The Next Big Thing

My lovely author friend Joan Reeves (NOBODY'S CINDERELLA) tagged me to take part in this blogging meme, and I thought it was such a fun idea! So...here goes:

 

What is your working title of your book? Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match

Where did the idea come from for the book? I was thinking about the whole Internet dating world and, having happily met my husband before that phenomena really existed, I've always been pretty curious about it. For fun (and with my hubby's full knowledge, LOL), I checked out a few sites like Match.com and read through a number of profiles. I thought it would be really interesting to have two characters with ulterior motives (not evil ones, mind you, just not exactly "looking for love" as their primary objective) find each other online. And the humor really came into play for me when I imagined twisting some elements from Pride and Prejudice into the story. "Lady Catherine's Love Match Website" is probably one of my favorite online creations!

What genre does your book fall under? Short Contemporary Romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Ohhh, I love this question! You know, considering my current addiction to "The Vampire Diaries," I've been looking for any reason to cast Ian Somerhalder in something (ha!), so I think he'd make a fabulous Dr. Will Darcy. As for my heroine, Beth Ann Bennet, I think she could be very well played by Willa Holland, who stars as the younger sister of the main character on the new TV show "Arrow."

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A single mother and an ER doctor meet on an Internet dating site—each for reasons that have little to do with finding their perfect match—in this modern, Austen-inspired story, which is a tribute to the power of both "pride" and "prejudice" in bringing two people romantically together, despite their mutual insistence that they should stay apart...

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? This will be published through White Soup Press (a collective imprint of Austen Authors), and it'll be out in mid-January 2013!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? The first draft took about 3 months, but I always, always need time to revise, and that often takes twice as long as the original writing.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Well, it's a light romance, so it's definitely in a similar vein to On Any Given Sundae, Double Dipping and Holiday Man. Or, for those readers familiar with the Harlequin American Romance line, it's a bit like one of those stories, too, but with an Austenesque twist ;).

Who or what inspired you to write this book? The always awe-inspiring genius of Jane Austen and a great desire to honor the 200th release of her masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Whether or not a reader knows the ins and outs of Pride and Prejudice, anyone should be able to follow this story. It's only slightly based on the Austen novel and diverges greatly from it in many ways, beyond just being a modern tale. However, for those who are fans, I hope they'll find some of the character names and situations to be particularly amusing!

 

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And now I get to tag a few awesome author friends, too, who'll be posting about their latest projects on their blogs next Wednesday the 28th. Can't wait to hear what they're working on!!

 

Robin Bielman -- Author of WORTH THE RISK

Maria Geraci -- Author of A GIRL LIKE YOU

Vanessa Kelly -- Author of HIS MISTLETOE BRIDE

Malena Lott -- Author of SOMETHING NEW

Edie Ramer -- Author of MIRACLE LANE

This time of year always reminds me of how many people in my life I'm grateful for and how fortunate I am to get to connect with those I care about -- in person or online. Please know, I count all of you among those wonderful friends. Thank you for being so kind and supportive all year long! I wish everyone who's celebrating this week a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

p.s. Today, as part of Bookworm2Bookworm's Blogoversary Celebration, Holiday Man is the featured book! And I'm giving away a copy there, so please stop by!

HOLIDAY MAN is Here!!

Just had to share that HOLIDAY MAN is officially out! Whoo-hoo!!! I'm having a celebration here in northern Illinois :). Alas, there will be no champagne or shirtless men with abs of steel at my little party...but I've got some chocolate truffles and sparkling grape juice in the house, and I'm more than happy to share them with my friends!!

This is quick story summary of my newest contemporary romance:

A Year of Holidays...

Shannon Quinn is the small-town girl who runs "Holiday Quinn" -- a holiday-themed inn and resort based in scenic Door County, Wisconsin.

One winter evening, wealthy Minneapolis businessman, Bram Hartwick, blows into town along with the fast-falling snow. The sparks Bram and Shannon create succeed in heating up the chilly Midwestern night, not to mention plenty of holiday weekends in the year that follows...

But is their relationship only for special occasions, or might it be the elusive everyday love that neither one thought could be found?

It's available now at Amazon, B&N and Smashwords for only $2.99 -- with Sony, Apple, Kobo and more to come soon! Excerpts from the book are on each of the retails sites, so I hope you'll check it out ;).

Also: A wedding announcement!! At Austen Authors, we're celebrating the double wedding of Miss Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy as well as Miss Jane Bennet & Mr. Bingley and, of course, you are all invited to join in the festivities. So, Ladies, slip into your favorite Regency gown (or fancy jacket and boots, Gents) and jump into the fun with us!

And, a question -- what's your favorite kind of wedding cake? The classic white? Lemon? Marble? Something with a strawberry filling? (That's what my husband and I had for ours, and it was delicious.) Untraditional but interesting?

Winners & Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts!

Just a quick note to say CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of Eliza Daly's blog contest: Sandra, who won the Godiva chocolates, and Pamala Knight, who won a copy of Eliza's debut novel, UNDER HER SPELL!! Way to go, ladies!

I hope everyone's having a wonderful start to November. Me? I decided to kick off the month by trying this recipe from Tasty Kitchen for *baked* Apple Cider Doughnuts... ["Not fried" means you can eat more of them, right?! Yeah, that's what I thought, too!] All I'll say is YUM!!! And, well, if a picture's worth a thousand words, here are 3,000 ;).

 



Next up...I'm gonna try to make pumpkin spiced doughnuts (a girl's gotta have her goals, you know ;). What are you all doing this week??!