Kristina Carmela wrote a heroine who shares her anxieties, her insecurities, her face, and many of her own memories, then handed her a completely different life. Georgia Fields is “based on me in a lot of ways,” she says, and This Time Around, the first book in her Nelsonville series, began as exactly that. “This Time Around was created in some ways, as a way for me to live this alternate life,” Carmela says, and then let go: “so at some point, I stopped planning and let my creativity take over!”
What is This Time Around about?
This Time Around is the first book in Kristina Carmela’s Nelsonville series, a small-town, second-chance romance. Georgia Fields moves to the fictional town of Nelsonville and makes her beach house home base for a cast of characters all starting over. The romance is steady and low-drama by design, with Georgia’s self-discovery carrying the emotional weight.
Finding the story again
She grew up inside books. “I was the kid who read a book a day during summer breaks,” she says, and publishing always felt like the one dream filed under someday. She’d tried this book once before and put it down: “I even started writing this book years ago and stopped, not having the time or confidence.” Then the pages found her again at the right moment. “When I stumbled upon those first few chapters in 2021, things kind of clicked. I think I found the story again when I needed it most.”
What finishing the draft gave her was bigger than a manuscript. “I also realized I was worthy enough and capable enough.”
A town that pulls people in
Nelsonville is not a backdrop. “The fictional town of Nelsonville is based on my favorite place ever!” Carmela says, a place with “a knack of pulling people in who need a fresh start.” Georgia’s beach house becomes home base for a cast all starting over, and the series keeps pulling you back: “My goal is for you to feel at home in this special place and always want to come back.”
She also made a deliberate call about where the tension lives. She wanted Georgia to “find somebody who was going to be that instant balance instead of somebody who was going to bring drama and confusion,” describing it as “the very conscious choice to add more love and understanding instead of more craziness.”
The small details earn their place too. “I love, love animals!” she says, and her own dog left a fingerprint on the map: “My own dog, his name is Asher, has an easter egg. The road the beach house is on is named Asher Lane!” Dogs recur across the series, and Georgia paints to steady herself the same way Carmela does.
Breaking the rules
Ask her for advice and she hands over permission. “Break the rules, be unconventional, do what feels right for you!” she says, and she’s honest that the marketing part stays hard: “Social media is so hard and I feel like every day I have to relearn it!” Her fix is less polish and more her: “I have to stop being afraid of… letting people get to know me a little more!”
What’s next in the Nelsonville series?
So It Goes “shows how much Georgia has grown and you really see her feel much more settled in her new life,” Carmela says, and it opens the wider series by introducing the next lead, “Penny Carson who will take over in her book, Violet Wildflowers!”
This Time Around, book one of the Nelsonville series, is available through Kristina’s website at kristinacarmela.com. Find her on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and keep an eye out for So It Goes.
If you’re an indie author building your own corner of the world and you want a marketing plan that fits the time you actually have, tell me what feels messy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Nelsonville series?
A small-town, second-chance romance series by Kristina Carmela set in the fictional town of Nelsonville. This Time Around is book one, followed by So It Goes.
Is This Time Around based on a real place?
Nelsonville is fictional but based on Carmela's favorite place. Her own dog, Asher, is an easter egg: Georgia's beach house sits on Asher Lane.
What comes after This Time Around?
So It Goes continues Georgia's story and introduces Penny Carson, who leads the next book, Violet Wildflowers.
Where can I buy This Time Around?
Through Kristina Carmela's website at kristinacarmela.com, where you can also find links to her Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.