Welcome to

The What We Found Inner Circle

A private launch team for What We Found Instead by Heidi Reimer

About the Book

Two women discover they’re in a relationship with the same man and end up in an entirely unexpected relationship with each other.

What We Found Instead is a compulsively readable novel about unlikely friendship, the messy missteps on the way to becoming ourselves, and what can happen when we choose connection over rivalry.

Early readers have called it “an inspiring take on the true meaning of partnership” and “the rom-com I didn’t know I needed, with a platonic female friendship at its centre.”

Publishes July 28, 2026 from Random House Canada and Lake Union (US/UK).

What Is a Launch Team?

When a book comes into the world, the first few weeks matter a lot. A launch team is a small, handpicked group of readers who help create momentum at exactly the right moment—by buying and reviewing the book, spreading the word, and contributing their genuine enthusiasm to helping the book find its ideal readers.

The What We Found Inner Circle comes with a little something extra, though. I’ve put a lot of thought and work (both inner and outer—including two different book launch & publicity courses and a 6-month visibility coaching program) into figuring out how to promote a book with intention and integrity, and I have knowledge and experience to share. You get access to all of that, in what I hope will be valuable preparation for your own future publication experience. Consider it an unofficial, deeply personal masterclass in visibility, authentic platform-building, the practicalities of launching, and the psychological terrain of sharing your work with the world.

This team will be a curated group of people I trust, admire, and wanted specifically by my side for this. You’re seeing this page because I thought of you.

Why Join?

At its heart, What We Found Instead is a story about women coming together in support and growing into their truer, more awakened selves through that connection. I want that spirit of connection and community to permeate the entire launch, and I’ve thought hard about how I can invite others into a collaborative and mutually rewarding experience.

Which means this is going to be fun and fulfilling! And I think you’re going to learn a lot—including the kind of inside knowledge that’s genuinely hard to come by as a writer.

What you’ll get:

An advance digital copy of the book: read it before it comes out! (Yes, I’m also still asking you to buy it—this is so you can leave a verified review.)
Behind-the-scenes access to my publication experience, launch strategy, philosophy, the actual numbers, the real psychological experience of visibility, and the reality of what it takes to put a book into the world with intention…all as it’s unfolding.
The camaraderie and joy of being part of a team creating something worthwhile, sparking meaningful conversation, and championing literature!

“From the first chapter, I was captivated by Maggie and Eve, their vulnerable strength, their fierce fragility, all their missteps on their way to wholeness. I was captivated by the setting as well, equal parts wild and tranquil. What unfolds in this remote lakeside place is absolutely a love story, one that reminds us of the surprising shapes love—and family—can take.”

—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In and I’ll Be Your Blue Sky
“What We Found Instead is the rom-com I didn’t know I needed, with a platonic female relationship at its centre: it made me laugh, cry, and long to live in Northern Ontario. Heidi Reimer knows how to write a complicated woman to delight in even as she builds a small channel where we might pour our rage.”

—Liz Harmer, author of The Amateurs and Strange Loops
“Reimer deftly tells the story of an unlikely relationship and what happens when two people push beyond initial judgements and do the work to truly know each other. Maggie and Eve are fully realized and memorable characters: wise, messy, emotionally complex, and full of grace. Written in clear-hearted prose, What We Found Instead is an inspiring take on the true meaning of partnership.”

—Teri Vlassopoulos, author of Living Expenses and Escape Plans
“This captivating story about a most unlikely friendship will stay with me for a long time. I absolutely devoured it. Reimer beautifully shows how our most painful experiences can sometimes lead to a happily ever after we never could have imagined. What We Found Instead is going to the top of my recommended books.”

—Diane Barnes, author of More Than, All We Could Still Have, and The Mulligan Curse
What We Found Instead explores how friendship can become a home. Heidi Reimer leans into hope — for the restoration of broken relationships, for healing through commitment and care, and for physical and emotional repair in the aftermath of immense loss.”

