A Word Please

Have you ever dated someone you met online? Cat Ryan takes on an assignment that has her dating men from the Internet, then blogging about all the crazy details. Some things will make you laugh, other things might make you think twice before accepting an offer from someone on a dating site. Cat’s escapades will suck you in right into her world.

Did I mention that Cat Ryan is a character in a book? The title is Like Casablanca and the author, Sylvia Massara, is hanging out here with me today. Before we talk about the book, let’s meet Sylvia:

Sylvia Massara has been writing since her early teens and has written a number of plays, screenplays and, most recently, novels. Massara lives in Sydney, Australia.

Massara’s favourite genre is romance/chick lit, and she has a soft spot for chicks who are on the cusp of 40 and beyond. Yes, chicks still date after 40! To prove this, she’s written “The Other Boyfriend” (loosely based on her own life experience while she lived briefly in Taiwan and Hong Kong). Just recently, Massara released a third book, a romance/chick lit novel called “Like Casablanca”, this is a cross between internet dating and Rick’s Cafe (also loosely based on her life).

Massara has also written a general fiction drama, “The Soul Bearers”, a story inspired by real life events and filled with hope and inspiration when overcoming life’s obstacles and learning to live again.

Massara is the creator and host of The Lit Chick Show, a literary blog run as a virtual TV show that features authors from all genres who showcase their work.

For more information on her books, blogs, and to see Sylvia’s own interviews and book trailers, please visit her website: www.SylviaMassara.com

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Here’s a peek at the book we’ll be discussing – Like Casablanca:

What does internet dating and Casablanca have in common? Nothing, unless you go to Rick’s Cafe and find out what antiques dealer and dating blogger, Cat Ryan, is up to.

Cat’s doing research for her internet dating blog gig, and the place she chooses to meet her many dates is at Rick’s Cafe in Sydney. But what of its disturbingly handsome owner, Rick Blake? Cat wonders what he thinks, seeing her with a different male all the time. What’s more, why does this bother Cat so much? It’s not like she wants any involvement after her recent break up with Josh, her cheating ex. Besides, it looks like Rick is trying to get back together with his ex-wife, Denise. So Cat decides to play it safe, but her heart has different ideas.

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Now for a chat with Sylvia:

Welcome, Sylvia! You have a knack for creating vivid, three-dimensional characters and the ones we meet within the pages of Like Casablanca are no exception. They quickly become like friends I’ve known for years. Do you have a process for creating characters? Do you create backgrounds for each of them in advance or do they come to life for you as you write?

I begin to create backgrounds for them as I’m putting together the storyline, but somehow these characters take on a life of their own inside my head, and as I start to write they often come out and do things of their own volition It’s almost like there are different entities inside me—call me “Sybil”. LOL.

Seriously, though, the characters come to life along with incidents or experiences that happened to me in the past. So you might say that certain events in my life are interwoven into each character. Whoever portrays that particular “event” or “experience” in my life in such a way that it will come out as feeling “true” to the reader gets the part. It’s a bit like actors going for an audition and whoever is the most convincing at playing a part obviously gets that part.

Cat Ryan, the main character, works in an antique store and details about these antiques are sprinkled throughout the story. Did this require a lot of research or are antiques a passion of yours?

Many years ago I ran an antiques business, and so I love talking about antiques and doing research about them. I love European history, especially the Renaissance period, and in Like Casablanca I get to play around with some gorgeous pieces. Some of them are ridiculously expensive, but in a novel it’s easy to spend money, isn’t it? Thank God that Scotty, Cat’s antique dealer friend, is rich!

Cat Ryan also writes an Internet dating blog, where she shares her dating experiences. I’m sure every woman reading your book will be able to relate to at least a few of those dates. Did you base any on personal experience?

Yes. I tried internet dating some years ago and found it to be fun. Mind you, you do get to meet some real snakes. But the challenge lies in culling through the dead wood in the hope that you’ll find that elusive rough diamond.

How do you feel about Internet dating in general?

I think internet dating is great if you use it honestly. I found that many guys were just using it in order to cheat on their wives or partners. Many simply used it in order to get laid and they never had any intention to form any kind of relationship. There are a lot of these “serial daters” out there, and this is where it gets tricky for someone who is genuinely trying to find that “special someone”.

