Just a heads up that I’m planning to send a newsletter on Monday with a Valentine’s Day extra: an alternate chapter for Chick Magnet in which things gets considerably more steamy on Will’s porch. I’ll talk more about this in the newsletter itself, but writing the scene with extra heat helped me to get over my mid-book slump and finish the book. So while I fully love the final (lower-heat) version of the chapter, it’s fun to look back and ponder, “what if?”
Friends, release week for Chick Magnet was BONKERS in the best way. I have done more promo for this book than for anything else I’ve written before. As a result, I wanted to put together a roundup post so that readers could find all those articles, podcasts, etc. in the future.
I’ll update this with more stuff as it drops–because not all of it is out in the world yet!–but here’s what I have so far. I am omitting reviews because I’ve been doing my best not to read those. ; )
I did a Q&A with Chick Lit Central. You may be especially interested in the link to my favorite ramen recipe.
It is almost inconceivable that I’m sitting my office where, two and a half years ago, I started writing this book, and now I’m writing the release day post. That’s right, Chick Magnet can now be yours! You can grab a paperback at Amazon, get it for your Kindle, and pick up the audiobook at Audible (read by the wonderful CJ Bloom and Aaron Shedlock).
This is a grumpy-sunshine romance about a small town veterinarian and the backyard chicken influencer who moves across the street from him, the one he doesn’t want to like, but whom he can’t stop watching. It’s about two people who are bruised underneath the masks they put on for the world. But as a result, they can’t help but see through the other’s disguise. It’s also about the joys of kittens, of coaching kid’s soccer, of prying neighbors. It’s about whispering secrets in the dark and kissing on your porch. And chickens. There are a lot of chickens.
So many people helped me write this book, it’s almost embarrassing. Without Genevieve Turner, Olivia Dade, Sarah Younger, Lauren Plude, everyone at Montlake, and everyone at Kaye Publicity, this book wouldn’t exist…or you wouldn’t have heard about it. I’m just so grateful to all my friends, family, and readers for their support.
I’ll have a big roundup soon of all the coverage for Chick Magnet, but if you’re a fan of Liz Donatelli’s Reader Seeks Romance, I had the chance to talk with her, which you can watch here.
Isn’t the cover for Funny Guy amazing? Well, the blurb is even better:
From the author of Chick Magnet comes a heartfelt friends-to-lovers story about what can happen when a funny guy and his childhood best friend are stuck together in a small New York City apartment.
Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.
At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she’s never revealed her biggest secret: she’s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country―and doesn’t say a thing to Sam.
But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support―and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she’s his friend. He can’t be falling for her.
Except he is.
Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal?
And while I have your attention, I had a wonderful chat with Meg and Liz at the Make Out Already podcast about Chick Magnet. You can listen here, and you should because they’re charming.
I’m writing my year end posts, and trying to revise a book, and recording podcasts and writing promo columns for Chick Magnet‘s impending release, but let me just drop a quick post to tell you to enter this giveaway. The lovely folks at Amazon Publishing are going to give away 100 digital copies of Chick Magnet. All you have to do is click.
Also, while I have your attention, The One You Want (the book formerly known as Special Interests) is currently FREE at Amazon. So if you haven’t read it, or you want to recommend it to a friend who hasn’t, click fast. It will revert to regular price at the end of the day on December 27, 2022.
If you’d been thinking, “Wow, I need to brighten an afternoon with an event featuring two romance superstars plus, for some inexplicable reason, Emma Barry,” then I have the surprise of a lifetime. Olivia Dade, Therese Beharrie, and I are doing just such an event with Love’s Sweet Arrow at 1 pm CST on November 5, 2022. All the details are at Event Brite, and I would love to see you there.
First things first, the entire Political Persuasions series is now available on Kindle Unlimited. I know, I know, I’ve done a lot of shuffling with the series this year. I’ve been trying to figure out where it should be to find the most readers, and so I’m giving it a spin in KU. If you’ve read and enjoyed these books, please recommend them to friends who may not have sampled them: The One You Want, The One You Need, The One You Hate, and The One You Crave.
And the auction to support the release of the three-volume Dissent anthology is now live! The proceeds will benefit reproductive rights and justice. So many incredible items are on offer, including a signed ARC of Chick Magnet!
And Chick Magnet is available for review-y types to request on Netgalley.
Y’all, the cover for Chick Magnet is here, and I am in love…with the cover. Not with Will. I mean, not that much with Will. But you can see why I was teasing it as #BringingSexyCoversBack, right??
And here’s the blurb:
From Emma Barry comes a clever romance about a hot veterinarian and a chicken-loving influencer who can’t help but ruffle each other’s feathers.
Nicole Jones needs a fresh start. “Chick Nic” to millions of internet fans, the social media star and her flock of chickens bask in the spotlight—until she’s publicly dumped by a YouTuber for clout. She has no choice but to round up her birds and move on.
But when one of her hens has an emergency, Nic gets her first taste of her new stomping grounds—and it isn’t good. Veterinarian Will Lund is wildly attractive, yes, but he’s also surly. In fact, he comes right out and calls her a menace for parading her chickens on social media.
As neighbors, Nic and Will can’t exactly avoid each other. Then again, maybe they don’t want to. The two can’t deny their smoldering attraction, and it isn’t long before late-night confessions lead to backyard shenanigans.
Is this the start of a neighborly relationship—or could something more be hatching?
Emma Barry 