I am so excited to share with you guys this cool interview I did with an author loved by so many! I am new to her works, but I can't wait to dig in and find out more. Her Fool's Gold series chronicles the love lives of the those woman who brave the sparse population of men in the Fool's Gold area.
ALSO, congratulations are in order since ONLY MINE has reached #12 on the New York Times Bestsellers List in only its SECOND week of release!
ALSO, congratulations are in order since ONLY MINE has reached #12 on the New York Times Bestsellers List in only its SECOND week of release!
Please enjoy my chat with the stellar, Susan Mallery:
About the Book:
Her town’s lack of men may make headlines, but it isn’t news to Dakota Hendrix. The beautiful blonde has bigger problems to deal with, such as overseeing the romance reality competition filming in Fool’s Gold. Screening eligible bachelors is a difficult enough task, but Dakota hits an unexpected snag when a sexy stranger comes to town. Finn Anderssen will do anything to keep his twin brothers—the perfect contestants—off the show. Despite Dakota’s better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the mysterious outsider. Like her, Finn knows about heartbreak and how a family can fall apart, so she doesn’t dare to hope for anything more than a fling. After all, even in the Land of Happy Endings, finding true love is never as easy as it looks on TV.
The Interview
SM: I can’t wait for readers to return to Fool’s Gold! I love this town where the men are in short supply and the women are crabby… two facts that are not completely unrelated.
As for the characters, I adore Dakota and Finn. Dakota is smart, funny, and ambitious but still very family-oriented. She worked her tail off to get her doctorate as a child psychologist by a very young age, then returned to her hometown of Fool’s Gold to be near her family. She can’t imagine ever wanting to live somewhere else.
Meanwhile, Finn is a pilot from Alaska. When his parents died, he raised his younger brothers. Now they are just months from completing college – meaning Finn is just months from fulfilling his duty to his late parents – when his brothers both drop out and rush to Fool’s Gold, California to try out for a reality show. If Finn could physically force them to get back to school, he would. I love it when a take-charge man can’t take charge. What does he do, how does he react?
RJ: Why don't you tell me and the readers a little bit about Only Mine from the author's point of view?
SM: My job as a writer is to tighten the screws on my characters, to find ways to make their lives worse because, frankly, perfect lives are boring to read about. Because the Fool’s Gold books are lighthearted but emotional, I get to tighten those screws in both comical and serious ways, which is really fun for me as a writer. (And, I hope, fun for the reader because it provides a richer reading experience with both humor and emotion.)
In ONLY MINE, one way I made things worse for the beleaguered women of Fool’s Gold was to bring sleazy reality TV to town. They’re sick of being the butt of jokes as “the town with the man shortage,” and now their notoriety is going to be extended through a TV dating show. To mitigate the bad things that are sure to follow, the mayor asks psychologist Dakota Hendrix to serve as the town’s liaison with the show, interviewing potential contestants so she can reject the craziest of them and keep Fool’s Gold from looking foolish.
On a more serious note, Dakota is struggling with a secret that will change the course of her life, a secret so big that she hasn’t even shared it yet with her mother or her triplet sisters. Finn’s arrival in town just makes things more confusing for poor Dakota.
RJ: This release is the latest book in the Fool’s Gold series. What is this series' premise and how did the idea for it come about? Tell us all about the Fool’s Gold backdrop!
SM: Fool’s Gold, California is a quirky small town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The town is known for its festivals and parades, its warm, friendly people, its incredible scenery… and unfortunately, for its man shortage. The 2010 census revealed to the world that Fool’s Gold is a statistical anomaly, and no one is sure quite why.
Readers can learn more about Fool’s Gold by visiting www.foolsgoldca.com. Lots of great bonus content there, including some funny between-the-books stories, a free Fool’s Gold Family Recipes cookbook, a free knitting pattern, a free quilt pattern, and of course, excerpts of the Fool’s Gold books.
