What’s the best way to escape your family’s expectations for your life? Maybe trying fake dating. Two romance novelists Katie Shepard (Sweeten the Deal) and Naina Kumar (Say You’ll Be Mine) take on tropes and writing opposites-attract characters’ dual perspectives. Read. Swoon. Repeat.
Photo Credit: Vanessa Velazquez Photography
Naina Kumar is a lawyer by day and a reader and writer of romance at night. She lives in Texas, close to her family whose antics provide endless inspiration. When she’s not writing, she enjoys taking her rowdy rescue dog on walks, rewatching Gilmore Girls on a loop, and shopping at H-E-B. Say You’ll Be Mine is her debut novel.
Photo Credit: Katie Shepard
Katie Shepard is, in no particular order, a fangirl, a gamer, a bankruptcy lawyer, and a romance author. Born and raised in Texas, she frequently escapes to Montana to commune with the trees and woodland creatures, resembling a Disney princess in all ways except age, appearance, and musical ability. When not writing or making white-collar criminals cry at their depositions, she enjoys playing video games in her soft pants and watching sci-fi shows with her husband, two children, and very devoted cat. Her latest book is Sweeten the Deal.
Vicky is the Event Coordinator at Nowhere Bookshop. Being a bookseller for the past seventeen years, it’s basically all she’s equipped for at this point and she’s really happy to be doing it at Nowhere. Vicky has a six year old daughter, four very rude cats, and can’t stop buying dead people’s clothes (estate sales). In her spare time she dances burlesque and cleans her kitchen because it always seems to be dirty. She likes reading mostly memoirs, romance, and picture books that make her cry.
