Hi, guys! V. Joy Palmer here! Since we are all friends here, you guys can call me Joy. ;-) And one of my favorite things to do is talk with my friends at coffee shops then head to the bookstores. Yes, plural. After all, books and yummy drinks are the perfect combination! So consider this our virtual coffee shop. I'll wait a second for you to get your warm drink and a fuzzy blanket before we chat with today's guest. <3
Today we are going to pry into the private life of CHAT Hope Bolinger and Alyssa Roat, authors of Picture Imperfect!
For more about Hope and Alyssa, check out their pages at Mountain Brook Ink!
Interview ~
This may be the most important question I ask -- no pressure or anything, LOL!
*drum roll*
What are you drinking in our virtual coffee house? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Something else altogether?
Hope: Tea! Sadly, I am allergic to coffee. But hot chocolate comes in a close second.
Alyssa: Coffee, and lots of it!
Good answers. ;-) If you could order anything in the world to eat (we can dream, can't we?), what would it be?
Hope: So I’m a huge fan of baklava. I’ve been
known to drop everything, at fairs, and stand in line for a slice of this.
Alyssa: I love ice cream cake with a burning passion.
Double yum! Where is your favorite place to write, and why is that your favorite place?
Hope: On my couch with my fat cat by my side. He
occasionally likes to sit on my lap, which heavily impedes writing progress.
Alyssa: Just like Hope, I like to write on my couch with my
feet up, with fresh coffee and my young, crazy cat running laps around the
living room.
Cats make great writing companions! Do you have an odd habit that is only explained by your bookish, writer tendencies? Safe space. ;-)
Hope: I’m really hard to watch movies with
because I’m always dissecting elements of plot and character. My family likes
to throw pillows or popcorn at me.
Alyssa: I like to sniff books before I buy them, haha!
LOL! I can relate! What inspired you to write PICTURE IMPERFECT?
Hope: Alyssa and I saw a romance writing contest
and talked about how we always wanted to write a book about young professionals
trying to make it in the publishing world. We decided to give it a go, and have
never looked back since.
How fun! What led you to write in this genre?
Hope: Alyssa and I wrote in the YA romance
genre, and had noticed there aren’t many young writers contributing to the
adult romance genre. I’m a sucker for Hallmark romances and we really wanted to
give this genre a go. I’m so happy we did.
Alyssa: I’m so glad we did too!
That's so awesome!!! What message do you hope to convey to your readers?
Hope: It’s okay to be imperfect. And it’s okay
to take time off of your day from work. Most young professionals we know work
two to three jobs, so you can burn out really fast. We wanted to push back
against that idea and invite times of rest and imperfection.
What a wonderful message! Can you tell us a little about your next project(s)?
Hope: Absolutely! The second in this series,
FINDING HARMONY, releases in July of 2022. And if you want to see how young
professionals tackle the indie music industry, we fully recommend putting it on
your TBR. I also have a speculative, quirky middle grade titled THE CASSANDRA
CURSE releasing in February of 2022.
Alyssa: I’m very excited for FINDING HARMONY. On my end, the
second book in my YA contemporary fantasy The Wraithwood Trilogy releases in
March of 2022.
I'm hooked! Do you have a favorite Bible verse or story that inspires you on a soul level?
Hope: There are so many, but I would love to include the
entire passage of Psalm 103. It has gotten me through some very dark moments
and offers comfort when I feel alone.
Alyssa: That’s a great one from Hope. My silly favorite is the story of Ehud, because I, too, am left-handed.
Love the relatability of these! What are you currently reading? Inquiring minds -- mine! -- want to know! ;-)
Hope: So I’m just about to dive into an ARC of
Carmen Schober’s AFTER SHE FALLS. I’m so excited to dive into this read!
Alyssa: I’m in the middle of Fractures, the second book in
Rise of the Anointed by Jason C. Joyner, a wonderful Christian YA author.
These sound great!!
Thank you Hope and Alyssa for answering all of my prying questions!
Check out Hope and Alyssa's new release, Picture Imperfect!
Picture Imperfect
Can a struggling career woman and a procrastinating artist save a beloved nonprofit?
Aspiring novelist Caroline Penn expected a promotion, not a picture book assignment. But when her employer, the non-profit Helping Hope, runs into financial trouble, this book might be the solution. With the company struggling to stay afloat, she and the illustrator will need to collaborate on a strict deadline -- no problem for a workaholic like Caroline, right?
Andy Jackson, a "starving" artist, pays the bills by taking on graphic design gigs, but his perfectionism gets in the way. If only he could focus on a project for once, perhaps he could achieve his dream to make art for children for a living.
When the two are thrust together to create a book, Caroline can't seem to write for children, and Andy can't meet a deadline to save his life. As time ticks down to release day, the two must face their pasts and insecurities. If they can avoid strangling one another for long enough, they may just bring to the table what the other is missing.
If not, the fate of their careers -- and a beloved nonprofit -- hangs in the balance.
Find Picture Imperfect on Amazon and Goodreads!
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