Five Months 'Til Launch and Feeling Fine
Publishing is nerve-wracking! Plus, a sneak peek you'll love...
Hi friends,
We are officially five months away from the release of MUTUAL DISCORD, and I am so excited—and nervous—to share this book with you! After writing historical romances for over a decade, pivoting to contemporary romance was not a seamless transition. I have stressed about this book more than any other book I’ve written: does my writing voice work in first person? Do Sofia’s motivations, her fears, justify her actions? Is the dialogue snappy enough? Did the conflict seem believable? SO MANY QUESTIONS AND DOUBTS!
But now that early reviews have started to come in, I’ve released a large portion of my anxieties around this book. Sofia and Alex are in the world, existing separate from me and my expectations and fears for their story. My hope for the book—aside from it selling a million, gazillion copies!—is that readers who loved my historicals love this story, as well. That it feels, to them, like a Liana De la Rosa novel. And my prayer is that new readers, who’ve never read the Luna Sisters or my earlier works, find my storytelling through Sofia and Alex and want to read more from me. I hope, I hope, I hope.
For those of you who’ve been waiting to order MUTUAL DISCORD for when I announce my preorder campaign, I have good news! If you preorder the book from my local independent bookstore, Changing Hands, you’ll receive this GORGEOUS, STUNNING, SMOKING HOT artwork from Julia JM in a vellum print. Julia also did the preorder artwork for GABRIELA AND HIS GRACE, and I knew she would capture the forbidden intensity between Sofia and Alex perfectly…and boy was I right! Look at them!
MUTUAL DISCORD is the ultimate slow burn—spoiler, but Alex and Sofia don’t actually get together until around the 70% mark—but when they finally do, they absolutely erupt! Here’s a sneak peek at the scene this artwork depicts:
If you would like to score a vellum print of this gorgeous artwork, make sure you preorder through my friends at Changing Hands.
My publisher is also currently giving away five (5) print ARCs of MUTUAL DISCORD on Goodreads from now until May 16th. If you would like to enter, you can do so HERE.
Matilda of the Month
Marthe Gautier is mentioned briefly in MUTUAL DISCORD because she was definitely covered by Sofia in her popular TikTok series, The Matildas. But here’s a bit more information about this intrepid doctor and scientist!
Marthe Gautier was a French pediatric cardiologist and scientist who was studying heart cell cultures and proposed to set up a lab to use them to study Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21). While studying slides in May 1958, Gautier noticed an extra chromosome, but her lab equipment was not strong enough to identify it. At the same time, renowned cytogeneticist Jérôme Lejeune was also studying Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities. According to Gautier, she accepted an offer from Lejeune to photograph her slides with his more sensitive equipment, and she accepted.
She did not hear anything else about her slides until six months later when she learned a paper would appear in a journal for the French Academy of Sciences crediting Lejeune for discovering the extra copy of the 21st chromosome... which were found by using Gautier’s slides. Gautier was given authorship credit for the article, although her name was misspelled and listed after Lejeune.
In the wake of the discovery, Gautier’s contribution was largely pushed to the side or ignored completely, with the Lejuene Foundation working to promote the discovery as primarily Lejuene’s. It wasn’t until 2014 that Gautier received public credit for her the work she did to contribute to the discovery of Trisomy 21!
Pittsburgh area readers: I will be attending the Pittsburgh Book Fest on Saturday, May 30th—my birthday! At 4:30 PM, I will be participating in the panel “Masquerades, Make-Outs, and Mischief: Redefining Regency Romance” with fellow authors TJ Alexander and Emma R. Alban. If you’re local, I hope you join us!
What I’m Reading and Watching
Here’s my monthly roundup of what I’ve been reading and watching.
Inventing Mr. Darcy by Susanna Craig - I had the pleasure of reading Susanna Craig’s debut contemporary, and LOVED it! I’ve been a big fan of her historicals for years, so I knew I would enjoy her foray into this new subgenre, but I didn’t expect to be so charmed. Elle is a literature graduate student studying the works of Jane Austen when a geomagnetic storm results in the complete erasure of Pride and Prejudice. Elle has to work to restore this classic piece of fiction and needs the help of none other than Fisher Davis, the grumpy IT guy she went on one disastrous date with, to help her. It was quirky and witty, and a lot of fun! Inventing Mr. Darcy is out September 1st.
Chase Me If You Can by Heather Frances - if you like the excitement and energy of Twisters, along with a swoon-worthy hero who is so obviously gone for the heroine, you definitely want to add this debut romance to your TBR. I enjoyed it immensely!
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - I downloaded the audiobook for this 2022 debut as a palette cleanser. I had remembered seeing the cover everywhere back in the day and vaguely recalled hearing that was to be a Netflix movie. Well, it was delightful! Charming, a bit whimsical, and deeply emotional. I’m so excited for the movie now, which airs on May 8th.
And Now Back to You by BK Borison - Over the last couple of years, I’ve come to fall in love with BK Borison’s beautifully rich storytelling. And Now Back To You just continued my love affair. Delilah and Jackson are wonderfully complex characters that you can’t help but root for, and watching them fall in love was so satisfying!
Trust Me: The False Prophet on Netflix - ya’ll, this documentary is wild! And infuriating. Based upon the investigation into a small sect of FLDS members with the most pathetic, man-baby leader who claims he’s a prophet. Anyway, if you enjoy rage watching shows, don’t miss this mess.
The Pitt - that finale! Overall, I think the writers did a fabulous job tying up the various storylines in manners that were true to the show and the characters. The chances of Robby hurting himself was low because that’s not the kind of show it is, so I think him being called out by so many people who saw what he was struggling with and providing love (sometimes tough love) and support felt realistic to the show. And Dr. Al-Hashimi! I felt terrible for her, but Robbie was not wrong to call her out. I hope she’s able to get her seizures under control because she’s a fantastic doctor. Lastly, so long, Dr. Mohan! You were a gem and I hope your character returns, happy and healthy in a new specialty, soon!
Until next time, friends!
Love, Liana