Would you tell us about your latest release?
Been Searching for You is the book I never thought I’d write. I’m primarily a historical fiction writer, but as an occasional reader of romance, I found myself really frustrated that a lot of romances (especially romantic comedies) set a deadline of age 30 to get married. Um, I’m 36 and still haven’t found my Mr. Right. I wanted to write a book for women like me. It ended up taking the form of a semi-sweet (sex is referenced, but happens mostly off the page, but there is adult language) contemporary romantic comedy about a 34-year old woman who has been writing to her soul mate each year on her birthday since she was 16. After yet another disappointment in the love department, she vows to find the person she’s been writing to one way or another in the next year. Little does she know that this will lead her into working closely both with a man she lusts after and one she hates, forcing her to face her issues and decide if she’s truly ready for love.
One element Been Searching for You lacks that most traditional romantic comedies employ is a deception of some sort. You know the storyline: the fake boyfriend/fiancée, the woman pretending to be rich when she’s not, the person with a lie that will have to come out in the end. I think reason for this is twofold: 1) I hate deception, especially when it is contrived, and when it’s obviously contrived its like nails on a chalkboard and 2) I never sat down with the intention of writing a romantic comedy. I was writing a love story, plain and simple. When it ended up being laugh-out-loud funny, I dubbed it a rom-com. (There is a bit of misunderstanding and a deliberate misleading by a villain in the story, but not the type of deception I’m referencing above.)
Do you have an excerpt from your latest release you would like to share?
When the doorbell rang the following afternoon, I was still in my pajamas. It was Miles and Mia. Again.
“What do you two want?” I said with more than a little annoyance. I loved them, but at some point, one would think they’d learn weekends were sacred alone time for an introvert like me. “I’m all out of chocolate chip pancakes.”
Mia was huddled behind Miles as if she was using his body as a shield. It was very strange. “No, silly, we’re not here for food.”
“That’s a first.”
“We’re here,” Miles picked up the thread of conversation, “on strict orders from MI6.”
I squinted at them. “Did you two do drugs last night?”
“I’m totally serious,” Miles said. “If you will kindly let us in, we’ll explain.”
With a roll of my eyes, I stepped aside. They plunked down on the couch, a large box between them.
I pointed at it. “It’s not ticking, is it?”
Mia smiled. “Nope.”
“As I said”—Miles adopted a serious tone as if he were on one of those TV shows about the CIA—“we were given a clear mission, and it was to deliver this to you.”
I perched on the arm of the couch. “And did this message self-destruct after you received it?”
“Nope. Mia destroyed the evidence by eating it. Girl will eat anything.” Miles snickered, and Mia punched him in the arm.
“So what’s in the box, and who sent it?”
“That’s classified—need to know only, and we didn’t need to know.”
“You guys are really starting to weird me out,” I said in partial honesty.
“Just open it.” Mia pulled me onto her lap and forced my hands around the edges of the paper-wrapped box.
After inspecting it for any signs of who gave them this mysterious “mission,” I tore open the paper. Inside was an expensive white-and-red striped decorative box, the kind in which an uptown woman might store correspondence or invitations to snooty parties. Lifting the lid carefully, I found a single sheet of cream stationery on top covered in Alex’s elegant, Catholic schoolboy handwriting.
Annabeth, since there is much I cannot be with you for in body over the coming months, I wanted to make sure I was there in spirit when you needed me. I made this while I was waiting to hear the final outcome, knowing we’d have use for it eventually even if I didn’t get in at Oxford. Please consider each one of these envelopes a work of love.
The letter ended with his signature and a quote from a Florence and the Machine song about finding a way around an ocean for the sake of love.
Speechless, I handed the letter to Miles. Mia craned her neck around me to see it.
Underneath, standing in neat rows, were at least two dozen multicolored envelopes. Selecting one at random, I pulled out a bright green envelope that reminded me of those glow sticks they used to sell at skating rinks in the eighties. I even had the urge to shake it to see if it would light up. In the upper left corner, where a return address would normally have been, were the words, “Open me when…” In lieu of an address, he had written, “you need a laugh.” Below the words was a giant smiley face sticker. Thumbing through the others, I noticed they all bore the same return address but were meant for different occasions—everything from my moods to situations that might arise at work or in other areas of my life.
