phenomenal. If you’re ever just outside Houston, Texas, you should check it out!
There are also some stories from my past. I actually worked on a haunted house in high school. It was this little house sitting in a pumpkin patch, and the owner said we could do whatever we wanted with it. A lot of my story was inspired by that experience. It was really fun.
You write so lovingly about Halloween. Are you more Pepper or Christina when it comes to the holiday?
I’m both! I really love Halloween, but I also don’t like to be scared. Like Christina, I can’t watch a horror movie. It’s too much for me—the music, the visuals… I can read a horror book, but a movie? I’m out. That’s why Hocus Pocus is perfect for me—except for the whole virginity thing… other than that: perfect!
There are a lot of delightful cozy snacks and beverages that show up in this novel—is there a signature treat that represents the book? Or one that you would pair with the reading experience?
The pairing question is easy! You’ve got to read this with your favorite warm beverage. For me, that’s apple cider, but I wouldn’t be mad if anyone said cocoa or coffee. The treat would be popcorn for me, a fun kettle corn. I like to mix salty and sweet, to get that perfect balance, so it would have to be popcorn with dark chocolate M&Ms mixed in.
I’m not sure about a signature sweet that represents the book. Maybe a s’more? That feels very fall, you can sit around a fire and enjoy those. Of course, it would have to be dark chocolate to tone down some of the sweetness.
Did you have a favorite main character? Or maybe any unexpected favorites among the cast?
I love all my characters! And I absolutely cannot pick between Pepper and Christina, don’t make me! I love them both so much equally. They’re both equally me. It would be like splitting myself into two halves.
In terms of the other characters, I love Dewy! They’re so fantastic. You have to love the powerful, quiet character. Their banter was so good, the dynamic of “All right, boss,” and “I’m not your boss!” There’s also Caleb, who was so funny with all the ridiculous costumes, especially the boba tea. I also loved Cami and her steadfast friendship with Christina.
I also loved the relationship Christina had with her younger sister. It was such a good dynamic! I wanted to show the difference between the younger and older siblings, and how relationships even within the same family can be unique. Wow, I guess I pretty much love all of my characters!
Speaking of sibling dynamics! Why was Ashley so mean?
Time for a little bit of vulnerability: I put a lot of my relationship with my sister in this. She never really understood that when we were younger and I wanted the same things as her, it was because I wanted to be just like her. She only saw me as the annoying little sister… I think she still does, to this day.
So I did put a bit of myself in there, as a nod to those tender, painful relationships where there’s absolutely no winning. I love my sister. We don’t talk anymore, but I do love her—I just wish she could get over herself, like Ashley.
Do you have a favorite scene or part of the book? A part that was really fun to write?
There’s so many, it’s so hard for me to pick. I love the scene where Christina is sitting in a booth with her best friend Cami at Take It Cheesy. They’re having a meal and a whole moment together. I love those little moments of friendship between characters.
I also love my “only one hearse” scene, that snuggly moment in the back. It was unexpected and fun! I loved all the shenanigans in The Dead of Night store with Pepper’s coworkers (Dewy!), even the annoying one who wants to change the spirit of The Dead of Night.
Truly, I enjoyed writing the entire thing. Everyone gets to write the book of their heart—in a way, my first romance, The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean, was that—but in A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love, I got to place everything I really loved about one season in one book. This one I wrote very quickly. It all rushed out because I had so much fun doing it.
Was there anything that you struggled with while writing the book?
It was really hard to balance what happened throughout the story to make it cohesive—no spoilers here! Although personally, I don’t mind a spoiler, since I like to see the dominos lined up. Is the spoiler text in place? Okay, good. (Highlight to read)
Since there are two separate timelines in the book, it was tough to make sure that the things that happened in the past could also happen in the present. When you’re reading it for the first time, the book’s structure almost feels linear, but there are hints along the way that it’s not. Basically, it was one big balancing act with the structure of the book, getting all the pieces in there. For example, in one timeline if Christina said something, then I had to make sure that she wouldn’t remember having said that in the second timeline.
