A Singles Cinderella Story (Or How to Find Love Without Losing Yourself) received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with authors Laura C. Browne + Jill L. Ferguson.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
A Singles Cinderella Story (Or How to Find Love Without Losing Yourself) February 7, 2020 for the paperback and the ebook; audiobook May 15, 2020.
What’s the book’s first line?
The ring on Teresa’s finger sparkled as she held out her right hand to show her best friends, Leticia and El. “What do you think?”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
In a contemporary Cinderella story following the lives of three best friends, readers and El and Leticia and Teresa learn how to love themselves first and then how to love someone else.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Our own relationships of learning to how best love ourselves and other people, and some of the crazy dating adventures we’ve had. 🙂
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
It’s a fun and engaging way to learn how we can have better relationships with people in our lives.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The most distinctive things about El is that she’s a red-haired protagonist who lives with a cat named Mr. Fluffy and she goes from complaining about her life to shutting up and taking action–professionally, personally–and this causes great growth and enables her to get what she wants from life. We think of Drew Barrymore and how she’s changed and matured and taken over her own life to do what SHE wants, as opposed to kowtowing to others’ whims and wills.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
Laura and Jill would love to see Emma Watson or Jennifer Lawrence play El.
When did you first decide to become an author?
Jill wrote her first book at age 5, and she decided to illustrate it herself. It was about an orange cat. And since she didn’t know the ratio of paint pigments to water, she created a sloppy mess. Laura pictured herself as an author for as long as she can remember.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No. Laura is the author of nine published books; Jill is the author of ten published books. Together, they have written three books (A Salary Cinderella Story: Or How to Make More Money Without a Fairy Godmother and Raise Rules for Women: How to Make More Money at Work) and are working on a fourth.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
Both Laura and Jill work full-time as writers and coaches. Laura coaches women how to get more of what they want at work; Jill coaches want to be authors on how to write and to get published and she also coaches entrepreneurs at all stages in their careers.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
A few hours most days for Jill. Laura blocks several hours a few times a week to write.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Know your audience and what they need. Decide how your writing is going to help them or what it will do for them, even if you are writing fiction.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Jill has published both with traditional publishers and through the publishing company she owns with Laura. The benefit of being indie is the author gets paid so much faster and gets to keep a higher percentage of the profits. We would go traditional if it was a company with which we’d like to work, one that had a strong film rights division, and if the advance made it worth it.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
The desire to touch people’s lives and help them learn something–even if the writing is fiction, these are more motivating than money. Both Jill and Laura live in a daily space of blessings and abundance. 🙂
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Judy Blume is who Jill admires the most because she has successfully written for readers in every age bracket. One of Laura’s idols is Sheryl Sandberg. Her books, Lean In and Option B have made such a difference for so many.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Laura wishes she had written You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero (which is on the recommended reading list at the end of A Singles Cinderella Story) and, of course, the Harry Potter series since Laura is a huge fan. Jill would have loved to have written Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey because she loves dolphins.