Celeste “C.C.” Dador 💕 Romance Author

✨ COVER REVEAL ✨ I cannot believe it’s time to share my ADULT DEBUT cover for MERRY EX-MAS!!! HUGE thanks to the talented @monikaroeillustration 😍and the team at @thenovl for this cute, cozy and festive cover!!! (Fun trivia: Monika also did the cover art for Heated Rivalry🔥🏒!!!) The chemistry between former childhood besties Marygrace Silva and Robbie Morrow is 🔥—and I’m obsessed with the details. 👀 Did you spot the name tags on the presents?! MERRY EX-MAS will be available at bookstores everywhere Sept. 29, 2026 🎁 Pre-Order now 🔗 Link in bio! Huge shoutout to authors @julietieuwrites @tifmarcelo and the @2026debuts for helping me reveal this cover today! If you like: 🎄Holiday romance ⏳Time loops ❤️Friends to lovers 🔥Second-chance romance ⚡️Big family energy 🏘️Small-town vibes You’ll want to pick up MERRY EX-MAS! #newadult #holidayromance #timeloop #2026debuts #secondchance

Ready for Fourth of July fireworks, first kisses, and a summer that changes everything? 🎆 Join us for an unforgettable night celebrating the launch of STARS, STRIPES & SUMMER NIGHTS (ages 12+), the swoony YA romance debut from Celeste Dador about First Daughter Abby, who just wants one normal summer before college…and the boy who turns her perfectly planned life upside down. If you love forced proximity, Gilmore Girls–charm, bucket-list adventures, summer romances, books set in the D.C./Virginia area, and falling for the last person you expected, join us for a joyful, welcoming night celebrating stories that bring us together. Celeste will be in conversation with YA author Addie Woolridge, as they discuss writing heartfelt and humorous young adult romances, heroines balancing identity and expectations, and the magic (and chaos) of first love. Expect behind-the-scenes stories, real talk about the writing life, and plenty of main-character energy. Following the conversation, there will be a live audience Q&A, followed by a signing line with both authors. In honor of the book’s launch — and the fictional White House State Dinner hosted by Abby’s mom, President Connie Alzona — it’s entirely optional, but guests are invited to dress in evening attire and strut the red carpet. An apple cider toast and light refreshments will be served! Your ticket includes a signed paperback copy of STARS, STRIPES & SUMMER NIGHTS plus an exclusive swag package: two character prints, a bookmark, and a sticker. Get your ticket at the link in our bio!

🌟 BOOK LAUNCH TOUR ALERT! 🌟 Excited to announce the “Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights” book tour! Honored to be joining such amazing authors & bookstores for this tour. Hope you join us for exciting discussions, signings, & celebrations! 📅 Thurs. May 7 🕗 Instagram Live ✨ with @gwenythreitz , @zipitelle & @celestedador 🎤 Moderated by @yatllive 🕘 8 p.m. ET 📍 Brave + Kind Bookshop 📅 Sat. May 16 📚 Gaithersburg Book Festival 🕙 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 📍 Gaithersburg, MD @gburgbookfest 📅 Sat. May 16 🎉 Launch Party with @celestedador in convo with @addiewoolridge 🕖 7 p.m. 📍 Old Town Books, Alexandria, VA @oldtownbooks 📅 Sun. May 17 📖 YA Romance Tour with @celestedador in convo with @tifmarcelo 🕐 1 p.m. 📍 Tysons Corner Barnes & Noble, McLean, VA @bntysonscorner 📅 Sun. May 17 📖 YA Romance Tour with @celestedador in convo with @tifmarcelo 🕔 5 p.m. 📍 Fair Lakes Barnes & Noble, Fairfax, VA @bnfairfax 📅 Fri. May 29 🎤 SCBWI AANHPI Heritage Month Panel 🕖 7 p.m. 📍 Loyalty Bookstores, Washington, D.C. ✨ Featuring @sylliu , @hisiheyah , @patriciatanumihardja @loyaltybooks 📅 Sat. May 30 🌺 Fil-Am Spring Festival 🕙 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 📍 Fair Oaks, VA @filamfestinc @maan_gabriel @kwentitas @tifmarcelo 📅 Fri. June 6 📖 YA Romance Tour with @celestedador in convo with @kristylboyce 🕕 6 p.m. 📍 Politics & Prose (Conn Ave.), Washington, D.C. 📅 Sat. June 13 📖 YA Romance Tour with @celestedador in convo with @charlenethomasbooks 🕑 2 p.m. 📍 Curious Iguana, Frederick, MD @curiousiguana 📅 Sat. July 4 🎆 Fourth of July: Meet & Greet 🕑 2 - 4 p.m. 📍 Barnes & Noble F. St (Downtown D.C.) @bnfstreetdc 📅 Sat. July 25 🌟 Filipino American National Historic Society Conference 🕒 Arlington, VA ✨ Panelist with @mpmthewriter & @tracybaduawrites @fanhs_dmv 📅 Sat. Aug. 15 🌳 Spark in the Park Romance Festival 📍 Park Books, Severna, MD @parkbooksmd AND stay tuned for more exciting events! #BookLaunch #StarsStripesSummerNights

