Flirting With Fate
by CS White
Released: Dec 10, 2025
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Why this book and why now?
I’d been tinkering with a different novel for years while publishing nonfiction, but nothing really clicked until I fell in love myself. Meeting a woman from Miami completely changed my life and sparked something creative in me. Flirting With Fate isn’t my story, but that new love—its energy, its joy, its sense of possibility—inspired me to finally write and finish my first novel. It was the right moment, and the right emotion, to bring this story to life.
What is a significant way your book has changed since either the first draft or the way you thought it would turn out when you first had the inspiration?
I started writing a romance, and I ended up with a suspense driven romance, which I actually like much better.
Would you and your main character(s) get along?
I would love to meet a real, Cat DiDonato! I think we would be soulmates. She is lots of things that I am not which attracts me to her as a character, and lots of her qualities I admire in other women and strive to emulate in my own life.
Do your character names have special significance or meaning?
My first name is Carter and my partner is Mabel – so, even though we are nothing like the characters, that is where the names originated.
How does it feel to finally share this book with readers?
I am a bundle of nerves and excitement. What if people hate it? What if they love it!
Is there anything you wish readers knew before diving into this book?
Telling a compelling story is harder than it sounds! The story in my head is always so fun and interesting – translating that to the page is what makes a good writer, great! I am still striving.
What TV show would your main character(s) most likely binge watch and why?
When she was a pre-teen, she would have binged the L Word, of course. Then I think she would have liked Ted Lasso for a good laugh. She would also love The White Lotus series and I think she would like Running Point (new series).
What’s your main character(s)’s favorite book and why?
A Woman Of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford or Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
One of your main characters is planning a romantic night. Tell us about it.
Cat is not a showy romantic, but when she decides to make a night special, she goes all in on the details. For this particular evening, she’d turn her apartment into a soft, glowing escape—lamps dimmed low, music humming in the background, the kind of playlist that feels like warm breath on the back of your neck. She’d cook something simple but thoughtful, probably a dish she learned years ago and never admits she makes well.
Before Mae arrives, Cat would place a single rose on the counter, not as a grand gesture but as a quiet promise of the night she hopes they’ll share. Mae would walk in expecting an ordinary evening and instead find Cat actually relaxed, smiling in that way she only does around her. They’d eat, talk about everything and nothing, and end up drifting to the couch where Cat finally lets her guard down and rests her head against Mae’s shoulder.
It’s not elaborate. It’s not dramatic. But in Cat’s world, choosing to be fully present with someone is the most romantic thing she can offer.
Were there any scenes or characters that surprised you as you wrote?
Alex took some unexpected turns that I did not expect as I wrote them.
Which character was the most fun to write, and which was the hardest?
I loved writing Cat and Izzie. They are women I would want to know and be friends with. Writing Beverly was difficult – I am a mom and I can’t imagine acting like Beverly!
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.
Miami Heatwave — Cat’s Signature Cocktail
Ingredients:
2 oz silver tequila (Cat likes something clean and bright)
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz jalapeño-infused agave syrup
2 oz fresh pineapple juice
Ice
Sprig of fresh rosemary (for the flame moment)
Instructions:
Shake tequila, lime juice, pineapple juice, and jalapeño agave with ice.
Strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with fresh ice.
Take a sprig of rosemary, light it briefly until it smolders, then blow it out.
Nestle the smoking rosemary into the drink so the aroma drifts upward as they take the first sip.
It’s bold, bright, a little dangerous—everything Cat tries not to be, but absolutely is underneath.
What song does your character put on to start your book launch party?
Nothing’s Real But Love – Rebecca Ferguson Sultry, Real, Romantic, Powerful
If your book had a scent, what would it smell like?
Ocean, Santal, Vanilla
Do you have any writing rituals or habits?
I started waking up at 4:30am, unable to sleep anymore. This began my now ritual of writing for a couple of hours in the morning before everyone else is awake.
What are you currently reading?
The Paris Novel
If you could have dinner with any author, living or dead, who would it be?
Hemingway!
