In 2023, six months after finishing what would become my debut, I wrote a thriller about an author-turned-bookstagrammer who gets a job on private yacht with a bunch of popular influencers, becoming trapped onboard by a hurricane…with a potential murderer.
And then I did nothing with it.
Called THE INFLUENCER at the time, this manuscript sat in my proverbial desk drawer for years. After getting my first book deal, I pulled the manuscript out and proceeded to play Operation on its barely alive body. I revised and tinkered and eventually changed the name. THE LAST TIME WE DROWNED went through self-inflicted revisions so brutal, I nearly gave up on it. But I pushed through, and it was worth it.
I am thrilled to announce that THE LAST TIME WE DROWNED will be published by Cosmo Reads in summer 2026! Cosmopolitan has always been my go-to magazine—if I’m traveling, Cosmo is what I grab. And now I get to be a part of Cosmo’s new imprint with Sourcebooks!
If you liked YELLOWFACE and/or THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10, you’re going to want to get your hands on TLTWD. I can’t wait for you to meet Charlie and the influencers of Empress, and the secrets they may or may not be hiding.
More info coming soon!
Saratoga Schaefer 