Please help me welcome author Samantha March to A Buckeye Girl Reads! She is here today to talk about her second book, The Green Ticket!
Title: The Green Ticket
Author: Samantha March
Publisher: Marching Ink
Release date: December 5, 2012
College junior Alex Abrams scores her dream job at the ripe age of twenty – manager to a successful salon and spa. Thrilled to finally have a real adult job, Alex enthusiastically jumps into the world of schedules, conference calls, and getting a massage when interviewing prospective employees. What she doesn’t expect are the very grown-up issues that comes with a demanding boss. Kevin Dohlman quickly becomes Alex’s worse nightmare – covering up his affairs, dealing with his enormous ego, and trying to protect her female staff from him becomes a full-time job in its own right. Alex has also befriended Kevin’s wife and co-owner, Dani, and is trying to keep Kevin’s secrets hidden from her. The situation only worsens when Kevin starts paying Alex off to make sure she keeps her insider knowledge to herself. While struggling to keep her wits and stay happy with her new grown-up job, Alex is juggling college courses, a new love interest, and keeping up with her close group of girlfriends. When her roommate and best friend Lila gets offered an opportunity to move to Los Angeles and sign with an agent, Alex realizes her life truly is changing, and everyone around her – including herself ¬¬–– is growing up. Knowing she is faced with some hard decisions ahead, Alex struggles with keeping her job at Blissful. But does she really want to throw away what she dreamed of as a career – or will the secret-keeping for Kevin become too much to handle? The Green Ticket is a story about morals versus money, and how one young woman navigates the shaky line between the two.
Can you
describe the book in 140 words or less?
A peek
inside the life of a struggling yet optimistic college junior as she navigates
the shaky line between morals and money.
What was
the Inspiration for The Green Ticket?
I actually became fascinated a few years back with the money
versus morals topic when I watched a young girl marry an older man (we are
talking a 50 year age difference) and be fine that people knew she married him
for money. Well, fascinated and quite disturbed I should say! That gave me the
spark to write THE GREEN TICKET and even though the plot is entirely different,
the concept is still there.
How did
you come up with the title?
I actually thought of the title in the very beginning stages
of planning, which was the opposite of what happened with my first title,
Destined to Fail. I envisioned the scene with my characters talking about “the
green ticket” and that was also one of the first scenes that I wrote for the
book.
Who was
the hardest/easiest character to write?
I
thought the easiest character to write about was Emma, and she was also one of
my favorites. I am (hoping!) to actually write a spin-off novel from her POV in
the future. The hardest would have to be Allie. It was tricky making her seem
nice yet having Alex be suspicious of her motives as well.
What
made you decide to self publish?
I have a
very entrepreneurial spirit, and I really loved the idea of being my boss and
having full control over my work. I also knew that I wanted to someday create a
business out of it – and I now am the owner of the indie publishing company, Marching
Ink, as well.
Do you
have a favorite comfort read, if so what is it?
I turn
to chick lit when I need comfort. If I have to read back to back books that are
sad, depressing, or scare the daylights out of me, I find that exhausting.
Chick lit is my go-to.
What was
the last book you read?
From Notting Hill With Love...Actually by Ali
McNamara. Great chick lit read!
Do you have
any authors that inspired you to write?
Oh yes! First and foremost would be Ann M. Martin, author of
The Baby-Sitters Club series. Also Francine Pascal of Sweet Valley success.
These two were huge inspirations to me when I was younger!
Author Bio:
Samantha March is an author, editor, publisher, blogger, and all around book lover. She runs the popular book/women’s lifestyle blog ChickLitPlus, which keeps her bookshelf stocked with the latest reads and up to date on all things health, fitness, fashion, and celebrity related. In 2011 she launched her independent publishing company Marching Ink and her debut novel Destined to Fail. When she isn’t reading, writing, or blogging, you can find her cheering for the Green Bay Packers.
