Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Thien-Kim Lam to HJ!
Hi Thien-Kim Lam and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Something Cheeky!
Hello, lovely readers!
Please summarize the book for the readers here:
Something Cheeky is an Asian AF showmance where former best friends Zoe Tran and Derek Bui work together to produce a rock musical they created in college. Their feelings for each other grow the more time they spend together but their relationship is threatened when the artistic director pressures Derek to whitewash the show.
Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:
“Z, you haven’t changed. You look fantastic,” he noted, avoiding her question. The tingling of nerves crept back across his body again. He didn’t want her to think he’d only come here to ask her to work with him.
“You know Asian don’t raisin.” She placed her hands under her chin, kicked up her back leg like an anime character, and batted her eyelashes.AND
“Look theater boy,” Trixie said, glaring at Derek. “If you hurt Zoe in any way, you had it coming.”
Derek laughed but his face paled when Trixie didn’t join him.
“Uh, I don’t plan on running into your knife,” he joked nervously.
“Ten times,” Trixie deadpanned.
Please share a few Fun facts about this book…
- I got the idea to make a fictional rock musical after seeing the touring production of SIX the Musical. It’s basically a ninety minute concert about King Henry VIII’s six wives. I’m a theatre major and worked professionally as a costumer and costume designer for several years so I drew upon that experience for Something Cheeky.
- Originally Derek didn’t wear eyeglasses. My teenagers gave me a hard time because none of my characters in Happy Endings and Full Exposure wore glasses. Everyone in my immediate family wears glasses so statistically at least one of my characters should, too.
- My Avon team and illustrator Andressa Meissner nailed the cover for Something Cheeky! For inspiration, I sent them photos of Kelly Marie Tran, Desmond Chiam, and Playbill covers of SIX and K-Pop the Musical. I’m in awe of how they took those images and created such a stunning cover.
What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?
Derek has been attracted to Zoe since their freshman year in college when she staged a protest in the form of a monologue against the musical Miss Saigon. Yes, Zoe is a badass. On the other hand, Zoe has only seen Derek as a friend until he convinces her to work on his Vietnamese Cinderella musical. It takes a series of CATastrophic events (no spoilers) for her to realize she has romantic feelings for him.
Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?
There’s a fun scene where Derek first meets Zoe’s cat Mr. Bobbins. I won’t spoil it but let’s say it involves Derek’s favorite pair of black Converse sneakers and canned tuna.
Another scene is much later in the book where Derek and Zoe use Vietnamese pun pick-up lines during a sex scene. Cheesy pick-up lines crack me up, but for some reason they’re even funnier when they’re in Vietlish (Vietnamese + English). I warned David Huynh, who narrates Derek in the audiobook, about this scene, and he was totally game!
Readers should read this book….
If you like feisty cats, behind-the-scenes look at musicals, queer relationships, fairy tales, and funny sex scenes.
What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?
I’m currently working on some new projects which I can’t talk about yet. They’re definitely about Vietnamese people smashing stereotypes!
Thanks for blogging at HJ!
Giveaway: A finished copy of SOMETHING CHEEKY by Thien-Kim Lam
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Book Info:
**A steamy new rom-com from the popular author of *Happy Endings* and *Full Exposure*, where two friends get the opportunity to work together on their dream project—a Cinderella rock musical with an all-Asian cast—and discover that falling in love was the easy part…**
Zoe Tran is living her best life, designing plus-size lingerie at her own award-winning clothing boutique, when suddenly her college best friend reenters her life. Derek Bui is offering a tantalizing chance to recapture a forgotten dream: designing costumes for the musical they created together years ago.
Derek has loved Zoe since freshman year but never had the guts to confess his true feelings. Now he’s directing the Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical they dreamed up in college. The stakes are high: it’s the first production with an all-Asian cast and creative team at Washington, D.C.’s largest theatre and if they can make it work, they’ll head to Broadway. But his real goal: get Zoe back in his life.
A proud demisexual, Zoe only ever saw Derek as her best friend, but working on their dream production together brings them closer than ever. Sparks ignite under the hot spotlights. But when the theatre’s artistic director pressures Derek to make the musical “less Asian,” he and Zoe clash on whether to stay true to their vision or compromise to keep the production alive.
Will Zoe and Derek finally let love take center stage or will their creative differences close the curtains on them forever?
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Meet the Author:
Thien-Kim Lam writes stories about Vietnamese characters who smash stereotypes and find their happy endings. A recovering Type-Asian, she guzzles cà phê sữa đá, makes art, and bakes her feelings to stay sane. Her debut book Happy Endings was a Washington Post Romance Novel of the Year. Her Mardi Gras romance Full Exposure is a love letter to her Vietnamese community in Louisiana.
Thien-Kim also coaches writers of color and is an EDSE certified sex educator and the founder of Bawdy Bookworms, a subscription box that pairs sexy romances with erotic toys. She’s been featured on Jezebel, Bustle, Entertainment Weekly, and Oprah Daily.
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