Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Last Valentine by Andrea Renee Cox, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: The Last Valentine
Author: Andrea Renee Cox
Publisher: Writing to Inspire Publications
Release Date: April 17, 2026
Genre: Christian Fiction, Romantic Tragedy, Sweet Romance, Men's Fiction, Short Story
Zechariah attempts to make his wife's last Valentine's Day extra special, but everything keeps going wrong. When her final moments draw near, will he find a way to push beyond his own grief to gift her a final burst of joy?
This award-winning romantic tragedy is perfect for fans of the movies Roman Holiday, Collateral Beauty, and A Walk to Remember.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Fable | BookBub
Excerpt
He adjusted his striped tie just as a crack of thunder jolted through the air. He peeked up and got splattered on the bridge of his nose for his trouble. He’d have to run. He hunched over the rose and used his suit jacket to shield it from the biggest raindrops. His feet wouldn’t move fast enough to avoid the swiftly forming puddles.
By the time he rounded the last corner, he was drenched to the bone. He jogged to the walkway that led to his front door, but the change of texture beneath his loafer got the better of him. His sole slipped, his leg jutted out—he overcompensated, pitched forward, and fell on his face, barely missing smashing his nose when his cheek hit the pavement.
Sitting up wasn’t the trouble; the crushed rose still clutched in his hand was.
His gut wrenched. What was he going to do? It wouldn’t be a proper Valentine’s Day without a flower to present to the love of his life. He couldn’t come empty-handed!
This was Emmalie’s last special day, after all.
He glanced around, rain slithering down his face and neck, but he didn’t see pops of color near any of the doors in either direction. Why didn’t anyone garden on this street? Flower pots and boxes were still things, weren’t they?
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About the Author
Born and raised in north Texas, award-winning author and Editor of the Year nominee (2026) Andrea Renee Cox is a born-again child of God who enjoys writing stories that inspire, copyediting Christian fiction manuscripts, tutoring middle school students, and going on road trips with her family. Whether she’s working on historical or contemporary, women’s fiction, sweet romance, or romantic tragedy, she uses her skills in research and writing techniques—as well as a large dose of prayer and guidance from God—at every turn in the journey to produce the best story of her ability every single time. Her books may be found on her website (andreareneecox.com), and readers are welcome to follow her blog and subscribe to her newsletter for the latest updates in her journey.
Author Interview
Q: What inspired you to write The Last Valentine?
Andrea: Carrie Turansky was hosting a Valentine’s Day romance short story contest, and when I was reading through the requirements for the second time, God dropped this idea in my head: What if this guy was trying to make his wife’s last Valentine’s Day extra special, but everything kept going wrong? That premise was so juicy, the ideas of how to flesh it out immediately started popping. And that’s when I knew I was on to something sweet and emotional and romantic and tragic—all the things I absolutely love about romantic tragedy stories.
Q: With The Last Valentine being labeled as a romantic tragedy, what should readers expect in terms of content and ending?
Andrea: Fantastic question! I love a good romantic tragedy and all the tumultuous emotions the genre brings. I fell in love with romantic tragedies when I saw Roman Holiday and Wuthering Heights (the Ralph Fiennes version) when I was around twelve. Those movies gripped me for very different reasons, and they’ve stuck with me all this time.
When I wrote The Last Valentine, I knew I wanted the sweet romcom tone of Roman Holiday but also a tragic, bittersweet ending reminiscent of Wuthering Heights. While my story is not a mashup or retelling of either (The Last Valentine is an original story), it does contain those tones I strove for.
As for content and the ending, slight spoiler here (though it is majorly hinted at in the book’s blurb), one of the main characters is dying from an illness. That illness remains unnamed, and while a significant character’s death happens, it is not graphic. Instead, it is a very bittersweet moment that makes me cry from a mixture of sorrow and joy every single time.
