Photo Content from Lynn Painter
Lynn Painter is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author who writes romantic comedies for both teens and adults. She lives in Nebraska with her husband and pack of wild children, and when she isn't reading or writing, odds are good she’s guzzling energy drinks and watching rom-coms.
Greatest thing you learned at school.
Obviously, the greatest thing I learned at school was how to read, allowing for endless fantastical journeys!! But also I think one of the most important things I learned at school is how to laugh at myself. Once self-deprecation became a THING to me, where I was able to make light of my personal…struggles lol, I discovered that other people have the same struggles and it’s okay to just put them out there. And laugh about them.
Did you experience a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
NOPE. Sadly, even as I voraciously devoured books, thoroughly enjoyed every lit class I took and enjoyed writing assignments, it never occurred to me that I should write. Duhhhhhhhhh J
What fiction most influenced your childhood, and what effect did those stories have on THE LOVE WAGER?
Okay, the Judy Blume canon was everything to me. I read and re-read all of her books. When I was in fourth grade, I somehow got my hands on Forever (where the heck were you on that one, Ma?!!!). I had so many questions and to be honest, didn’t even understand half of what was being referenced lol. But when Michael and Katherine didn’t end up together, my world was shook. How could you, Judy Blume???? I feel like that book totally drove me toward HEA’s because I couldn’t handle it. (Also I felt the exact same way when I saw La La Land a few years ago. It was Michael and Katherine all over again.)
What’s one thing that readers would be surprised to find out about you?
Probably that in my free time (hahahahahaha), I mostly read psychological thrillers. I’m a sucker for unreliable narrators and plot twists.
Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?
Looking For Alaska by John Green. I’d been trying to get an agent for a looooooong time, writing contemporary romance, and I happened to read Looking For Alaska and felt a connection to the voices in YA. I thought maybe I should try writing a YA. I did, and I finally got an agent!! (That book didn’t sell, btw, but it was the beginning)
Are there authors that you’re excited to engage/work with?
I love Christina Lauren books and they seem like delightful humans, so I’m excited to meet them someday. I’m also mildly obsessed with Roxane Gay because she is a GENIUS and cool AF, but I’m fairly certain I’d never get an invite to any event where she was appearing. J
Which character have you enjoyed getting to know while writing THE LOVE WAGER?
All of them. It’s just such a blast to take flat characters, generalized ideas, and play with them until they feel real. Ruthie, Hallie’s roommate, was probably the most fun to write.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author?
I don’t know that I’ve ever received any real advice because I fangirl around authors and just mumble derpily until they walk away. The worst advice I ever received from another author was to not worry about deadlines. This person told me, “Just set your own timeline and give it to them when it feels right. It’s fine to be late – they expect you to be late.”
That advice was absolutely untrue. JJJ
Obviously, the greatest thing I learned at school was how to read, allowing for endless fantastical journeys!! But also I think one of the most important things I learned at school is how to laugh at myself. Once self-deprecation became a THING to me, where I was able to make light of my personal…struggles lol, I discovered that other people have the same struggles and it’s okay to just put them out there. And laugh about them.
Did you experience a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
NOPE. Sadly, even as I voraciously devoured books, thoroughly enjoyed every lit class I took and enjoyed writing assignments, it never occurred to me that I should write. Duhhhhhhhhh J
What fiction most influenced your childhood, and what effect did those stories have on THE LOVE WAGER?
Okay, the Judy Blume canon was everything to me. I read and re-read all of her books. When I was in fourth grade, I somehow got my hands on Forever (where the heck were you on that one, Ma?!!!). I had so many questions and to be honest, didn’t even understand half of what was being referenced lol. But when Michael and Katherine didn’t end up together, my world was shook. How could you, Judy Blume???? I feel like that book totally drove me toward HEA’s because I couldn’t handle it. (Also I felt the exact same way when I saw La La Land a few years ago. It was Michael and Katherine all over again.)
What’s one thing that readers would be surprised to find out about you?
Probably that in my free time (hahahahahaha), I mostly read psychological thrillers. I’m a sucker for unreliable narrators and plot twists.
Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?
Looking For Alaska by John Green. I’d been trying to get an agent for a looooooong time, writing contemporary romance, and I happened to read Looking For Alaska and felt a connection to the voices in YA. I thought maybe I should try writing a YA. I did, and I finally got an agent!! (That book didn’t sell, btw, but it was the beginning)
Are there authors that you’re excited to engage/work with?
I love Christina Lauren books and they seem like delightful humans, so I’m excited to meet them someday. I’m also mildly obsessed with Roxane Gay because she is a GENIUS and cool AF, but I’m fairly certain I’d never get an invite to any event where she was appearing. J
Which character have you enjoyed getting to know while writing THE LOVE WAGER?
All of them. It’s just such a blast to take flat characters, generalized ideas, and play with them until they feel real. Ruthie, Hallie’s roommate, was probably the most fun to write.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author?
I don’t know that I’ve ever received any real advice because I fangirl around authors and just mumble derpily until they walk away. The worst advice I ever received from another author was to not worry about deadlines. This person told me, “Just set your own timeline and give it to them when it feels right. It’s fine to be late – they expect you to be late.”
That advice was absolutely untrue. JJJ
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to have a life in writing?
There is no job that will pay you a salary and benefits for writing a novel, so it will always be your side hustle until it isn’t. So find a career you enjoy and set aside time – SET ASIDE TIME BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER JUST “FIND” TIME – to write and make it a priority.
There is no job that will pay you a salary and benefits for writing a novel, so it will always be your side hustle until it isn’t. So find a career you enjoy and set aside time – SET ASIDE TIME BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER JUST “FIND” TIME – to write and make it a priority.
She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs into the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she’d snuck out of.
Through the app, and after the joint agreement that they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie become partners in their respective searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.
Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.
Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off.
As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they each struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.
You can purchase The Love Wager at the following Retailers:
And now, The Giveaways.
Thank you LYNN PAINTER for making this giveaway possible.
1 Winner will receive a Copy of The Love Wager by Lynn Painter.
jbnpastinterviews
I'm terrified of dentists.
ReplyDeleteDriving on interstates. I cannot do it.
ReplyDeletewe have the same fear
DeleteI don't drive on the interstate
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