A warm and witty love story about making the most of life’s not-so-little curveballs by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences.
Aly Jackson has waited her whole life to become editor-in-chief of All Good magazine. But six months into the job, she overhears her coworkers belittling her. Aly’s clapback? A very public, career-jeopardizing meltdown. To undo the mess, she agrees to a monthlong unpaid leave.
Reluctant but determined to turn misfortune into opportunity, Aly retreats to the Lake Michigan beach house her brother, Luke, left to her when he died nearly a year earlier. Except when Aly arrives, she discovers Luke’s slacker best friend, Wyatt, inherited the place, too.
Wyatt is unkempt, unmotivated, and totally uninterested in Aly’s desire to sell. Yet as battle lines are drawn, Aly wonders whether she and this wild card have more than Luke in common. But is she willing to swap her lifelong dreams for a shot at healing her broken heart?
Reviews ~
“Good for You is a love story that weathers grief and profound self-discovery, written in the way only Camille Pagán can: with a frank tenderness that leaves us with a happily ever after that is deserving of the novel’s beloved characters. Raising a glass to Aly and Wyatt!” —Tif Marcelo, USA Today bestselling author of In a Book Club Far Away
“I love everything Camille Pagán writes, and Good for You had me spellbound from the beginning. Aly Jackson is living the life of her dreams—except for a bit of PTSD and the grief she’s kept hidden since her brother’s death. When she falls apart in a very public way, she is forced to take a good, hard look at her life. Pagán takes us on a very moving, emotionally resonant journey as we root for Aly all the way.” —Maddie Dawson, Washington Post bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners
“With her trademark style of wit, wisdom, and true-to-life characters, Pagán has hope, home, and healing coming alive on every page. Dealing with life, loss, and, most important, love, Good for You is tender, real, and emotionally satisfying, and the story will have your heart soaring.” —Samantha Vérant, author of The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux
Author interview with Camille ~
Tell us a little about yourself and how you started writing.
I’m the #1 Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author
of ten books, a master certified coach, and a journalist who has contributed to
Forbes, The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Time, WebMD,
and numerous other outlets. Like many novelists, I always wanted to write
fiction, but I was the first person in my family to attend college and I didn’t
know anyone who made a living from writing or art. In fact, even my English
professors advised me to do something “practical”! So I went into health
journalism—my youngest sister had a lot of serious health issues as a child,
and I’m passionate about health and psychology—and worked at a handful of
health publications before striking out as an independent journalist in 2004.
I loved journalism and made good money from it … but in the back of my mind, I kept thinking, “When are you going to write a novel?” Then, just before I turned 30, I gave birth to my daughter, and one of my dear friends was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. It was one of those “what am I even doing with my life?” moments, and I decided to stop waiting for the ever-elusive “one day” or “right time” and just do it. Every night, after my daughter went to bed, I sat down to write. Four months later, I had a draft on my hands, and that became my debut, The Art of Forgetting. There have been plenty of ups and downs since then, but now I publish at least a novel a year and have the kind of career I once only dreamed of.
What are some things you enjoy when not writing?
To be honest, outside of exercising and spending time with my family, I
don’t really have any non-writing or reading-related hobbies! But I am a master
certified life coach and run a busy practice helping aspiring to established
writers create even better careers.
Do you have a particular writing routine?
I
write for three hours in the morning, five days a week. Occasionally, I write
longer when I’m on deadline or in the middle of edits, but three solid hours is
enough for me to write a draft in about three to four months. I use that same
chunk of time for editing, but I do marketing in small chunks in the
afternoons.
Do you have a ‘day job’ as well?
I spend most of the second half of my
day coaching and working on that side of my business. For me, neither writing
or coaching really feels like a “job”—they’re both a joy. I come away from
coaching conversations feeling clear and inspired, and when I write, I feel
most like myself.
What was the original title of this
book? Good for You! I come up with all of my titles and I have yet to have a publisher
change them (knock on wood). For me, titles are a crucial part of the creative
process and inform the tone of the book. I usually come up with the title right
before I begin writing, or at the latest, several chapters in.
Do you have a manuscript(s) in your
drawer? If so, will it ever see the light of day? Yes—four of them, actually! I wrote three truly terrible novels between
my debut and my second published book, Life and Other Near-Death
Experiences. Then, a few years ago, I wrote a book that I swore would be
“the one”—the novel that would take my career to the next level. My agent was
excited about it, too, but when we brought it to my publisher, they said (to
paraphrase), “Yeah, no—this is off-brand for you.” I decided to set it aside
and move forward with another book, which, frankly, didn’t perform well (I
don’t think that’s a coincidence, and I no longer write books based on an idea
approved by a publishing board or committee). The experience inspired me to hire
a coach, which then ultimately led me to become a coach, so I’m profoundly
grateful for it.
If I wasn’t an author, I might be…? I’d either be a full-time coach or a full-time health journalist. I
almost went to graduate school for public health in my twenties, only to
realize that after I graduated (with 100k in debt!), I’d go right back to
writing about health. But truly, if I ever couldn’t or no longer wanted to
write fiction for some reason, I’d find a way to combine coaching and
journalism.
Do you have any advice for aspiring
writers?
Absolutely: ignore all the people
(even the industry “experts”) who say you’ll sooner be struck by lightning than
become a successful author. In fact, I suspect one big reason I was able to
write and sell my debut quickly was because I didn’t tell anyone other than my
husband and my dear friend who had cancer that I was writing a novel; I just
didn’t want to hear well-meaning people tell me not to get my hopes up.
I’ve now worked with hundreds of writers of all backgrounds, writing in numerous genres. From that view, I believe that finding success as an author is maybe ten to twenty percent talent and perhaps a quarter know-how. The rest is mindset. It’s not an easy profession; setbacks are inevitable. The only way to succeed is to keep going, and that requires managing your thoughts and emotions. If you’re willing to do that, and develop the belief that it’s possible for you to have the career you want, then it will, in fact, be possible. (If this resonates with you, I have a weekly newsletter that’s focused on mindset and career strategy: Evenbetter.co/howto)
To connect with Camille ~
https://www.instagram.com/camillepagan/
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