Author Interview: The Heartfelt Formula by Leslie Kirby DeVooght

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for The Heartfelt Formula by Leslie Kirby DeVooght, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: The Heartfelt Formula 
Author: Leslie Kirby DeVooght 
Publisher: Lanier Price Publishing 
Release Date: October 22, 2026 
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Women's Fiction/Romantic Comedy

After another breakup, Atlanta attorney Hope Elliot decides to stop waiting for her happily-ever-after and write it herself. Inspired by her beloved Christmas romance movies, Hope crafts The Heartfelt Formula: a foolproof plan including snowball fights, cookie baking, and a perfectly timed first kiss. 

Trading the big city for coastal Georgia, Hope sets out to find her small-town soulmate. But the actors in her carefully plotted scenes keep shuffling—especially when Brennan Taylor, her ambitious co-counsel continues to fill in for Cole Walker, the carefree furniture maker, who Hope cast as her hero. 

Between courtroom drama, a mismatched leading man, and a mistletoe mishap, Hope must decide if she’ll trust her formula or accept a plot twist that might leave her all alone, or perhaps, with the happiest ending of all. 

 A faith-filled romantic comedy for anyone who believes love, like Christmas, can still surprise you.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

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Book Excerpt

“I have an idea.” I snatched the remote from Lottie and stopped the movie. “I’m going to fall in love, and this time it will work out perfectly.”

“Does this mean we’re not finishing the movie?”

“Not at all.” I leapt off the couch and ran to my room. After grabbing supplies from my desk, I hurried back and dropped onto the couch. “Here, you can help.” I tossed Lottie a pen and notebook.

“What am I supposed to do with these?”

“Take notes.”

“On the movie?”

“Precisely. Why has it taken me so long to figure this out? It’s brilliant.”

“I’m glad you’ve found this brilliant solution, but slow down and explain exactly what we’re doing.” Lottie opened the notebook.

“We’re going to study this movie, and maybe one or two more, and figure out the formula.”

“The formula?”

“The formula to fall in love with the perfect man and live a wonderful life.” At the top of the first page, I wrote The Heartfelt Formula and underlined it.

“Hope, I don’t think—”

“I’ve been going about this relationship thing the wrong way. Leaving it up to chance.”

Lottie scrunched her brows. “Or faith?”

“I have faith.”

“Good. I was getting worried.” Lottie doodled a string of hearts across the page.

“Faith that God gave me these movies to develop this plan.”

Lottie stopped drawing and tapped the pen against her chin. “I don’t think that’s how faith works.”

“Nothing wrong with giving faith a little help. Besides, this feels like divine intervention.”

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Also Available

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About the Author

PW Best-Selling Author Leslie Kirby DeVooght writes women’s fiction inspired by romcoms, coastal Georgia, and fried okra! While Leslie and her family live in Jacksonville, Florida, they often visit her hometown of St. Simons Island, Georgia, where she loves to go for long walks on the beach. A graduate of Florida Southern College and Mercer Law School, Leslie is always revising her life from prosecutor to judge to PTA president to author of happily-ever-afters.

Connect with Leslie by visiting lesliedevooght.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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Author Interview

Q: What inspired you to write The Heartfelt Formula? 

Leslie: One of my writing friends, Kimberly Duffy, suggested I write a story where the girl tries to use the formula from Hallmark Christmas movies to find romance. She said she couldn’t do it because she’d try to give someone cholera, but it was the perfect platform for my voice. I was in the middle of another project, but I couldn’t let go of the idea.

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Q: How long did it take to write this story? 

Leslie: I started planning the first draft of this book in 2020. It was so long ago that I don’t remember how long it actually took, but it usually takes me about eight weeks for a first draft. When I finished revising and editing it, I entered it in the ACFW Genesis contest and the book was a semi-finalist in 2022. Originally, the story was told in third person, but in 2024, I decided to re-write it in first person and see how it sounded. Without telling anyone, I entered the newly revised story in the ACFW Genesis Contest, and this time it won. From there, I revised it two more times and sent it to the line editor in July 2026.

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Q: Do you have a favorite quote from The Heartfelt Formula?

Leslie: Here are two I like: 

“Faith is about trusting God when you can’t see the happily ever after.” 

“A starry-eyed girl once told me, ‘there can never be too much Christmas’.”

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Q: Do you have any special Christmas traditions? 

Leslie: My extended family owns a tree farm on the South Georgia coast with house that is over 200 years old. We grow our own Christmas trees, and we cut them down each year. I love this time together.

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Q:  When did you first know you wanted to be an author? 

Leslie: While I’ve always loved writing and tried to write fiction books in high school. I don’t think I really knew I wanted to be an author until about 15 years ago when I wrote my first book.

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Q: Would you share something about yourself that most readers wouldn’t know? 

Leslie: My first position out of law school was as an Assistant District Attorney, and my main focus was crimes against women and children. Hope, the main character in The Heartfelt Formula, has a similar job, and one of the main subplots involves the sad consequences of domestic violence that I witnessed first hand in my work.

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Q: What are you currently reading? 

Leslie: First Comes Marriage…Then Comes Murder by Donna Mumma (not my normal genre, but Donna and I were in a writing workshop years ago at the Florida Christian Writers Conference, and I’ve been dying to read one of her books. The covers are fantastic.) I’m also reading A Very Bavarian Christmas by Katie M. Reid.

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Q: What is an upcoming fiction release are you looking forward to? 

Leslie: Like so many, the 9th volume of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion.

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Q: What is your favorite hobby? 

Leslie: Travel, it doesn’t really matter where. I love checking out new towns, museums, restaurants, hotels, hiking trails, historic houses… all of it. I love a long walk in a city, on a mountain trail, or along the seashore. Whether man-made or in nature, I love seeing all of God’s creation.

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Tour Giveaway

(2) winners will each receive a Coastal Christmas ornament, plus signed copies of Taking a Second Shot, Stealing Magnolias, and The Heartfelt Formula!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 21, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 28, 2026. Winner 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.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!