1--What is the title of your latest release?
ELIZABETH OF EAST HAMPTON
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A fresh and fun modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice that transports the story to summer in the Hamptons, where classes clash, rumors run wild, and love has a frustrating habit of popping up where you least expect it.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
It feels like the minute we decided to tackle a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, the Hamptons jumped out as the perfect spot. Like Hertfordshire in the original novel, the Hamptons sits just outside a bustling metropolis yet offers a small town feel where locals and those escaping the city regularly mingle.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Lizzy Bennet is a favorite literary heroine for a reason–I think almost anyone would want to be friends with her.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Bold, smart, and compassionate
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Lizzy Bennet was so ahead of her time. Even though the original book was written over 200 years ago, she is still as relatable today as she was back then. (We also learned we need a house in the Hamptons–or someone who will invite me to theirs!)
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
We start by creating a thorough outline that we both can work from, then we hammer out a first draft. We try to wait until we’re done before we go back and edit, but it inevitably happens anyway.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Can we say Bennet Bakery Muffins? When we were done writing, Audrey created a sour cherry recipe and we both ate so many we can’t think of anything else!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
We each have a decided office at home where we do most of our writing, but the real magic happens when we’re on Zoom together, brainstorming.
10--Who is an author you admire?
So many! Christina Lauren, Tia Williams, Judy Blume - this could be a long list!
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Can we say our first book? Because Emma of 83rd Street honestly did change our life in the best possible way.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
We got an email from our agent that Molly Gregory at Gallery loved our book and wanted to chat. Since we had never published anything before, we assumed that’s all it was, a nice chat where she might give us some feedback and direction. When she mentioned that she wanted to publish it, we both almost fell out of our chairs!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
We read a little of everything: romantasy, magical realism, literary fiction, biographies… but especially rom-coms.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Audrey: Shakespeare In Love, Palm Springs, A Room with a View, Emma (any version!)
Emily: Auntie Mame, It Happened One Night, When Harry Met Sally
15--What is your favorite season?
We both love summer.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Throw a party!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Show - Maxton Hall on Prime Video, Book - A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Japanese
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Hang with our families.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Follow up on Instagram to find out!
This fresh and whip-smart modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice—from the authors of the “great beach read” (Bookreporter) Emma of 83rd Street—transports you to summer in the Hamptons, where classes clash, rumors run wild, and love has a frustrating habit of popping up where you least expect it.
It’s a truth universally acknowledged—well, by Elizabeth Bennet anyway—that there’s nothing worse than summer in the Hamptons. She should know: she’s lived out there her whole life. Every June, her hometown on the edge of Long Island is inundated with rich Manhattanites who party until dawn and then disappear by September. And after twenty-five years, Lizzy wants to leave, too.
But after putting her own dreams on hold to help save her family’s failing bakery, she’s still surfing the same beach every morning and waiting for something, anything, to change. She’s not holding her breath though, not even when her sister starts flirting with the hot new bachelor in town, Charlie Pierce, and he introduces Lizzy to his even hotter friend.
Will Darcy is everything Lizzy Bennet is not. Aloof, arrogant…and rich. Of course, he’s never cared about money. In fact, it’s number one on his long list of things that irk him. Number two? His friend Charlie’s insistence on setting him up with his new girlfriend’s sharp-tongued sister. Lizzy Bennet is all wrong for him, from her money-hungry family to her uncanny ability to speak to him as bluntly as he does everyone else. But then maybe that’s why he can’t stop thinking about her.
Lizzy is sure Will hates everybody. He thinks she willfully misunderstands them. Yet, just as they strike an uneasy truce, mistakes threaten Charlie and Annabelle’s romance, with Will and Lizzy caught in the undertow. Between a hurricane and a hypocritical stepmother, a drunken voicemail and a deceptive property developer, the two must sift through the gossip and lies to protect the happiness of everyone they love—even if it means sacrificing their own. But when the truth also forces them to see each other in an entirely new light, they must swallow their pride to learn that love is a lot like surfing: sometimes the only way to survive is to let yourself fall.
Romance Comedy [Gallery Books, On Sale: August 6, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781668052556 / eISBN: 9781668052563]
Audrey Bellezza is a two-time Emmy-nominated TV producer who has spent over twenty years writing, developing, and executive producing nonfiction television shows for a number of networks and streaming platforms. Audrey lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
Emily Harding is a writer and TV producer whose work has appeared on numerous networks and websites. When not hunched over her computer working on her bad posture, she can be found losing another game of Monopoly to her husband and two kids.
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