Welcome Guest Author Cate Lord & Enter to Win Lucky Girl!

I'm pleased to welcome author Cate Lord to Cheeky Reads today! Cate recently released Lucky Girl, a Chick-Lit story with loads of romance and is stopping by to tell us more about it and chat with readers. Don't forget to leave a comment or question for Cate and you'll be entered to win an eBook copy of Lucky Girl - open internationally!

Here's the lowdown on the story:

Jessica Devlin isn’t looking for love. Heartbroken after being dumped by her unfaithful ex-fiancé, she’s determined to have a fabulous time during her vacation in England where she’ll be maid-of-honor at her cousin’s wedding. After working overtime as beauty editor of Orlando’s O Tart magazine, avoiding dating, and putting on ten pounds, Jess is ready to toss her past like an empty lipstick tube and party like a single gal.

But when she steps into the church on her cousin’s wedding day, she sees the one man who could sabotage her plan—James-Bond-gorgeous Nick Mondinello. She’s never forgotten the London marketing exec who held her in his arms after her beloved grandfather’s funeral two years ago. Ambitious, and lusted after by women everywhere, Nick is completely wrong for guarded, Plain Jane Jess.

Could Spy Man Nick ever fall for her? Nope. Not unless Jess is one lucky girl.

Welcome Cate!

This is your first Chick-Lit book, but it still has a strong romance storyline. Did you find it difficult to change genres or was it fun to blend the two? It was a lot of fun, actually! J I saw Lucky Girl as a healthy creative challenge. While the book is written in first person like most Chick Lit novels, and has a Chick Lit tone, I wanted the story to be a romance. The tricky part was to make the hero, Nick, multi-dimensional, when all we know about him is revealed through Jess and thus is highly subjective. Hopefully readers will get a good idea of Nick’s swoon-worthy character and will love the book as much as I adored writing it.

Characters really make the story for me. What 3 words would best describe your heroine & what about her called out to you to write her story?

I’d describe Jess as insecure, quirky, and loyal. She represents all of the issues modern women deal with: weight, appearance, finances, dating, workplace politics, fashion disasters, family conflicts, and more. I love to write stories about wounded characters who are “healed” through love. Jess is one such character. The issues she confronts—usually in a funny, self-deprecating way—are part of her journey to overcoming heartbreak, regaining her self-worth, and finding true love. By the end of the book, she’s “whole” again.

Part of this story takes place in Orlando, FL and part takes place in England. Did you get to travel to England for research? Was it fun to write a contemporary story not totally set in the US?

I didn’t travel to England specifically to do research for Lucky Girl. I lived and studied in the UK for a year (when I met my husband), and I drew upon some of my personal experiences to write about Jess. Since my husband is British, and he and I have relatives in England, we travel there every year or two. I always thoroughly immerse myself in the local culture (it’s a great excuse to stuff my face with Cadbury chocolate, clotted cream and scones! Yum!)

Yes, it was fun to write a contemporary novel that was mostly set outside the US. That helped to provide humor for the story.

What else do you have in store for readers and where can they find you next? I’m mulling over the possibility of a follow-on book to Lucky Girl. Jess’s cousins were fun secondary characters, and I’d love them to be heroines in their own books. I’m also working on two paranormal novels—one contemporary and one historical. I encourage readers to visit my website for updates on my books and appearances: http://www.catelord.com

I think authors are the best people to ask this question - What have you read and loved lately? Any newbie authors or books you would recommend?
I haven’t done much reading lately; my schedule’s been too full. I have several books by friends published by Entangled Publishing, though, in my to-be-read pile, and can’t wait to have some free time to start reading them.
 
Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers about you, your books or even where to connect with you online?
I love interacting with readers. I really appreciate when they leave comments on my blog posts and I have a chance to connect with them. Readers, after all, are very special people to us authors. J Readers can also connect with me via Facebook and Goodreads.

Thanks so much for the interview! I enjoyed the questions.

Thank you Cate!
Ok readers - what questions do you have for Cate? Leave a question or comment below and you'll be entered to win an ebook copy of Lucky Girl!