What is the title of your latest release?
BETTER THAN GELATO
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Juliet Evans is business major who dreams of being a photographer moves to Italy for the year, falls in love with a nerdy scientist, and must figure out what she truly wants in life, and
what she’s willing to give up to get it.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
BETTER THAN GELATO is based on my personal experience living as a nanny in Milan, so I knew from the beginning that my story would take place there.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes! Juliet and I would go shopping at the market, then dinner at a delicious restaurant, and dancing at Calypso.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Juliet is Funny, loyal, determined,
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
It’s hard to write based on real places and personal experiences. I prefer making everything up!
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
My first (and second and third) drafts are a mess! I don’t edit until I’ve told myself the story a couple of times. Then I edit and edit and edit until it feels polished and shiny.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
prosciutto with ripe cantaloupe. There is literally nothing better.
Describe your writing space/office!
My office is upstairs and overlooks a little pond in our backyard. I have a big L-shaped desk and the drawers and shelves are filled with writing books (On Writing, by Stephen King; Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, Save the Car Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, among others) and snacks (nuts, mint Oreos, dried mangos, beef jerky, and dark chocolate truffles). I always start writing at the desk in my black office chair and end up on the red chaise lounge by the window.
Who is an author you admire?
So many! Sophie Kinsella has always been an author I look up to. I love her perfect blend of funny and heartfelt. And Sarah Adams is a new favorite. She does clean romcom so well.
Is there a book that changed your life?
I remember reading the Narnia series with my mom as a kid and wondering at how incredible it was that you could create whole worlds with your words. The idea of books transporting us to new places we couldn’t otherwise go really struck me.
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.
I was on the phone with my mom looking something up for her in my email. I saw a message from my literary agent saying City Owl Press wanted to set up a meeting to talk about my manuscript. I gasped, and I’m pretty sure my mom thought someone had died. Then I started laughing uncontrollably, which must have been really confusing for her. I read her the message and started rambling “I think it’s happening! Could this be happening? I think it’s really happening!” By the time my husband and kiddos came downstairs to see what was happening I was leaping around the kitchen like a maniac.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
My favorite, very specific, genre is books about incredibly smart kids who do big things Ender’s Game or Six of Crows. I could never write one of these books because the protagonists are way smarter than I am, but I love reading all the twists and turns. I love reading books that can create tension and intrigue without gratuitous sex, violence, and swearing.
What’s your favorite movie?
There are some movies that you watch over and over with friends and you know all the
lines and they become favorites not because they are groundbreaking, but because they feel like your favorite comfy pair of jeans. Legally Blonde is a favorite that I’ve seen a million times and still quote with my friends and husband.
What is your favorite season?
Fall. The leaves turning and the weather cooling down, and life settling down after the chaos of summer. I live in Florida now, so we don’t have much of a fall, but it’s still my favorite.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I’m an introvert and an extrovert, so I like celebrating with friends and doing a big dinner or dancing, and then also taking a long bath with a book.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I just saw Wicked and I’m obsessed. Can’t get enough. I also love the show The Good Place, Kristen Bell kills me. And I can’t recommend Emily Henry’s new book because I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I love her stuff.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I love food the way some people love sports. Passionately, enthusiastically and as often as possible. I enjoy comfort food, street food, junk food. I really love Italian, and it was so fun writing about the food in BETTER THAN GELATO.
What do you do when you have free time?
What is this free time you speak of? I have four kiddos, so life is pretty busy. Fortunately, all my kids love to read, so we do a lot of couch and book time together. And I usually sneak up to my office in the mornings to write. When I’m not reading and I do enjoy physical things like swimming, and my husband and I are getting sucked into pickle ball.
What can readers expect from you next?
A sequel to BETTER THAN GELATO! It’s called Bigger Than Versace and it’s the story of the next nanny, Lydia St. Clair, who comes to work for the Rossi family. Where Juliet is very sweet and kind, Lydia is…not. It’s fun to see how she butts heads with seven-year-old Isa. And it’s exciting to watch her fall head over heels for a gorgeous Italian model. It is a year of big changes for her.
Goodbye mind-numbing business classes, hello hunky Italian men…
When Juliet Evans scores a job as a nanny in Italy, she’s ready for a year of excitement and glamour. She is not ready for a diabolical six-year-old who swears like a pirate and hurls silverware with terrifying accuracy. Still, it’s a small price to pay to explore Milan, take a million photos, and fantasize about becoming a professional photographer. And yes, she knows she has to take over the family business when she returns home, but a little denial never hurt anyone.
And speaking of denial, she is definitely not attracted to research intern, Jake Fields. She barely even notices his adorable dimples and quiet charm. Besides, dating an American in Italy is like eating at McDonald’s in Rome—ridiculous! Yet, despite her best efforts, Juliet finds herself in the bewildering and euphoric grip of first love.
It’s exhilarating! Intoxicating! Even better than gelato! Until it’s the one thing standing in the way of her dreams.
The future she’s always wanted is so close. Now what is she willing to give up to get it?
Libby Tanner grew up in a small town in Northern California that would be quaint and charming in a fictional novel, but felt small and suffocating as a teenager. Yes, she left as fast as she could, and yes, she misses it very much.
In college Libby earned a degree in Communications. She wishes she would have studied creative writing instead of playing it safe, but also remembers she had student loans to pay off.
Since living abroad in Italy and living abroad in Chile, Libby speaks a nearly useless combination of Italian and Spanish that is understood by neither Italians nor Spanish-speakers.
She is the mother of four sweet hooligans and is married to the world’s sexiest accountant (the world’s only sexy accountant?).
The story she wrote in sixth grade, Jane Bond: A Date with Danger, received rave reviews from her parents, an A- from her teacher, and a “this is fine, I guess,” from her older brother. Her debut novel, Better Than Gelato, will by published by City Owl Press in August 2025.
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