I’m so excited to welcome Erin La Rosa, author of the upcoming contemporary romance book release For Butter Or Worse, to the blog today to share a little about herself and her new book! I’m reading For Butter Or Worse right now, and am loving it so far! If the title alone isn’t enough to grab you (oh my gosh, I love butter), rest assured that the contents are just as wonderful! I can’t wait for the world to read this one this summer!
My Great Day Job Resignation
by Erin La Rosa
I love tropes. I buy romance books based on my favorite ones (enemies to lovers, second chance, to name a few).
And maybe I’m also an embodiment of a 2021 trope—quitting your job. Because I, like millions of other Americans, recently quit. And I’m now officially entering 2022 as an unemployed person. (Hello, my fellow jobless friends!)
Of course, I have my reasons. Because I never went anywhere, did anything, or shopped much during the pandemic, I saved up enough money to last me a year without another job. I liked my job as a social media manager at Amazon Prime Video, but didn’t love my job. And I have a toddler who I want to spend more time with.
Oh, and my debut romance book, For Butter or Worse, is coming out July 26, 2022. And, like any self-involved writer, I’ll need all of those extra daytime hours to obsessively check my Goodreads reviews.
To be honest, this isn’t the first time I dramatically quit a job. In 2019, I left my secure, high-paying job at Netflix to begin writing For Butter or Worse. I’d felt this story bubbling up inside me for about six months. And I pushed it down, avoided acknowledging it, and hoped it would go away.
But then this annoying, gut feeling that I needed to be writing just kept floating back up. It got so loud that I could no longer do my job without feeling resentful. I wanted time to write, but there was none.
So, I saved up money and then… quit. I wrote a first draft of For Butter or Worse, re-read it, and was so horrified by how bad it was that I decided to take a job opportunity at Prime Video. Over the course of two years, I’d revisit the novel, though. I’d tinker, rewrite full chapters, or add a subplot.
After my daughter was born, my priorities shifted completely—she came first.
And I wanted to do something that would make her proud. So I continued to work my full-time job and spent as much time as I could with her. But when she slept, I wrote. I edited the book sometimes until one in the morning, then would sleep a few hours before she got up.
To be clear—I do not recommend this method to anyone. It was a time in my life where I was fueled purely by bowls of ice cream and this manic, obsessive drive to finish a new draft of the book.
Eventually, I did finish. I could’ve kept rewriting endlessly. But I decided to send it out to agents, just to see if anyone thought my writing was any good. If everyone I sent it to said no, then I’d know this wasn’t my path. But if I got some interest… maybe there was a career opportunity there.
Waiting for feedback was agonizing and sometimes heartbreaking. I got several kind rejections and several dismissive ones too. But three agents saw potential in my pages, and that was the sign from the universe I needed. (Not everyone believes in signs, but I do, so stick with me here!)
I signed with Jess Errera at the Jane Rotrosen Agency. She’s an up and coming agent, and I will (hopefully) be an up and coming romance author. We sold For Butter or Worse in a two-book deal to Harlequin in December of 2020.
Once I sold the book, the universe really seemed to be screaming at me to pursue writing full-time. So I knew I had to do the save money dance so I could quit. And now that it’s 2022, and For Butter or Worse will be out in July, I feel that I’m exactly where I need to be.
And in case you’re someone who is a living trope and loves to buy books involving tropes, For Butter or Worse is an enemies-to-lovers contemporary rom-com about two reality cooking show hosts who have to fake date in order to save their careers. If you loved The Hating Game or Great British Baking Show, you can add the book on Goodreads and pre-order here.
Are you interested in writing? Or do you love romance novels? Please do hit me up on Instagram or Twitter—I will need breaks from writing book two, and love to chat!
For Butter Or Worse by Erin La Rosa
Published by HQN on July 26, 2022
Genres: Romance – Contemporary
Add to Goodreads • Pre-order from Amazon
They go together like water and oil…
All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she’s had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It’s part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.
To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.
Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other…and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd’s pie. Right?
About Erin La Rosa
Erin La Rosa is the author of two nonfiction works, Womanskills and The Big Redhead Book. She’s written for BuzzFeed, SheKnows, E!, Funny or Die, and many others. She’s also performed in storytelling series like Mortified, “Funny but True” at the LA Times Book Festival, and Sunday Night Sex Talks.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two cats, Fish and Chips. Erin loves reading romance and chick-lit, and would love recommendations for more to read!
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