Title: Men & Martinis
Author: Delancey Stewart
Series: Girlfriends of Gotham #1
Genre: Comedy, New Adult Romance
Release Date: April 15, 2015
It’s 1998…and New York City just might not be prepared for the Girlfriends of Gotham…
Natalie Pepper knows almost nothing about New York City, except that it’s far, far away from her home in California. When she packs up everything she owns and moves there on a whim, luck is on her side. She stumbles into a promising marketing job in the developing Internet industry and finds herself surrounded by poised and polished men who are nothing like the guys she knew back home.
One man stands out from the rest… CJ: All-American hunk and genuine good guy. But they work together, and giving in to their mutual attraction could put Natalie’s sparkly new world at risk. She resolves to look, but not to touch…if she can ignore the feeling that he’s the guy she’s been looking for her whole life.
Natalie’s new friend Candace Kanie has no such concerns. From the barroom to the boardroom, she’s used to getting exactly what she wants, and her no-crap attitude ensures nothing gets in her way. But when she meets Damon, the notorious playboy at Natalie’s company, she finds that her take-no-prisoners style might not be as effective in the romantic realm.
Frustrated and often irrational, Candace pushes for what she wants until something’s gotta give. And when it does, she realizes that the one thing she might not do better than anyone else is change.
The first book about the loves, lives, and laughter of a group of friends finding their way in the city is a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy full of Men and Martinis!
Romantic comedy comes easily to me — it is the genre that I think fits my voice best, and for this series, it was a natural fit. The Girlfriends of Gotham books also fall into the New Adult category, in which I really love to work. There’s so much in that time of our lives that is ripe for exploration, even outside of romance. First jobs, first time out living on our own without a parental safety net (for most)… with so many opportunities to fail and to learn, characters between 18 and 26 are my favorite to write.
2. When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process(outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
I dread outlining. I get initial ideas, and I know what is going to happen for the most part. But I also know that if I don’t define things pretty well, then the writing process inevitably meanders around and takes too long. I can write very quickly if I know what I’m writing, and since I write early in the morning, I need to have a plan the night before since my brain isn’t at full capacity at five a.m.!
3. When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
I read widely, and don’t really have a favorite genre or category. I spend a fair amount of time reading romance, since that is what I have written mostly, but I love a great historical family saga (like Ken Follett’s PILLARS OF THE EARTH or Jeffrey Archer’s AS THE CROW FLIES.) But I love a well done literary fiction, too. A recent obsession that I’m reading again right now is E. Lockhart’s WE WERE LIARS. I love the idea of the unreliable protagonist. The other books I’ve read lately that really stuck with me were the Fever series from Karen Marie Moning, so you can see that I get a pretty good range!
4. If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
That’s a pretty tough question. I have friends who write together, and I’m just really unsure how that works! I don’t know if I’m supposed to answer based on my admiration for a certain author’s writing style, my belief that we might actually fit well personality-wise and therefore be a good working partnership, or my desire to hook my cart to someone else’s already-wildly successful caravan! Suffice it to say, I haven’t co-authored anything, though I’d be open to it.
5. Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
I’ve been writing since I was a child, and have always worked in an editorial field to some degree. I’ve never doubted that words were my addiction of choice, and I really can’t imagine a life without this deep love I feel for stories and words. That said, I always knew I’d write a book, but when I was six months out from my 40th birthday and hadn’t done it yet, I said, “well, I think it’s probably half over. If I do it now, I could work at it for 20 years. If I wait much longer, I’ll probably never do it.” So the decision to actually put butt in chair, fingers on keyboard, and write completed novels was a later in life one.
Delancey Stewart writes contemporary romance.
Stewart has lived on both coasts, in big cities and small towns. She’s been a pharmaceutical rep, a personal trainer and a direct sales representative for a French wine importer. But she has always been a writer first.
A military spouse and the mother of two small boys, her current job titles include pirate captain, monster hunter, Lego assembler and story reader. She tackles all these efforts at her current home outside Washington D.C.