RJ: Did you pick up any interesting tid-bits while researching for the book and/or did you incorporate any unique elements in your story?
SM: Writing the Fool’s Gold books is a lot of fun for me because, since Fool’s Gold is fictional, I do “research” by creating new and interesting layers to the town. One of the things I did while writing this year’s books was to come up with a monthly calendar of the festivals in Fool’s Gold. (The town is known for its festivals and parades.) Pretty fun stuff. In Fool’s Gold, every festival has some sort of special twist. You can see the festival schedule here: http://foolsgoldca.susanmallery.com/festival.html
RJ: I love strong main characters, but having amazing secondary characters gives a book that extra “umph”. Give us the scoop on a notable secondary character in Only Mine. What’s their name, occupation, and a random fact about them?
SM: I’ll have to go with two characters because these two go together… kind of like bookends, actually. Sasha and Stephen Anderssen are the 20-year-old younger brothers of hero Finn Anderssen. They’re twins, of course, and just as gorgeous as their older brother, with dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. They’re young, handsome, and charming – so you know they’re going to be chosen as contestants on the reality show. Finn wants them to go back to college, but each young man has his own reason for wanting to get on the show. From early reviews, I can tell that readers are going to love Sasha and Stephen.
RJ: In a small paragraph, write the blurb to your life as it is-but exaggerated to how you ideally wish it were.
SM: Susan Mallery is the #1 New York Times bestselling author who has sold more books than JK Rowling and Nora Roberts combined!
RJ: What projects are you currently working on and what do the readers (and me!) have to look forward to next from you?
SM: ONLY MINE is the first of the Hendrix triplets’ romances. The other two triplets will fall in love in ONLY YOURS and ONLY HIS, which are due out in September and October. I think they’re two of the funniest stories I’ve ever written. There’s one particular two-word phrase that makes me chuckle every time I think of it. Can’t wait to hear how readers react.
As for what I’m currently working on… next year, three cowboy brothers will move to Fool’s Gold! Or should I say “move back?” They grew up there as the poorest kids in town. Now they’ve each made a fortune, and they’re back to take over the ranch where they grew up.
RJ: Picture this: Some major motion picture studio buys the film rights to Only Mine and want to make it into a movie. They bring you in as a consultant (since you wrote the book and everything-LOL). They ask you to come up with an ‘ideal’ cast list. Which actors would make that list?
SM: What a fun question! I decided to ask my fans at www.facebook.com/susanmallery for help with this one. (We like to play games like this all the time.) Someone suggested Sarah Michelle Gellar as Dakota (and therefore as Montana and Nevada, as well). Physically, she’s just about perfect, with her blonde hair and deep brown eyes, and she has a vulnerability to her that would work well, too. If we’re going to use her, though, we need to start filming immediately. She’s about 34 now, and the Hendrix triplets are 28.
Carrie Underwood was another fun suggestion to play Dakota. I think she’s adorable, and hey, then we could have Fool’s Gold, the Musical!
Several readers suggested Josh Duhamel as Finn. We’d need to dye his hair black, but I think he’d look pretty delicious as a brunette. Colin Egglesfield was a fun suggestion, too. Super sexy. Finn is 6’4” and a rugged pilot from Alaska, and Colin seems perfect for the role.
Only Mine...All Mine Contest Details!
The contest will be open to all Members of Susan’s website who sign-up for a chance to win. It will begin August 1st and will end September 1st, 2011. Once the contest has ended we will randomly drawone lucky winner. The one lucky winner will receive a signed “exclusive first look” at Susan’s new Fool’s Gold Christmas e-novella (so fresh it doesn’t even have a title yet) and a manshortage t-shirt.
For readers to sign up for the“ONLY MINE…All Mine” contest they must visit the contest page inside the MemberOnly lounge at: http://www.susanmallery.com/members/contest.php
If they are not already members they can become members by entering an email address and zip code.
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