Kirsty McManus ~ About the Author

As you all know this month, I am featuring the authors of the Oceanic Dreams romantic comedy series. 

Our fourth author is Kirsty McManus.

Hi, Everyone! The first book that I have read of Kirsty McManus is her Oceanic Dreams book, I Thought It Was You. However, I have noticed that her other books are on KindleUnlimited and they sound hilarious. Hopefully, I will get to a few of them in the future.

This new Oceanic Dreams series is about finding love on the Oceanic Aphrodite cruise ship or so the legend goes. I have four books left in the series, it is going way too fast.

Now, let’s see what Kirsty has to say.

Personal

Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

I am a chick-lit / rom-com author from Australia, and I love to set my stories in countries I’ve visited, including Japan and Thailand. I talk a lot, so most people know nearly everything there is to know about me, but one thing some of my readers might not know is that music was my best subject in high school. I sang Stairway to Heaven for one of my assignments!

What inspired you to start writing?

I lived in Japan in 2004 / 2005 and was reading a lot of Sophie Kinsella’s books at the time (I didn’t know any Japanese, so watching TV was out). I also kept a blog, and my friends and family back home told me how much they enjoyed reading it, so I decided to combine my love of Japan with my love of chick-lit. I wrote a very bad 80,000 word draft over three weeks, and then took six years to turn it into something publishable.

Who is your favorite author?

Sophie Kinsella’s earlier books still inspire my writing, but the main author I’m reading at the moment is Haruki Murakami. His books are very unique, and I hate getting to the end of one, because they don’t really have a resolution. But I love the journey he takes you on.

What book are you currently reading?

I’m actually reading a few at a time, and alternate depending on my mood and the time of day:

Circle in the Sand, by Tracy Krimmer (in the Oceanic Dreams series!)

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (I’ve read this before, but I wanted to see if it was still awesome, and it is!)

Ridorkulous by Mary Frame

Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before (real or imaginary)?

I’d love to go to the UK and Europe sometime. I have a UK passport thanks to my dad’s English heritage, but I have never used it. I would visit Poldark and Outlander country! 

Are you a better baker or cook or take out connoisseur?

Definitely baker. I’m on the parent committee at my boys’ school, and I bake A LOT of brownies. I also love making cakes—not the ones that look super fancy—but the ones that taste really decadent, like cheesecake, or mudcake. 

Which do you prefer?

Tea or coffee: vanilla Rooibos tea (coffee gives me heart palpitations)

Hot or cold: hot

Movie or book: Sorry, but I have to go with movie! I’m such a traitor to my industry, but I love seeing how stories unfold in movies, and then I try to recreate the feelings they evoke when I’m writing. (I also worked in a video store for almost four years in high school, so I got a bit addicted to film then!)

Coke or Pepsi: I don’t really drink either, but if I had to choose, Coke.

Writing/Books/Series

What do you love most about your writing process?

When I have a really fun idea and get to write the first ten thousand words without thinking too much about it. And then the final read-through at the end, when I know it’s all turned out the way it was supposed to.

Do you like music or silence?

While writing, I need silence. But any other time, give me music!

Do your characters seem to hijack the story, or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

A bit of both. Sometimes they go to places that ruin the flow, so I have to go back and force them to do what I want.

What knocks you off your writing game?

School holidays!

Is anything in your book based on real-life experiences or purely all imagination?

Zen Queen contained experiences I went through in Japan. And Perfume Therapy was set at a Thai perfumery loosely based on one that I visited. Lightweight has a gym that is sort-of based on my own. The second half of Saved by the Celebutante is set at festival a bit like Burning Man, but I had never been, so I did a lot of research for that. Now when people ask if I’ve attended it, I feel like I should say yes!

If you could spend time as a character from your books whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

I would probably be Anna from the 90s Flashback series, since she got to go back to 1996 and 1997. I would spend the day visiting old school friends and seeing if life was as carefree as I remember.

What project are you working on now?

I’m writing a new series set on a tropical island near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. I’ve been trying to finish it for a couple of years, but it’s finally going to happen this year!

If you would like to learn more about Kirsty McManus and her books:

Kirsty McManus’s Books

The fourth book in the Oceanic Dreams Series

I Thought It Was You by Kirsty McManus

Publication Date: July 1, 2019
Genre: Romantic Comedy

When Liv Turner takes a cruise to get away from a bad break-up, all she wants to do is hide from the world for a while—and maybe hang out with her brother, who works in the ship’s casino. But soon after boarding, three things happen in quick succession:

1.Liv meets Wells, a gorgeous charity worker on his way to Cozumel.
2.She discovers that her ex has completely drained her bank account.
3.TV celebrity Jamila Castro begs Liv to take on the role of her rehab nurse to stop a vengeful ex co-star from ruining her career.

With Liv broke, and a twenty-thousand dollar incentive to help Jamila out, she reluctantly agrees to a week of pretending to be Nina from Louisiana. The only catch? She isn’t allowed to talk to Wells again. But that becomes difficult when he keeps showing up all over the ship and proving himself to be the perfect guy.

To make matters more complicated, Liv’s brother had booked her trip through a singles group, where it is a requirement to participate in their activities—as herself.

Will Liv be able to avoid having her cover blown, and stop Jamila from being exposed in the media? And will she be able to put Wells out of her mind?

Anything can happen on the Oceanic Aphrodite, but smooth sailing isn’t always one of them.

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