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Chip Pons is ready for takeoff.

After all, the Bookstagrammer behind the popular account booksovrbros makes his own mark in the literary space with his debut novel Winging It With You, out now. Though, for him, the journey from social media star to author was anything but conventional.

“I think the more I started sharing about my personal life and talking about my marriage and my upbringing and where I'm from,” Pons told E! News in an exclusive interview, “the more I had like friends in my ear encouraging me to share, write, and put more to paper.”

The former U.S. Air Force photojournalist, who joined the Bookstagram community during the COVID-19 pandemic, never imagined that his “yapping and oversharing” on social media would lead to the release of his first traditionally published book.

“This is a very powerful tool because it not only allows me to fulfill this creative itch, but it's connecting me to people in the right places,” Pons noted. “My agent was one of those individuals that was in the peripherals throughout my entire Bookstagram journey.”

As he put it, “I just am a firm believer that the people you meet along the way and the moments that you experience in your life are all strategically happening the way that's meant for you.”

For him, that journey has led to him creating the kinds of stories he wants to read.

This delightful rom-com from Bookstagrammer Chip Pons will take you around the world.

Indeed, Pons hopes the “celebration of queer joy” written in the pages of his Amazing Race inspired rom-com help break away from the narratives readers have come to expect in LGBTQ+ stories.

“I feel like for so long, the stories that I was told were mine were stories of pain, stories of trauma, stories of being the side character who actually didn't get a story,” he explained. “With this book specifically—and honestly, every book that I hope to write going forward—queer joy is at the center." 

“We have come to terms with who we are, we have been presented [with] a love like no other,” Pons continued, “and we get to have that cheesy rom-com, swept off our feet, romantic gesture moments, just like our straight counterparts.” 

The author feels a sense of responsibility when it comes to sharing stories centered around LGBTQ+ romance—and its one he doesn’t take lightly.

“I've always believed that queer joy is an act of resistance and it’s an act of intention, where there are so many outside voices telling us that who we are and who we love is wrong,” he expressed to E!. “I think about the current climate that we're in and I worry, but at the same time, everything that I'm doing is intentional so that it can find that set of eyes who needs to find it.”

That’s why on Winging It With You’s cover—designed and illustrated by Tal Goretsky—readers can see protagonists Asher Bennett and Theo Fernandez locked in a swoon-worthy embrace.

“I had very deliberate and long discussions with my publisher about the cover because this was my first traditionally published book,” Pons, whose previous foray into writing was self-published novel You & I, Rewritten, shared. “I only had one first, and I wanted it to show two adult grown men embraced in a moment of pure love and romance and adoration of one another.”

He continued, “I want people to walk into the store and see two adult men embracing the way that they've only historically seen a man and a woman.”

Winging It With You is out now. Keep reading for more new releases hitting bookshelves this summer.

Release: May 27Monaghan always delivers engaging, breezy beach reads and her latest is no different. Budding movie exec Jane and cinematographer Dan have little in common—aside from their love of this really great script. But as the film can only get the made with a superstar attached, namely the pop sensation from Jane’s child star days, the duo follows him to the music festival in Dan’s hometown to convince him to say yes. Though, the more time Jane and Dan spend together, the more sparks begin to fly…

Release: June 3Reid is taking readers back to the ‘80s—although unlike the glamorous worlds of Malibu and sports, she’s turning her sights out of this world. After being selected to be among the first women to go to space, Jane Goodwin joins her cohort of six through the grueling astronaut training at NASA, where Jane finds herself opening up to new experiences like never before—until an accident changes everything.

Release: June 3At just 10 years old, Louisa is found on the beach, her father seemingly disappeared into the sea. With a nonlinear timeline spanning decades and told through the perspective of Louisa and her parents, this novel, expanded from the New Yorker story of the same name, is a captivating examination of family and belonging.

Release: June 10There’s a reason Cosby is a must-read for so many thriller fans: his southern noir novels suck you in from the first page. In his latest, the prodigal son returns home after his father’s car accident. Only he soon learns his brother’s involvement with local gangsters is what has left their dad’s life in the balance—and the danger is far from over.

Release: June 10Take another journey through time and immortality with the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue novelist with an epic story following a trio of women vampires unlocking their power, finding freedom and seeking revenge. 

Release: June 10A writer’s block-stricken songwriter finds her only burst of inspiration has come through a telepathic connection she has with a musician who is very much the opposite of everything she wants in her life. But in this magical rom-com, as they seek to break their connection by finishing the song they learn maybe there was a reason they were brought together.

Release: June 24How many red flags is too many? That is exactly the question in Jewell’s latest as it follows Ash, a 20-something mourning the shocking murder of her dad, only for Nick, a man seemingly from his past to enter their lives and start romancing her mom. Meanwhile, Martha is balancing life as a mom of three, her flower shop and a husband often away on business. However, both Ash and Martha have a nagging suspicion about the men in their lives and their connection leads to a twisted discovery. 

Release: June 24A hot new bombshell has entered the bookshelf. In Rawle’s gripping debut, Lily wakes up on a remote island as one of 20 contestants on a Love Island-like show, competing for amenities and special prizes. However, as the competition heats up, the stakes are raised and surviving may just be the ultimate prize.

Release: July 8Reeling from a family tragedy, newly-divorced Jess flees her New Jersey hometown to Italy to find herself—and the truth about her family. It’s a heartfelt family saga that’ll have you itching for an invite to the Barattas’ Sunday dinner.

Release: July 15The Mexican Gothic novelist is back with another spooky read as grad student Minerva digs into the life of a horror writer, learning that her most iconic work is based on a true story and involves being haunted by a force that not only still walks the halls of campus but is eerily reminiscent of the tales that shaped Minerva’s childhood.

Release: July 29Decades after a tragedy left two locals dead and her roommate on the run, Beckett Bowery returns to her college alma mater when her daughter enrolls. But now that she’s back, secrets from her past are coming back to haunt her—and as this is a Miranda book, it features plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Release: August 26Prepare to descend into the depths of Hell—as that’s exactly what two graduate students must do, at a possibly great cost, to save their recently-deceased mentor. The Yellowface author continues to prove her dark academia bona fides with this trip into the inferno.

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