Welcome fellow Detroit author, Lisa Peers, to my blog:
Lisa Peers and I met many years ago at a Detroit Working Writers Conference. I remember her sitting at the table in the conference room with her latest book, Love and Other B-Sides. So much time and so many books have happened since then for the both of us! Lisa has a brand new book to celebrate, Love at 350°, that Booklist describes as “Scrumptiously entertaining . . . Fans of a certain popular British baking show will be giddy with delight.” With the proliferation of so many cooking shows, I couldn’t wait to get Lisa on my blog to talk about her book.
You were self-publishing when we first met. Was that by choice?
Yes and no. In 2011, I started shopping my first novel, Love and Other B-Sides, to a number of agents and got a lot of constructive feedback but no offers. After a while, I realized my book was in danger of becoming a historical novel if I didn’t publish it soon; the plot centered around a rock musician releasing his catalogue on a specialty iPod (!) After nearly two years of trying to get it traditionally published, I released it on Amazon in 2013. It was better to have it out in the world and move on than let it sit any longer.
On Valentine’s Day 2016, I self-published my second book, the novella Eros & Psyche, because I wanted to salvage a piece of a larger manuscript that had stalled. While overall sales have been minimal, it has sold several copies in the UK and other foreign countries with no marketing. I’m happy it’s in print; I call it “mythological fan fiction” and it was fun to write.
This fall, you debuted your first traditionally-published novel, Love at 350°, through The Dial Press, a division of Penguin Random House. Tell us about the story.
Love at 350° is a wholesome lesbian romantic comedy taking place on the set of a TV baking competition. Contestant Tori, a high school chemistry teacher and avid home baker, catches the eye of Kendra, the show’s notoriously ruthless celebrity judge. Sparks fly but there’s a non-fraternization policy that keeps them apart. Tori and Kendra find it increasingly hard to keep their distance through six slow-burn weeks of cooking challenges and kitchen disasters. Especially if you’re a fan of a certain British baking show, you’ll find a lot to love in this book!
Blame it on the pandemic!
How did your book deal come about?
I started writing Love at 350° in late 2020. It was the pandemic, I had been laid off, and I was watching a lot of cooking shows to preserve my sanity. I especially enjoyed The Great British Baking Show because of the camaraderie among the contestants.
Around this time, some major romance publishers were putting out the call for LGBTQ+ love stories. My friend, author Tracy Gardner (who also writes as Jess Sinclair), encouraged me to submit a proposal, even though I argued that I wouldn’t be able to write a romance without any swear words. Thanks to her encouragement, my curiosity about whether a judge and a contestant on a baking show had ever gotten together, and my desire for a story with a happy ending during a time when they were few and far between, Love at 350° came into being. Tracy’s agent agreed to take me on as a client, and Dial bought it in early 2022.
P.S. I met Tracy at a library event when I was marketing Love and Other B-Sides and she was selling one of her early titles before she landed multi-book deals with Hallmark and Crooked Lane Press. Check out her current book, What We Could Have Been– it’s terrific!
Lessons in writing and publishing:
What do you think was different about this book that made it appeal to a traditional publisher?
This was a bit of a “right place, right time” situation. Over the last few years, romances have exploded in popularity, and LGBTQ+ romances in particular have become a huge growth market for the publishing industry. Because romance readers are voracious and always looking for new stories, publishers like Dial are consciously expanding their offerings to feature characters who haven’t been love interests in the past—and not just in terms of being LGBTQ+. My story centers on two women who are in their early forties, which is a bit unusual for a genre typically aimed at an audience that’s 25-34 years old.
Also, I’ve done a lot of writing since B-Sides. I’ve learned the value of doing an outline—it makes the writing go a lot faster—and how to get meaningful feedback so the editing process goes more smoothly. As a result, the Love at 350° manuscript was in much better shape than previous books when I shared it with an agent, and maybe it was easier to market as a result, too.
Were there any surprises during the editing process?
Because it had been so hard in the past to get an agent, I had always assumed that publishers were rigid, elitist, and dictatorial—kind of like one of my literature professors in college. Katy Nishimoto, my editor at Dial, is the exact opposite. She approached the editing process as a conversation, not a command. She respected my opinion yet ensured I understood the reasoning behind her recommendations. And it was never about “appealing to the market” or whatever. Katy’s goal was to make my story the best it could be; she wouldn’t let me get away with two-dimensional characters or convenient coincidences. I loved working with her and hope I get that opportunity again.
That fun book cover!
So many authors don’t have any clue what their book will actually look until they open the box. I’d like to know how the book cover design process went, because I just love it!
I’m lucky to have an editor who is eager to collaborate on every element of my book. A great example is the cover art design. Katy had an illustrator in mind: Monique Aimee, who had done the cover for One Last Stop by best-selling queer romance author, Casey McQuiston. I liked Monique’s style, and she has a handle on the modern romance aesthetic of bright colors and bold images.
What was surprising was that Katy asked me for a lot of input before engaging Monique—everything from getting me to mock up a couple of ideas I had in my head to taking note of my turn-offs; for instance, I did not want a rainbow cake on the cover. As the typeface and illustration came together, I was able to help them fine tune the design inside and out. (The chapter headings have the numbers inside what looks like a kitchen timer, and I asked them to show the minutes ticking down as the story progresses.)
I was so happy with the final result. When you see it on a table in a book store, you know it’s a romance with a difference!
You are fortunate. Congratulations! So where can people find Love at 350° and your other books?
Love at 350° is available in paperback, audio and e-book formats pretty much everywhere, and you can find my earlier work on Amazon. And please follow me on Instagram at @lisapeersauthor to see what’s coming next.
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LISA PEERS is a writer with a passion for smart, funny love stories with well-deserved happy endings. She is the author of Love at 350°, a wholesome lesbian romance taking place on the set of a TV baking competition. She is also the author of Love and Other B-Sides, a rock-and-roll rom-com, and the novella Eros & Psyche: a Myth of Love Lost and Won.
Lisa has acted professionally in San Francisco, produced TV and radio programs in Detroit, and is currently a creative director for an international marketing agency. A Harvard graduate with an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, she lives in metro Detroit with her partner not far from their three grown children, along with their beloved cats and way too much yarn.
She is represented by Frances Black of Literary Counsel.
Thank you for visiting!
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist:
Multi-finalist award winning novel: In the Context of Love,
Picture book: Gordy and the Ghost Crab,
Poetry chapbook: Sleepwalker,
Linda’s social media links: LinkTree
