Abby Jimenez Shares Insights on Her Upcoming Novel 'The Night We Met'

The bestselling author discusses the challenges of writing a second-chance romance and staying true to the romance genre's conventions.

Mar. 20, 2026 at 12:31am

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In this exclusive interview, author Abby Jimenez provides a behind-the-scenes look at her upcoming novel 'The Night We Met,' the latest installment in her popular 'Say You'll Remember Me' series. Jimenez shares how she balanced writing for existing fans while also appealing to new readers, the difficulties of developing a complicated central relationship, and the key rules she follows to craft a satisfying romance story.

Why it matters

Jimenez's novels have earned her a devoted following in the romance genre, and 'The Night We Met' promises to continue her tradition of emotional, character-driven love stories. The insights she provides on her writing process and approach to romance tropes offer valuable perspective for fans of the genre as well as aspiring authors.

The details

Jimenez explains that 'The Night We Met' follows a couple, Larissa and Chris, who have met before but the timing wasn't right. She wanted to give them a 'second meet-cute' to explore their relationship further. While the book is a sequel to 'Say You'll Remember Me,' Jimenez aimed to make it accessible to new readers as well. The author also discusses how she had to rewrite parts of the book to fit it into the series timeline, as well as the challenges of developing a 'complicated' central romance. Jimenez emphasizes that she looks to her own relationship and friendships to guide how she sets romantic boundaries for her characters, always striving to craft a story where the couple could plausibly be together in 20 years.

  • The Night We Met is scheduled for release on March 24, 2026.
  • The book was originally planned to be published before Say You'll Remember Me, but Jimenez decided to swap the order to allow more time with the characters.

The players

Abby Jimenez

A bestselling romance author known for her emotional love stories, including the 'Say You'll Remember Me' series. The Night We Met is her eighth published novel.

Larissa

The female protagonist of The Night We Met, who has a complicated history with the male lead, Chris.

Chris

The male protagonist of The Night We Met, who previously met Larissa but the timing was not right for them to be together.

Xavier

A character from Jimenez's previous books who was originally single but had to be rewritten as married to fit the timeline of The Night We Met.

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What they’re saying

“This book was very different for me. The characters have met before (in the bonus epilogue of a special edition of Say You'll Remember Me), but it didn't go the way it should have. Choices were made. The wrong choices. I really enjoyed giving them their second meet-cute here because Chris didn't get a fair shot the first time.”

— Abby Jimenez, Author

“I always focus on the main characters of the current book I'm writing, but I weave in these other past characters with just enough depth so that anyone can understand and relate to them, even if you've never met them before. This is a good book for people to start with, but then I think that with all my books. I'm writing unique characters, unique plots. I'm not repeating what you've already read.”

— Abby Jimenez, Author

“I realized I needed to spend more time with these characters. They'd been living rent-free in my head for years. It's such a challenging love story, and I just didn't feel that I was a strong enough writer yet to take on this sort of nuanced plot. It needed so much care in the development of the story because I wanted everyone to root for both Larissa and Chris.”

— Abby Jimenez, Author

What’s next

Jimenez's fans can look forward to the release of The Night We Met on March 24, 2026. The book is available for pre-order from a variety of online retailers.

The takeaway

Abby Jimenez's commitment to crafting emotionally resonant, character-driven romance stories shines through in her insights about the development of The Night We Met. Her dedication to respecting the conventions of the genre while also pushing the boundaries of what a romance novel can be promises to deliver a satisfying reading experience for both longtime fans and new readers.