Spotlight & Giveaway: The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean by Ann Rose

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Ann Rose to HJ!

Hi Ann and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean!

 
Hello! Thank you so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

It’s a queer love story told in a series of flashbacks, starting from Mandy’s wedding day—a day where everything already seems to be going wrong—moving back and forth in time through her past relationships as she discovers herself and readers find out if she’ll run away while her whole heart is still intact or risk it one more time and discover who finally won her heart and is waiting at the altar. The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean is about love and all its possibilities.
I also like to say it’s my “Schitt’s Creek” of romance where queer characters just get to love and be loved without question.
 

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

Oh my gosh this is hard. There are so many scenes and lines that I love… hmmm… let me think…

So I probably should give you a line that hints at the romance like…

“This was the moment Mandy should say, I love you. Those three little words had felt like a caged bird inside her chest since the night they intertwined their fingers and walked down the pier over a month ago. But Mandy had kept those words locked inside. Too afraid to say them out loud.”

But does that highlight the journey and the complexity of this book enough? So maybe something like…

“The universe could be such a cruel bitch sometimes.”

Which is fair but then you’d miss things like this…

“Mandy hated kale. Well, hated was a strong word. She greatly disliked the vegetable and thought it was completely overrated. But for some reason everyone seemed to be obsessed with it. Like it was some new kind of superfood instead of what it was—which was just angry lettuce.”

Maybe all three will help prepare you for the journey you are about to take with Mandy.
 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• This is the first book I ever plotted from beginning to end and knew exactly what I was going to put on the page before I even started drafting.
• I’ve never been to England and hopefully I did those parts justice.
• I grew up in CA and pretty much all of my novels are set there because it’s still one of my favorite places.
• Mandy and I have similar thoughts about kale.

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

Well since we don’t really know who our heroine ends up with, I will just say that Mandy loves fiercely with her whole heart, she is willing to give until she has nothing left, and the person she ends up with doesn’t allow her to lose who she is when they are together.
 

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

So many! First thing you should know is that I think I’m hysterical. So there are lots of funny moments and buildups with punchlines that (I hope) deliver some chuckles. And blushing!! I consider this book on a heat level to be paprika because I lead the reader there and then I was absolutely blushing too hard to keep it going on the page.

Mandy hated the smell of Theo’s apartment. It wasn’t that it was dirty—although it was always a mess—but whatever his cleaning person used, because yes, he had a cleaning person, the scent seemed to linger. It was sour and floral and that just did not go together.
“I have so much stuff I have to get done today,” Theo whispered in Mandy’s ear as they snuggled in his bed. As he kissed Mandy’s neck and ran his hand up her shirt, she tried not to focus on the smell. But trying not to focus on it made her focus on it even more, which made making out not as enjoyable.
“Yeah, totally, so do I,” she said. It’s not that he was bad at it; it was just that Mandy wasn’t even sure she really liked him all that much, which made her feel guilty, but she was pretty sure Theo was using her too. He was Mandy’s attempt at a one-night stand that had lasted a month already. She’d only wanted to let off some steam. To do something that wouldn’t be as stressful as school or her internship. It was supposed to be a fun fling. But as the days went on, it became more and more work, and Mandy knew less and less how to end it with him. “Maybe we should put this on pause for another time,” she encouraged.
“We totally should.” But Theo didn’t stop, and to be fair, Mandy wasn’t sure she wanted him to. Theo was an escape from all the things she didn’t want to think about or do.
In most regards, Theo was a catch. He played water polo and came from what her roommate called “a good family”—meaning his parents were rich—which explained why he had his own apartment and a cleaning person. He was good looking in the traditional sense with a sharp jaw and greenish-gray eyes that didn’t seem natural but were.
But he liked horror movies, and Mandy liked rom-coms. He enjoyed the club, and Mandy preferred dinner and drinks. He liked to work out, and Mandy hated to sweat. Being with Theo was the first time Mandy didn’t try the way she would in all her other relationships. She would steal fries from his plate, and poop in his bathroom because when it all came down to it, she didn’t really care. And yet for some reason, it was working. “I could skip washing my hair, though, you know?” she said.
“Mmmmm, hhh,” he hummed into her hair and softly bit her neck. “Clean hair is overrated.”
She seemed to intrigue Theo more and more. He’d often tell her he loved that she was different from the other girls he dated and that it was cool that she was so confident, and if Mandy was being completely honest, she started to like these compliments. It had been a long time since someone had said things like that to her. Nice things. Things that didn’t make her second guess herself. And despite the smell of the apartment, his sheets were so soft, and his shower had the best water pressure, and he had his own cappuccino machine in the kitchen. And he always tried to satisfy Mandy.
It wasn’t that Mandy didn’t like him, she just wasn’t sure she was in-like with him—which yes, were totally different things.
Theo’s hand slid down Mandy’s stomach and then lower, and she melted into him. She did like how he took the lead. Like how he always wanted to make sure she felt good. And how he liked to make sure she orgasmed first—and often.
“I really do need to get going,” he said, but again he didn’t stop.
“Uh huh.” Mandy raked her nails gently across his six pack. “Don’t let me keep you.” She leaned in and nibbled on his ear.
“Well maybe I can be late.”
“Sounds good to me.”
And he kissed her again.

Readers should read this book….

I’m sure it’s me, but I totally do not understand this question. (Feel free to email me or my publicist and I can answer it once I better understand what you are looking for here. Sorry!)

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

I’m currently working on a couple of things, because if I don’t have several projects going at a time then where will my anxiety come from?

But the thing I can tell you about is my next project has fall vibes, a bi-for-bi romance, a little magic, and it’s set in a Halloween store that people may recognize.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A print copy of THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE LOVE LIFE OF AMANDA DEAN by Ann Rose

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: There’s a scene where Mandy eats a peanut butter and pickle sandwich, and my question is, what is your favorite weird food combination?

 
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Book Info:

It’s her wedding day and it’ll be the happiest day of her life…won’t it?

Amanda Dean would say she’s an okay artist and a loyal friend, but what she’s best at is falling in love. A self-proclaimed bi disaster who has had her heart broken more times than she cares to count, Amanda can’t help opening herself up. As she gets ready on the day she’s waited a lifetime for, memories of her past loves run through her mind, with one glaring red sign blinking above them—is this “the one”?

Will it be:

the fit water polo player,
the fashionista,
the dependable hedge fund manager,
or the one where the timing was never quite right.

Now, on the day of her wedding—a day where everything already seems to be going wrong—Mandy must decide if she’s willing to risk it all one last time or if she’ll escape while her whole heart is still intact.

Equal parts heartwarming and bittersweet, The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean expertly weaves the wonder and terror of falling in love into a beautifully crafted story about the joy that can be found when you’re willing to dust yourself off and try again.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Ann Rose is a typical Taurus—loyal but stubborn, which means being an author is perfect. While asking the private group chat for ideas on what to include in this bio, Ann was reminded that some of her greatest qualities are her awesome best friends from high school—a fact she couldn’t argue with. She loves dark chocolate, sarcasm, her family, tacos, and her cats—obviously not in that order. Ann also writes young adult novels under the pen name A.M. Rose.

Connect with Ann on her website www.annroseauthor.com or on social media:
Twitter & Bluesky: @annmrose
Instagram, Threads, & TikTok: @totally_anntastic
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