🎉🚀Launch weekend is HERE!!! SO excited to be meeting readers, hanging out with amazing authors and celebrating the release of my YA debut Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights! If you’re in the DMV area there’s plenty of opportunities for us to hang this weekend 🥰 Hope you can make it! To the Stars, Celeste✨🎉 Sat. May 16, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Gaithersburg Book Festival (@gburgbookfest ) Gaithersburg, MD Sat. May 16, 7 p.m. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights: A YA Romance Launch Party with Celeste Dador in Conversation with Addie Woolridge Old Town Books, Alexandria, VA (@oldtownbooks ) Sun. May 17, 1 p.m. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights: A YA Romance Tour Celeste Dador in Conversation with Tif Marcelo Tysons Corner Barnes & Noble, McLean, VA (@bntysonscorner ) Sun. May 17, 5 p.m. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights: A YA Romance Tour Celeste Dador in Conversation with Tif Marcelo Fair Lakes Barnes & Noble, Fairfax, VA ((@bnfairfax ) Can’t wait to celebrate with you all! 🎉❤️ #BookLaunch #DMVEvents #SignedCopies #StarsStripesSummerNights”

Join SCBWI’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter for an AANHPI Heritage Month panel for a candid, heart-forward conversation with AANHPI children’s book creators in our region: @hisiheyah @sylliu @celestedador @ediblewords . Panelists will discuss the business side of books—from query to book deal, marketing your work, sustaining creativity, navigating representation, and advocating for authentic stories. Our panelists will share honest lessons, practical insights, and the behind-the-scenes realities of children’s book publishing. Read more about this event HERE: /events/from-query-to-bookshelf-aanhpi-creators-discuss-children-s-book-publishing

“📚✨ Getting ready for my book launch weekend by pre-signing copies of my YA debut at Old Town Books! If you’re in the DMV area, I’d love for you to come out, meet me, and grab your signed copy! Here’s where you can find me: Sat. May 16, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Gaithersburg Book Festival (@gburgbookfest ) Gaithersburg, MD Sat. May 16, 7 p.m. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights: A YA Romance Launch Party with Celeste Dador in Conversation with @addiewoolridge Old Town Books, Alexandria, VA (@oldtownbooks ) Sun. May 17, 1 p.m. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights: A YA Romance Tour Celeste Dador in Conversation with @tifmarcelo Tysons Corner Barnes & Noble, McLean, VA (@bntysonscorner ) Sun. May 17, 5 p.m. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights: A YA Romance Tour Celeste Dador in Conversation with Tif Marcelo & Addie Woolridge Fair Lakes Barnes & Noble, Fairfax, VA ((@bnfairfax ) Can’t wait to celebrate with you all! 🎉❤️ #BookLaunch #DMVEvents #SignedCopies #StarsStripesSummerNights”

🎉 It’s A Party in the USA🇺🇸😍 Beyond grateful for the support and love I’m feeling from literally all over the country for my YA debut Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights 😭🥰 Thank you friends!!! It’s been such a long journey and I couldn’t be here without you! If you have a photo of my book you’d like to share I’d love a DM or tag! Eternally grateful! Celeste #grateful #StarsStripesAndSummerNights #2026debut #summerlove

