Get ready to learn more about the book The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date in this discussion with sapphic author Eija Jimenez.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Eija Jimenez about The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Set in Canada category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date?
I wrote The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date because I want to create more content for queer people of colour like myself. I’m a Filipino-Canadian lesbian. Canada is such a multicultural country that people of colour can struggle to reconcile their cultural identities. Add your sexuality into the mix, and you get an experience like Lainey!
I wrote Lainey for all the people who have or are going through their coming out journey and struggling because culture hinders them. Because of the religious, conservative nature of being Filipino, I came out five years later than I should have. I led a secret life online, but outwardly to most friends and family, I was straight. I mean it when I say the struggle is real.
The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date not only shows the acceptance of your found family, but the realities of how birth families can be because they’re so set in their ways. This book was so important for me to release to let everyone know who is struggling with this that they’re not alone in their feelings.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Hands down, my favourite character is Max. Max is Lainey’s best friend and her long-time beard. He’s based off of my real-life friend who knew I was a lesbian before I knew I was a lesbian. One of the many reasons that he’s my favourite character is because he’s funny! Lainey is awkward, but Max adds to her awkwardness and they feed off each other. Not only that, but he is Lainey’s ride-or-die, and the fact that he pretended to be her boyfriend for so long just to help her out speaks volumes about how kind he is.
Max and I are similar in the sense that we’re light-hearted and goofy, but we would do anything (including going to strip clubs and speed dating) just to help out a friend.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
I am planning a sequel 👀 The Misadventures of Getting Lainey a Date is about Lainey’s journey and how she needs to come to terms with her sexuality and reconciling that with her family pressures. The sequel digs deeper into Lainey and Charley’s relationship now that they’re out in the world together, and how they’re going to be navigating that with Lainey’s family. It’ll be spicier, cuter, and you’ll get to see more Lainey and Charley.
What is your favorite line from your book?
My favourite line is when Lainey has her blow-up with her parents and she says this to Charmaine: My life isn’t hard because I like women. My life is hard because of people like you. You’re supposed to love me forever, and you’re supposed to protect me from people that hurt me, and right now that person is you, Ma.
It takes a lot of courage to stand up to your parents, and a lot more to be okay with the consequences. This is Lainey’s big FU and she completely owns it.
What is your writing process like?
I’m a plotter! My brain has stories or scenes that play like a movie. Sometimes it will just be a scene that I keep in the file cabinet of my mind, and then as I keep thinking about and add more to the “movie”, I outline it on paper (or my computer or phone – whichever is handy!). When I plot, I word-dump onto the page of plot points and scenes, and then when the outline is done, I re-read it to see what’s missing or what needs to be shifted.
That part is my favourite part because I love leaving Easter eggs. Having the full outline, taking a step back, and knowing the full story, I can leave clues in the earlier chapters of the book that come full circle. A bad habit I have, and I’m absolutely overcoming it, is that I just need to get on and write! I have loads of stories outlined from start to finish, and because they’re done in my brain, they feel written. As my wife likes to say, “no one can read it if it’s only in your brain.”
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
Oh goodness, do I ever. I have two mini poodles: Honey and Dijon. Honey is six and an old lady, but she insists on resting her head on the keyboard and sit on your mouse. It makes typing… fun to say the least. Quiet honestly, I’d take that any day because Dijon is addicted to fetch. He’s almost two, and he can literally play fetch for hours. Every 45 seconds, I have to stop my train of thought because he’s dropped a ball on my lap and is sitting patiently waiting for you to throw it. If you ignore him for too long, he throws a tantrum. He doesn’t bark, but he stomps his feet and whimpers ever so softly. I definitely enable this behaviour, but they’re so cute about it.
What has helped or hindered you most when writing a book?
This might sound cheesy, but quite honestly, my wife has been the greatest help in writing books. When we met, I had already published Dear Taylor and Sincerely Daniella, and my writing career felt like a thing of the past. I’d still talk to her about the stories I wanted to write and all the ideas I have floating in my head. She always encouraged me to write again and would say “no one can read it if it’s only in your brain”. So I took the leap and started writing again. The support she’s shown me through it all from being a sounding board, an emotional support system, and to editing works and designing covers has been exactly what I needed to pick up the pen again. Now the ideas can’t stop coming out of my brain and onto the page.
Have you ever cried when writing an emotional scene?
I haven’t cried while writing an emotional, but I’ve cried reading it back. For Dear Taylor and Sincerely Daniella, the premise of their relationship is that they’re long-distance with Taylor being a soldier in the US army. Without giving too much away about these two books, there’s a scene where Daniella is saying bye to Taylor at the airport for her deployment. Set during a time during Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, they’re both cautious about their relationship out in the world, especially when Taylor is in uniform. This scene hurt so much because there’s yearning between both women. They both found each other and have accepted that they’re it for one another, but Taylor’s leaving to go fight in a war. There’s an unspoken timer every time they get together, and this moment at the airport is when they stop caring what others think. Taylor kisses her in public and they drop the L-bomb, and it’s a moment where these two women who love each other so deeply don’t care about anyone else because all they want is the safety of the other.
Reading that scene back, and even talking about it to be honest, always pulls at my heartstrings. It makes my heart clench and yearn and makes me wants to rip through the page and have Taylor not get on that plane. I can feel their pain when reading and writing it, and I try to put that onto the page so readers can feel the same.
What books have you read more than once in your life?
My all-time favourite book is Fried Green Tomatoes by Fanny Flagg. I’m a country music fan, so the fact that this book is set in the south and keeps with southern storytelling makes my heart soar. There’s comfort in Idgie and Ruth. They feel like friends to me. Even though I know how the story ends, reading their story is beautiful. I’m a big fan of long-standing stories that span over years because you get to see how characters, relationship, and time progresses. This book encapsulates all of that, and I love coming back to them to see how they are.
Do you only read books in one genre or do you genre hop?
I’m a genre-hopper. My top two categories are LGBT+ romantic comedies and thrillers. For LGBT+ romantic comedies, not only do I want to support those authors, but it’s so important to read and promote more LGBT+ books. There was nothing for me growing up, so the fact that my gay teenage brother can see himself in stories is a huge win.
I love a good thriller with some of my favourite authors being Sheri Lapena and Frieda McFadden. Frieda McFadden, particularly, uses writing to her advantage by writing from one perspective then shifting to another for a huge plot twist. I love the twist and turns behind thrillers and finding out what motivated the bad person to do what they did.
