Ivy Fairbanks pulls on readers ‘Heart Strings’ in her new second chance romance

The following interview contains minor spoilers for ‘Heart Strings.’

When Ivy Fairbanks sat down to write Heart Strings, she wasn’t just plotting a romantic reunion. She was returning to a world she hadn’t expected to revisit. What began as a standalone novel with Morbidly Yours, a quirky love story set in Galway, quietly evolved into something bigger: an interconnected series built around friendship, timing, and the messy, beautiful ways people grow. The characters who once played supporting roles suddenly demanded stories of their own. Set against the backdrop of an Irish castle wedding, Heart Strings gave Ivy the chance to widen the emotional scope of the universe she’d created and explore how heartbreak shapes us, how ambition tests us, and how sometimes love shows up again just when you’ve stopped believing in it.

Told with humor, heat, and heart, Heart Strings is a sizzling exes-to-lovers, second-chance romance. When Cielo “Lo” Valdez and Aidan O’Toole are thrown back together as maid of honor and best man, unresolved feelings clash with the sharp edges of heartbreak. With a shared past they can’t quite shake and an undeniable chemistry that refuses to fade, their weekend reunion forces them to confront the choices they made and the love that never truly left. It’s a story about timing, forgiveness, and what it takes to rewrite the ending you thought you already knew.

Ivy chatted with The FMC about returning to Galway, the joys and challenges of writing interconnected standalones, the power of hope in romance, and more.

First off, congratulations on Heart Strings! I really enjoyed it. It was fun to revisit that world. What excites you most about the book being published?

Oh, thank you! I'm glad to be able to continue with this little community. The world-building is fun, and I loved going back to Galway to see the friend group that started to form at the end of the first book continue to grow.

Since it’s an interconnected series, did returning to that world make writing easier, or was it more intimidating because you’d already set the groundwork?

Equal parts. There were definitely moments where I thought, “Oh no, I boxed myself in here.” Like, I’d already defined certain relationships or personality traits, and now I had to stay consistent. Characters who were once quirky side characters suddenly needed full backstories and motivations. It was a bit like turning templates into real people.

I can understand that. When you wrote Morbidly Yours, did you know then that you wanted it to be part of an interconnected series?

I was probably three-quarters of the way through when I started thinking about that. I added a little spark between two characters and thought, “Maybe this could go somewhere.” For people who haven’t read my first novel, there is a hot guy whom I didn't villainize. He could have been a creep. But when I got into the scene, he was a gentleman. Initially, I imagined a novella for him, but after discussing it with some author friends, they said, “No, this is definitely a full book.” They were right. Once I got started, there was a lot of story to tell.

As a reader, I love revisiting familiar characters. But I’ve always been curious if authors sometimes regret the boxes they put themselves in when writing interconnected books, especially if that isn’t what they intend from the beginning.

Oh, totally. I’m working on book three right now, and I wish I had introduced the love interest for this book in book one. It would have been nice to have a little more cross-pollination between the books. I think every author has those moments where they’d tweak things if they could go back. I have so much respect for authors who map out a series from the start. Ot hurts my brain to think about the planning that fantasy authors do before writing these epic six-book series. Like, can you imagine the world-building? With romance, you can kind of get away with a few inconsistencies because the emotional arc is the main focus. But in fantasy, fans remember everything.

You set your books in Ireland. What drew you to Galway specifically?

My family’s originally from there. I haven’t had the chance to go yet, but I grew up hearing a lot about Irish culture. Galway is considered the cultural heart of Ireland, with music and arts festivals happening all the time. It just felt like the right setting for my first couple’s story. In Morbidly Yours, one love interest is a mortician, and the other is a cartoon animator. Galway has animation studios such as Cartoon Saloon. It’s a place where both modern creativity and tradition coexist. I felt like they would both fit there: an outgoing city girl and a more reserved, more traditional guy.

How difficult was it to make Book Two its own story, rather than a direct sequel to Callum and Lark’s tale?

It was hard. Heart Strings is set at Lark and Callum’s wedding — which is kind of a spoiler if you haven’t read book one [laughs].  I wanted the book to center around an event that would provide a compelling force proximity that would be fun and give opportunities for hijinks, and what does that better than a wedding! 

[laughs] Especially a destination wedding. Everyone is stuck in a particular place for a weekend, wedding party and guests alike.

That being said, the book also works as an entry point for new readers. I wanted to bring back characters from the first book without making them feel too central. It was a balancing act: satisfying returning readers while not overwhelming new ones.

That makes sense. And I think readers of romance are generally flexible about reading out of order.

Yeah! I think a lot of people grab whatever trope they’re in the mood for. I have friends who always read out of order. I’m the opposite. I have to start with book one. Even if the series is interconnected standalone, I’ll go find book one.

I’m the same! I judge books by their covers and sometimes realize I’ve grabbed book two or three.

And publishers don’t always label them. Many publishers discourage putting numbers on spines or indicating a series because they’ve found that it deters buyers. People will see “book two” and just put it back.

Oh, not me. For me, that just means I will buy multiple books instead of one if the one I want isn't the first one. [laughs] Also, the beauty of interconnected standalones – if you read out of order – is that the only “spoiler” is that a couple ends up together. Which… we already assume.

Exactly! Romance readers go in knowing the couple is going to get their happily ever after.

Morbidly Yours was originally self-published. Did your transition from indie to traditional publishing affect your writing process or the overall story?

