Follow You Down: Received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Follow You Down: Received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.Following find an interview with author Katie Walsh:
- What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Follow You Down, July 2025
- What’s the book’s first line?
Kate Walker wished someone had warned her about the lesser-known side effects of Botox.
- What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
At 44, Kate’s picture-perfect Manhattan life has imploded—she’s lost her marriage, her job and her sense of purpose. On a whim, she follows her best friend to Cape Cod, the last place she felt truly free…and the site of a heart-shattering summer romance in 2002. At the luxe Chatham Bars Inn, she meets a younger man who eerily resembles the one who got away, sparking a collision of past and present. With humor and a touch of summer magic, Follow You Down is a story about second chances, self-discovery, and the beautiful mess of following your heart.
- What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
A few years ago, a little voice started getting louder in the back of my mind. After I finished reading a book I would think: I could do that. I could write a book. The voice became persistent. I started dreaming about book plots. As a lifelong poor sleeper, I’d lie awake for hours thinking about full outlines for books. I started to write the ideas down, but I didn’t know how to start. One day, I was having a conversation with my daughter about what she wanted to be when she grew up. She asked me what I wanted to be at her age. I said, well—I think an actress. Or a writer. And she said, “But mommy you still want to be a writer, don’t you?” Kids are so perceptive, they really pick up everything. I said, “You know, you’re right. I do.” So, I did the scary thing and started the first chapter. I liked the idea of nostalgic 2000s throwbacks (as an “elder millennial”) and I liked the idea of a younger man storyline as part of it. I finished watching Never Have I Ever, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and knew I wanted to base that younger man on the “Paxton Hall Yoshida” character. I mean, for obvious reasons!
- What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
I wrote Follow You Down for readers like me—people who love books but are busy juggling work, family, and life. When I finally get time to read (usually on a plane or on vacation), I want something fun, nostalgic, and easy to fall into. I want humor, characters I relate to, strong female friendship, and a happy ending that feels earned. This book is designed to be picked up and put down without losing the plot—light, warm, and satisfying in the best way.
- What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The most distinctive thing about Kate Walker is that she’s a woman who believed happiness and success came from being in control—and is slowly learning, in funny and sometimes heartbreaking ways, that life may be richer when you stop managing every outcome and embrace the unknown. She’s capable, witty, and deeply appreciative of her chaotic, loving friendships, yet she struggles to extend that same grace to herself. At her core, Kate is quietly questioning whether she’s allowed to want more—and whether choosing herself means leaving behind the life she’s so carefully built. In terms of who she might remind readers of, Kate carries pieces of me, but she also fits squarely into that millennial rom-com lineage. Think: Cameron Diaz in What Happens in Vegas or Kristen Bell in When in Rome. Smart, guarded, and in control, until unforeseen circumstances force her to loosen her grip and revisit who she used to be.
- When did you first decide to become an author?
Answered mostly in the above!
- Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes! It was a learning process, but now that I’m more comfortable with it, I’m working much faster on my next book, which I hope to publish ahead of this summer’s beach read season!
- What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
For over 20 years, I’ve been a communications executive, leading PR, marketing and brand strategy for global companies. This work has taken me around the world and deepened my love of storytelling. And it’s certainly made the publicity and PR part of self-publishing much easier for me (and fun!) I love curating influencer packages, pitching local magazines and doing book events. While creating a social presence is slightly out of my comfort zone, I’ve enjoyed that, too.
- How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
It really depends on the week! Some weeks, I’m writing in the evening every day, on a roll. And then life, kids and work are more demanding, and I won’t write for two weeks. When I write, it tends to be in three hour “sprints.” And usually in the evening.
- What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
One of the best parts is the ability to move quickly! When I learned that signing with a traditional publisher could mean your book wouldn’t get published for another two years, that was really the biggest deciding factor for me to self-publish. (That and the fact that the industry is very gate-kept and hard to break into). I just wanted to get my story in the hands of readers that I knew would love it. I also liked being in control of the entire process—although that is also what makes it really hard. If it's not your full-time job, there’s a lot of effort that goes into getting your book seen and to driving reviews. It was frustrating and hard to navigate technical and formatting challenges (and outdated platforms) that I would not consider my core skill set.
- What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
The publicity can be fun and not that scary! Being a writer does not necessarily mean you are comfortable with this spotlight or publicizing your work. I found that a lot of self- published authors really struggle with this, and while the social media posts are still it’s not a work in progress for me, the rest of it has been really fun and there are so many different things you can do. I’m considering doing a TikTok video with some top ways that I have publicized this book and received some great media coverage and invites. Something as simple as leaving free copies in Little Free Libraries and asking for a review if the mystery reader liked it! I think anyone can do all the things I did.
- Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I would, I’ve always thought that might be an option. I’ve done it one way, why not try the other!
- Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Storytelling and writing in business is fulfilling, but not always a great outlet for creativity. I’ve really enjoyed storytelling my entire life, ever since I was in 4th grade and wrote a telenovela that I read to my classmates every week (it was unhinged and very ten-year-old content driven, but I loved the feeling of everyone gathering around to hear what happens next). I’m certainly not doing it for fortune…if I were, this would be a very different journey. I see it as an investment in myself and in my hobby. I'm not sure that I’ll ever make back what I’ve put into it, and that’s OK. I sometimes wonder if I write books because I really want to be writing screenplays. When I write, I see the narrative playing out as a movie or as a television show, so my ultimate dream would be to have one of my books become so popular that someone wants to make it into a movie!
- Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I admire Abby Jiminez. I love her backstory to success, and I appreciate the way she develops characters and easy, relatable dialogue. I picked up Part of Your World, thinking I might hate it because it felt like such an overdone trope. Very Sweet Home Alabama, Lifetime Movie. But I flew through it and liked it way more than I thought I would. The fact that she can take a ubiquitous trope, and still draw you in, is impressive. And I just think she’s a good human.
- Which book do you wish you could have written?
The Husbands!! I LOVED that premise. Execution towards the end was not my favorite, but man, did that concept draw me in. A series of never-ending husbands coming out of the attic, and you can send back the ones you don’t like?! Brilliant.