About The Dachsund Wears Prada:
How do you start over when the biggest mistake of your life has more than one million views?
Forget diamonds; the internet is forever. Social media consultant Isla Thompson learned that lesson the hard way when she went viral for all the wrong reasons. A month later, Isla is still having nightmares about the moment she ruined a young starlet’s career and made herself the most unemployable influencer in Manhattan. But she doesn’t have the luxury of hiding away until she’s no longer “Instagram Poison.” Not when her fourteen-year-old sister, Dani, needs Isla to keep a roof over their heads. So she takes the first job she can get: caring for Camilla, a glossy-maned, foul-tempered hellhound.
After a week of ferrying Camilla from playdates to pet psychics, Isla starts to suspect that the dachshund’s bark is worse than her bite—just like her owner, Theo Garrison. Isla has spent her career working to make people likeable and here’s Theo—happy to hide behind his reputation as a brutish recluse. But Theo isn’t a brute—he’s sweet and funny, and Isla should not see him as anything but the man who signs her pay cheques. Because loving Theo would mean retreating to his world of secluded luxury, and Isla needs to show Dani that no matter the risk, dreams are always worth chasing.
Read on for an exclusive interview with author, Stefanie London, and her experience writing The Dachsund Wears Prada, her favorites in the book, and what she likes to do in her spare time when she’s not writing.
Author of The Dachsund Wears Prada, Stefanie London
Stefanie London is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and her writing praised as “elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT Magazine. Originally from Australia, she now lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges her passions for lipstick, good coffee, books, and anything zombie-related.
Purchase The Devil Wears Prada at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Powell’s, BookShop.org, and Harlequin
What was the most difficult part of writing the book and why?
Writing Theo’s darker emotional arc and his grief while trying to balance the expectations of a romantic comedy story (i.e. that it’s funny, lighthearted and uplifting) was something that required a lot of thought and refining. It’s a balance I always work really hard on, because as much as I love the laugh-out-loud elements of writing romcoms, I always strive to write a deeply emotional story and sometimes those two things can feel at odds. But I work closely with my editor to get the balance right and she always helps to reign me in if I go too far in either direction.
What’s your favorite scene in the book and why?
Oh, that’s such a tough question! I love so many scenes in this book, that I could give you a different answer on any given day. The scene where Theo tries (and fails) to cook dinner for Isla is one I really enjoy because I think we really see the hero in a vulnerable spot here and the way Isla reacts so kindly is a moment of bonding between them which really helped to move the romance to another level.
But also, I adore the scene with Theo and Camilla where she finds his grandmother’s old scarves. It made me cry every time I had to read it in edits. But really, any scene with Camilla is gold because she’s just so vibrant and adorable.
Who is your favorite character and why?
I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite. Sorry! I just love them all so much.
Is there a character who was difficult to create and why?
Writing Camilla was quite a challenge, as is any animal character that plays a major role in a story (and I have written several!) Partially this is because she doesn’t have her own POV or the ability to speak, so her “dialogue” and intent has to be interpreted by the human characters. In essence, the humans give Camilla her voice. I also wanted Camilla to have her own character arc and relationship development with both the hero and the heroine, just like the human characters have with each other, which was something I haven’t done before.
In the end, I loved writing Camilla so much that we decided to have animal characters with their own strong voices front and center for each book in the series. It was a challenge, but one that was a load of fun.
What do you like to do when not writing?
So many things! My husband likes to joke that I’m the Queen of Hobbies. I knit, sew, bake, read, cook, make cocktails, practice Pilates, ride on my Peloton, collect perfume, play board games, video games, and card games, travel, explore new restaurants…can you tell I can’t stand being bored?
The things that are really capturing my attention at the moment are playing Dying Light 2 with my husband, knitting sweaters and reading dark, twisty thrillers.
Connect with Stefanie on Instagram, Goodreads, and Facebook
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