Typical Mia, she made a beeline for the only red envelope, which said, “Open me when… you’re Fifty Shades of Horny.” She waved it in my face. “I want to know what’s in this one.”
I made to grab it away, but she squirmed out from under me, scampering around the couch and holding it out of my reach like a schoolyard bully. She shook it. “Too small for even a silver bullet.” Her face lit up with inspiration. “Someone’s getting lucky online,” she sang.
“Damn it, Mia. Give it back.”
Miles calmly got up—unnoticed by Mia because she was too busy capering around—plucked it out of her hand, and tossed it to me. “My darling, we’ve completed our mission. We should probably leave Annabeth alone.”
She gave Miles an incredulous look. “Why, so she can fondle her envelopes? Nope. This calls for a day on the town.”
What three words would the hero of your story use to describe his love interest?
Quirky, devoted, adorable
What three words would the heroine of your story use to describe her love interest?
Hot, intelligent, stubborn
If the main characters in your latest release were invited to a masquerade party, what costumes would they wear?
Annabeth loves 1920s Chicago, so she’d come as a flapper.
Alex would probably dress as someone from literature. He lobes the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe mysteries, so he’d likely dress up as Archie Goodwin. Think: three piece suit and a fedora.
What makes the hero of Been Searching for You hot?
Alex is a handsome English professor who is rich, well-educated and cultured. He has a habit of using grand gestures to show a woman how much he loves her. What more could a girl ask for?
Do you have a favorite character or characters you feel especially close to? Annabeth is my favorite because she has a lot of me in her and she’s just so darn sweet. But I love Mia, too, because snarky bitches are fun!
Would you share a favorite quote from your latest hero, heroine or villain?
This is an exchange between Annabeth and Alex at a single’s event where their friends were being auctioned off, but they were not. Alex has just “purchased” Annabeth’s friend Mia for one of his friends:
Inspired by that thought—or perhaps it was the alcohol kicking in—I bit my lower lip and asked, “Would you have bid on me?”
He turned to me and looked me over again. “Now that’s a different story.” A breathtaking grin lit up his face. “I’d pay a lot more for you. Fine things are worth more than what’s common for a reason.”
Buy links:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/been-searching-for-you-nicole-evelina/1123723776?ean=9780996763165
iBooks: https://itun.es/us/ZZn_bb.l
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/627475
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/been-searching-for-you-1
Bio:
Nicole Evelina is an award-winning historical fiction and romantic comedy writer. Her upcoming novel, Been Searching for You (May 10), a romantic comedy, won the 2015 Romance Writers of America (RWA) Great Expectations and Golden Rose contests.
She also writes historical fiction. Her debut novel, Daughter of Destiny, the first book of an Arthurian legend trilogy that tells Guinevere’s life story from her point of view, was named Book of the Year by Chanticleer Reviews, took the Grand Prize in the 2015 Chatelaine Awards for Women’s Fiction/Romance, won a Gold Medal in the fantasy category in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and was short-listed for the Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction. Later this year, she will release Madame Presidentess (July 25), a historical novel about Victoria Woodhull, America’s first female Presidential candidate, which was the first place winner in the Women’s US History category of the 2015 Chaucer Awards for Historical Fiction.
Nicole is one of only six authors who completed a week-long writing intensive taught by #1 New York Times bestselling author Deborah Harkness. Nicole has traveled to England twice to research the Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, where she consulted with internationally acclaimed author and historian Geoffrey Ashe, as well as Arthurian/Glastonbury expert Jaime George, the man who helped Marion Zimmer Bradley research The Mists of Avalon.
Nicole is a member of and book reviewer for The Historical Novel Society, and Sirens (a group supporting female fantasy authors), as well as a member of the Historical Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Romance Writers of America, the St. Louis Writer’s Guild, Women Writing the West, Broad Universe (promoting women in fantasy, science fiction and horror), Alliance of Independent Authors and the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Her website is http://nicoleevelina.com.
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