—Carrie Snyder, author of Girl Runner

What’s Involved?

The commitment runs from the end of May through the end of August 2026.

Key dates:

Week of May 25: Kick-off call
July 28: Publication date (you’ll post your review(s) one to four weeks after this date
Week of August 24: Wrap-up and celebration

You’re committing to:

Attending three to four private Zoom gatherings (as your availability allows): a kick-off call, one to two mid-launch check-ins, and a wrap-up celebration. On thse calls we’ll also make time for a brief Q&A or coaching on any visibility, branding, platform-building, or querying/publishing questions you’re facing.
Participating in a dedicated online channel for real-time updates, resources, and community. We’ll be using Discord for communication and file/info sharing. (Isn’t that for gaming? Yup, at least originally. But it’s also an efficient communication platform for other purposes, and I’m deliberately avoiding Slack or anything else that smacks too much of work. Because this is supposed to be FUN!)
Buying and reading What We Found Instead. Verified reviews on online sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Indigo are super helpful, which requires purchasing from them—but so is a personal conversation with and preorder from the owner of your local indie bookstore, so buy it wherever you like to buy books!
Leaving an honest review in one or more places: Amazon, Indigo, Barnes & Noble (if purchased from one of these retailers), but also Goodreads, LibraryThing, Story Graph, your local library’s online review system, or wherever feels right to you.

Optional ways to go further:

Post about the book on social media—either your own photos, reels, or stories, or share what I or my publishers post
Ask your local library to order it
Give a copy to a friend
Write a blog post, newsletter, or Substack about the book
Add it to your “Want to Read” list and/or to Listopia on Goodreads
Host a book club discussion or suggest the book to your book club (I can Zoom in!)
Connect me with a podcast, event, or opportunity that feels like a good fit
Put your research skills to use to find aligned podcasts, newsletters, or blogs to pitch (yes, I will have publicists doing some of this legwork, but I’ve learned from past experience that I need to take charge of some of this)
Any other suggestions you have that feel fun to you or align with your area of expertise—you ideas and knowledge are very welcome!

Not everyone will do all of these, and you may come up with ideas I haven’t thought of. The more you lean into what you’re genuinely good at and excited about, the better. I don’t want anyone doing anything that feels inauthentic or cringy to them—that is the opposite of what we’re trying to create here!

Not on social media? That’s totally fine. I’ve stepped away from social media in different seasons of my own life for reasons of mental health and creative spaciousness, and I’m fully in support of that choice. (That said, if you happen to love social media and are awesome at making reels and carousels, let me know!)

How to Join

If you’re in, fill out this form giving me a few details so I have everything I need to get you set up on the team. This isn’t an application—if I invited you, you are pre-approved! I just need a bit of info and confirmation of your commitment.

And on the subject of commitment, just to reiterate:

The minimum requirement to be part of this is simply to buy a copy of the book, read it, and review it somewhere public.
You should also plan to come to at least two of the calls (or else you won’t really feel like you’re in the inner circle!).
Everything else is gravy. But as with anything, you’ll probably get what you put in, so if you’re already at full capacity with your own work, writing, and other commitments, I very much get that and I understand if you don’t have anything extra to give. Zero hard feelings if joining doesn’t work for you!

Once you’ve confirmed, I’ll add you to the Discord group and send you everything you need before our kick-off call toward the end of May.

Join here

Mission Statement for the Launch of

What We Found Instead‍ ‍

The launch of this book—and every event, conversation, post, piece of writing, or ask associated with it—is an invitation into connection, collaboration, or community.
This launch is an invitation into joy, friendship, growth, and self-becoming.
This launch and this book are a gift.
This launch seeks ways to support others and to create mutually rewarding opportunities for expansion and connection.
This launch invites aligned partners who are on their own path of self-becoming.
This launch invites glimmers and co-creative magic.