Porch Stories Has Returned
If you’ve been missing your weekly dose of small-town secrets, I have good news. Porch Stories is back.
I know there was a little gap between seasons. Life got busy, the porch needed some work, and honestly I wanted to come back with something that felt more like me. But we are so back. Season 3 is rolling out right now, and this season is all about the secrets small towns keep, the kind everybody knows about and nobody says out loud.
Episode 4 drops Thursday, November 12. If you’re behind or just finding the series, head over to my Instagram at @BayouBoundBooks and binge it from the beginning. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and settle in.
And if you didn’t hear, Porch Stories has its own exclusive holiday merch now. If you missed the Halloween collection, I’m sorry, fair is fair, that one’s gone. But the Christmas collection is here, and it’s just as limited. Once it’s gone after January 1, it’s gone. Shop the Porch Stories Christmas collection here
Thank you for sitting on the porch with me. I’ll see you Thursday.
Isabelle Herrscher
Ink dipped in soul, bound by the bayou.
Bayou Bound Books’ First Christmas Collection Is Here
If you’re the kind of person who wants to be wrapped up in something warm with a hot drink in your hands the second it gets a little chilly, this one’s for you.
The very first Porch Stories Christmas collection is officially here, and I’m so happy to finally share it. I wanted pieces you’d actually reach for on those slow, cozy holiday mornings, whether you’re curled up with a book, sitting on the porch, or opening gifts with the people you love. And because this is Bayou Bound Books, Santa had to come down the bayou on an airboat.
Vintage Christmas is making a comeback, so I leaned all the way into that old-school holiday feel.
Here’s what’s in the collection:
Santa’s Bayou Airboat Crewneck in Sand and Dark Mocha. Soft, neutral colors that go with everything and feel like the holidays without being loud about it.
Santa’s Bayou Airboat Tee in Brown Savana. For those Southern Christmases where it’s somehow still warm enough for short sleeves.
Vintage Bow Stamp Christmas Mug. For all my coffee and tea lovers out there. Fill it up, grab your book, and stay a while.
And keep an eye on the shop, because a few more pieces might sneak into the collection before the season’s over. 🎄
These also make really easy gifts for the reader in your life, or for yourself, because you deserve something cozy too.
The Christmas collection will be available until January 1, so if you’re a last-minute shopper or want to treat yourself after the holidays, you’ve still got time. After that, it’s gone.
Shop the Christmas collection on the Bayou Bound Books website before it disappears.
Isabelle Herrscher
Ink dipped in soul, bound by the bayou.
The Perfect Gift for Someone Going Through a Hard Season
You know someone who’s going through it right now.
Maybe they just moved somewhere new and don’t know anybody yet. Maybe they’re stuck in a job that’s draining them, or they just walked away from a relationship that took more than it gave. Or maybe nothing big happened at all, and they just feel lost, like everyone else got a map and they didn’t.
You can’t fix it for them. But you can hand them something that says, you’re not doing this alone.
That’s exactly why I’d put Chasing 25 and Get Out of the Swamp in the same gift bag.
Chasing 25 is the honest friend
Chasing 25 is a survival guide for the messy, confusing seasons of figuring out who you are. Don’t let the title fool you, it’s not only for people in their twenties. If you’re starting over at any age, it’s for you. It doesn’t pretend any of this is easy. Reading it feels less like being lectured and more like sitting across from someone who’s been there.
Get Out of the Swamp is where you work through it
Get Out of the Swamp is a guided journal, but not the kind that makes you feel guilty for skipping a day. Every week gives you a quote, a challenge, and a journal prompt. That’s it. One week at a time, at your own pace, no pressure to write every single day.
Why they work better together
Chasing 25 helps you understand what you’re going through. Get Out of the Swamp gives you a place to actually do something with it. One is the conversation, and the other is where you get to talk back.
Who to give them to
The friend who just went through a breakup
The sibling who just moved away from home
The coworker who keeps saying they feel stuck
Yourself, honestly, if any of this sounds like you
Why I made them
I know what it feels like to face hard things and feel completely alone in it. My hope is that these books help whoever’s holding them heal, or at the very least, keep them company while they get through it. Nobody should have to feel alone in the hard parts.
Where to find them
Both are available in paperback on Amazon, under my maiden name, Isabelle McGee.
Chasing 25
Get Out of the Swamp
Want to know more about how these two pair together? Read this post. And if you’re wondering why the name on the cover is different from the one on this blog, here’s the answer.
Isabelle Herrscher
Ink dipped in soul, bound by the bayou.
Is Isabelle McGee the Same Author as Isabelle Herrscher?
Yes! Isabelle McGee and Isabelle Herrscher are the same person, me. McGee is my maiden name, and Herrscher is my married name. I got married on August 5th, 2026, and I’ll be publishing under Isabelle Herrscher from here on out.
Here are the quick answers to the questions I keep getting.
Is Herrscher a pen name?
No, it’s my real married name.
Which books are under Isabelle McGee?
My first three publications stay under McGee:
Prompt to Grow, my very first publication, a guided journal
Get Out of the Swamp, my second guided journal
Chasing 25, my first full-length book
Are you republishing those books under Herrscher?
No. I’m keeping them under McGee on purpose. They mark a chapter of my life, and I want them to stay part of that chapter.
What’s coming under Herrscher?
The book I’m working on right now. The second it’s finished, it’ll be published under Isabelle Herrscher, and so will everything after it.
A little about the McGee books
Prompt to Grow was my very first time publishing anything. Even though it’s a guided journal, it taught me so much about the whole process.
Get Out of the Swamp is where I took everything I learned from that first attempt and made it better in so many ways. I expanded the idea into a quote, a challenge, and a journal prompt for each week. Both journals were made to take the pressure off of daily journaling.
Chasing 25 is my first full-length book, and I’m super proud of it. I wrote it before I met my husband, and I want to keep it under McGee because I learned those lessons, and I want my life to keep evolving for the best.
Want the full story behind the name change? Read it here.
Isabelle Herrscher