None of my hints could be too overtly obvious. Like the Eleanor Roosevelt quotes: Christina references her, and Pepper doesn’t quite get it, but then later she is also quoting Eleanor like a pro. Also, the skeleton earrings! Pepper’s wearing them in the beginning of the book, but later, we see Christina buy them for her. It’s all these little hints along the way… That’s what made writing it very challenging. If you do a second read, you’d see all of them and realize. That’s the experience I hope readers have: read the book, wait a bit, then read it again and see all those dominos lined up. That was my goal, and time will tell whether I achieved it or not!
Let’s put it this way: the structure was challenging with a whole cast of characters. It was also important to make sure the voices were different. My wall was covered in sticky notes of everything I was tracking.
Was there anything you had to cut that you wanted to stay in?
While there were a few challenges in the editing, I got to keep everything I wanted. I’m an underdrafter. If anything, I’m charged with getting in there and writing more. I have a good friend that will say to me: “You just wrote a really long outline!”
It seemed like there was so much more to explore in Clover Creek. Will this town or any of these characters show up in other books?
Oh, Clover Creek. It was meant to conjure Salem (but on the West Cost), though I’ve never been. I have no point of reference except videos and friends who have visited. It was so fun to create this fictional town in a state I love, filled with everything I enjoy. I would go visit Clover Creek. I would love to explore it!
Unfortunately, as of now, there are no plans to write more of it. That’s my call to readers: buy the book so my publisher will want me to write more! [laughs] Honestly, I would love to see an amusement park made of Clover Creek, so I can live there, right above the Halloween store.
Is there any kind of core message you want readers to take away from reading A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love, or anything you want to share with them?
I think at the end of the day, the theme in the story is how far you’ll go for the people that you love. It’s a very sweet story, but it’s also about the sacrifices that we make for love.
The message I have for the world is: Be good to each other. Find your people, be good to them, and be close to them. In my writing, I try to empower my readers. I believe that empowered women, empower women and I also try to live this out in my daily life. Girls are not your enemy, girls! Maybe that’s a generic message, but I really do feel like there’s something special about girl friends and having those deep connections. Keep those, hold them close—those are the folks that will see you through your life.
I want readers to walk away feeling warm and fuzzy, feeling like they just had the most amazing time with their best friend. I’m thinking of that feeling when you go home after you’ve had an incredible time with your friends, thinking, “That was what I needed for my soul.” I’m going for the cozy, satisfied vibe.
Are there any upcoming exciting projects you can share with us?
There’s no news to share at this time, though I would love to have some news to share soon. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. It’s always good to have something going on.
My poor agent! I’ve sent her several starts of things and asked which she likes best. I do have a new idea and it’s really, really funny and more in line with where I went with A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love, very rom com, very unexpected. It’s about strong girls coming together. I’m working on it now and I’m excited.
There’s also a mystery I’m working on—it’s on the side, on the DL. I’d love for something to happen with that. It’s super fun, very much in the vein of my previous romance, The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean, where it’s very complex with a mixed multimedia timeline. It’s fun to write and I hope I get to share it with readers!
Where can readers find you?
I’m mostly on Bluesky @AnnMRose, though I’m working at being better on Instagram: @totally_anntastic. My TikTok is the same: totally_anntastic, although I’m terrible at that. I have mass respect for anyone who can make videos consistently. My website is: www.AMRoseAuthor.com.
Is there anything else you want to share with your readers?
A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love was a joy to write. The big challenge these days is a book finding its readers. My dream for Christina and Pepper’s story is that it finds its readers.
Susanne Salehi (she/they) is an Iranian American writer and editor who writes queer heroes. They’re a 2025 fellow of the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices whose work appears in By Her Sword: A Sapphic Fantasy Romance Anthology, the forthcoming Nearest and Dearest: an anthology of dyke domesticity, and the literary publications Fruitslice and Frazzled Lit. She is a gardener who collects silly tattoos—Frog & Toad and the screaming possum are her favs. More at SusanneSalehi.com.
