Contemporary Romance
Date Published: November 25, 2024
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pressured by her looming deadline and an unfinished romance manuscript, author Molly Covington applies her immersive research skills and goes all in. She hires a male companion for inspiration during three days of research in Las Vegas.
Enter sexy, confident Jared Washington—an extreme sports enthusiast and relationship skeptic who moonlights as a Plus One male companion. Molly’s contract puts him within arm’s reach of buying his own business and making his dreams come true.
The chemistry between her and Jared is surprisingly easy. Before their Vegas rendezvous comes to an end, one of them will need to lay all their cards on the table to discover if they’ll be lucky in love.
Interview with Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
Twilight was a game-changer for both of us. It was the first book in a long time that pulled us both in and made us start reading again.
How do you select the names of your characters?
We look up popular names on baby name websites but we both have to agree. We’ve also used family names with permission.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Not secrets per se, but there are tidbits from our lives that are woven into the book that people who know us might recognize.
What was your hardest scene to write?
The heartbreaking scenes during the third act were hard. Our characters are our friends, and making them go through any kind of crisis is difficult.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
Originally, we wanted each book to stand on its own—which they do, but before going on submission, our agent suggested making a series with spin-off characters from Men In Books Aren’t Better, so we did. There will be three books in the series.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
Our goal is to get people to love our characters as much as we do, and hopefully, we’ll achieve that. We also strive to immerse people into the worlds we see in our heads and drool over the fictional men we’ve created.
What inspired you to write Men In Books Aren’t Better?
As hopeless romantics who both love the movie Pretty Woman, Lisa-Marie suggested it would be fun to write a gender-swapped version and put our own twist on it, hence, Men In Books Aren’t Better.
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in the Plus One series or what you have planned for the future?
We are currently editing book two in the Plus One series, Just What the Doctor Hired, which will be out in 2025. We are also drafting book three, Two’s Company, Plus One’s a Crowd, as well as revising a YA speculative book we shelved back in 2020.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Men In Books Aren’t Better?
Molly Covington is an English-Jamaican, world-renowned writer who lives in the penthouse suite of the Smith Tower in Seattle, Washington. Her best friend is her cousin, Fin. The two of them are almost inseparable and love to kayak and hike together. And although she starts with a broken heart at the beginning of the story, ultimately, she would love to have the kind of relationship her parents shared.
Jared Washington is an extreme sports enthusiast. He’s base jumped El Capitan, skydived, and can often be found threading the needle on his bicycle through the streets of Manhattan. Because of his messily divorced parents and his job as a companion for Plus One, he’s also skeptical about love.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Writing as best friends is the biggest perk. Not to mention, the banter we share coming up with and fleshing out ideas is priceless. Often, when people watch us together, they refer to us as Chip and Dale.
About the Author
Amanda and Lisa-Marie are a co-writing team of best friends who share imaginary worlds, including a short story, Shivers, published in Moments Between. Lisa Marie Potter (BIPOC) is a mom of four who grew up in Nottingham, England, and now resides in Alaska with her husband and golden retriever. Amanda Nelson grew up in Maryland and moved to Arizona, where she attended college and currently lives with her husband and four kids. Both women are members of the Author’s Guild and were part of a Manuscript Academy Podcast featuring their writing and critique group. They also review books on their socials, hike the Olympic National Park, and fight over the same fictional crushes.
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3 comments:
Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a good read.
Twilight got me back into reading again too! Nice!
cool
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