Chasing Ember is a rock star small town romance set in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Like my other contemporary romances (Let it Rain and Radio Romance) this one is a cozy novella with lots of sexual tension but no heavy conflict.

Singer-songwriter Jackson Hunter returned to the Blue Ridge Mountains to recapture the magic that inspired the angsty music of his youth. Yoga studio owner Mia Chase just needed a break from her entrepreneurship struggles. When a runaway mutt breaks free from her leash, she sets these two humans down a path headed for a little change and a little more love.

Chasing Ember by Ariella Monti, coming December 2025

Based on my editing and cover design schedule, I anticipate releasing the paperback and eBook just in time for Christmas.

Readers can expect Ariella Monti Romance Staples from Chasing Ember:

• Middle-aged neurodivergents
• Everyone is bisexual
• Plenty of banter
• Flagrant displays of tattooed forearms

But lets take a deeper dive into this book.

Get a peek into my yoga-teaching philosophy

I have absolutely zero desire to open a yoga studio, but like Mia Chase, I am a yoga instructor. And my teaching philosophy is also Mia’s teaching philosophy.

The questions Mia asks Jack before class are the same I ask new students (without the flirting and awkwardness, yet anyway).

“Remind me,” she said. “What’s your experience with yoga?”

Jack laughed through his nose. “My ex was really into it, so I went with him when we were both in town at the same time. But I didn’t like it enough to keep at it when we were apart.”

Mia nodded, filing away the subtext she caught. “In my experience that’s pretty common with couples, believe it or not. Is there anything going on with your body that you think I should be aware of?”

Again with the devilish smile. 

But this time, it was accompanied by flushed cheeks and an averted gaze.

“Like injuries, surgeries, chronic illnesses,” Mia added.

I also have a no (bad) pain policy in my classes. I’m of the belief that yoga should feel good in your body.

But more importantly, as I tell my students on the first day of class, I am not a medical professional and most injuries are above my pay grade.

Mia nodded as she mentally put together a few more pieces of this puzzle. “As I cue each posture I’ll go over how you can manage or alleviate any wrist pain, but if something hurts in a bad way, stop doing it. We don’t do pain here.”

“My fitness trainer doesn’t share the same philosophy.” Jack chuckled.

“Pain’s not always a bad thing.”

Though he didn’t say a word, Jack’s face replied loudly.

“What I mean is,” Mia rushed to clarify. “If there’s a sensation that feels good, lean into it. If it doesn’t, don’t do it.”

Mia’s dog is my dog

If there’s a dog in a book they’re inspired by my dog Bailey. Juniper Kimberly Chase is no exception.

We visited the Blue Ridge Mountains a few times a year back when Bailey was our only child. Traveling got way harder once we had a human child.

Jack’s mountain cabin is loosely based on a true story

To get over his writer’s block, Jack sequesters himself in the same cabin he and his friends visited in their youth.

My husband and I met in our mid-20s and at that time he played keyboard in a bluegrass band made up of a bunch of friends from high school. The New River Boys is a play on their name, which I’m redacting to protect the innocent.

Instead of the Blue Ridge Mountains they went to New York’s Catskill Mountains. Same mountain chain, different pronunciation (Appa-lay-shen vs Appa-latch-un), same getting stoned and writing music.

Sadly that album never got released and my husband isn’t a famous musician. He does do the dishes and the laundry so he’s a rock star in that sense.

Chasing Ember, Let it Rain, and Radio Romance are in the same literary universe

All of my contemporary romance novellas are stand-alones, but Chasing Ember was the first time I decided to connect draw some connections to Let it Rain and Radio Romance that show readers the books are all set in the same universe.

Why?

BECAUSE I CAN. And the divergent thinking that comes with ADHD makes drawing these little connections a lot of fun.

Trixy’s hosted two fundraisers every year, and it was the only time there was a cover charge. The December event, always held on the eve of the winter solstice, raised money for a foundation based in Boone that provided grants for environmental projects across the state.

First published as a short story

Chasing Ember was first published as a short story under the same title in To Appalachia with Love: a charity romance anthology. The anthology project raised about $5,000 for organizations in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

I added 10,000 words comprised of more sexual tension, a charity concert, couch sex, and a cat.

If you’ve read the short story version, you’ll see a change in the heroin’s name. Siena Chase became Mia Chase. I loved the name Siena, but I already set a precedent by using it in Roots in Ink for a side character that will become more involved in future books in the Scions of Belhaven series.

The OG Chasing Ember is a FREE read for my newsletter subscribers. If you want to read the whole anthology, you still can by making a donation to one of our chosen organizations and submitting your receipt at NCIndieauthors.com.

Anything else you want to know about Chasing Ember? Leave your questions in the comments and I’ll answer them in a future post.