After talking to dozens of authors over the years, the one thing that you learn is that writing your first novel is often a scary and solitary experience. Many people will never know what that initial draft was and it can sometimes take more than one shot to make it. But also most people aren’t Haley Pham. The content creator and now author has been taking her viewers on a journey through the process of writing her first book and now it’s all becoming very real as she reveals a new part of the puzzle: the book’s cover.
Cosmopolitan is exclusively sharing a first-look at Haley Pham’s Just Friends, which is set to be released on March 3, 2026. Blair and Declan were the ultimate BFFs growing up, but life had other plans and they soon went their separate ways. Now thrown back together in their hometown, old memories and feelings start to spark a new kind of relationship between them. Here’s some more info from our friends at Atria Books:
This heartwarming and swoon-worthy second chance romance about childhood friends reconnecting as adults is the highly anticipated debut novel from YouTube creator Haley Pham.Blair and Declan were inseparable growing up—best friends who knew each other better than anyone else. But when an impulsive kiss took them from friends to something more, everything changed. Just as quickly as their romance started, one moment shattered it all, leaving them with nothing but heartbreak and silence.
Now, four years later, Blair is back in their coastal hometown of Seabrook to support her mom and care for her great-aunt Lottie as her health declines. To make ends meet, Blair applies to work at a coffee shop—only to discover it’s managed by none other than Declan. The boy she loved. The boy she lost. The boy who still makes her heart race.
As Blair’s path keeps crossing with Declan’s, old wounds resurface, secrets are revealed, and sparks reignite. But could their future ever be free of their past?
Told in dual timelines that unravel the magic and pain of first love, Just Friends is a moving, romantic story about second chances, the weight of dreams, and finding your way back to the people who feel like home.
Of course, you’re going to want to meet Blair and Declan for your selves and you finally have that chance with the book’s official cover. With a name like Seabrook, you bet that these two are getting cozy together at the beach. Check out the stunning cover that was designed by Michaela MacPherson for Atria Books.
Designed by Michaela MacPherson for Atria Books
We also chatted with Haley and asked her all about this perfect new beach read! Check out the exclusive interview below and make sure to pre-order Just Friends!
It’s been about a year since you announced that you were writing your first book. Can you take us back to the beginning and share with us the spark that made you finally go for it?
There are many beginnings that fizzled out before I started working on Just Friends. Namely, when I was 17, I started compiling essays and poems I thought would become a book one day. At the time I couldn’t picture writing fiction. Then, in 2022, I started writing random scenes I could not stop thinking about in my head. I remember thinking I’d only spend 20 minutes on it before starting my day, and the next thing I knew my entire morning was gone. It was noon and I hadn’t started my actual work. It was actually quite startling to discover something I loved so much that time warped. Felt like time traveling! It was crazy. For months I would allow myself some time to write, but I didn’t think it was anything serious. I’d go back to making videos, but as time went on, the prickling urge at the back of my mind to write would crop up more and more. By the time I admitted it was my dream to write a novel, I already had 20,000 words done. So, it was a matter of admitting I wanted to do it too much to ignore and it was time to commit!
What was scarier for you: starting the novel or sharing with the world that you were working on it?
Definitely sharing! When I started the novel I wasn’t picturing anyone reading it.
Has there been anything that has surprised you about the process so far? I know you’re currently in the editing process which some say is the hardest part!
What surprised me most was how my brain felt after a day of editing/re-working/re-plotting the book, especially for the second draft. I remember taking a walk after a day of editing and being shocked at how new and strange the sensation of trying to come back into the real world was after being in my head all day. It’s such an internal process, it felt like finding the deep end of my brain. I’ve never felt anything like it!
Writing can be a very solitary and secretive process. It does feel like you’re breaking down for the public a bit with your updates. What was that shift like?
One of my favorite things to do since I was eight-years-old is to capture things; processes or experiences and then turn them into a video to watch back. It helps me understand and organize the experience, and even enjoy it more deeply. So, since writing a novel for the first time was such a novel experience, I wanted to document every step of the way so I’d remember it. Then, I thought sharing it would be fun for anyone else who dreams of writing a book, or for readers who are curious about the process since it seems so allusive!
So far you have announced the title and the names of your two main characters: Blair and Declan. What else can you share especially about them and their respective journeys?
Hmm, this one is tough to answer because I don’t want to give anything away! But, I will say, the thing that breaks them apart is also the one thing that might have needed to happen in order for them to work in the present. Or, more specifically, what Declan learns in the past that can make him the perfect partner for Blair in the present. Blair has a lot to learn about relationships in general, but one thing I wanted to focus on was how she navigated sharing her grief, or even her motivations for her actions with her mom. Like her mom, she is more of a doer than a communicator, which to her makes sense, but in reality it causes lots of problems! Every character is acting in a way they believe is most loving, but sometimes, making choices without letting anyone into them will cause the exact opposite result you were hoping for.
Who came first to you: Blair or Declan? And then how did you know the other person was right for them as a love interest?
Honestly looking back it’s hard to remember exactly. I feel like it was both of them at the same time. The initial thought was: “The It boy of middle/high school who’s quarterback of the football team. And the girl who no one would’ve known the name of if it weren’t for Declan.” But the thing that makes them so intertwined is how young they met and how much that friendship carries them through their adolescence. I wanted him to be born in the wealthy town of Seabrook, while Blair only ends up there because her mom was fleeing an abusive husband and her great aunt lets them live with her. So, if it weren’t for Declan, she’d feel out of place in Seabrook. But because of him, she feels right at home. Inversely, Blair has loved Declan long before football became his defining trait to everyone around him, including his dad. So, when football starts ramping up, Blair’s admiration of him means even more. He knows it’s based on who he is, and it feels like this safe, unchangeable thing.
I did get to read an early copy and it feels like there is a bit of yourself in Blair, especially as we see more of her side with her family. Can you talk a little bit about parts of yourself that you maybe added to the character and the story? It’s another way for you to get vulnerable with your followers.
Definitely. The parts of the story that involve Vietnamese culture or, in particular, Blair’s great aunt Lottie’s story of coming to America from Vietnam are personal and true. I learn about history best through fiction, and my family’s story of immigrating here during the Vietnam war is not only the reason I exist (lol I wouldn’t have been born) but has also inspired me my entire life. In the story, I never mention it, but if you calculate it you’ll realize that Blair is actually 25% Vietnamese whereas I’m 50%. Which I think is funny because if I were to have a daughter she would be a quarter Vietnamese like Blair. So, I think of her similarly, in that, when you have a child, they have tons of similarities to you but are also entirely different and singular.
What made you go with a second-chance romance and dual timelines?
Well, it’s funny because I didn’t realize I’d be writing a second chance romance at first. My thought process was: my favorite trope to read of all time is childhood friends to lovers. So, I definitely want to write that, but I want them to be adults and the childhood part to obviously be in their past. I love the yearning of both characters being so scarred by their attempt at their relationship not working out that neither of them has dated since. I also thought writing dual timelines would be easier because if you got stuck in the present you could go backwards, and it would help develop the characters so much for the present, but it turns out writing dual timelines is even harder than writing one. But what I love the most about it is the natural mystery it adds to the story. There’s nothing I love more than reading a past timeline where the characters are closer than ever, they’re doe-eyed and believe nothing can go wrong, and then you turn the page to the present timeline and they’re barely making eye contact.
How did you divide the writing process between the two timelines? Did you write one first and then went to the other? Did you already have an outline of their history?
I actually had the past timeline much more mapped out than the present timeline. At first, there were way more flashbacks and I cut a lot of those scenes out. I probably wrote a whole book’s worth of pages that got cut, but I was so excited by their past because it’s when who they are as people are being developed and there’s nothing like that feeling of first love. But I mostly wrote switching between the present and past timelines as I went. I was really excited for the part of the book where their past timeline ends, and they only have present chapters because their new love story is beginning.
We’re still a few months away from the book being released. What’s something you want fans to know as they continue to follow you for more of Blair and Declan’s story?
I’d want them to know how much something as simple as an encouraging comment has gone for me during this process. Know that every time I share something about the book, there is even more terror than excitement behind it (and I’m extremely excited). I’m so aware that this is my first attempt at writing a novel and I have so much room to grow, but when I was scared to start, I convinced myself to by thinking: start now so that by the time you’re thirty (hopefully) you’ll have a few books under your belt. And with that, hopefully you’ll become a better storyteller! In the meantime while you wait for Just Friends, listen to Drive by The Cars and look up a photo of a blue-footed booby.
The cover is amazing and also adds some details that may or may not be easter eggs. Anything you want to share about it and maybe give a hint to fans of what might be coming up?
Yes, I am obsessed with the cover! The setting of the book: Seabrook, California, was inspired by Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, and I really wanted the cover to capture some of that setting! So much so, I wanted there to be illustrations of Carmel’s cypress trees on the past chapter headers. But back to the cover, I love the sunset behind the title, and the bird on the letters especially. Also, I’d love to hear what building/house they think is in the distance!
Any last words for fans as they continue to follow you on your writing journey?
Yes: Thank you!!! The book is not even out yet but it’s already been the most fulfilling and liberating (and terrifying) dream to explore. So, you supporting that journey is more than anything I could ever dream up or ask of you.
Just Friends, by Haley Pham will be released on March 3, 2026. To preorder the book, click on the retailer of your choice:
AMAZON AUDIBLE BARNES & NOBLE BOOKS-A-MILLION BOOKSHOP APPLE BOOKS KOBO LIBRO.FM TARGET WALMART POWELL’S BOOKS HUDSON BOOKSELLERS GOOGLE PLAY EBOOKS.COM