Soft Spot

Disclaimer

*Please ensure you read the following disclaimer before starting this novel as it contains some vital information/explanations*

1. I'M NOT WHITE.

Listen, I feel like this needs to be public knowledge. Amber Isabelle is merely a pen name. I'm very much not a Caucasian woman. I can't even be mistaken for a white woman in passing if you ever saw me on the street.

The only reason I came up with a pen name was because I was scared of the backlash, judgement, and lack of reads I would have gotten on Wattpad as an ethnic woman. So I decided to use a pen name because 18 year old me was scared shitless of what might become of me. Looking back, I can't even regret it because I've ended up with a pretty successful Wattpad writing career so I don't know that I could have handled my true ethnicity and identity being out in the open like that.

That being said, I was also really scared of writing POC characters in my story. Why? Because people are assholes. I have followers who stalk my Instagram, harass my other followers, take screenshots of all my IG stories, all to figure out where I'm from and what ethnicity I really am. I know I might be random and unliked and unknown by some readers, but I have some big fans out there too which also means some big creeps. I can't even begin to express how violated I've felt because people just can't respect my private identity and NEED to know.

For me to write a main character POC is a huge mental step. That's why I'm taking it easy. That's why my female main lead is only half Chinese and not the same ethnicity I am. This is my version of dipping my toe in the waters and trying to push past mental boundaries. It might not be perfect, you might want more of me, but this is me trying and giving all that I can at the moment.

I have quite a few Chinese followers so I've fact checked as much as I can. There might be some inaccuracies so for that, forgive me in advance. I'm more than open to you leaving a comment to correct anything in the story as long as it's done respectfully please.

Finally, this is MY take on an ethnic person living in a western country. Some people connect greatly with their cultural side and some just don't. Some are considered "white-washed" and some are considered tried and true cultural individuals. Everyone is different and therefore might be more or less in touch with culture, religion, etc. If my FMC isn't cultural enough, it's not a matter of writing a POC right or wrong. It's about balancing two types of cultures and finding what percentage of balance works best for YOU. I assure you, shaming first generation immigrants is a real thing and I do NOT want to see that from any readers in the comments or you'll promptly be muted.

2. CLICHÉ STORY AHEAD

I like original stories with unpredictable plot twists as much as the next guy. If you've read my novel KNOX, then you know that shit was wild and unpredictable and the kind of story you'd probably remember because of how different it was.

That being said, sometimes I LOVE me a cliché as hell story. Sometimes I like writing wild shit and sometimes I like the stability of a predictable and familiar story. This is going to be one of them.

This story is gonna remind you of lots of others you've read. It's just a fact. I mean, office romance with enemies to lovers turned fake dating—it's giving The Hating Game, it's giving Spanish Love Deception, etc. I know that, girl. I'm not trying to be original here. This is me writing a "done a million times" story because they're fun to write and easy to write and it's all my mental health can handle tbh.

So I don't want to see comments about how it's been done before and sounds exactly like other books you've read and how you saw everything coming etc etc. I KNOW. That's the point of a cliché and some of us readers actually like it. This is just MY take on these tropes and this kind of storyline with a touch of things that come from me as a writer.

3. TRIGGERS

Lastly, my story has triggers because when have I ever written a story that didn't need some kind of TW? Here are a few:

Anxiety: there is a HUGE depiction of anxiety through the FMC. Again, every person and every experience is different. There is no such thing as writing mental health a "right" way. Everyone has different symptoms, different coping mechanisms, and different triggers. The anxiety depicted in this story is based on MY anxiety, that I actually recently started experiencing this past year due to my awful mental health.

Broken parent-child relationship: lots of people experience this, but to come from an ethnic household and have to please your parents both in their way and the western way is another battle altogether. There will be lots of examples of that in this story and I know that can be incredibly triggering/bring forth bad memories so tread carefully. Just writing these scenes triggered some very real feelings and experiences and I had to take breaks because it was so overwhelming.

First-gen immigrant trauma: again, lots of people experience this. This is the backbone of this story and it goes into great length and detail. The trauma of having to deal with not knowing your own identity, cultural divide, living a double life, not being accepted by either western or eastern standards, and more, is something lots of us POC have experienced. And it's way more traumatic than we ever let on so, recognizing this, constitutes a trigger warning.

All this aside, this really is a funny story full of banter and wit with some deep underlying messages about life and people. It's not the kind of book that's going to depress you or break your heart (at least not in an extreme way). I still very much hope to give you lots of laughter throughout, just like you (hopefully) did in Sweet Spot.

One final reminder that this is a continuation of book one. It can technically be considered a standalone novel but you'll have a much better understanding if you've read Sweet Spot first! Not to mention you'll appreciate it so much more when you see past characters make an appearance in this story.

With that, I hope to bring you another book full of laughter and humour! I've had such a tough year and writing this book has been the little dose of serotonin I needed. Hopefully it can be yours too <3

Happy reading!

— Amber Isabelle (kind of)