“Meet Me Under The Lights” by Cassie Miller
"When you're querying, you have kind of a mindset of I'm going to get an agent, I'm going to do a book deal, I'm going to make a Netflix show, and I'm going to make it. And you just don't realize that there's so many other smaller moments that happen in between. Like I cried when I saw my contract because of the Penguin Random House logo. I cried when I saw my box of arcs because of the penguin on the box. How is this my life? I still have to pinch myself… I think waiting as long as I did really taught me to just value every single, tiny moment. Every edit letter, every aesthetic that someone makes for me or real. It's just beautiful. You really have to find joy in the smaller moments. I think if you try to live like that, you'll be happier in the waiting."
Before you turn to chapter one of Meet Me Under The Lights, you’ll see this well-known quote from A League of Their Own: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” It’s a favorite of author Cassie Miller’s, and after our conversation on the Narratives & Nightcaps podcast, we’ll say it perfectly captures her journey to bring this debut to life.
This heartwarming episode is blend of nostalgia, the magic of baseball, Shakespeare, and years of dedication. Cassie offers a unique insight on the importance of literature, encouraging creativity, and the powerful connections we find in books.
The narrative: about Meet Me Under The Lights
Friday Night Lights meets The Notebook, but make it baseball and add Shakespeare. The Crowleys and the Fultons have a decades-long dispute to settle, and that puts Eliza Crowley and Reed Fulton right in the middle of it. Eliza is the “rich girl” in the small town of Fairfield, but she’s determined to focus on anything but that reputation and Reed this summer. Her goal is to stay committed to the community theater production and her dream of becoming a lighting designer on Broadway. Reed, the grandson of a struggling farmer and ace pitcher for the Fulton Hawks is set on a championship win against the Crowley Cardinals. Eliza and Reed may be childhood friends turned strangers, and by family association — rivals, but that certainly won’t stop summer love.
The nightcap
It’s a double — two pairings while you read Meet Me Under The Lights! The first is best for reading on a late summer evening, preferably outdoors if it’s not too hot. Cassie drinks chamomile tea every night. Add a honey, lemon, and if you’d like, a splash of whiskey, and you’ll have a tea hot toddy well deserved after a long day of writing, preparing for the local theater production, or spent at a baseball field.
The nightcap that really hits it out of the park though—draft beer. Not just any draft beer though. It needs to be in a cup and slightly warm. You can’t drink it fast enough to beat the heat. There will be too much foam on top, but we don’t mind, because this nightcap is all about nostalgia. Add a hot dog to your other hand to make it a real walk-off home run.
In the episode
Get to know Cassie in this episode of Narratives & Nightcaps. We chat about:
Cassie’s work as an elementary school librarian, aka a “book detective” for 3-5 graders. She shares the best parts of her job and the books her students love.
The early draft that included a prologue written in iambic pentameter, and how the high school creative writing class that she was teaching at the time played a role.
A bucket list item for Cassie and Brie’s experience visiting the Field of Dreams.
A little Christmas in July! Cassie’s shares more about her next book Meet Me On Mistletoe Lane (10/6)
Cassie described the joy of seeing a child excited about a book, and we have to say, we feel similarly hearing from an author and librarian who protects and shares the stories we love. We might be biased, but this episode is a home run. For a summer escape and exploring the magic of books, catch our full conversation with Cassie and discover Meet Me Under The Lights.
Our thanks to Penguin Teen for coordinating this interview.
Listen to the full author interview on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Purchase your copy here.
Connect with Cassie!