Like so many people, I have an ongoing struggle with my image of myself. It can be especially difficult during this time of  year, when diets and gyms ramp up their ads and we’re all being sold on the idea of “New Year, New You.” But even with all of this, years of weight fluctuations, a very difficult and high-risk pregnancy, an autoimmune disorder diagnosis, and thyroid complications, on most days, I am content with the body I have. I’ve been smaller and bigger than I am now, and will probably be both smaller and bigger in the future. Some days I think I’m super cute, other days… not so much.  What has changed over the years as I’ve come to this place of body acceptance is the way body positivity and confidence are portrayed in all forms of media – movies, TV, social media, podcasts, and of course, books. Plus-sized, average-sized, and ideally-sized people exist in reality, what the media projects on us, and in works of fiction. And we’re all deserving of love and happily-ever-afters.  I recently read three books that made me think about body acceptance in romance and fiction: Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Get a Life,…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Antidote for Everything 2–What is it about?  It tells the story of what goes spectacularly wrong in the deep friendship between a woman named Georgia (a urologist) and a man named Jonah (a family medicine doctor) after one of them is unjustly fired. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  Bullheaded 4–What makes your story relatable? I think we are all tuned in to the concept of friendship as a fundamental human relationship, maybe even more so than family in certain ways, since friendships are voluntary and self-selected. But also the novel poses the question of who should get to make medical decisions: politicians? Administrators? Or doctors and patients? And what is a justifiable response to injustice? 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  I have two main characters and there is no question: they turn to one another. Neither of them has close family and they have the magical kind of friendship where they are completely comfortable with each other. There’s no artifice, no self-censoring, no fear of abandonment between them. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? It’s set in Charleston…