I came across all types through internet dating, and at the same time I made some wonderful friends through it and also enjoyed some great dates. But I also met the liars, the cheaters, the creeps and the time wasters. So you have to take the good with the bad and hope that you’ll pick the right guy. It’s okay if they tell you upfront that they’re only into casual stuff, at least then you know what you’re dealing with. But when they lie, it then becomes a waste of time if you’re looking for something serious.

The title of this book is a spinoff on the old movie Casablanca. Is that movie a favorite of yours?

Yes, Casablanca is one of my favourites. I just love the chivalry that Humphrey Bogart’s character “Rick Blaine” shows in the end. He’s a bit of a rogue, but he’s a man’s man, and in the end he shows that he’s a man of substance; he’s got honour and he can make a decision and stick to it. The kind of man that a lot of women wish they could meet. I think Rick is a rough diamond.

But this isn’t the reason I called my novel “Like Casablanca”. In fact, I remember when I was young and was on a holiday in Hong Kong. A bunch of us went to “Rick’s Cafe” (they have Rick’s Cafes in quite a lot of cities around the world). Anyway, that night I met the most drop-dead gorgeous guy and I thought all my Christmasses had come at once. LOL. Sadly, he was an engineer on an oil tanker (or something like that) and he and his friends were sailing the next day. Damn! Talk about easy come, easy go. Sorry, I’m digressing now. Anyway, when I was internet dating, I always met my dates in a particular cafe near where I lived in Sydney, and I got to thinking that the cafe owner must think me peculiar because I always turned up there with a different guy. Hehehehe. Sometimes, it was two or three times in one day with a different guy each time!
So when I decided to write Like Casablanca, I invented Rick’s Cafe in Sydney—because of my experience in Hong Kong—and Rick, the hero of my novel, is the owner who always sees Cat with a different guy.

Can you tell us a bit about your site The Lit Chick Show?

The Lit Chick Show is a virtual TV show that I run on a blog. I am an avid supporter of “indie” and small press authors. We all know how difficult it is to promote our books among the millions of other books out there and at the same time compete with the big names. So the show is my contribution to giving authors a platform from which to talk about their books, and I simply post the interview on the show and do a lot of social media behind the scenes. This way, people can get to know the author and find out about their work.

What do you enjoy most about being an indie author?

I’m the one who makes it happen! I have total creative control of my stories. My book is my business and I get to learn to market and promote myself. I’m not just an author, but a business owner. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it. Besides, waiting for a traditional publisher to come along can take years. I’ve been there, done that and found it very frustrating. In the end, I decided to take matters into my own hands and just do it for myself.

I know fellow writers who have been traditionally published and they’re still having to promote themselves. Not only this, but the publishers take a large chunk of their royalties. At least, a self-published author takes the majority of the royalties for all the hard work they put in.

What do you find the most difficult about being indie?

There are some very close-minded people out there who think that just because one is an “indie” author their work must be rubbish. Nothing could be further from the truth! There are many big names out there that started out as an “indie” and now they are enjoying the fruits of their labour.

When you’re not writing or reading, what might we find you doing?

Exploring cafes around Sydney. I’m a coffee lover, and there is nothing like a well made cappuccino. I think I know all the Italian cafes in Sydney where you can get a decent coffee. I’m now thinking of starting “Cat Ryan” tours and take people around Cat’s haunts. Hehehehe. Just joking!

That actually sounds like a great marketing idea!

Do you have a new book in the works?

Yes. I am in the planning process right now. It will be another romantic comedy. All I’ll say at this stage is that it’s going to be called “Playing with the bad boys” and it’ll focus on “the one that got away”. Thank you

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Sylvia currently has three novels published. Here they are in print and Kindle format on Amazon:

You can also find them in a variety of ebook formats, for all eReaders, on Smashwords:

The Other Boyfriend
The Soul Bearers
Like Casablanca

Sylvia wanders freely around the Internet. You can track her down, learn more about her writing, and hang out with her in the following places:

Website: www.SylviaMassara.com
The Lit Chick Show: www.LitChickShow.com
Authors Helping Authors: www.authors-helping-authors.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Sylvia-Massara/137608772926441
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/4141788.Sylvia_Massara

I hope you’ll take the time to explore the worlds that Sylvia creates. We’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts, questions and Internet-dating experiences here.

Thanks for reading.

Tags: Chick Lit Authors, Chick Lit for Kindle, indie authors, Indie Authors on Kindle, Internet Dating, Kindle books under $5, Like Casablanca, Sylvia Massara, The Lit Chick Show, The Other Boyfriend, The Soul Bearers