Hey There! Today I welcome author Samantha Stroh Bailey to the Blog. She’s been so kind to appear on my Meet the Author: Q&A series. Thank you, Samantha!
Samantha Stroh Bailey is the author of the chick lit novel Finding Lucas. She’s recently been named the “Author of the Month” at the fabulous Chick Lit Plusbook blogging, reviewing, and all-things chick lit website! To find out more about this great author and her new book please read on.
Meet the Author: Q&A with Samantha Stroh Bailey
Author Name: Samantha Stroh Bailey
Most Recent Book Title:Finding Lucas
Recent Book Genre: Chick Lit
A Bit About the Author:
I live in Toronto, Canada with my husband and two kids, and I am finally living the life I always dreamed of having. I can’t believe it’s actually happening! I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Writing is my passion, but, I also love teaching. So, for 15 years, I was an ESL teacher to adults, but after my second child was born, I finally got the courage to open my own freelance writing/editing business, Perfect Pen Communications, stopped teaching, and now, I get to write and edit fulltime. It’s amazing!
What’s a writing session like for you?
It’s hard for me to find the time to write because I’m a work at home mom. So, it’s all a very delicate balancing act. I work and write on the days my caregiver is with my daughter and my son is in school, and when I’m with the kids, I write during naps and at night. It’s a crazy schedule, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I write in my living room/office and at the local coffee shop. One day, I hope to have an office with a door I can close, but until then, I’ll do whatever it takes to do what I love.
My inspirations comes from so many places: my friends, family, current events, conversations I shouldn’t but do eavesdrop on…
What inspired you to write your recent book?
This is such a great question because Finding Lucas and its characters mean so much to me. Late one night, I was lying in bed and wondering what happened to Jake, my “friends with benefits” from my high school and early university years. We hadn’t spoken in ten years, but he was such a big part of my life for so long and was such a nice person. I’m madly in love with my husband so I wasn’t searching for my lost love like Jamie is, but I was so curious to know where he was and what he was doing. Suddenly, I realized that so many women must wonder about the people from their past, and I couldn’t be the only one who has Googled and checked out Facebook to find them. Jamie’s story just grew from there. The quirky people in her life are mostly from my imagination, but there are elements of people I know in all of them.
When did you decide to take the indie author journey and how has it been?
After writing my first novel, I was shocked and ecstatic to be represented by a prestigious literary agency. I immediately saw myself at book launches, book signings and even walking the red carpet at my movie premiere. I was so naïve! Well, a few years and many rejections later, I realized that traditional publishers weren’t so keen on taking on an unknown chick lit author, especially at a time when paranormal romance was at its peak. After I parted ways with my agent, I had my family and work, but I knew that what I still wanted was to be a published author. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and Google, I spent a good six months researching indie publishing and finally, I took the leap. It has been amazing to meet other authors and hear from readers that they love Finding Lucas. It has been a huge learning experience tackling social media, especially for a former technophobe, and it is very hard to promote an indie novel. But I will do it again in late fall when I publish my second book, and I can’t wait!
What authors and/or books inspire you as a writer?
Oh, there are so many incredible authors and books. I love Jennifer Weiner, Emily Giffin, Marian Keyes, Jill Mansell, Chris Manby, Wendy Markham…I could go on and on. I also love Ernest Hemingway, Milan Kundera, Jonathan Kellerman, Elin Hilderbrand, S.J. Watson’s debut Before I Go To Sleep is a must read. See, I went on and on!
Other Books You’ve Written:
I have a second chick lit book that I hope to publish in late fall if I can manage to finish the revisions over the summer, a YA I hope to publish in the spring/summer, and I have a momlit that I am just finishing the outline for and can’t wait to dive into. The kids come first so as long as I can find the time to do it all, I plan on publishing a lot.
Any promos or special announcements?
I’m going on tour with Chick Lit Plus blog tours from September 10-October 1st. I love that I can go on tour without changing out of my pajamas!
Time for some fun and quirky questions…
If you could be plopped down into any novel which would it be and which female character would you fancy being?
Sex and The City. New York is one of my favourite cities in the world, and not only have I been told repeatedly that I look like Carrie, I can totally see myself in her life…and her shoes!
If you could have a dream date with a male character from any novel who would it be and what would you do on your date?
This is such a hard question, but I think I would want to go on a date with Stone Barrington from the Stuart Woods novels. I love a good suspense novel, and Stone seems so sexy and self-assured. I’m a pretty simple girl, but since Stone is always flying on a private jet and dining in only the finest of restaurants, I want the most exotic date he can imagine. Flying to Venice on a jet, having a long and complicated dinner overlooking the canals, a walk around Venice until we can see the sun come up over the Piazza. Oh, and he might buy me a gorgeous emerald necklace telling me that it matches my eyes, and I’d fall for each and every line. Okay, I have to stop now before this simple girl gets too excited for the finer things.
How do you like to celebrate once you’ve hit a word count, a particular writing goal, a draft, etc.?
Since my beloved girlfriends and I don’t have that much time to hang out because most of us have kids and work, once I’ve hit a goal, we set up a girls’ night so we can laugh so hard that our stomachs hurt and just be together for a few short delicious hours.
What is your favorite book of all time?
I can’t just choose one! But the few books that I will never forget are The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards.
Thank you, Savannah!
Thank you, Sam! It was a pleasure to have you on the Blog today. And thank you for featuring me on your Blog just yesterday. :)
So, readers. Want to know more about Samantha's book, Finding Lucas, and where you can snatch it up?
Finding Lucas, by Samantha Stroh Bailey
Can you ever really go back to the past?
On her fifth anniversary with boyfriend Derek, Jamie Ross finds herself in a Montreal hotel room wondering how the carefree guy she met in a Chicago bar has turned into “the quintessential metrosexual.” Weighed down by Derek’s disdain for her second hand wardrobe, unusual family and low-paying job as an associate producer of a daytime talk show, Jamie reaches a breaking point. And when her new boss plans to reunite lost loves on the show, she remembers Lucas— the boy she’d loved and lost ten years earlier. What follows is a quest that is at times hilarious and at others disastrous as Jamie’s life transforms from run of the mill to absolutely crazy. But will finding Lucas give Jamie everything she’s looking for?
***Finding Lucas available on Amazon (CLICK HERE)***
Twitter @perfectpen
Happy Reading!
