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Marrying Out of Money by Nicky Schmidt

Lou Hubbard doesn’t care about money. So what if her father runs a billion dollar coffee empire and the family can afford to lead a luxurious life? All Lou wants to do is settle down with rock star boyfriend, Hedge, and do something good for the environment. But Lou’s mother is dead set against her daughter’s non-lavish ways. The cunning Victoria sets a plan into motion, determined to have Lou marry Harry Stomeworth, simply to gain an aristocratic title. When Harry’s dreadful mother jumps on the plan, Lou and Harry don’t seem to have much of a choice. But that is where the fun begins, and Lou and Harry join forces to try to get out of marrying.
Marrying Out of Money by Nicky Schmidt, is a sort of “anti-romantic comedy.” The characters were over the top and hilarious, especially the two mothers. But I loved the story behind the Lou and Harry, how the young kids want to marry for love and not just money, stability, or titles. Some of the scenes (especially the ones with Hedge) had me laughing out loud at the absurdity. Along that line, I wished that Schmidt would have cleaned up Hedge’s dialogue just a bit. I understand that she wanted to make a point about how he spoke, but it was hard to focus on what he was saying sometimes because he was always so ridiculous sounding and hard to decipher. But overall I thought this was a really engaging, quirky, chick lit book and I definitely recommend!
[Rating: 4.5]

Interview with Nicky Schmidt

Q: When did you first get serious about writing?

I think I’ve always loved to write, Samantha. I was churning out substandard little stories from a young age. In terms of seriousness, it took until my late twenties to realize I had to commit real time and effort to the process of writing, then a few years more to actually achieve the end product. Hence I call myself the Queen of Procrastination!

Q: What do you find to be the most difficult part of the writing process?

About half way through the final edit of a book – when I just want it to be over, so that I can start the next one. Intriguingly this part of the writing process coincides with a sudden and unexpected increase in weight as well! It’s filling in the small details: all the little bits and pieces that you want to get right for the reader, but take hours of research/checking.

Q: Who are some authors that you look up to?

Too many to name, but if pushed, I worship at the altar of Jodi Picoult, who manages to make producing compelling, timely works look so effortless. I try to read a lot of comedy TV scripts too.

Q: What are you currently reading?

John Berendt’s City of Falling Angels, after noticing someone who reviewed my book on Amazon was reading it.

Q: Your second novel, Marrying Out of Money, will in bookstores in April. Can you tell us about the story in twenty words or less?

Sure – a coffee heiress’s social-climbing mother tries to marry her off to a womanizing aristocrat, with disastrous results.

Q: Are you working on a third novel?

Yes! It’s called Anti-model Agency, and the teaser is: revenge comes in all shapes and sizes!

Q: Where do you find the ideas for your books?

The media and the social climate. I try to find something ubiquitous in our world and turn it on its head.

Q: How did you celebrate your first novel, Naked in Knightsbridge, after it was published?

In true Jools’ style: a couple of dozen boxes of Krispy Kremes and some cheap red wine!

Q: Where would be your dream vacation?

At the moment, somewhere warm with a 24-hour buffet. I’m discerning, aren’t I?

Q: What is your advice for aspiring writers?

The only way to achieve your dreams is to write everyday, then rewrite until you have a brilliant book. No shortcuts, I’m afraid.

GIVEAWAY: Marrying Out of Money by Nicky Schmidt

Following on from her debut novel, Nicky Schmidt’s Marrying out of Money is the story of a coffee shop heiress who is determined not to marry an aristocratic cad in an arranged marriage. In order to extricate herself, she decides to make herself as undesirable as possible, but things go awry when she finds herself falling for a man who repulses her.
I have five eBook copies of Marrying Out of Money to give away! To be entered, just send me an email to Samantha @ chicklitplus . com (no spaces). The five winners will be chosen Tuesday, February 8th. For extra entries, comment on this post, Facebook, or RT on Twitter. Thanks to Sam at Prospera Publishing LTD for sponsoring this giveaway.

In My Mailbox: Week of January 30th

In My Mailbox: Week of January 30, 2011

Title: Just Friends With Benefits
Author: Meredith Schorr
Received: From Meredith Schorr
Synopsis: When a friend urges Stephanie Cohen not to put all her eggs in one bastard, the advice falls on deaf ears. Stephanie’s college crush on Craig Hille has been awakened 13 years later as if soaked in a can of Red Bull and she is determined not to let the guy who got away once, get away twice.

Stephanie, a 32-year-old paralegal from Washington, D.C., is a 70’s and 80’s television trivia buff who can recite the starting lineup of the New York Yankees and go beer for beer with the guys. And despite her failure to get married and pro-create prior to entering her thirties, she has so far managed to keep her overbearing mother from sticking her head in the oven. Just Friends with Benefits is the humorous story of Stephanie’s pursuit of love, her adventures in friendship, and her journey to discover what really matters.

Title: Marrying Out of Money
Author: Nicky Schmidt
Received: From Sam Lown @ Prospera Publishing
Synopsis: Following on from her debut novel, Nicky Schmidt’s “Marrying out of Money” is the story of a coffee shop heiress who is determined not to marry an aristocratic cad in an arranged marriage. In order to extricate herself, she decides to make herself as undesirable as possible, but things go awry when she finds herself falling for a man who repulses her.

Title: Wanna Get Lucky?
Author: Deborah Coonts
Received: From Cassie Ammerman @ Tor/Forge
Synopsis: A young woman plunges from a Las Vegas sightseeing helicopter, landing in the Pirate’s lagoon in front of the Treasure Island Hotel in the middle of the 8:30 Pirate Show. Almost everyone writes her off as another Vegas victim.
But Lucky O’Toole smells a rat. She’s head of Customer Relations at The Babylon, the newest, most opulent mega-casino and resort on the Strip, so she’s got a lot on her plate: the Adult Film industry’s annual awards banquet, a spouse-swapping convention, sex toy purveyors preying on the pocket-protector crowd attending ElectroniCon…. Still, Lucky can’t resist turning over a few stones.
When a former flame is one of the snakes she uncovers, Lucky’s certain she’s no longer dealing with an anonymous Sin City suicide. To top it all off, Lucky’s best friend Teddie—Las Vegas’ finest female impersonator—presses to take their relationship to the next level. Leave it to Lucky to attract a man who looks better in a dress than she does.
Lucky must manage the Babylon’s onslaught of outrageous festivities, solve a murder, and struggle to keep her life and libido from spinning out of control… not to mention keep her balance in six inch heels.