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| #HarperPresents photo source: HarperCollins Canada. Other photos by Girl Well Read—do not use without written permission. |
#HarperPresents hosted an evening of mixing cocktails, discussing books, and mingling at the Ocho boutique hotel in Toronto. We learned to mix three new cocktails, listened to some great 80s music, and chatted with Mhairi McFarlane and Sally Thorne.
Sally's dress was incredible and perfectly matched the cover of her newest book, 99 Percent Mine: A Novel. Her lippy was on point, too. Mhairi looked equally as fab and was engaging, endearing, and hilarious. Her fifth book, Don't You Forget About Me, is wickedly funny and razor sharp, just like Mhairi herself.
Both books start with an existing relationship versus a relationship that blooms and builds throughout the story. In 99 Percent Mine, Darcy is a bit of a hot mess, and is hopelessly in love with the perfect man—Tom's only flaw is that he is the best friend of her twin brother. The timing has never quite worked out for Darcy and Tom, but now Tom is single and there’s a possibility that they can finally be together because there's a chance that he feels the same way about her too. The character of Tom is so loveable and Sally wants readers to fall in love with Darcy too. Don't You Forget About Me starts off with a first love relationship that ends abruptly. Crossing paths with Lucas throws Georgina's rocky present into sharp relief and brings a secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows what happened twelve years ago, and why she's allowed the memories to chase her ever since. But maybe it's not too late for the truth...or a second chance with the one that got away?
The ladies were asked about their writing process and if they plotted out their stories ahead of time and knew where the narrative was headed. Mhairi is a planner and has somewhat of her timeline down as to what is going to happen where Sally is more organic and just writes. Sally mentioned that she just kind of fell into writing. Her first novel, The Hating Game, was a smash hit. It is a snarky office-based romantic comedy that grew out of a short story she offered to write her friend for her birthday. The starting point was the word nemesis and it grew from there with Thorne visualizing Lucy and Josh sitting across from one another in an office. The novel easily flowed and took approximately six weeks to write. We all agreed it would make a great play due to the minimal scenes and witty dialogue. She went on to admit that when there was the pressure from her publisher to write book two, that things didn't flow as easily.
Normally at author events I'm madly scribbling down notes so I can share all the good bits, but I found myself front and centre with a cocktail in my hand so I simply enjoyed being present in the moment. Thank you HarperCollins Canada, Mhairi, and Sally for such a fabulous evening.
99 Percent Mine
Crush (n.): a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach…
Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough.
When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade.
Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that's inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying—and it’s not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom’s heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.
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SALLY THORNE believes that romance readers are always searching for intensity in their next favourite book—and it isn't always so easy to find. The Hating Game was her first novel.
Thorne lives in Canberra, Australia.
Don't You Forget About Me
It began with four words.
‘I love your laugh. x’
But that was twelve years ago. It really began the day Georgina was fired from The Worst Restaurant in Sheffield (© Tripadvisor) and found The Worst Boyfriend in the World (© Georgina’s best friends) in bed with someone else.
So when her new boss, Lucas McCarthy, turns out to be the boy who wrote those words to her all that time ago, it feels like the start of something.
The only problem? He doesn’t seem to remember Georgina – at all…
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MHAIRI MCFARLANE is a Sunday Times bestselling author from Scotland. McFarlane has written four books.
Her name is actually pronounced Vah-Ree and she lives in Nottingham.
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