Moodboards: The Visual Side of Storytelling

Moodboards blog header

Have you ever heard the old joke about how writers will do anything to avoid writing, including alphabetizing their spice cabinets? I’m here to tell you that it’s sometimes true. We will find any task to help us procrastinate sometimes. However, I have found a possible solution: moodboards

If you’ve been around here a while, you already know that I love collecting inspiration images. Something about gathering colors, textures, emotions, and little moments into one collage helps me understand the heart of a story before I know what actually happens in it. It’s like the story hums around the edges of the images long before the plot shows up.

Today, I thought it would be fun to share a behind-the-scenes look at four moodboards from recent projects and show you why they matter so much to my creative process.

Why Moodboards Work for Me

A moodboard is my compass during drafting. It helps me:

• find the story’s emotional tone
• identify the book’s color palette and visual aesthetics
• anchor myself in the world when I get stuck
• keep the vibe consistent from chapter to chapter
• remember what a book feels like

Sometimes I’ll scroll through my board before drafting a scene as a way to “drop in” to the world. Other times, I’ll revise the board mid-draft when the book surprises me and shifts direction.

And sometimes, a single image becomes the seed of an entire story.

DESIRE A BRIDESMAID

Moodboard for Desire a Bridesmaid

Steamy, sun-drenched, destination-wedding fun

This board is all warmth, heat, tropical color, and second-chance sparkle. When I look at it, I can immediately feel the setting: sunlit waves, bright florals, champagne bubbles, and a spark that never fully went out.

The moodboard told me the tone long before I wrote the opening chapter. This book needed to feel sexy, fun, emotional, and a little bit sun-kissed. It needed movement, energy, banter, and heart. This collection of images anchored me every time I sat down at the keyboard.

NEVER A BRIDESMAID

Moodboard for Never a Bridesmaid

Opposites attract, off-limits tension, quiet intimacy

This one has a completely different vibe: softer lighting, deeper colors, more emotion simmering under the surface. When the board came together, I knew this story wasn’t loud. It wasn’t bright and bubbly. It was intimate.

Dylan and Marina’s dynamic lives right inside the contrast in this board: playful energy on one side, gentle stillness on the other. Seeing the tension visually helped me write it on the page. Their chemistry began here, long before the first scene. Plus, how cute is that tuxedo kitten?

CHRISTMAS AT STARLIGHT LAKE

Moodboard for Christmas at Starlight Lake

Nostalgic, twinkly, wintry charm with a touch of bittersweet hope

This moodboard captures everything I love about Starlight Lake. It glows with soft winter light, icy blues, warm golds, and the quiet magic of small-town traditions. There is a nostalgic tenderness in these images: snow-dusted rooftops, twinkle lights reflected on the water, handwritten recipes, and the gentle warmth of people finding each other again after life has pulled them apart. This board reminded me, every time I looked at it, that Starlight Lake is a story about homecoming, healing, and the kind of love that feels like stepping out of the cold and into a warm kitchen where someone has been waiting for you all along.

SWEET DREAMS

Moodboard for Sweet Dreams

Soft, hopeful, comforting, warm as a bakery at dawn

This moodboard is all cozy textures, flour-dusted counters, soft spring colors, and emotional warmth. It’s the story of a widow rediscovering sweetness and a firefighter hero who shows up with quiet strength. When I assembled these images, I knew the book needed to feel gentle and nourishing, like the first warm day after a long winter.

This is also the board that guided the entire aesthetic of the Cupid’s Sweet Shoppe series. Pink stripes. Clean whites. Pastels. Soft light. Hope. Family. Fresh starts. All of that began here.

What Happens Next

Each time I start a new book, the moodboard is the first spark that tells me what kind of emotional journey I’m about to take. It’s also one of the ways I stay connected to the story during busy seasons or drafting slumps. When I forget the magic, I go back to these images and the feeling returns.

I’m already gathering images for the next Cupid’s Sweet Shoppe book and for my upcoming Cupid’s Calendar series (shh, that one’s a secret for now), and I can’t wait to share those with you in future posts.

If you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes peek, let me know. I’d love to share more of my creative process.