Readers should expect an emotional story and a significant character’s death—but also sweet romance between a married couple and a bittersweet joy that only Jesus can sweep into a person’s final moments
Q: How long did it take to write this story?
Andrea: Less than a month, believe it or not. Mrs. Turansky put out the call for contest entries on January 15, 2026, and I turned in The Last Valentine on February 8, 2026. The Last Valentine won third place in that contest. What an honor! And I only made a couple of small adjustments to the story before publishing it. Why mess much with an award-winner, right?
Short stories, surprisingly, come really easily to me and don’t often need many revisions. Full-length novels, on the other hand… That’s a different thing altogether. But I have a goal of reaching a perfect first draft anyway. Yet to be known if I’ll ever reach that one, but it sure is fun trying.
Q: Do you have a favorite quote from The Last Valentine?
Andrea: My favorite lines are the last two sentences of the story—but I can’t share those because of major spoilers. (But I hope readers will pick up the book to discover what they are and why they’re so incredibly special.) So how about my second favorite instead?
I absolutely love the cheeky, sweet romance of this exchange between Zechariah and his wife, Emmalie:
He sniffed back a mix of snot and emotion and lowered his voice to match hers. “How would you like the best seat in the house, my lady?”
“Mm.” She snuggled against his chest. “I think I already have it.”
That part makes me go, “Awwww!” every time and gives me the warm fuzzies. She might be fading fast, but she still loves her man.
Q: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?
Andrea: I actually began in screenplays (movies). I had seen my dad write them since I was in elementary school, and when I was sixteen, I got an idea for one. After writing eight or nine screenplays and dreaming of seeing them up on the silver screen, I discovered it’s incredibly difficult to crack into the movie business. So I did some exploring on Facebook (I’m no longer on that site) and discovered the Christian fiction writing community was very welcoming to newcomers.
That’s when I switched to writing books.
I completely fell in love with this longer form of writing and could immediately envision myself as a published author someday. Of course, back then, I always thought I’d be traditionally published. But over the years, I’ve learned that there are many different ways to become a published author. Since 2021, I’ve had four stories published in small-press anthologies; three of those books are still in print and available to purchase (andreareneecox.com/books). But this fifth book, The Last Valentine, I indie published.
I’m excited to see where God takes me as I keep exploring the writing journey He’s set before me.
Q: Would you share something about yourself that most readers wouldn’t know?
Andrea: This type of question always challenges me because my life is so pleasantly boring. I do love it that way (no melodrama for me!), but it makes it hard to think of something to say when asked what’s unique about me or whatnot.
Let’s see…
If anyone follows me on Twitter, they probably already know I’m a huge Dallas Stars hockey fan. I can hardly wait for preseason to start in September and regular season in October.
Readers who follow my blog, Writing to Inspire, probably already know that I read a very broad range of genres, both Christian and general market. And if they follow my reviews on Goodreads, they know that for the last many years, I’ve given content warnings at the bottom of my reviews to help other readers make better-informed decisions on books they’d like to read.
But what’s something I haven’t shared anywhere before…?
Aha! I thought of something that only people who know me in person know—until now.
I absolutely love dill pickles, but I cannot imagine trying any of the dill-pickle-flavored food items that are popping up everywhere. Dill pickle Cheetos, dill pickle chips, dill pickle baked beans… They all sound super disgusting to me. I want my dill pickles to just be dill pickles, and I want my other stuff to just be that other stuff—never to be combined together.
Q: What are you currently reading?
Andrea: In August, I’m participating in the Prairie Trail Readathon hosted on YouTube and Discord by Anne at In Search of Wonder, so I’m reading lots of Westward Expansion and Prairie Trail/Oregon Trail books right now.
I just finished Remember My Royalty by my friend Hannah E. Griggs, and it was a five-star amazing book that featured a trio of Scottish siblings who find themselves caught in the midst of the Texas Revolution. I cannot recommend this indie-published book high enough. It is definitely one of my favorite reads this year.
