james snower

Maya Chen never expected to find love in a coffee shop mix-up. As a guarded poet struggling with creative vulnerability, she’s spent years keeping people at a careful distance. But when she accidentally swaps phones with Marcus Wells, a charismatic hip-hop producer with dreams bigger than his bank account, everything changes.
What starts as a simple mistake becomes an unexpected connection. Marcus sees potential in Maya’s poetry that she’s too afraid to acknowledge. Maya hears the artistry in Marcus’s beats that his disapproving father refuses to recognize. When they decide to collaborate on an experimental EP, combining her vulnerable words with his innovative sound, neither anticipates how deeply their creative partnership will intertwine with their hearts.
As their music gains attention in Portland’s indie scene, Maya and Marcus navigate the thrilling and terrifying process of making art together. Record label interest. Performance anxiety. The pressure of sudden success. Family expectations that threaten to derail their dreams. They discover that collaboration requires more than talent. It demands trust, compromise, and the courage to be completely seen by another person.
But when opportunities pull them in different directions and old insecurities resurface, they must decide what matters more: individual ambition or the rare connection they’ve built together. Can two artists with different definitions of success find a rhythm that works for both? Or will the same vulnerability that makes their art powerful ultimately break them apart?
The Playlist Promise is an emotional journey about finding your voice, taking creative risks, and learning that the best collaborations happen when you’re brave enough to let someone else in. Perfect for readers who loved Daisy Jones and The Six and anyone who believes that sometimes the most beautiful music comes from two hearts learning to beat in sync.
A story about poetry and hip-hop. About Portland’s creative underground. About National Book Awards and late-night recording sessions. About parents who don’t understand and friends who do. About making art that matters and finding love in the space between the notes.
For fans of music-driven romance, artistic love stories, and contemporary fiction that explores what it means to be seen, heard, and chosen.