And are there more stories that will make up this series? How many more do you foresee being written?
Thanks for the opportunity to guest post Susan, and I love your topic because it really makes me think about how I even got here!
So it's true, "Last-Minute Love" is book two in the "Year of the Chick" series, but I really had no idea that book one would even turn into a series!
When I wrote the first book "Year of the Chick" in 2009, it was inspired by my blog of the same name. That blog was an "at times based-on-real-life and at times ridiculous" endeavour, about a quest to find love and avoid arranged marriage (this part is very much based on real life, haha).
When I went through the whole process of finding a literary agent but failing to find a publisher, the "Year of the Chick" book kind of...started to gather dust on my hard drive.
By May 2011 I had self-published my first book, which wasn't "Year of the Chick" but rather a parody collection of essays. I spent that summer learning about screenplays and then writing one, since I'd had a real-life experience which really felt like a movie (heartache and all!). To my excitement, the screenplay "Best Before" fared well in several of the international competitions I'd entered, which made me think: this might actually be a story that people would like to read!
Then I thought: if this screenplay is inspired by real life just like "Year of the Chick," then I could adapt it into the sequel of "Year of the Chick." Which means I should totally self-publish "Year of the Chick"!
(and yes, I literally had these conversations with myself, exclamation marks included)
And so, in November 2011, I self-published "Year of the Chick." It wasn't easy finding an audience initially, but after a couple of giveaways that helped increase my exposure and garner some positive reviews (along with some post-free sales), I was reminded of that sequel-like screenplay. This led to taking a week's vacation in March and writing the entire first draft of the sequel. Having the screenplay helped, but you can't exactly copy and paste short scene descriptions and dialogue blocks, so it was definitely an organic first draft, to the tune of 61,000 words written by week's end (and yes I almost went insane from that word count!).
The sequel "Last-Minute Love" has been out for over three months now, and the feedback and following it's received has been amazing. There will definitely be a book three, but much like the first two books, I need the right inspiration and events to transpire in my life, before I can write the next book. I have a plan for that which I won't discuss here (it would be a spoiler for "Last-Minute Love"!), but I'm willing to wait a bit, because I'm not the type of author who will churn out books like they are made in a factory...it will only happen when I feel that I can put my best writing foot forward (but my goal for the release? September 2013).
And will there be a book four? I haven't decided that yet, but for now I'll say "let's see how book three and life itself goes, and in the meantime, I hope readers will follow along with my journey!"
Sincerely,
Romi
**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Last Minute Love before October 8 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**
- I wore denim-top-to-bottom in high school (there is a direct inverse relationship between how much denim I wore and how few tongues were launched down my throat at school dances...or anywhere in high school at all).
The thing I love most in the world is writing. When I first started publishing on Amazon it was my "crazy" humour side (The Book of Awful and NOT Love Poems For Real Life). Since then, everything has focused on my Year of the Chick series, because it's the most important thing to me in the world right now. I guess that would tend to happen, when your writing is inspired by real life, including all the satisfaction and risks that come from that.
My Year of the Chick series can be described as "edgy rom-com," which helps me account for the blunt conversations and mortifying family moments in the book ;-).
About the author
I am Canadian, and here are some strange personal facts:
- I wore denim-top-to-bottom in high school (there is a direct inverse relationship between how much denim I wore and how few tongues were launched down my throat at school dances...or anywhere in high school at all).
- A homeless lady in New York once told me "You're just a bitch on vacation with no money!"
- I always hated those insufferable couples who would cuddle and make out on the subway...until I became half of one. But now I'm back to being none of one so I hate them again.
The thing I love most in the world is writing. When I first started publishing on Amazon it was my "crazy" humour side (The Book of Awful and NOT Love Poems For Real Life). Since then, everything has focused on my Year of the Chick series, because it's the most important thing to me in the world right now. I guess that would tend to happen, when your writing is inspired by real life, including all the satisfaction and risks that come from that.
My Year of the Chick series can be described as "edgy rom-com," which helps me account for the blunt conversations and mortifying family moments in the book ;-).
Book 3 in the Year of the Chick series will be written and released in 2013; until then I have some adventures to go on!
Connect with Romi!
Buy the Book!
(Also available for Kobo and iTunes!)
Year of the Chick which is book one in the series
is available for free at all e-tailers!
Year of the Chick which is book one in the series
is available for free at all e-tailers!
One of my favorite chick lit series !
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