Saying yes to Erin Spencer and Emma Sable...plus a book giveaway

Left to right: Erin and Emma

Today we welcome Erin Spencer and Emma Sable to CLC to feature their debut novel, The Yes Factor. If the cover hasn't already grabbed your attention, then the synopsis definitely will. We look forward to reading it soon. Erin and Emma have one copy to share with a lucky reader!

Emma and Erin are two Southern girls who met in L.A. at a mutual friend's engagement party. They bonded over their shared love of fried shrimp, queso, and The Golden Girls. After a girls' night out in Hollywood to celebrate Emma's birthday, the two were inspired to begin writing The Yes Factor, their first novel together.

To celebrate finishing the novel, Emma and Erin traveled to the Amalfi coast where they enjoyed a week of sunshine, pasta and Pinot Grigio. And where a few notes might have been scribbled for their next book!

Emma now lives in London and is forever hungry for Tex-Mex.

Erin is an actress and an award winning audio book narrator and enjoys bringing characters to life both on screen and off the page. She is a firm believer that a po' boy, glass of rosé, and an episode of The Golden Girls can turn any bad day to right!

Visit Erin and Emma on Facebook and Instagram. (Bio adapted from Amazon.)

Synopsis:
Liv just wants her best friend Bex to find love.

Bex just wants to stay in bed with Outlander.

With 40 right around the corner, divorced single mom Bex is too busy being a chauffeur for her teenage daughter to bother swiping for dates. Her best friend Liv, who is married to the supposedly perfect man, swoops in from London on a mission to get Bex out of her own bed and in to someone else's. Liv pushes Bex into a week-long whirlwind of dates, awkward kisses and missed connections.

What could possibly go wrong when Bex agrees to Liv's harebrained scheme of saying Yes to every possible suitor? And why is Liv so intent on fixing Bex's love life, or lack thereof?

Just what do you find out when all of your no's turn into The Yes Factor? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What were the biggest rewards and challenges of writing a novel together?
We had such a fun time writing together. Neither of us had written a novel before so we were learning by doing! We hashed out the plot when Emma was out in L.A. for a work trip. The writing actually started when we were halfway across the world from each other — Emma in London and Erin in L.A. So we had the challenge of an eight hour time difference! We had plenty of transatlantic video calls (usually at night for Emma, morning for Erin) that included more laughing than talking. Each time we sent over a newly written chapter to one another, it was like opening a letter from a pen-pal. There were characters and plot twists that surprised us both as the novel took shape. Luckily, we shared such a strong vision for the book, and for Bex and Liv as characters, that we were always on the same page creatively.

Which character are you more similar to: Bex or Liv? Why?
Emma: Hmmm, I’d probably say Liv simply because I have a tendency to focus outward rather than inward. Not that I’m a busybody (maybe I am!) but sometimes it’s so much easier to try and fix someone else’s problems rather than your own.
Erin: I’ve been similar to both of these characters at different times in my life for different reasons. I had my fair share of bad dates when I was single (Bex) and I’ve also kept secrets from my best friend because I didn’t want to deal with them myself (Liv).

If The Yes Factor were made into a movie, what are some songs you'd want included on the soundtrack?
So many songs informed our writing and we actually mention quite a few song titles in the book to help set a scene or mood: "Love Is Here To Stay," Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong; "I Can’t Make you Love Me," Bonnie Raitt; "Go Your Own Way," Fleetwood Mac; "Get Outta My Dreams," Billy Ocean; "Little Red Corvette," Prince; and, of course, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," Cyndi Lauper.

What TV series are you currently binge watching?
Emma: Insecure, Pen15, I May Destroy You, Below Deck Mediterranean (this is my antidote to the Covid-19 travel restrictions) and The Luminaries.
Erin: The Great, Vikings, and pretty much anything that is #truecrime

Who was your childhood celebrity crush?
Erin: Jake from Sixteen Candles.
Emma: Jake Ryan! He’s got to be number one for me, too. But also ‘80s Johnny Depp from 21 Jump Street (even though I probably shouldn’t say that now!).
Erin: And Patrick Swayze. Let’s not forget him.
Emma: Always Patrick Swayze.
Erin: I feel like we grew up in the heyday of childhood celebrity crushes.
Emma: Totally. GenX forever. Also, Jordan Catalano — so dreamy. Can we start a separate thread on childhood celebrity crushes?!

Tell us something interesting you've learned about one another recently.
Oooh, this is a tough question. We’ve known each other for such a long time but living in different cities we probably have a ton of little quirks and things we don’t know about each other.
Emma: I guess the most interesting thing for me is that Erin doesn’t really eat much for breakfast or drink coffee. And that’s my biggest meal of the day. I become a very hangry person, basically the Incredible Hulk, without breakfast or caffeine.
Erin: When I went to London to stay with Emma I was really excited to meet her cat Rapunzel. She was always cooing about this little angel and how sweet she was. Well, Rapunzel ended up being a little rascal. I quickly renamed her Bad Girl because she’s full of mischief and attitude. Meanwhile, my Berger Picard pup Derby is really the sweet one!


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. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends July 19th at midnight EST.