That Guy and That Girl VBT

Blurb:

Olivia Meadows is excited to finish her senior year of college as a volleyball national champion beside her teammates and best friends. A complication arrives in the form of John Hunter, that guy, her brother’s best friend whom she has had a secret crush on since she was eleven years old. Effortlessly charming and handsome, with a body honed by years of playing football, John initiates his charm offensive and Olivia finds herself unable to resist him.

John Hunter is pumped to finish his senior year of college as a football national champion beside his teammate and best friend. The only thing missing is that girl, Olivia Meadows, his best friend’s little sister. He needed to sow some wild oats before settling down with Olivia but now he is ready for something serious with the girl he has always admired.

Be careful what you wish for. John and Olivia find themselves dealing with adult consequences very quickly and wondering if their young love can endure the pressures of adulthood. Will they find deeper love or implode from the pressures of their own making?

Excerpt:

It feels like a secret magical place. No one else is around and I can’t even hear the usual sounds of campus from here. I jump in, “Can I go first?”

I’m really proud of what I’ve written and knowing how great Olivia is with words, I don’t want to follow her. “Of course,” she answers. I face her, take out my folded paper, and grab one of her hands. I take a moment to look at her. No rush. Everything else has been so fast that I’ve barely gotten to take it in. This, I want to remember and feel.

She squeezes my hand which reassures me that I’m not alone here. We are in this together. I take a deep breath and begin. “Olivia Meadows, I didn’t know it at the time but I’ve loved you since I was sixteen years old. You generously helped me with an English paper about The Age of Innocence and that was it for me.”

She jumps in, “I remember that.” I smile back.

“My turn here,” I remind her with a grin. She holds up her hands in surrender. We hold one hand again and I return to my paper, “As I was saying…what that study session did was create a need in me that could only be filled by you. I saw the book’s world through your eyes and realized that I had been missing so much. It also showed me that, through your eyes, everything is brighter, deeper, and more. I was a little too wild then to want to slow down but I’m not now.”

Natalia, thanks so much for stopping by. So how did you get started writing?

I’ve been writing my whole life but I never really considered it “real writing.” I would make little mini books and I’ve always been a mega journaler. So in some ways, I’ve always been a writer. But if you mean, how did I get started in this form, I started in the summer of 2018 when I needed to give myself a break from screenwriting. I wanted something fun that I’d never tried to do before so a romance novel it was! I’m a lifelong fan of the genre.

What was the inspiration for your book?

I realized after I started writing it that I was inspired to write the book I would have happily binged when I was twenty-two and confused about what came next. I have a LOT in common with my main character, Olivia. When I was a senior in college I had no idea what I wanted to do and I really didn’t want to make decisions about it. Olivia faces very different other obstacles than I did though.

What’s a genre you haven’t written in yet that you’d like to?

I think if I could dream up a really cool writing scenario it would be to find someone to collaborate with who would be interested in building a post-apocalyptic or alternative history world. I’d love someone to bounce ideas off of and then we could co-write a series based in that world of ours. I wouldn’t even mind if they weren’t strictly romance as long as there was some romance in the background at least.

Are there any genres you won’t read or write in? Why?

I don’t think it’s so much that I “won’t” read or write in any genres as much as there are some genres that I haven’t really made friends with. I don’t seem to gravitate to fantasy or paranormal but with a good solid recommendation I’d give just about anything a try. My brain is pretty grounded in reality (which isn’t always good) so for me it takes a lot to make me willingly suspend my disbelief.

What are you up to now? Do you have any releases planned, or are you still writing?

I’m in the outlining stage of a prequel novella to That Guy and That Girl. In the book we meet Kate, John’s older sister, and I decided I wanted to write her story. I also decided I wanted to try my hand at a novella. There’s something appealing to me about the length of a novella so I want to give it a try.

Alright, now for some random, fun questions. Favorite color?

Gold but that can change at any time.

Favorite movie?

Coal Miner’s Daughter—classic Sissy Spacek and so quotable.   

Book that inspired you to become an author?

This changes honestly but for today, I’d say Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.

You have one superpower. What is it?

 I’d love to be invisible because I’m nosy and I’d love to eavesdrop without consequences.

You can have dinner with any 3 people, dead, alive, fictitious, etc. Who are they?

Wow. Hmm. Queen Oprah, my father’s mother who has passed, and Ava DuVernay

Last question: Which of your characters are you most like and how/why?

Olivia Meadows in That Guy and That Girl: we’re both biracial, struggle with perfectionism, twenty-two in 1992, and love handsome athletes.

That’s all from me, thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Thanks for having me, what a privilege!

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Author Bio and Links:

Natalia is a lifelong reader and lover of romance novels. Before finally tapping away at her keyboard to create her own stories, she tried all sorts of professions: elementary school teacher, barista, seller of make-up, baker, and the list goes on. When she isn't pursuing the arts, she's hanging out with her husband, two wacky children, and full-figured Corgi.

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