Good news for Jasmine Guillory lovers and die hard romantics. The Proposal (Feb ’19 Pick) author returns this summer with a new novel, While We Were Dating – a ‘perfect for lazy days’ read that will most certainly be coded as hot. Be still our hearts.
Because book love we invited Jasmine to our first-ever Weekender, our deep dive discussion that’s open all weekend long, where she got in the mix with your questions about everything from her writing process, to romance tropes, and what’s topping her TBR pile.
Ahead a look at what went down in the chat…including a few things to look forward to in her upcoming book.
I love the cover for The Proposal. Did you have a say in how it was designed? —Christina L.
I looooove my book covers, and all credit goes to the incredible designers at my publisher. How it works is I usually give and tell them a lot of stuff in advance—for this one I remember I said words like “California! Tacos! Palm trees! Sunglasses!” And then they interpret my rambles in incredible ways.
I love how Nik and Carlos related to each other so naturally. What was your inspiration for creating the characters? They were very relatable and funny! —Kelly H.
Carlos was a character in my first book, The Wedding Date, and I just LOVED writing him. I wanted him to have his own story, but all the ideas I thought of weren’t good enough for Carlos. And then I was watching the Olympics and saw a public proposal and thought “What would happen if someone said no?” and then I immediately knew who that woman would be; I could just picture Nik. And then I thought “THAT is the woman for Carlos!”
Nik’s independence is very important to her & Carlos tends to swoop in & take care of the women in his life. I’ve read that you were complimented on providing readers a model of healthy romantic boundaries. How did you want to balance Nik protecting her vulnerability with her desire to be with Carlos? What were you hoping for readers to take away in regards to how a woman can remain herself while in a relationship? I love how this book ties in so many elements that are important to highlight – female empowerment, consent, race, grief and the bond of friendship! —Milena M.
For me, It was important for them to both understand where the other one was coming from, and learn how to compromise without letting go of a core part of themselves. One of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten was from a woman who said she wanted her little girls to read my books (when they got a little older!) to see how a romantic relationship should make you feel, and to show how she should deserve to be treated. I love that takeaway, and I also want everyone in relationships to feel like they can be completely themselves and loved and understood for being themselves.
I love the scene with Nik and Carlos at the bookstore. If you had to give them a book recommendation each, what would they be? —Melissa L.
Oh what a GREAT question. Here are two books I read last year I’d recommend: For Nik, Furious Hours by Casey Cep — true crime but so much more, absolutely fascinating. For Carlos (but I’m sure he’s already read it): The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. So good and thought-provoking and important.
I love how your characters from other books pop up into this one. Did you always plan on doing these little crossovers? Do you have plans for future crossovers? —Emily C.
When I wrote my first book, The Wedding Date, I had the idea for what became my third book, The Wedding Party, so I knew at least there would be crossovers there. The rest I didn’t quite plan in advance, but I have SO much fun writing those moments.
How do you decide which characters show up in the others’ stories? —Katie S.
Mostly it’s just what feels right and natural to the story, and feels like a fun moment that will work whether you’ve read the other books or not. (And don’t tell anyone I said this, this is a little secret just for the Reese’s Book Club app, but it’s just possible you’ll see a couple you’re very familiar with in While We Were Dating…)
Who is your favorite couple from your books and why? —Anna P.
This is cheating a little, because no one has read this book yet, but my current favorite couple is Ben and Anna from my next book, While We Were Dating! I think that’s partly because I’m always so close to the book I most recently finished, and so they still have my heart! But I love all of my couples.
I’m excited to read While We Were Dating! Can you tell us what your favorite scene is so we can look out for it? —Kadeen G.
There’s a scene in a bar that’s just about midway through the book that’s — not to hype it up too much — my favorite scene I’ve ever written. I’m so excited for people to read it!
Have you based any characters on real-life friends? Who is most like you? —Emily C.
So I haven’t exactly based characters on real life friends, but I’ve based a lot of feelings and situations on them—the relationship between Nik and her two best friends in The Proposal is a lot like the relationship between me and two of my best friends — none of us are like those three, but we relate to each other in the same way.
Thank you for writing diverse romances! I’d love to hear why you think it’s important to showcase diversity in happily ever afters? —Ebony L.
So often the media only tells stories of people of color when it’s about struggle or trauma — I want to tell our stories of joy! I was on NPR this week with R.O. Kwon and Bryan Washington talking about this, it was a great discussion – the show was 1A, you can listen here. We had a lot to say!
Was your plan always to write romance or do you think you might try a different genre at some point? —Lynsey J.
When I first started writing, I wrote YA, and I still love that genre a ton! I’m a huge fan of so many of the Reese’s Book Club YA Picks!!
What book genres do you typically enjoy reading when you aren’t writing? Any current reads? —Kye Y.
I read a ton, of so many genres! Mystery, nonfiction, literary fiction, children’s books, etc! A recent favorite was Jessica Simpson’s memoir, Open Book!
I’m curious whether your experience as an attorney has influenced your writing process. Is it fun to write something so different from legal documents now? —Courtney H.
It’s VERY fun to write something very different! Sometimes I definitely over research adn over analyze things, because my lawyer mind wants to put all the detail in. This is why my first drafts are always super long — I usually go back and cut three paragraphs describing something to like… a sentence.
What is your favorite part of each novel? Do you always follow the same process writing each book or does it change? —Gretchen S.
It changes with every book! And it still surprises me that it does; I always try to write each book the same way I wrote the last one, and I always have to make a change and be flexible.
Do you have deleted scenes from your books and do you ever plan to release those someday? —Kadeen G.
Most of my deleted scenes are ones I realized didn’t quite work, or where I wrote the scene in another way to make it better. Though… there are a few deleted love scenes from a few books… maybe someday I’ll send those out…
