dating
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Behind the Scenes: Partner Pursuit
Here are some more Behind The Scenes from Partner Pursuit. For the prior Behind the Scenes post, click here.
Behind the Scenes: the Partner Pursuit date on the biking trip
Here are pictures of the bar where I envisioned Audrey and Jake’s date during the bike ride along the Hudson River. This bar is in Inwood at the top of Manhattan and has amazing views of the Hudson River.
The Hudson in NYC Here is the view of the Hudson River looking south. It doesn’t even feel like you’re in Manhattan when you’re eating here.
Hudson River view 
Hudson River view Partner Pursuit is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Apple and may be ordered through your local bookstore.
I am still so excited by the positive reviews. I am so happy that Partner Pursuit is resonating with readers.
Ornamental Chapter Breaks
A few months ago, I worked on creating more ornamental chapter breaks by hiring an artist named Erica on Upwork. Do you like this Labrador? We had a Labrador mix named Cleo who features in my next novel, Is This for Real? and so I used these as chapter breaks in Is This for Real?.
Cleo was a sweetheart, but she was famous for always escaping our summer house, which meant I spent a lot of time running down the beach chasing after her. She’d just rip through the screen doors.
Let’s Talk
I hope you are doing well. What are you reading or watching? I am finally watching Ted Lasso and enjoying it. Do you have any TV or book suggestions?
Stay warm if it’s winter where you are!
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E-book On Sale Now!
The e-book of both Partner Pursuit and Is This for Real? is on sale now for 99 cents. I put Partner Pursuit on sale for 99 cents through January 13th to celebrate the e-book launch of Is This for Real? available here.
Is This for Real? is now out in ebook! So excited for you to meet Penelope and Rory! On sale for 99 cents through Jan. 24. https://books2read.com/u/4DxdWO
Is This for Real? Blurb
Here’s the blurb:
An opposites-attract, friends-to-lovers, slow burn, fake-dating romantic comedy.
Love is all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Usually, me. I admit it. I’m a relationship recluse. Ironic, given that I write romantic comedies. So, I’m on a sabbatical from dating.
Which is why fake dating my best friend, Rory, is foolproof. Rory suggested it because he needed a date for work functions. And I can use our experiences as fodder for my romcom novel. Plus, my sister doesn’t know it’s not real, and she is thrilled that I’m not walling myself off emotionally. Her words, not mine. But I do wish she would stop saying that she always suspected there was something more between me and Rory. She should realize that we’ve been friends forever so I’m immune to his appeal.
We would never work. Rory is such a romantic; he still believes in that perfect love similar to his parents’ marriage. My parents fought bitterly. So, we are better off as friends. I can’t risk losing our friendship, even if this might be my chance—before his ex-girlfriend wins him back.
Those flickers of attraction? Easily extinguished by cold-water reality, like a two-mile hike in drenching rain over sand with wheelie luggage.
But our relationship is not sticking to the plot—or is it?
And so happy with these reviews:
“Let me begin by saying I would risk it all for Penelope and Rory.” – NetGalley
“The slow burn pacing was perfection.” – NetGalley
“It made me feel good and that’s something I really enjoy in my books.” – NetGalley
Partner Pursuit Blurb
And here’s the blurb:
Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision.
Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor. Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One.
He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom.
But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family.
And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner. Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory.
If only she had not met him now.
Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis.
But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?
Let’s Talk
I’m about to get back to editing my third novel (sneak preview is available in Is This for Real?).
I hope you are all doing well and staying safe.
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Cover Reveal: Is This for Real?
Is This for Real? cover It’s time for the Cover Reveal for my second book, Is This for Real? It’s fake dating and friends-to-lovers and dogs and dollhouse miniatures! My cover was again designed by Lucy of Cover Ever After.
Is This for Real? Cover and Blurb Reveal
Here’s the blurb:
An opposites attract, friends-to-lovers, slow burn, fake dating romantic comedy
Love is all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Usually me. I admit it, I’m a relationship-recluse. Ironic, given that I write romantic comedies. So, I’m on a sabbatical from dating.
Which is why fake dating my best friend Rory is foolproof. Rory suggested it because he needed a date for work functions. And I can use our experiences as fodder for my romcom novel.
Plus, my sister doesn’t know it’s not real and she is thrilled that I’m not walling myself off emotionally. Her words, not mine. But I do wish she would stop saying that she always suspected there was something more between me and Rory. She should realize that we’ve been friends forever so I’m immune to his appeal.
We would never work. Rory is such a romantic; he still believes in that perfect love similar to his parents’ marriage. My parents fought bitterly. So, we are better off as friends. I can’t risk losing our friendship, even if this might be my chance—before his ex-girlfriend wins him back.
Those flickers of attraction? Easily extinguished by cold water reality—like a two-mile hike in drenching rain over sand with wheelie luggage.
But our relationship is not sticking to the plot—or is it?
The e-book is available for pre-order (releasing January 11, 2022) and the paperback will be for sale in December 2021.
Blog Tour Interview with Julie of A Little Book Problem
Today, I’m also chatting with Julie of A Little Book Problem. Here’s one of my favorite questions, but check out her blog for the rest of the interview.
What is your favourite thing about being a member of the RNA? What do you think you have gained from membership?
I have gained so much. First, my favorite thing is the friendships I have made. I made so many friends when I was at the RNA Conference in Leeds. That was an amazing experience. Everybody was so friendly. I went not knowing anybody.
