Welcome Wild Rose Press author, Monica Epstein...



Hi Monica and welcome to my blog! I don't think we've met before so I'm looking forward to finding out more about you and your writing. It has been far too long since I headed over the the Wild Rose Press website so will remedy that as soon as we're finished with the interview. Let's get started!

1.    What do you wish men understood about women?

Sometimes women complain or talk about something bothering us just to get it off our chests. Don’t dismiss us by saying something like “it turned out fine” or “it was no big deal”.

2.    Do you only work on one book at a time?

Absolutely. I need quiet when I write. If I have another book’s characters talking in my head, I get mixed up J

3.    Who is your favorite fictional couple?

I don’t have a favorite fictional couple but I have quite a few I’ve cheered for: Carrie and Mr.Big from Sex and the City, Ross and Rachel from Friends, Harry and Ginny from Harry Potter (although in the movie version I would have liked a Harry and Hermione pairing because the actors had great chemistry), Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.

4.    Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

The closest thing I have to a quote that sums up how I feel about life would be, “I’m not the best but I’m trying my best.” But I tend to be hard on myself and I’m a worrier, so I collect quotes about self-compassion and post them on a Pinterest board. (If you’re interested in seeing it, click here.) It’s hard to pick a favorite but one of my favorites—and I don’t know who to attribute it to—is, “You can change the way people treat you by changing the way you treat yourself.” It’s something we all need to remember.

5.    Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?

I can’t set daily goals because I can’t write every day. I have a full-time job so most of my writing gets done on weekends. After writing all day (I’m a technical writer) I’m sometimes too tired to do more than edit at night. But even on weekends, I don’t pressure myself to write a certain amount. Some days I’m more prolific than others.

6.    What do you like better, Twitter or Facebook? Why?

In regard to social media, I live by the philosophy of doing a few things well instead of doing everything superficially. Twitter and Facebook were once described to me like this: if you are the kind of person who likes going to parties, working the crowd, talking to all sorts of people, Twitter is for you. If you’re the kind who observes from the perimeter of the party and only talks to people you know, you’re a better match for Facebook. I’m one to stand in the corner trying to be inconspicuous. I choose to devote my time to Facebook.

7.     What are you working on now?

I’m toying with an idea for a paranormal story but I’m not decided because originally I saw myself writing books for women in midlife like me. I don’t think our lives get enough attention, particularly from a romantic perspective.

8.    Tell us about your latest release and where we can find it

WHERE THERE IS WILL is about learning to love yourself before you can love another. The heroine, Michelle, is newly divorced and trying to adjust to life without her ex’s income. She takes a job in London so she can work on rebuilding her confidence away from people who have preconceived expectations. She insists that she doesn’t want to fall in love again but it’s her insecurities that are holding her back. Then she meets a man nearly half her age who teaches her to like herself enough to allow good things to happen. The Kindle edition is currently available on Amazon at http://amzn.com/B00HJE46UA. I hope by now that print copies are available there too, as well as at my publisher’s website: The Wild Rose Press.

Excerpt
I walked into my office cubicle, hung up my jacket, and logged onto my computer like I did every morning. I stood, picked up my empty coffee mug, turned, and slammed into Olivia. “Come with me,” she whispered. I sighed heavily and followed my co-worker into the conference room where I found Paige already sitting at the large table.
“I saw your photo in the newspaper,” Paige said, shoving a clipping in my direction.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a newspaper,” I replied, but not having gotten a good look at the picture the previous night, I picked up the clipping and examined it. It was of poor quality—probably taken with a cell phone camera. I hadn’t noticed the caption yesterday: Will Sheridan gets attacked by cougar. Despite the lack of creativity in those words, my insides felt like they were being attacked by a cougar. “Nice,” I said pretending to sound disinterested as I pushed the paper back toward Paige.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Tell Olivia and me what you’re doing in the paper.”
“Kissing someone.”
“This is no time to be cheeky. Just what were you doing kissing William Sheridan? We didn’t even know you knew him.”
“You do know him, right?” Olivia interjected.
“No. I just walked up to him in a cafĂ©, sat on his lap, and planted a wet one on his mouth.”
“You’re on his lap?” Olivia gave the clipping another look. “Why, you are on his lap. And he has no shirt on.”
I let out a deep breath. “I met Will when I first came to London, and we became friends. We’ve spent a lot of time together and gotten to know each other quite well.” Paige’s expression begged me to define how well I knew him. “We’ve become a little more than friends recently.”
“By snogging naked in a cafĂ©?”
Even I had to laugh at the silliness of Paige’s statement. “I admit, it does look pretty bad, but for your information, Will is not naked, he’s just shirtless.”
“The caption says he’s shirtless and trouser-less,” Olivia corrected.
“He was covered.”
“By a towel,” Olivia added.
“A bath sheet,” I corrected like it made a big difference. I went on to explain what had happened to lead up to the public kiss. When I finished, Olivia stared at me, open mouthed.
“So does this mean you’re dating William Sheridan?” Paige asked.
“Yes, I guess I am.”
I was barely out of the conference room when Paige griped, “Can you believe that American? She thinks she can write a novel and have one our most eligible bachelors.”

Where There Is Will is available at HTTP://AMZN.COM/B00HJE46UA

Bio

Monica Epstein writes about topics that appeal to women like herself—over 40 and nowhere near ready to throw in the towel and call it a life. Her first novel, Where There Is Will, is published by The Wild Rose Press.

Monica lives in a suburb of Washington, D.C. with her husband, their teenage daughter, and a small collection of hats and fascinators. She dreams of being the Queen of England in her next life.

Learn more about Monica at the following:

Comments???



4 comments

  1. Thanks, Liz. I have a hard time picking excerpts to share. I'm doing a reading in a few months to a group of romance writers and readers. Who thinks this excerpt would work for that?

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    Replies
    1. I think it would be a good one--it makes the listener want to hear more--or read more.

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    2. Thanks, Liz. I'll keep this in mind.

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