Spotlight & Giveaway: AS YOU WISH by Leesa Cross-Smith

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Leesa Cross-Smith to HJ!

Hi Leesa and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, AS YOU WISH!

Hello, lovelies!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

In As You Wish, three young American women begin au pairing in Seoul for three wealthy families. The families are very close to one another. On a group trip to Jeju Island, the young women make a wish on an enchanted waterfall on a full moon night. Lydia wishes to be more special; Jenny wishes to never fall in love again; Selene wishes to find her birth mother somewhere in South Korea. The story follows them as their wishes take effect…all the feelings and issues that pop up because of their wishes…and how those things affect their relationship to one another. As You Wish is a loveletter to South Korea and Kpop/Kdramas and a story about friendship and new beginnings set against the neon-drenched streets of Seoul, packed with food and music and a bit of magic.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

I love a lot of lines in the book but I narrowed it down to the first three that came to mind!
Selene is wrestling with the idea of her wish to find her birth mother coming true.

“Prayers and wishes were sisters holding hands in the same aisle of the dream department, but regardless, she believed in prayer. Prayer with action. She’d come all the way to South Korea to find her mother; she was doing the work.”

Another one is when Lydia is describing one of her favorite spots in the city.

“She followed him up the hills where red neon crosses glowed spookily through the fog, to a small gallery in Itaewon in the back of a café Lydia had walked past plenty of times, unaware. “

I also love the many descriptions of food and one of my favorites is when Haru cooks for Jenny for the first time.

“He garnished the dish with a bit more mayo and a swirl of chili oil the color of cinnamon candy.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• There are playlists in the book that are also available on my Spotify page for anyone who wants to listen along! And in the back, there is a long list of my favorite Kdramas split up into categories of my own making.
• I’ve been to most of the places I write about in the book. I traveled to Seoul and spent a lot of time there walking, wandering, eating, listening, and soaking it all in. I also took Korean lessons.
• I’m BTS ARMY and a huge fan of Kpop in general, so that big love definitely made it into the book.
• I was so inspired by Kdramas that I added a lot of Kdrama tropes to the book, from things like having a love interest give the main character an umbrella when it starts raining to having the main character stumble and fall, only to be caught in her love interest’s arms. There’s a lot of soju and a piggyback ride too! All things that people who love Kdramas will recognize immediately!

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

As You Wish is written from three points of view, the three main characters, Lydia, Jenny, and Selene. For Lydia and Santi, she’s attracted to his beautiful hair and mysteriousness when she sees him in her art class. He’s from Spain and doesn’t seem interested in her at all, which only makes her fall in love with him even more. Slow burn! For Jenny and Haru, she’s attracted to how handsome he is and how easygoing and funny he is too. He is her host mother’s younger brother and has moved into the condo with them, so Jenny couldn’t get away from him if she tried. And he’s attracted to the sweetness under the shell she tries to put on and their easy conversation, like they’ve known each other forever. He falls first! For Selene and Joon, it’s friends to lovers. He begins helping her find her birth mother and he’s so polite and cute, she can’t get enough. He’s reserved and kind and she’s not looking for a relationship, but something happens…slowly. He’s pulled in by her charm, but wants to keep it professional if that’s what she needs. He really does want to help! But there’s no denying how lovely (and pretty) she is.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

One scene that made me kick my feet in cuteness is when Joon hears of an assault in the area where Selene works part time at her host mother’s shop and he rushes over to walk her own because he’s worried. I just love it so much because it’s their first hug and she’s so taken by his thoughtfulness. It’s sweet and so Kdrama. I can see it perfectly on the screen in my mind!

The next night, after staying late to help Aera’s assistant do inventory at Sobok Sweet, Selene bumped into Joon on her way out. He stepped back, breathing hard.
“Hi! Were you just walking past?”
Joon shook his head.
“Did you run here?”
Joon nodded.
“All the way up the hill?”
Joon nodded again.
“Is everything okay?” Selene asked, suddenly concerned. She searched his face and looked around for anything out of place. Anything to explain what was going on. Aera’s assistant had just closed the door of her car and driven off. The traffic was normal, the streetlights on. Two women with shopping bags walked down the sidewalk arm in arm. From Selene’s side of things, nothing was weird or different besides Joon swapping out his round glasses for black frames; both made her feral.
“I read an article about an assault in the area earlier and the police haven’t caught the guy yet, so I wanted to get here before you left so I could walk you home. I didn’t want to be late,” Joon said after catching his breath. His coat was zipped, buttoned to his chin. His glasses were fogging, and he took them off, inspected them quickly before putting them back on.
“Are you serious?”
Joon nodded.
She hugged him for the first time, getting on her tiptoes to put her chin on his shoulder. Her body buzzed.

Readers should read this book….

If they love cozy romance, Kdramas, and Kpop. If they want to go to Seoul. If they love books about girlfriendships. If they love their fiction with a dash of sweet magic and books about found families and second chances. If they love comforting, healing fiction and characters they can root for through all their awkwardness, stubbornness, and humanness.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Right now I’m taking a break after seven books, but I have a catalog going back to 2014 that I’m so proud of , so there is plenty to read while I let myself rest and decide what’s next!
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A finished copy of AS YOU WISH by Leesa Cross-Smith

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What would your wish be if you stumbled upon an enchanted waterfall on a moonlit night? What would it have been 10 years ago?

