So who hasn't wished for a fairy godmother to ride to the rescue and find us true love? But what if that fairy godmother shows up when things are actually going great and you finally have what you want?

That's the premise of Shanna Swendson's new novel "Damsel Under Stress" - Katie Chandler has finally gotten together with Owen, and things couldn't be better...except that her fairy godmother has decided now's the time to show up and help her find true love.  Yes, that is the classic definition of bad timing. 

Here's our interview with Ms. Swendson:

> 1) What was the inspiration for your book?

The main plot was a natural outgrowth of the ongoing series, mostly me
thinking of the worst possible things I could do to my main characters
(because I'm evil that way).

The subplot with the fairy godmother grew out of my own pathetic dating
life. I've been known to lament that things would be so much easier if I had
a fairy godmother. Then I realized that in the universe of my series, I
could make that happen literally, and I started playing with that idea. What
would it really be like for a modern woman to have a fairy godmother
meddling in her love life, and what if the fairy godmother wasn't exactly up
on the times?

> 2) Are you working on your next project?

I've already written the next book in the series and I've started the fifth
book, but that isn't contracted yet. I'm currently working on ideas for
something entirely new, but I'm not sure yet which idea will win. I guess
you could say I've got "Idea Idol" taking place in my brain.

> 3) What is something about you that would surprise your readers?

A lot of people are surprised to learn that I've never actually lived in New
York -- including some New Yorkers! I think it helps that my narrator is an
outsider and has that perspective on the city because I doubt I could
convincingly write a native. I've also spent a lot of time there. Before I
started writing this series, when I was working in PR, I had to go a number
of times for business. Then when I started writing these books, I made a
special trip to research each book and have walked just about every step my
characters would take. I also incorporated things I heard from co-workers in
my PR days who worked for my company's New York office about what it's like
to live in the city, as well as some things I heard from editors I've worked
with over the years.

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion