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AAPI Literature

An Interview with Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is a copywriter-turned-author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. Her love of romance began when she was eight years old and she discovered her auntie’s stash of romance novels. When she isn’t perfecting her lumpia recipe, Sarah is the host of the writing-focused “Quick and Dirty Romance Podcast.”

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re extremely delighted to share an interview with contemporary romance novelist Sarah Smith. Sarah is the author of the extremely delightful #OwnVoices rom-coms, Faker and Simmer Down (Berkley), which feature the sweet—and sexy!—romantic exploits of characters of Filipino descent. In this week’s Page Turner Magazine spotlight interview, Sarah was kind enough to chat with us about the need for multicultural romance novels, the unusual way she landed her literary agent, and how to handle manuscript rejections. —Maxine Shen

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An Interview with Jayci Lee

Jayci Lee lives in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys with boundless energy, and a fluffy rescue whose cuteness is a major distraction. Semi-retired from her fifteen-year career as a defense litigator, Jayci now writes full-time. She loves food, wine, and traveling—and so do her characters.

This week, we’re excited to catch up with #OwnVoices romance novelist Jayci Lee, author of A Sweet Mess (Macmillan Publishers), a delectable romcom involving a small town baker, a celebrity food critic, a one night stand, and a big misunderstanding over a “Frankencake.” In addition to giving us the lowdown on why it was so important for her to feature Asian-American characters in her novels, Jayci also shared some inspirational advice for aspiring writers, what surprised her most about getting published, and her favorite page turner. —Maxine Shen

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