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Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Genesis of a Book - My Mr. Manny by Jennifer Garcia


Inspiration for My Mr. Manny

My inspiration for this story was a culmination of a writing prompt sent to me that said, “Here comes the Manny” and some of my experiences as an Italian-American that left The East Coast and her family­–mother, cousins, aunts and uncles, and friends–behind to live with her father on the West Coast. Most of the story is made up, but as all of us writers do we swirl in a bit of us.
 
Summary

 
Mia Balducci misses her childhood days and yearns for the big, Italian family that she left behind in small town Massachusetts. At the tender age of sixteen, Mia moves with her bachelor father to Los Angeles, but no matter how many years pass, it never becomes home to her. The years spent living with her father aren’t easy, especially since she can’t stop thinking about what she once had. Her enrollment in the University of Southern California promises to bring exciting changes to her life, but Mia winds up with big problems instead. When she runs into an old friend from her old hometown of Winthrop, she gets swept up in nostalgia, and she soon loses herself in a quickly-progressing romance. When the fantasy falls apart, she is left to raise her precious little girl, Lucia, on her own. The demands of Mia’s work schedule and Lucia’s needs increase, and their lives become increasingly hectic. It is soon clear to Mia that she needs help. Luckily, her life-saving cousin saves the day and brings the mother and daughter a male nanny – their new “manny.”
After losing his high-pressure job on Wall Street, Dominic Roberts wants to follow his dreams to have a family. He’s already one fiancée down, and there are no likely prospects for another. In order to find the family he so desperately wants, he finds himself getting into the manny business. Since he is fully qualified to provide child care and is eager to leave New York City behind, his sister-in-law is able to land him a job in California working for his first client – the beautiful and intriguing Mia Balducci.
Will Lucia like the new man in her mother's life? Will Mia? And will this new trio discover the happily ever after they all so desperately seek?
Author Bio
Jennifer Garcia’s lifelong love for reading and writing was put aside for many years while she made her way in the world and nurtured her young family. Originally from Boston, she currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Even though she is older, and life never seems to settle, she’s finding her way while attending college full-time in pursuit of a B.A. in English Literature. She also runs a business, and is still caring for her family. Believing she can do it all, with the help of her family, she worked on her first novel during the late hours of the night while balancing the rest of her life during the day. Her hard work paid off, as her first novel, My Mr. Manny, was released August 2013 and her first novella, In My Mother’s Footsteps, was released July 2013.
 
Buy Links for My Mr. Manny:


3 comments:

Rose Anderson said...

That we weave a bit of ourselves in our books is so true. Thanks for joining us today Jennifer. My Mr. Manny sounds cute.

janeleopoldquinn.blogspot.com said...

I love this kind of romance story - a little twist in traditional gender roles. And I love the cover. Very cute.

Kaye Spencer said...

Jennifer, When I read this part of your teaser "In order to find the family he so desperately wants, he finds himself getting into the manny business", I was hooked. I could imagine all sorts of complications, heart-tugging scenes, and laugh-out-loud moments for your hero, Dominic. ;-)