Today’s special guest author is Kathy Strobos and we’re chatting about her new romantic women’s fiction novel, Partner Pursuit.
During her virtual book tour, Kathy will be giving away a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too.
Bio:
Kathy Strobos is a writer living in New York City with her husband and two children, amid a growing collection of books, toys and dollhouses. She grew up in New York City and graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Harvard-Radcliffe University and Columbia Law School. She spent two semesters abroad at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. She previously worked as a lawyer. She left law to pursue her dream of writing fiction full-time and getting in shape. She is still working on getting in shape.
Welcome, Kathy. Please tell us about your current release.
Partner Pursuit is about a workaholic lawyer who meets a fun-loving music marketing executive for opposites attract, friends-to-lovers adventures, but has to figure out how to balance life and work. It’s the first in a series of standalone but interconnected novels. We will see the group of friends in each novel.
Here’s the blurb:
Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision.
Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor. Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One.
He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom.
But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family.
And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner. Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory.
If only she had not met him now.
Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis.
But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?
What inspired you to write this book?
I had a lot of trouble finding work/life balance when I worked as a lawyer so I wanted to write about that. And I was single for quite a long time, so being single and having good friends and looking for that soulmate was another thing I wanted to write about.
Here’s an excerpt with Audrey with one of her best friends Max at her party:
“I’m finally going to meet Tim?” Max whispered. “After two years of hearing about him?”
“Behave!” Audrey said.
“Is he someone I need to behave with?”
“I mean, don’t tell any embarrassing stories about me.”
“What am I going to talk about, then?”
“Ugh. Thanks.”
“Don’t worry. I shall extol your abilities to hire help, to throw dinner parties . . .”
Audrey punched him lightly.
Max said, “Ouch! I just want to meet him and see this paragon you’ve had a crush on. Jake is some tough competition, though. I want to see who’s right for you.” Max turned around. “Well, hello, is that Colette?”
“Yes. And what if he isn’t right?”
“Then there’s still time for sabotage,” Max said. “I can see her appeal.”
So could Audrey. Colette was dressed in a little black sheath mini-dress with a mauve silk scarf, spiky heels, and tortoise-shell glasses. It made her look like a leggy 70’s pop star crossed with a strict librarian. How did she do it? As small consolation, Audrey realized that she would never look good in that dress; she was just too curvy.
“Thanks. You’re supposed to be on my side,” Audrey said.
“I am, I am. I’m offering myself as a sacrificial lamb. And I’d love to be the stay-at-home house husband. I’m perfect for her. Anyway, you should be talking to him, not Colette. Let’s go over, and I’ll distract her.
What exciting story are you working on next?
My next story is called Is This For Real? It’s about a writer who fake dates her best friend as research fodder for the romcom she’s writing.
Here’s the blurb:
Love is all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Usually me. I admit it, I’m a relationship-recluse. Ironic, given that I write romantic comedies. So, I’m on a sabbatical from dating.
Which is why fake dating my best friend Rory is foolproof. Rory suggested it because he needed a date for work functions. And I can use our experiences as fodder for my romcom novel. Plus, my sister doesn’t know it’s not real and she is thrilled that I’m not walling myself off emotionally. Her words, not mine. But I do wish she would stop saying that she always suspected there was something more between me and Rory. She should realize that we’ve been friends forever so I’m immune to his appeal.
We would never work. Rory is such a romantic; he still believes in that perfect love similar to his parents’ marriage. My parents fought bitterly. So, we are better off as friends. I can’t risk losing our friendship, even if this might be my chance—before his ex-girlfriend wins him back.
Those flickers of attraction? Easily extinguished by cold water reality—like a two-mile hike in drenching rain over sand with wheelie luggage.
But our relationship is not sticking to the plot—or is it?
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I first considered myself a writer when I quit my job as a lawyer to write full-time. That’s when I first started calling myself a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I do write full-time, or in between being a mom. I drop my son off at school, and then I come home to write until I have to pick him up from school at 2:30 (with a break for lunch). I try to work out too at least three times a week. We bought a stationary bike during the pandemic, and I love to watch Korean dramas while biking. I find that they are addictive enough that they get me on the bike the next day to find out what happened.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I write in layers, so I first write dialogue and then I start filling in the scenery and the reactions and the inner dialogue.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a writer and a baker. When I was in high school, I read regency romances, and I started writing a regency romance back then. I also read Agatha Christie, and I wrote a mystery as well. The main love interest looked like my sailing instructor at the time, and he asked if it was him when I was reading an excerpt out loud to my friends before sailing started. That was embarrassing.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Thank you so much for reading Partner Pursuit and I hope you enjoy it.
Links:
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Thanks for being here today, Kathy.
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for hosting and for such great questions.
What are some of your must-haves for writing?
That’s a good question. I think I’ve trained myself not to have too many must-haves to write because I want to be able to write anywhere. I wrote one scene on a piece of paper on the train as I was on the way back from visiting a friend. And I was so happy from seeing my friend that I think that flowed into that scene. But I prefer to have my laptop, a cup of tea and some music playing, a comfortable chair, and also a printer and a good pen because I like to print out chapter drafts and mark them up by hand.
This sounds like an excellent read.
Thanks so much! That means so much to me.
Great interview and the book sounds like a fantastic read! Thanks for sharing it with me!
Thanks so much! I am so glad you enjoyed the interview. That means so much to me that you think the book sounds like a fantastic read. I hope you enjoy it.