1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
What if you gave Jane Austen’s Emma the ultimate makeover in modern-day Manhattan?
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
We both lived and worked in New York City for years and years. It’s where we met! So, once we decided to write a modern take on Emma, New York seemed like an obvious choice.
4–Would you hang out with Emma in real life?
Oh, absolutely! The bigger question is whether she’d let us raid her wardrobe…
5–What are three words that describe Emma?
We think Miss Jane Austen said it best when she first described her: “… handsome, clever, and rich…”
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Audrey: That we could write a book together!
Emily: We worked together in television development for years, so that helped a lot, but there’s no way we could have anticipated just how different this process would be.
Audrey: Also, writing is hard work.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
We did very little editing as we wrote Emma of 83rd Street, but so much when we were done. Just…so much. Now, as we start working on other projects, we’re trying to stay ahead of the edits (as much as possible, anyway).
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Emily: Oh, Audrey is the foodie! I’m happy with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon.
Audrey: Ha! Pressure… Momofuku’s pork buns.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
Audrey: I live with two boys and my husband, so this is the only room that’s all me. There’s pink flower wallpaper, a turquoise vanity, and a gallery art wall that Emily helped me arrange which makes sense because with all our zoom calls, she’s the one that sees it every day. And I’ve got a view of our backyard to see what’s going on outside–fox sightings, kids on the trampoline, my garden, and beautiful sunsets. And at my feet, a space heater is on full blast because I am always cold.
Emily: We had so much fun with that gallery wall! As for me, I have an office upstairs with a big, lovely desk. Unfortunately for my posture, there’s a big, lovely sofa in there too, so that’s usually where I’m curled up with my laptop and my dog.
10–Who is an author you admire?
Emily: Miss Jane Austen of course. She’s at the top of the list. As for contemporary authors, I absolutely adore Tia Williams (Seven Days In June is one of my favorite books of the last few years) and Charlie Jane Anders (she is one of those brilliant writers who makes working in multiple genres look easy).
Audrey: Besides Jane Austen…. so many… Sally Rooney, Sarah J. Maas, T.J. Klune, Olivie Blake. I could go on and on!
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Audrey: I would have to say Judy Blume’s books. I vividly remember hunting for her young adult books at the library when I was in grammar school. In high school, my girlfriends and I, like so many 80s girls, devoured her novel Forever and eventually I graduated to her adult novels. I grew up with her books. Plus, she’s from New Jersey and used to live just a few miles away from my hometown!
Emily: Definitely Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary. The entire Ramona series really impacted me when I was young, and this was the first one I read. I remember so clearly because I think it was the first time I had ever seen a girl like myself as the lead. Ramona wasn’t perfect, in fact she was probably the first “unlikeable” female character I encountered, and that was incredibly profound (in the best possible way).
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Audrey: This entire process has been a lot of “Are you freaking kidding me?!” moments. The best part – we get to share it! I think the one I remember the most though was our first call with our agent, when she told us she was absolutely on board and said our book was “absolutely delicious.” My face hurt from smiling that week.
Emily: I still think that’s the best compliment we’ve ever received!
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Emily: I love a good rom-com, but I’m also a huge fan of biographies and science fiction. I also love comics and graphic novels.
Audrey: I can really get lost in fantasy fiction, but also love rom-coms, historical fiction, and any and all cookbooks.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Audrey: Can’t pick one! Shakespeare in Love and A Room with A View are two of my absolute favorites – and most movies from the 80s.
Emily: It’s a tie between It Happened One Night and Rear Window.
15–What is your favorite season?
Emily: Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I have to go with autumn for this one.
Audrey: Summer – because I’m always cold!
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Audrey: Sushi dinner with friends in NYC.
Emily: Hey, you stole my answer!
Audrey: Well, I assume you are with me so win win.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Audrey: I just finished The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I’m screaming from the rooftops how much I adore this book. My favorite podcast is The Office Ladies. I’ve been an obsessed loyal fan since the very first episode premiered! And I love Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO Max – basically anything by Mindy Kaling should be required viewing.
Emily: I know I’m late to the party on this one, but I just finished The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, and it was even better than everyone promised it would be. I’m so mad at myself that I didn’t grab it from my TBR pile sooner. I’m also in the middle of rewatching Starstruck on HBO Max. The entire series is rom-com perfection and I want Rose Matafeo to write and star in all the things.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Audrey: Japanese or anything my mom makes.
Emily: Honestly, I am the world’s worst cook, so anything that doesn’t require me to do that.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Emily: Is it lame if I say write? I love to write and if I’m not writing, I’m usually thinking about it, working out scenarios in my head. But when I’m really not writing, I’m usually reading or hanging out with my kids, who are just the coolest people.
Audrey: That’s not lame! And our kids are the coolest. When I have free time, I’m listening to audio books, creating some questionable art projects, heading to Vermont to relax with my family, and playing Super Mario Brothers or any game cartridge we can still get to work on my original NES console with my kids.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
That’s a good question! We’d love to keep exploring the world of Jane Austen for as long as we can, and we’re working on a couple of ideas – stay tuned.
EMMA OF 83RD STREET by Audrey Bellezza, Emily Harding
In this witty and romantic debut novel, Jane Austen’s Emma meets the misadventures of Manhattan’s modern dating scene as two lifelong friends discover that, in the search for love, you sometimes don’t have to look any further than your own backyard.
Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress or vex her – that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage—and subsequent move downtown. Now, with her sister gone and all her friends traveling abroad, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion – boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant with a heart of gold and drugstore blonde highlights to match, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley would get out of her way.
Handsome, smart, and successful, the only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. Whether it’s her shopping sprees between classes or her revolving door of ill-conceived hobbies, he is only too happy to lecture her on all the finer points of adulthood she’s so hell-bent on ignoring. But despite his gripes – and much to his own chagrin – Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now – one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.
As Emma’s best laid plans collide with everyone from hipster baristas to meddling family members to flaky playboy millionaires, these two friends slowly realize their need to always be right has been usurped by a new need entirely, and it’s not long before they discover that even the most familiar stories still have some surprises.
Romance Comedy [Gallery Books, On Sale: May 23, 2023, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781668008393 / eISBN: 9781668008409]
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About Audrey Bellezza
Audrey Bellezza is a two-time Emmy-nominated TV producer who has spent over twenty years writing, developing, and executive producing nonfiction television shows for a number of networks and streaming platforms. Audrey lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
About Emily Harding
Emily Harding is a writer and TV producer whose work has appeared on numerous networks and websites. When not hunched over her computer working on her bad posture, she can be found losing another game of Monopoly to her husband and two kids.
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