 
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Excerpt from AS YOU WISH:

After asking, Selene learned Haru was not only fluent in both Korean and English like his sister Rain, but also knew a lot of Japanese. Selene threw out two Japanese phrases she’d memorized but had no clue what Haru said when he answered her back. He got a kick out of her funny shrugs. All three of the girls practiced their Korean by asking him how he was doing and what he was up to tomorrow.
“My friends from Busan are here and we’re going out tomorrow night if you want to join us. Girls and guys…most of us have known each other since we were kids. My sister knows them all,” Haru said, switching to English again and motioning to Rain, who had Fox in her lap. She was petting his hair.
“You mean real grown-ups and everything?” Selene asked, smiling and leaning over. Not too-too flirty, but his handsome face was right next to her. She couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t been in a committed relationship for years, just a very loose friends-with-benefits arrangement with a guy (Vladimir! Soccer player, blue jean eyes!) she met in college, but he’d moved back home to Poland a few months ago.
She remembered the last Vladimir kiss in the rain. She imagined kissing Haru in the rain and wondered if Jenny was into him. Adorable as Lydia was, she wouldn’t be competition. She would probably tuck her head into her shell if any guy flirted with her.
“Thanks for inviting us, but no thanks…we’re having girls’ night,” Jenny said.
“Um, we are?” Selene asked, baffled. They’d made exactly zero plans together for tomorrow night.
“You’re so funny, Selene!” Jenny said, lightly smacking her thigh. “Remember Lydia said she was gonna show us that waterfall she’s heard so much about? We’re hiking there tomorrow, since we have the night off.” Jenny looked back and forth between Selene and Lydia. They knew exactly what to do.
“Ha! Right. I’m hilarious. So hilarious I forget our plans! Thanks for inviting us, Haru, but we’re very, very strict about girl code,” Selene said.
“The waterfall near here is lit up at night, right?” Lydia asked him, adding that she saw it in a brochure.
Haru confirmed.
“Good. I’m excited,” Lydia said.
“It’s amazing. You’ll love it. People call it the Waterfall of God,” he said. “The three of you will be missed while you’re off on your adventure.”
While Jenny was showing Lydia something on her phone, Selene asked Haru more about his friends. Since Jenny was clearly trying her best to ignore him and keep things friendly, Selene didn’t mind bringing the extra warmth. As Haru talked, Selene alternated between looking at his face and the sky as the fireworks splashed and sizzled. Each snap and pop was punctuated by oohs and aahs from the kids. The beach was filled with families and the weather was cool enough for the long pajama pants they were wearing. The air reminded Selene of the best summer nights back home in New York when she and her friends hung out on rooftops strung with twinkle lights, matching the glitter of the city.
***
The kids were beyond exhausted by the time the fireworks finished. On the way back to the villas, Nabi and Arwen were holding hands in front of them and Fox hitched a ride on Haru’s back with Tae and Eun poking up at him. The parents and the au pairs were bringing up the rear. Sauntering, Lydia mentioned reading that the island was inhabited by countless spirits. Some people believed that if they went to the Waterfall of God and made a wish on a stack of seven stones under a full moon, their wish would come true.
Jenny stopped walking and pulled her phone out of her bag. After tapping and scrolling, she let out a gasp.
“Whoa. I got chills. Tomorrow night is a full moon. Holy shi—” Jenny said. “Girls’ Night slash Full Moon Wish Night, am I right? Seriously, we have to, even if just for fun. It’s meant to be!”
“I’ll make a wish,” Lydia said quickly, snapping her fingers.
Selene shivered but stayed quiet.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

They say be careful what you wish for…

For Lydia, Jenny, and Selene, au pairing in Seoul is the opportunity of a lifetime. Lydia wants nothing more than to transform into a leading lady; Jenny is determined to swear off love for good 5,955 miles away from her ex; and Selene is convinced working in Korea will finally lead her to her biological mother.

During a combined family vacation with their host families, the women visit an enchanted waterfall on Jeju Island and make a wish under a full moon. Overnight, everything changes. Suddenly, Lydia is the girl everyone wants—except, strangely, her mysterious art class partner from Spain. Jenny is having secret, no-strings-attached fun with her host mom’s irresistible younger brother. And Selene is finally getting somewhere in her search for her mother thanks to a research-savvy photographer.

But when Jenny’s romantic feelings begin to deepen, she realizes her wish is standing in the way of true, lasting love. Her decision to return to the waterfall will have unexpected consequences and force the au pairs to confront a new question altogether: Could it be that their friendship was the real magic all along?
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Meet the Author:

Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the author of seven books. She was longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award and the 2021 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Her third novel, Half-Blown Rose, received the Coups de Cœur recognition from the American Library in Paris and was the Amazon Editors’ Spotlight pick for June 2022. It was also the inaugural pick for Amazon Editorial Director Sarah Gelman’s book club, Sarah Selects, and a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and two children.
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