My Next Big Thing

Hello all! The fantabulous Cari Kamm asked me to share all the details about my next big thing in this exciting pay-it-forward author event, and of course I jumped at the chance to dish about my upcoming release, Unmasking Maya, scheduled to release on December 15th.

I'm so stoked to read Cari's upcoming release, For Internal Use Only. And I absolutely love her cover! Check it out:

My cover isn't ready yet, but I'm ready to reveal a few tidbits about Unmasking Maya here. And away we go!

Where did the idea come from for the book?

From the misconception that Silicon Valley would be a great place to meet men! There’s a funny little phrase people say in the San Francisco Bay Area about the uneven ratio between men and women in Silicon Valley. “The odds are good, but the goods are odd.” It’s a generalization, of course, but a lot of these tech guys are odd in the sense that they’re super left-brained and insanely intelligent. Thus it can be hard for them to relate to more “normal” people. I thought this kind of guy would make an um… interesting love interest. And that’s what sparked the story.

What genre does your book fall under?

Chick Lit/Romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I think Michelle Williams would be perfect to play the part of Maya Kirkwood. She’s even got a similar hairdo!

Oh, Jesse Metcalfe could so totally pull off the role of Derek Whitley. Course we’d have to nerd him up a bit first.

It would be fabulous to see Zhang Ziyi (of Crouching Tiger and Memoirs of a Geisha fame) take on the role as quirky IT girl, Lin.

And sassy Sofia Vergara would be superb as Maya’s stylish agent.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Fallen fashionista meets cold, unfeeling tech whiz in this quirky, fish-out-of-water love story that incorporates humor alongside emotional trauma with lots of secrets to be revealed.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m self-publishing this one. Wish me luck!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Actually I wrote this one in about three months, which is a record for me. I blazed through the story, working on it at least eight hours a day. Well… probably more like twelve hours. I should point out that it’s only about 50,000 words long – the size of a category romance.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Parts of it are similar to Swept Off Her Stilettos by Fiona Harper, I think, because it’s a romantic story told in the first person. But it’s definitely more chick-litty than it is straight-up romance. I’ve had people compare my previous work to Sophie Kinsella’s and while mine aren’t nearly as humorous, I can kind of see the similarity.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’ve been living in the San Francisco Bay Area for about a year now (about six months from when I started writing this book) and I wanted to write a story set in the Bay Area that was very ingrained in the setting. It really is a fabulous place to live.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Hm. I think the fact that Maya and Derek both have some pretty major secrets might spark a bit of curiosity…

And now I would like to present the amazing author, Aretha C. Smith!

Aretha will be following up her beautiful romance novel, Hearts of Time, with The Enchanted Fate Series - four interracial romances, scheduled to release early in 2013 under the name of Ava Jared. Check out the cover for Hearts of Time. Isn't it to die for?

Be on a lookout for  book one, Karma's Kiss, which is scheduled for release in January, and book two, His for Keeps, which will be hitting the virtual shelves in late January. And in the meantime, check out the fabulous covers: