286. The Importance of Friendship, Writing, Great Lipstick, and Romance: An Interview with Jasmine Guillory

Summary: Today, I’m chatting with debut author Jasmine Guillory. Since we recorded this interview, The Wedding Date has come out, and it was a USA Today bestseller - congratulations, Jasmine! We talk about the excitement of pre-release and the stress of balancing book releases with real life, and what brought Jasmine to reading and writing romance. Some of her favorite books involve characters who lead busy lives and love their careers, which informed her own writing as well. Jasmine tells us about: Writing her own catnip story, and writing characters who own who they are and celebrate themselves the way they are. How her real-life friendships found their way into her story and why friendships are essential to a person’s journey, both in fiction and in real life. The importance of internet friends, in-person friends, writer friends, the fun of recommending your friends’ books, how crucial it is to have people in your life who know about writing and publishing, and people who don’t, and especially, friends who can help you look terrific by talking you into or out of clothing purchases. Her advice to aspiring writers about being proud of yourself, and not comparing your own progress to someone else’s. The importance of lipsticks, lip stains, and her personal product recommendations. Plus, Jasmine solves the mystery of why and HOW I always get lipstick on my glasses, AND the source of one of my reading catnips. We're talking life changing conversation here, people.