My next book, “Sweeter Than Fiction,” will be available on January 1, 2019. The story is based on this weird idea I came up with while joking with my girls about my last book and hopefully, you guys will like it.
It’s not as long as “How To Be An Adult Fangirl (And Not Ruin Your Life),” but it’s not short, either.
Click HERE to pre-order the book on Amazon. Right now, it’s only digitally, but closer to the date, I will put up a pre-order for a book version. You do not need to own a Kindle to read it.
You can download a Kindle app for any kind of phone or tablet, as well as reading it on your computer.
For now, here’s a tease to the prologue for “Sweeter Than Fiction.” 🙂
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Staring out at the ocean wasn’t that strange for me. The smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves always made me feel safe, even when I was a kid. Just sitting on a towel, or standing at the edge of the water, letting the waves roll up and wet my feet always calmed me. I wasn’t sure why it was a calming mechanism for me.
Whenever I was having a bad day, I would find my way to the beach whether it was a day trip to the Florida Keys or just walking outside my condo to smell the ocean air. It was my sanctuary.
I lived on the beach in Miami for a few years now and it was easily my favorite place in the world and I’d been just about everywhere – from Paris to Milan to Los Angeles to Hawaii. I worked as a travel writer, writing about destinations after college until I had a book published that became a best seller. It was very “50 Shades of Grey” of me, but the book was originally a fan fiction that I wrote in my spare time waiting in airports or traveling on planes. I still took the occasional traveling job when it was somewhere that interested me, but the past three months I’d done nothing except try to write a new book.
And it wasn’t happening.
The reason it wasn’t happening? I was very self-conscious. My book, “Make Believe,” came out a year ago and it was already reported on that it was originally a 5 Below fan fiction. 5 Below was my favorite boy band. My two best friends and I were huge fans and had been for years. They also wrote fan fiction and for once, I decided to dabble in it. That dabbling lead me to turn it into a regular romance fictional piece and one of my editors at a magazine I occasionally wrote for, sent it to her sister-in-law who was a literary agent and the rest was history.
Now that people knew it was originally a fan fiction, I’m worried as to what people will think if I write something else. I have a sequel idea in mind, but sometimes I worry too much about what people think of me. That’s a problem I’ve always had.
I jumped when the alarm on my phone went off, telling me I had an hour until I had to be downtown for an interview. It was something my agent had set up for me, telling me it was a special issue of Rolling Stone that featured musicians, actors, artists, fashion designers and even authors and they were going to be interviewed by other celebrities. She had no idea who I was going to be paired with and I didn’t have the slightest idea.
As I made my way from my deck, I took a quick look in the mirror. My dark brown hair was wavy today for some reason and they said the magazine would have some outfits for me to choose from for the photoshoot. I just needed to bring myself and some answers, whatever that may be.
I had done some interviews since the book had been released, but I would never get used to it.
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After arriving at the studios where the interview would be taking place, I went into hair and make-up, getting all dolled up and eventually went to wardrobe, where I picked out a black pair of ripped jeans, a black cami and a black lacy top. Honestly, it was an outfit that I would wear out to a bar or something for a girls’ night out. Not that I ever really went to bars.
My bangs that I was growing out were swept to the side and my hair was long and sleek, something that I wish I could do on my own but I rarely could get it that tamed.
“Miss Carpenter, if you’re ready …” one of the assistants said as I nodded, grabbing my cell phone and made my way through the different sets. I was always nervous at these kind of things and I didn’t really understand why I was picked, but I wasn’t going to question free publicity. “If you just make yourself comfortable here,” the short, petite blonde girl said as I gave her a quick smile and sat down in the comfortable, white plush chair on the set.
“Is this going to be filmed, also?” I asked as she nodded. She looked like a cheerleader.
“Yes, not the whole thing, but we are doing it for everybody for the website and we will also be taking some photos during the interview,” she said as I nodded. “Afterwards, we’ll take a shot of you and . your interviewer,” she said, catching herself before she said who it was.
“Great,” I smiled as she walked away and I looked down at my phone, seeing a message from one of my best friends – Lila.
When are you coming back home? We need a girls spa day!
I smiled at the fact that Lila wanted me to come back home to Charlotte, but I tried my best not to go there that often. With both of my parents having passed away, the only time I did go to Charlotte was to see them. Sometimes my friends would fly down to Miami to see me for a girls’ weekend. Sometimes we would all meet up in some random town to see a concert together.
Not sure right now. Having a case of writer’s block. Maybe we need to go see 5 Below. Aren’t they in Atlanta this weekend? Think you can get away?
I jumped, seeing lights come on over me and they were so bright I almost needed sunglasses. A stagehand apologized for the brightness and I looked back down at my phone.
I know I can! I’ll find out from Jenna. YAAAAAAS!
I smiled, telling her I’d call her when I got back home when I heard a name.
“Mr. Nichols, right this way,” I heard as I froze, still holding the phone in my hand. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. Did I hear that girl correctly? Did she say Mr. Nichols? “Chase, this is Kelsey Carpenter, Kelsey, this is Chase Nichols, your interviewer,” the girl said as I slowly looked up to see him standing in front of me.
Chase Nichols from 5 Below.
Chase Nichols that I had written my book about.
Chase Nichols who, as I looked at his left hand, was holding said book.
