I should start by telling you what a blog hop is, because I didn’t have a clue when I said I’d be part of this one. It’s a series of bloggers linking to each other and, in this particular one, answering a series of questions about their current or forthcoming novels. The common thread here is that we’re all published by Kensington. Not that I’m, ahem, trying to promote my novel or anything, although it will, she said with great subtlety, be out in January.

Sabine Priestley

Last week, in her blog, Sabine Priestley wrote about her book, Alien Attachments. Sabine grew up in Phoenix, but has lived in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida. She has a B.S. in electrical engineering technologies and did everything but her thesis for a masters degree in cultural anthropology, looking at the nexus of culture and technology. She was a project manager, flying back and forth between Tucson and Boston when she met her very own alien. She spent a year running the Q.A. department for a seriously cool and underappreciated computer telephony system, then moved to California, where she ran a small tech support group for a company making DSL routers before anyone knew what DSL was. She is a lifelong fan of science fiction and romance novels, so Alien Attachments naturally gelled in her imagination. Sabine lives in Florida with her husband, kids, cats, and whole mess of characters in her head. 

And that brings us to my part of the blog hop.

What is the name of your character?

Abigail.

Is she fictional or a historic person?

Definitely fictional, but everything that’s best about her was inspired by my friend Janneen Love, who got through a difficult breakup with grace, helped along by her love of cooking, her love for her daughter, and a whole lot of tea.

When and where is the story set?

In the United States, at this very moment.

What should we know about her?

Abigail’s an involuntarily single mother, advised by an invisible weight-loss guru. Yes, I know, but in the context, it makes perfect sense. In an out-there sort of way. She’s struggling to support her daughter and make enough money to move out of her parents’ house.

What is the main conflict?

Abigail’s most immediate conflicts are with her soon to be ex-husband and with her parents, who she loves and respects but who have a gift for turning her back into a teenager. But—never one to shy away from the impossible—her underlying conflict is with the way the world is organized: Her husband has kept their house, since she couldn’t afford to, while she and their baby are living in her childhood bedroom. He has a new girlfriend while she can’t call up the thinnest wisp of a thought about sex. He’s still going to work in a clean white shirt while she’s waiting tables, because even though she’s a gifted cook he wasn’t enthusiastic about her getting any formal training and she thought, Well, a woman has to sacrifice something if she wants a marriage to work. On top of which, if she’s very careful and saves every penny of her tips, she’ll be able to afford her own place in forty years. Maybe. She’d work up a theory about all that, but she’s too busy and she couldn’t afford the upkeep on it anyway.

What is the character’s personal goal?

To raise her child and make a living doing what she loves, cooking.

Is there a working title for this novel and can we read more about it?

It’s called The Divorce Diet, and it goes on sale in January 2015. Actually, December 30, 2014. I’m sure there’s a reason for that but I’m damned if I know what it is. I’ll have a link on the blog as soon as it’s available. Or you can watch the Kensington website and do your very own countdown.

Kristi Rose

Next stop on the blog hop: On Monday, September 22, head over to Kristi Rose’s blog to see what she’s working on.