We're following @EmilyBenet ...plus a book giveaway

Thanks to a post from This Chick Reads, we learned about Emily Benet's latest novel, #PleaseRetweet (Harper Impulse), and we immediately invited her for a visit. We're glad we did, as she's very friendly and has a great sense of humor. She's also sharing a copy of #PleaseRetweet with a lucky reader anywhere in the world!

Emily Benet is a half-Spanish half-Welsh Londoner now living on the beautiful island of Mallorca.  Her writing career kicked off when her weekly blog was spotted by Salt Publishing and they commissioned Shop Girl Diaries.

Her first novel, a romantic comedy called The Temp, was also published by Harper Collins' Harper Impulse. Prior to writing full length books, Emily wrote short stories, many of which appeared in anthologies and performed at readings. She compiled her favourites for the book Short Stories for Busy Adults.

Since the success of her blog, Emily Benet has run social media workshops, contributed to several magazines, spoken at literary festivals and lectured at universities. Her guidebook Blogging for Beginners is available online. Emily writes for SeeMallorca magazine and is currently working on a novel set on the island. If she's not writing or thinking about it, she's probably up a mountain or fast asleep. (Bio adapted from Emily's website.)

Visit Emily at her website (where you can sign up for her newsletter), Facebook and Twitter.

Synopsis of #PleaseRetweet:
Social media whizz kid, May Sparks has landed her dream job. Well, not quite, but the salary is great and all May has to do is handle the online profiles of C–list celebrities who have the tendency to say inappropriate things. Easy, right? #wrong

May’s clients include an ex big brother star (who she's definitely not going to sleep with #neversaynever), a disgraced TV presenter (who wants May to sort out his marriage as well as his Twitter account), and a woman who once flashed her boobs on X-factor. They're all relying on her to turn them into stars. But they're not going to make her job easy.

As May is sucked further and further into her job she begins to lose her grip on real life. Her friends don’t ‘like’ her Facebook posts anymore and even her gorgeous neighbour, who once seemed to be on the same wavelength, criticises her career choice. Worse, May’s clients start getting trolled by an annoying tweep, who May happens to agree with.

Then May’s secret online identity is leaked, causing her to start trending on Twitter. It looks like the status update is over. Unless May can leave the superficial social media word behind and find her own voice again…(Courtesy of Emily's website.)


How did you decide to write chick lit?
I don't set out to write in a particular genre. I just write what I want to read. I love quirky comedies and I'm a fan of funny, heart-warming Richard Curtis movies like Love Actually and About Time. I want to write something meaningful but I also want to make people laugh.

Which authors have inspired you?
One of my favourite books is Starter for Ten by David Nicholls. I also love Liane Moriarty, especially Big Little Lies. Her pace is so good and I couldn't put any of her books down. I've read everything by comic John O'Farrell too. If I could write like any of these authors, I'd be very satisfied!

Did you learn anything from writing #PleaseRetweet?
I think every time you write a novel, you improve your craft. By the time I'd finished it, I was convinced by my main message, that we need to switch off from our phones more often and enjoy the present moment. I took a week off social media completely which felt great.

If #PleaseRetweet were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
Emma Stone as May Sparks, Bradley Cooper as Alex Hunter, Chris Pratt as Damian Dance - I wish! What a dream come true that would be to have one of my books turned into a movie!

What is the strangest holiday gift you have ever received?
I can't think of strange. I can only think of the worst - an iron! My husband is so romantic so I was very surprised. To be fair, we had just moved into a new flat and we had both wrapped all sorts of homeware up for Christmas, plus he'd hidden a lovely necklace inside the box!

If you could take us on a tour of your town, where would we go first?
I'm living in sunny Mallorca at the moment so I would take you to one of the many stunningly beautiful bays. After a siesta we would go into town on one of the Tapas and Beer routes and try a dozen different tapas. I'll see you there!

Thanks to Emily for chatting with us and sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

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Worldwide. Giveaway ends December 13th at midnight EST.