🎉My First Book Launch TV Interview! 🎉 I think a second post is necessary to document such a cool experience! I’m so honored and grateful to be interviewed by @jummy_olabanji at @nbcwashington for my book launch!!! Such a perfect way to celebrate the release of Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights! 🎆 I was a ball of NERVES but the team at NBC4 was world class!!! Thanks SO much for the great interview and letting me share my book with your viewers! ❤️🤍💙 #StarsStripesandSummerNights #AuthorInterview #RomanceAuthor #TVInterview #WritingCommunity [ Stars, Stripes and Summer Nights, book launch, romance author, contemporary romance, tv interview, YA romance, writing community, nbc news, author life ]

I did a thing yesterday! 🎉 So honored and grateful to be interviewed by @jummy_olabanji at @nbcwashington for my book launch!!! 📚 I was a ball of NERVES but the team at NBC4 was world class!!! Thanks SO much for the great interview and letting me share my book with your viewers! ❤️🤍💙 #StarsStripesandSummerNights #AuthorInterview #RomanceAuthor #TVInterview #WritingCommunity [ Stars, Stripes and Summer Nights, book launch, romance author, contemporary romance, tv interview, YA romance, writing community, nbc news, author life ]

Happy Publication day to Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights by @celestedador ✨ First Daughter Abby Cary-Alzona wanted one thing: a drama free summer, and what she got… Gabriel Calabrese—a carefree small-town photographer. The result? A scandal that makes front-page news. Abby’s escape from the fallout leads her to a small town inn, that’s run by the family of the one person she would like to avoid-Gabriel 🤭 The Vibes: 🎆📸📝 Genres: YA Romance Tropes: Forced proximity, Opposites attract Favorite Quote: “But as we stare at one another it’s like I’m gazing at the sun, a fire that has burned for billions of years.” Page Length: 320 Thank you to @loveunderlined for the ARC at @loveyallbookfest 💖 Bookmark @little.summit 📖 #romance #bookstagram #newrelease #yabooks #bookrecommendations

🎉 IT’S RELEASE DAY! I’M OFFICIALLY A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!! STARS, STRIPES & SUMMER NIGHTS is LIVE and available everywhere! I can’t believe this day is finally here. To celebrate, I treated myself to a Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights-inspired gown—perfect for the State Dinner party at the start of my novel! Thank you all for your incredible support—get your copy now! L!nk in bi0 ✨ It was A LONG road to get here! Reflecting on my journey, I sent my first query in December 2018 and faced my first rejection in January 2019. Fast forward through 4 manuscripts, 3 mentors, 2 agents, and hundreds of rejections, and now my fifth manuscript is on the bookshelves! I’m beyond grateful for the support of my amazing writing friends, publishing team, and editor Wendy Loggia @delacorteromance and agent @totally_anntastic . Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights is my debut, and it truly is one for the stars! 🌟 Cheers to new beginnings! 🥂✨ Where to get STARS, STRIPES & SUMMER NIGHTS: 📚 Bookshop.org 📚Amazon, 📚Barnes & Noble, 📚Apple Books, 🎧 Audible. Out everywhere today! See l!nk 🔗 in bi0! #DebutRelease #StarsStripesSummerNights #Celebration #WritingJourney #BookRelease [ Stars Stripes and Summer Nights, Celeste Dador, Release Day, Debut Author, Published Author, Small Town Romance, Available Now, Summer Reads, Young Adult Romance, Out Now, YA Romance, Abby and Gabriel ]

📦✨ I sent my first query in December 2018 and received my first rejection in January 2019. Fast forward through 4 manuscripts, 3 mentors, 2 agents, and hundreds of rejections, and now I’m UNBOXING my fifth manuscript! It will be on bookshelves tomorrow! 🎉 This journey has been long and challenging, but I’m beyond grateful for the support of my writing friends and publishing team. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights is my debut, and it truly is one for the stars! 🌟 Thank you all! It’s not too late to preorder—l!nk 🔗 in bi0! 📚❤️ #DebutNovel #BookUnboxing #WritingJourney #StarsStripesSummerNights #RomanceReads [ debut author, publishing journey, author life, romance reads, small town romance, contemporary romance, summer romance, preorder campaign, book launch ]