The story stayed the same, but working with an editor on the developmental side was a game-changer. In indie, I had great beta readers and swapped critiques with other authors, but working with a professional editor who’s with you through the whole process is a different experience. They’re not trying to rewrite the story; they just help bring out what you’re trying to do more clearly.  Again, I loved my beta readers, but occasionally the critique would be “Make this character more X,” but that’s just not who they are. A good editor says, “Here’s how to make what you're doing come across more clearly.” That’s a huge difference. I had an editor for the indie version, but the traditional process gave me someone who was with me from start to finish.

Did having set deadlines change anything for you?

Oh yeah. Suddenly, I wasn’t just writing on my own schedule. I was responsible for a whole team’s timeline. Missing a deadline could affect everyone down the line. That kind of pressure is new to me. When I self-published, I didn’t even do preorders because I wasn’t sure I could deliver on time. Now that the release date is set in stone, I have to make it happen.

It’s the blessing and curse of accountability.

Exactly. It motivates you… and terrifies you. [laughs]

[laughs] How do you think you’ve grown the most as a writer since your debut?

Oh, that’s a tough one, mainly because I’m in the middle of a messy second draft right now, so I don’t necessarily feel like I’ve grown. I guess I’d say my instincts are sharper. I hope they are. It’s hard to say when you're deep in the chaos of a draft, but I’ve learned to trust the process more. 

You just have to get it out before you can make it good. Plus, no matter how much you love your first book, you should hope it ends up being your worst book. Because that means you’ve grown.

Exactly. I tell myself that too. I hope to continue to improve with time and practice. It’s hard to compare right now because it’s such a different process this time. Writing used to be just for me. I never expected anyone to actually read it. I thought, “I’ll put it on Amazon, check that off the bucket list,” and that’s it. When people started reading it and liking it, I was still holding my breath, half-convinced it would all disappear. [laughs] I was actually convinced the agent who reached out was a scammer.

No!

Yes! I looked up her email and compared it to the agency website because I was sure it wasn’t real. I even contacted the agency, like, “Hey, I think someone is impersonating your agent.”

That’s amazing and hilarious.

I know. But it turned out to be legit! She was my real-life Nigerian prince, apparently.

[laughs] So, where did you find inspiration for this particular story?

I was thinking about grudges, forgiveness, and what happens when something feels irreconcilable, when it still hurts years later. This book explores the concept of holding a candle for someone, yet being unable to forgive them. In Heart Strings, Lo and Aiden have been together for under a year, but it’s intense and passionate. She supports his music, and he starts performing original songs, which gets him discovered. Then he’s given the opportunity of his dreams — in London — while she’s starting medical school. She’s worked her whole life to be an oncologist. She’s not moving. She tells him, “If you love me, you know this is where I need to be.” But he’s thinking, “To make my dream happen, I have to go.” 

The irony is, he leaves her to chase his dream of singing love songs… about her. And she hears him on the radio, singing these emotional tracks, and she’s like, “This man left me to get famous singing about me.” He’s writing her these swoon-worthy love songs, and she has him blocked on Spotify. She’s not trying to hear it.

What does Aiden’s music sound like to you?

I imagine it’s somewhere between Sufjan Stevens and Glen Hansard, Hansard especially. He’s emotive, soft, and grounded in Irish folk without leaning too hard into tropes. That’s Aiden: emotional with a bit of swagger and a touch of cheeky innuendo.

When it comes to Heart Strings, what part are you most proud of?

I really wanted to nail the conflict. Conflict in romance is tricky. It needs stakes, but it also needs to feel natural, not forced or convoluted. I didn’t want a misunderstanding like, “She saw him at lunch with a coworker and now they’re breaking up.” I love when a breakup or conflict feels like the only possible outcome where both characters are acting in-character, and no one is really the “bad guy.” Just two people doing their best with what they have. I tried to do that here. 

In Heart Strings, I wanted something more grounded than Morbidly Yours, which had a bit more heightened drama. This one is more emotional realism, where forgiveness doesn’t come easily. I wanted to show that people are tough on women, female characters included. Often, readers protect the male lead and judge the woman more harshly, even when he’s the one who messes up. So yeah, she messes up. She’s got emotional baggage. But so does he. He needs to understand her current situation and how to adapt to it if he wants to be with her. It’s about humility and timing and whether forgiveness comes too fast or too slow. That tension was hard to get right.

I love that. And I think you did a great job handling it.  As an author, what do you consider the most important aspect of a story or to phrase the question differently, what makes you love stories, what drives you to write them?

The hope. Romance is the most optimistic genre. You know there’s a happy ending, at least for now. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect. I’ve read books where I think, “These two are getting divorced in five years” [laughs], and that’s not a failure. But the genre itself leans toward the idea that someone can help you become a better version of yourself. 

I read somewhere that writing romance is like braiding three strands: each character’s arc and their collective love story. That’s why I love Dual POV so much. That structure is so rich, and it fosters empathy. I've learned so much from romance — about other cultures, time periods, professions — because I'm in it for the love story, but I come away with so much more.

That was a beautiful answer. Okay, final question: if you could write the story of your own life using any trope, which one would you pick?

My husband and I are a workplace romance! We worked together for four years and still do. Beyond that… I love road trips. So maybe a travel romance. If I’m writing it myself, I want to be a worldly, jet-setting woman.