The Beginning of Good Heart

Before there were plans, processes, or even a clear understanding of publishing, there was simply a story that wouldn’t leave me alone. Good Heart began as something special, written in stolen moments and late nights, long before I understood what it really meant to release a book into the world.

The early version—what many of you know as the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC)—was humble by every definition of the word. It was shared first with family, friends, and a small circle of early readers who believed in the heart of the story before anything else existed.

And somehow, that was enough to set everything in motion.

I learned quickly that writing a book and bringing a book to life are two very different things. Publishing, promotion, distribution—becoming a business—none of it came naturally. Every step was a lesson. Every moment taught me something I didn’t know I needed to learn. But through it all, the story itself remained the constant.

Good Heart Summary:

THE WORLD WATCHED THEM VANISH.

Fifteen years ago, the wealthy and infamous Bailey family disappeared without a trace.

Now, 18-year-old Lyla Brooks has no idea she’s part of the headline. Raised under a false identity, her carefully constructed life begins to unravel—and the people who built it will do anything to keep the family secrets buried.

Sent away to the quiet town of Good Hart, Michigan, with a brother she barely knows, Lyla finally begins to feel alive—while her brother, Will, does everything he can to keep the truth under wraps.

But someone is watching. An eager writer chasing the story of a lifetime. And others are protecting more than a family’s reputation.

She’s not supposed to know who she really is. At least—not yet. But the truth is coming for her anyway.

The early ARC version of Good Heart is the heart of the story that sparked everything that followed. It exists because of readers like you who were willing to step into the story and help shape what it would become.

If you’d like to read the Advanced Readers Copy and experience the story as it first entered the world, you can find it here: Read the ARC of Good Heart on Amazon

If you read it, I’d truly love to know what you think. Every early reader helped carry this story forward—and I’m endlessly grateful for that.

Sincerely,

L.M. Thomas