A Moment With… Olivia Lockhart

I’m so pleased to be welcoming Olivia Lockhart to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Private Devotions.

Destiny promised Hanna Bailey her soulmate, but delivered a divorce instead. So, when the career opportunity of a lifetime comes calling, she’s ready to answer. Alone.

Joining the tour of rising rock band His Locked Heart is her chance to start again. Sold-out shows, endless miles, and the freedom to leave her past behind

But fate has a habit of rewriting the lyrics.

Behind the spotlight, the band’s brooding songwriter, Nathaniel Cole, is about to become the one person Hanna never expected. As friendships deepen and long-buried truths surface, Hanna finds herself torn between the life she built and a love that could burn the whole thing down.

Some songs are written in secret.

Some loves refuse to stay hidden.

And sometimes you get the chance to rewrite your own story.

With a special letter to women like Hanna, it’s over to you, Olivia. 

Private Devotions has some painful and real memories in it, some my own, some heard from other women. Living through my forties has taught me a lot, and I wish I could go back and tell my younger self … but I don’t know if she’d believe me or understand. She’d probably scoff at the middle-aged woman who seems so dull and lifeless.

There’s a little bit of all of us in Hanna, and I hope you’ll read and identify with her. But in the meantime, a letter to all the women like me …

Dear friend,

There is something I wish you had known from the beginning.

You were never the problem.

You had simply spent too long with someone who wanted you to believe that you were.

Being with a narcissist can be incredibly damaging because they don’t always break you in obvious ways. Sometimes it happens slowly. A criticism here. A dismissal there. Making you question your memories, your choices, your instincts. Convincing you that you’re too sensitive, too needy, too difficult, or simply not good enough.

Until eventually, you begin to believe them.

And I think there are so many women who understand that feeling.

Perhaps not because they’ve lived exactly Hanna’s story, but because somewhere along the way, someone has made them feel less than.

And then there’s the modern world, constantly adding to the noise.

We’re bombarded with images of younger, thinner, happier, more successful women. We’re expected to have perfect lives while somehow never looking as though we’re trying too hard. We compare ourselves, criticise ourselves and wonder when everyone else seemed to get the instruction manual that we somehow missed.

Hanna didn’t need fixing. She needed to remember who she was. That was important to me.

I didn’t want her story to be about a handsome man coming along and rescuing her from the narcissist. Her love story matters enormously, but her journey back to herself matters just as much.

Because falling in love with someone who treats you well is wonderful.

Learning that you deserve to be treated well is life-changing, along with the acceptance that follows.

I wanted Hanna to find her confidence again. To trust her own thoughts. To understand that kindness isn’t weakness, and that being a loving woman doesn’t mean accepting being controlled or diminished.

And most of all, I wanted her to realise some facts that had been forgotten along the way:

She was beautiful.

She was sweet.

She was worthy.

She was enough.

Actually, she was pretty perfect all along.

Perhaps that’s why I hope women who read Private Devotions will see a little of themselves in Hanna.

Because sometimes we don’t need to become a different woman.

Sometimes we simply need to find our way back to the one we always were.

Love, Livvie x

About Olivia Lockhart –

Olivia Lockhart (Livvie to her friends) is an English author who can’t quite decide if she wants to write contemporary romance or paranormal romance. Either way, it HAS to be romance.

She loves to write about the underdog, the one who got away, the bits of love stories we can all relate to.

When not writing she can be found drinking wine, cuddling her beloved pooch or with her head buried in a book.

Say hello to Olivia on Instagram. 

Private Devotions was released in September 2026. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US. 

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.