Straight Girl Next Door
by S.E. Chandler
Released: Jan 19, 2024
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Why this book and why now?
For a laugh-out-loud majority book, I did take on the hot current topic of women’s reproductive rights. One of the characters describes in detail an ultrasound she’s forced to have before an abortion and the conflicting feelings she has around it. Between us, that ultrasound was exactly the experience I had seeing my daughter at 8 weeks, a white blob in a black pool. Although she was an IVF baby we fought like hell to get here, he most remarkable thing to me is how, even at that developmental stage (no brain or legs, a tail, paddles for hands and a heartbeat), she was markedly different from my son at that same scan. He was flapping and waving wildly with serious jazz hands. Just don’t tell Alabama we had a 3rd embryo…
Would you and your main character(s) get along?
Billy and I could hang. Andi would be too frenetic for me. I honestly don’t see how Billy had the patience to wait out Andi’s waffling, and penchant for the easy road. I like how Billy is unpresumptive. You know, she open, down for whatever, until whatever gets down on her. I’ve been bitch-slapped by love before too (think Cupid with a double-barrel shotgun instead of an arrow). Like, why did I fall in love with THIS woman? Where did she even come from? And will I ever be able to stop thinking about, fantasizing about, dreaming about…etc. etc. Hit me up if you’ve been there.
What 3 things would your main character want with them if they got stranded away from civilization, and why?
Andi: ponytail holder, Cupid’s double-barrel shotgun and sunglasses, because Lara Croft is badass. Billy: toothbrush, mirror & multi-tool, because being away from civilization doesn’t mean you have to be uncivilized.
One of your main characters is planning a romantic night. Tell us about it.
Billy is the romantic, so Andi would want to show off her new lady-loving skills. Except she’s used to being pursued and would make the date into all things she loved–whether or not Billy did. She’d take Billy to have authentic Mexican with margheritas because damn, she’s tired of pizza and beer. Only two-sheets to the wind, she’d take Billy to the downtown adult arcade and absolutely slay her at a dual-shot basketball and hit an air hockey puck so hard it skips off the table to a nearby skiball machine, which she insists is a point in her favor. Finally, she’d take Billy to see Barbie because Kate McKinnon is in it and she’s hilarious and gay. When Andi asks Billy what she thought of their night out, Billy would say, “I’ll try anything once. And yes, you’re still getting laid.”
Publishing a book is a huge accomplishment and it’s time to party! Choose a celebratory beverage for one of your main characters to toast the release of your new book.
Gotta pop the Riesling! Although Billy prefers to always make new mistakes, she and Andi would definitely have to choose this gaffe beverage mentioned in the book. Good for one more laugh!
