Linny Mack’s Changing Tides is a story about the delicate balance between heartbreak and hope. This heartfelt contemporary romance is filled with the best tropes: slow-burn romance and neighbors-to-lovers, oh my!
In this Q&A, we talk with author Linny Mack and her process of writing this poetic story about love and healing. Find out how Sophie and Liam fought for their well-earned happy ending.
The story beautifully captures love in your 40s—a stage often overlooked in romance. Was this intentional from the start?
Yes, it was absolutely intentional. So much of the romance market today focuses on young love, and while those stories can be wonderful, they’re often less relatable to me. I wanted to create characters who had lived a little longer — people who have faced real challenges, endured heartbreak, or weathered life’s trials before finding love. To me, love isn’t always instantaneous or easy; it’s complicated, messy, and often requires healing and growth first. Both Sophie and Liam had to confront their own demons before they could truly find peace — and love — with each other.
You’ve created a strong “found family” dynamic with characters like Ellie and Lucy. What draws you to that theme?
I’ve always been someone who roots for the underdog. While there’s nothing wrong with leaning on biological family, I’m drawn to the idea of someone who’s enduring trials being embraced by the community around them. I’ve always had a deep desire to belong somewhere — and I think most of us can relate to that feeling. Beyond my own life experiences, the theme of found family allows for beautifully layered storytelling. I love bringing together characters from different walks of life and watching them create something entirely new and meaningful. I’m a firm believer that love is a choice, not a coincidence, and found family perfectly captures that idea — that bonds are formed deliberately, through effort, trust, acceptance, and ultimately, love.
What was your process for writing Liam’s backstory, especially his struggle with parenthood and grief?
Oh gosh — would you believe me if I said Liam’s story just poured out of me? He was actually the first character I developed, and I knew right away that I wanted him to have a tragic backstory and be grappling with something in the present. Believe it or not, he was even broodier in the early drafts! I had to soften him a bit during edits to make sure he still felt approachable — and, of course, worthy of being a good book boyfriend. When I’m building a character, I typically start with a profile. I write their backstory in the third person, list their traits, and really dig into what makes them tick. From there, the backstory tends to grow organically. As I write, little details naturally emerge that help flesh out the character, making them feel fully human and, hopefully, deeply relatable.
The book starts with emotional devastation and ends with deep, earned hope. How did you balance that emotional pacing?
When I first started writing, the story really just poured out of me — so in those early drafts, there wasn’t much thought given to balance or pacing! I knew I wanted a love story at the center, but the reality is, that my characters were carrying deeply traumatic experiences. It wouldn’t have felt authentic for their healing—or their romance—to happen quickly. Originally, I found myself detailing every step of their emotional journeys, but it slowed the momentum of the story. During edits, I worked hard to refine the pacing — adjusting timelines and streamlining their individual paths toward healing — while still honoring the depth of what they were going through. My ultimate goal was for readers to sit with something hard, to feel that emotional weight with the characters, and still close the book believing in happy endings — that even in the darkest moments, hope can win.
What advice would you give to someone facing their own season of “changing tides”?
My advice to anyone experiencing a season of change is simple: take care of yourself. Be gentle. Give yourself grace. Focus on the things that make you feel good and take it one day at a time. When it feels hard or painful, let yourself sit with those emotions—acknowledge them—but then, when you’re ready, keep moving forward. Most importantly, remember that nothing hard lasts forever. One of my favorite quotes from Changing Tides is: “The tides may change but one morning you will wake up and just know it’s going to be a good day, without having prayed for it the night before. That’s worth waiting for.” Those are words I try to live by. It won’t always be this hard and believing that can help you endure.
You explore what it means to rediscover yourself after life falls apart. How does that reflect your own view of resilience?
There have been many seasons in my life where I’ve had to lean into resilience. From not getting the part I wanted in a school play, to being rejected from my dream college to experiencing repeated pregnancy loss in my late twenties — and later, facing rejection while pursuing my dream of becoming an author. When I began querying Changing Tides, I received a wave of rejections. It really shook me. But I was fortunate to have incredible people in my corner, urging me to keep going. Eventually, I found my amazing agent, Katie, and went on submission — only to face more near misses and more rejections. But I didn’t stop. And in the end, I achieved something I once thought was out of reach. There are pieces of that journey woven into the story. For me, resilience means continuing to move forward, even when it’s hard — especially when it’s hard. Because if you keep pushing, not only will you surprise yourself with what you’re capable of, but you might just find your happy ending, too.
If readers take away just one message from Changing Tides, what do you hope it is?
If readers take just one thing away from Changing Tides, I hope it’s the belief that everything works out the way it’s meant to. Sophie’s journey begins with devastation, but by the end, she finds herself exactly where she was always meant to be. My hope is that readers carry that same faith with them—that even through the hardest seasons, they are still moving toward something beautiful.
Cape May is clearly just the beginning. Can you share anything about what’s next in the series?
Absolutely! Book #2 in the Cape May Series is called Chasing Stars. It follows Miles, a minor character from Changing Tides. Miles is a recently divorced bachelor running a real estate firm with his younger brother when newcomer Jenna arrives, searching for the keys to her family’s long-abandoned beach house. Unfortunately for Jenna, the house needs a lot more work than she expected — and Miles steps in to help her figure it all out. It’s an emotional friends-to-lovers story with a little twist of fate, and it releases on September 16, 2025. I love this story so much and can’t wait to share it! Book #3 will be Melanie’s story. So many readers have already asked if Melanie gets her happy ending — and she absolutely does! Her book is a second-chance romance featuring her best friend’s brother, combining two of my favorite tropes. It’s scheduled for release in March 2026, with a title and cover reveal coming this June. Stay tuned!
Linny Mack grew up a voracious reader and writer. She spent her days of adolescence up in her room writing her own stories and cutting her characters out of the Delia’s catalog. Now, Linny is a debut author of contemporary romance. When she isn’t writing your next book boyfriend, she is spending time with her real-life romantic hero and their three children in New Jersey.