Right now, I’m on chapter eleven of One More River to Cross by Jane Kirkpatrick. I’m a big weather nerd, so finding out that this book was about a wagon train party that faces a humongous mountain snowstorm made me add it to my TBR so fast. I’ve put it off for years because I was afraid I wouldn’t enjoy it since I had struggled with a previous book by this author. But it fit perfectly into the readathon this month, so I decided to pull it out finally and give it a go. So far, it’s pretty fascinating. I’m not sure how accurate the personalities and marital and sibling squabbles were to the real-life people, but I’m intrigued by their plight and the adventure of it all. The party has already split up twice, so I’m well and truly hooked now. Gotta see who all makes it to the final destination alive!
And I’m really looking forward to reading Twilight Tactics by Lynette Eason, Bookmarked for Love by Sarah Monzon, and The Roman Holiday Rule by Andra Loy (yes, inspired by the movie Roman Holiday, which you already know I love). Those are some of my most-anticipated books of the year, and I’m pretty sure I’ll get to them early in September—right after this readathon is over and I can mood read, instead of theme read, again.
While I could talk books forever and ever, I should probably stop there. Leave ’em wanting more, right? 😉
Q: What is your favorite genre to read?
Andrea: I read quite broadly, but I always end up circling back to WWII fiction. Sarah Sundin is my favorite in the genre, and I’m all caught up on her books right now (until my preorder of her next story comes in later this year), but I still have plenty of other WWII books by different authors in my stacks and on my shelves that I could read soon.
Lately, I’ve been really enjoying contemporary romcoms by authors Shannon Sue Dunlap and Sarah Monzon. I didn’t think I liked the genre until I found these authors. The others I’d tried before went more to the zany, slapstick, unrealistic side of romcoms, and that is so not my style. But the hijinks and warmth and deep discussions and sweet humor found in Dunlap’s and Monzon’s writing have been just the refreshing sort of combination I’ve needed in my life.
Q: What is your favorite hobby?
Andrea: Reading, hands down. I enjoy diamond art, watching sports, teaching myself to crochet, reorganizing my books and movies, binge-watching TV shows and movies, and random other things, but I always, always, always have a book with me. I’ve had a love for books since I was a toddler (there’s picture proof hanging on my parents’ living room wall), and that passion has only grown with me over the years since then.
Q: What is your favorite season and why?
Andrea: This is a question I’ve actually been rethinking my answer to lately. I am a redhead living in North Texas, so I’m sensitive to the extreme heat that we experience in summer. Winter used to be my favorite season because it was the complete opposite of that, though our winters can be warm (Christmas is often 70 degrees Fahrenheit around here), but they can also be brutally cold with subzero temps that cause pipes to burst if not properly dripped and insulated. I still love snow (we mostly get ice when we get any wintry precipitation), but I’ve had enough of pipes bursting to last a lifetime, thanks.
Because of that, I’m changing my mind and finding the very early days of spring and the late days of autumn to be my favorite seasons. Those are the days on either side of the oppressive summer heat when the highs are maybe upper 60s, low 70s with chilly evenings. I can leave a window cracked at night for fresh air. I can wear all my sweaters and jackets and fingerless gloves and such. And I can have hot chocolate without feeling like I’ll roast to death. Happy, happy sigh! Sweater-weather season is my absolute favorite.
Thank you so much for the fantastic questions and for hosting me on Beauty in the Binding! I hope your readers will pick up a copy of The Last Valentine and hop over to my website for all the ways to follow me. Happy reading, y’all! I would love to hear about your current reads in the comment section. Anything I ought to add to my burgeoning TBR list?
Thank you, Andrea, for joining in on the blog today!
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive an electronic copy (PDF, MOBI, or EPUB) of The Last Valentine, a paperback copy of Novelists in November, and a couple of bookmarks and stickers!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight August 26, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 2, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