I met my now-critique partner Giulia Skye on the train to Leeds, and we immediately clicked as we discussed The Hating Game and the novels of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Now we email each other weekly, and she is the one who encouraged me to indie-publish. But I’ve made a lot of friends at the RNA (also online via the Facebook groups). It is great being friends with other writers.
Second, I think the critiques in the NWS are invaluable.
Third, I also enjoy the camaraderie, friendships and mentoring in the Facebook groups.
Also, the RNA Conference, the online classes and the magazine articles are really helpful. I had a 1-to-1 consultation for my Partner Pursuit blurb at the RNA conference this past summer.
Let’s Talk
 I hope you are all doing well. I just watched two fun romantic comedies LOVE HARD (Netflix) and THE LAST CONCEPTION (Amazon). Have you seen them? Any books or movies you’d recommend?
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Partner Pursuit: Behind the Scenes
I’d love to share some behind the scenes photos of where I envisioned various scenes of Partner Pursuit taking place.
Here’s the corner where I envisioned Audrey and Jake’s cute-meet right outside the corner store.
A picture of the corner store where I envisioned Audrey bumping into Jake The Upper West Side also has many side streets filled with brownstones. They are a mix of single-family, two-family and multi-occupant houses. One floor could be an apartment or half a floor could be an apartment. Or you could have duplex apartment with a circular staircase like Audrey. They usually have about 5 floors. The parlor floor usually has eleven-foot ceilings so it can be the most desirable. I love the colorful colors of this row of brownstones on the Upper West Side.
And in another behind the scenes secret, this is the block where we did the photo shoot for my author picture.
Here’s a picture of Levain Bakery. I pictured them stopping by this Levain Bakery as they were bicycling to Riverside Park. It’s closed right now because of the pandemic because it’s an incredibly small space that gets really packed, but they opened up a more spacious Levain Bakery a few blocks north, so not to worry! And you may remember my previous post with a picture of the actual chocolate chip cookies. They weigh the cookie dough before they put in on the tray to make sure each is the right weight.
A picture of Levain Bakery Partner Pursuit: Behind the Scenes at Fairway
And here’s a picture of Fairway where Jake and Audrey go food shopping. Fairway has the most amazing selection of food.
Let’s Talk
How are you? Are there any other scenes from Partner Pursuit where you’d like to see my inspiration (if any?) Next time, I’ll do their bicycle date up the Hudson River.
Have a great weekend!
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PARTNER PURSUIT COVER REVEAL
I’m excited to reveal the cover for my debut novel PARTNER PURSUIT available in paperback on Amazon. The e-book will release on October 18, 2021 and is available for pre-order.
Partner Pursuit Cover by COVER EVER AFTER It was designed by COVER EVER AFTER in Australia. I love it! I asked her to add the little briefcase on the back of the bicycle because Audrey is a lawyer.
Here’s the blurb:
Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision.
Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor. Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One.
He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom.
But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family.
And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner. Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory.
If only she had not met him now.
Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis.
But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?
Let’s Talk: COVER REVEAL
I hope you are doing well. What do you think of my cover?
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Join Me on My Writing Journey
I’m embarking on my writing journey and I hope you’ll join me! I first started writing a romantic comedy many years ago; I saw such a bad one that I thought, I can write a better one than this.
Starting My Writing Journey
I started taking online writing classes (I’m a mom and I was working as a lawyer), so online was my best option. I enrolled in The Writer’s Academy Constructing a Novel, and it was so much fun. I loved writing, and I enjoyed talking about writing with other writers in the course. My writing tutor in The Writer’s Academy wrote that my scene was “sparky” and I was on Cloud Nine. An acquaintance saw me that day and said I was glowing as if I was in love.
Indeed I had found a new love: writing. Writing a really good scene makes me so happy. But I didn’t have the courage to leave my job (and source of income yet). So I tried writing part-time, but eventually I realized that I just couldn’t do it part-time. (Unfortunately, I’m someone who needs sleep too.) So I quit my job. And here I am.
Learning Writing Craft
I love attending writer’s conferences and taking writing craft courses. I can’t believe that I get to choose from course selections of “Sensual Love Scenes without Stuffing the Turkey” from Alison May and Liam Livings at the RNA Leeds Conference or “Character Torture” by Linnea Sinclair. (I highly recommend taking any courses offered by those authors.) Compare that to “Recent Developments in Securities Fraud Cases,” “GDPR Enforcement,” and “Cyber-Security and Privacy” (course selections at my lawyers’ conferences). You can see there’s a huge difference.
Which pile would you prefer to read? Not that I don’t miss practicing law at times.
Rejections and Encouragement
Because similar to my dating life when I was single, there have been quite a few rejections. But I am still plugging away, trying to improve my craft and making friends with other writers. I eventually found a great guy to marry after many dating disasters, so there’s hope! And I placed Third in the Los Angeles Orange Rose Contest for Women’s Fiction with Romance as a Central Element! They wrote that “You will be published.” (By whom? It’s like a tarot card reader who just hints at good news: “You will meet the man of your dreams. You will come into a fortune.”)
Woohoo! Join me!
So, join me on my journey! Have you changed careers? (Are you a recovering lawyer?) What do you like to read? Do you write? How did you begin your writer’s journey?