Everything You Need to Know About At First Spite Author, Olivia Dade
Olivia Dade is an author known for her romance novels Spoiler Alert, Ship Wrecked, All The Feels and many more—and earlier this week, on Feb. 13, she released her latest book, At First Spite.
At First Spite tells the story of the love triangle involving two brothers and an ex-fiance. Athena is a witty, smart and glowing woman with an undying thirst for knowledge. Johnny Vine immediately notices her radiance, meeting her just a few months before proposing. However, that isn't at all what Johnny's older brother, Matthew, wants for either of them.
They're young, and Matthew knows his brother can't give Athena the relationship she deserves—and that she can't seem to settle in one place. Even though he has never even met the woman, he does his best to convince Johnny to call off the engagement.
At Johnny and Athena's engagement party, Athena and Matthew share a wonderful moment as strangers. She's enamored by his ability to connect with her intellectually, but this vanishes as soon as Johnny comes up to join the two.
Soon after, Johnny calls the engagement off and Athena has no choice but to move into the "Spite House," her ex-fiancé's dream project that just so happens to stand between the Vine Brothers' homes—and one she has no way of moving out of.
While Johnny enjoys Athena's carefully planned dream Hawaiian getaway alone, Athena and Matthew grow closer due to their forced proximity. Maybe a bit too close.
Find out what happens next in At First Spite in stores now. You won't be able to get enough of this jaw-dropping read—and you can learn all about the incredible author, Olivia, in the interview we did with her below.
(Illustration credit: Leni Kauffman)
Name: Olivia Dade
Hometown: Williamsburg, Virginia
Birthday: October 4
- Teachers inspire Olivia more than anyone else.
"As a kid, teachers were my favorite people in the entire world. My mother and aunt both taught in public schools for their entire careers, and I grew up watching elementary schoolers tackle-hug my mom in grocery stores, their faces lighting up at the sight of her, and listening to parents thank her for helping their children thrive in class. I was fortunate enough to have committed, transformative teachers of my own over the years. To me, they were the models of what genuine success looked like: They worked hard but clearly loved what they did, and their profession not only tapped their intelligence, but also their creativity and their boundless ability to care for others. I was in awe of them. I still am. Their guidance and kindness have reverberated throughout my life, in more ways than I can count. I may not be a teacher myself, but teachers made me who I am, and I owe them endless gratitude."
-Olivia Dade
2. At First Spite began as two separate story ideas.
"At First Spite began as a happy mashup of two separate story ideas I'd been considering. After reading an article about Boston's famous Skinny House, which was built—or so the story goes—out of fraternal spite, I'd added a two-word, all-caps note in my Story Ideas folder: SPITE HOUSE. (Luckily, that note was more easily interpretable than a previous, somewhat opaque entry: LOINSTORM). Then, a couple of years later, I decided my next book should feature a literally and figuratively messy female main character, one whose life and future remained unsettled in nearly every important aspect. Once I realized I could merge those two thoughts into a single story's plot, At First Spite was born."
-Olivia Dade
3. There will be a follow-up to At First Spite.
"I'm in the midst of drafting my follow-up to At First Spite, also set in the fictional town of Harlot's Bay, and I'm super-excited about the story. But wait! There's more! Last year, I wrote my first paranormal romance—currently titled ZomRomCom—which should be out sometime in 2025. ZomRomCom is about a human woman named Edie, who teams up with her surly-but-sexy vampire neighbor, Max, to save their neighbors (and possibly all of humanity) from a zombie attack, and I can't even tell you how much fun I had writing the story. I can't wait for people to start reading it!"
-Olivia Dade
(At First Spite via HarperCollins)
4. If she could give any advice to her younger self, it would be to wait a little longer before trying to get published.
"I ended up selling the second book I ever wrote—which is now out of print, for good reason—and I wish I'd take more time to learn my craft before inflicting it on an unsuspecting populace. On the other hand, writing my early books brought me to where I am now, and I'm very happy to be here, so it's hard to regret any of my publishing decisions, however unwise."
-Olivia Dade
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5. The first person she shared the news of being published with was her husband.
"My husband believed in me and my writing from the very beginning, even when there was absolutely no reason to think I'd ever be able to make a career out of it. Every bit of good publishing news I have, I bring to him first, because he's the reason I was able to start pursuing writing as a profession rather than a part-time hobby."
-Olivia Dade
6. She'd like aspiring authors to know: "The only part of the entire process you can control is your writing."
"You may or may not find an agent; you may or may not get a book deal; readers may or may not love your book, whether it gets published by others or you publish it yourself; and you may or may not sell many copies of that book. Please do your best to find satisfaction and joy in the actual process of writing, because nothing else is guaranteed, and basing your sense of accomplishment on external factors is a good way to become discouraged. You deserve that satisfaction and joy. Please don't place it out of reach for yourself."
-Olivia Dade
7. Cooking is one of her lesser-known hobbies.
"I've been pretty chatty on social media, so I imagine quite a few people know about my main hobbies: reading and rock collecting (yes, I'm a nerd, and I always have been). But maybe my love of cooking is less obvious? I taught myself shortly after getting married, and it's been a source of joy to me ever since. Trying new recipes feels like a tiny little adventure to me, every time. I also live most of my life in my own head, and sometimes it's a relief to do something concrete, with speedy, tangible and frequently delicious results. Eating my books is much less satisfying, frankly."
-Olivia Dade
8. Silence works best for her when she's writing.
"I salute all those authors who can write in cafes and coffee shops, because I work best in isolation and silence (or white noise, as necessary). With too many distractions, my brain has a harder time becoming immersed in the story. Apart from that, I mostly just need a wrist rest in front of a generously sized keyboard, a relatively uncluttered workspace and a glass of ice water. I use good old Microsoft Word and have no particular pre-writing rituals… although maybe I should create some? Hmmm. I look forward to telling my husband that each writing session requires the purchase of a new, pretty rock. I'm sure he won't be at all suspicious about that."
-Olivia Dade
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9. Olivia would want to go back in time to experience holding her son as a baby again.
"My brain doesn't do a great job of letting me enjoy my moments of accomplishment and triumph, and those moments can be fleeting in publishing. So it's tempting to revisit a time when I got good career news and bask in the joy the way I should have during the first go-round. Honestly, though? I think I'd most like to go back—just for an hour or a day—to when my 14-year-old was a baby. At the time, I was so overwhelmed by new parenthood, I didn't fully comprehend just how fleeting that time would seem in retrospect. Luckily, my son is still very cuddle-positive, which I don't take for granted. But I'd love to hold him as an infant one more time, because as the years goes by, it can be hard to remember exactly how it felt to hold your small child close to your heart, surrounded by your arms, soft and safe and loved."
-Olivia Dade
10. Whenever she's feeling down, she tries to be as loving and understanding with herself as she is with a friend.
"It's not a specific affirmation, but whenever I'm mentally flagellating myself about something, I try my best to think about how I'd respond if it were someone else in my situation—a friend—instead of me. I would never, ever be as ungenerous and unforgiving with a friend as I am with myself. In hard moments, remembering that can help, even if offering grace and understanding to others is easier than allowing it for ourselves."
-Olivia Dade
11. Her favorite moment from At First Spite is one she connects to.
"I am not what one would call an outdoorsy sort. So when Matthew made the following statement, he was speaking for both of us: 'Camping?' His aristocratic nose wrinkled. 'I don't go camping. If I wanted to sleep on the dirt and lack access to necessary sanitation, I'd… go camping. Which I don't. Because I don't want that.'"
-Olivia Dade
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