I am super excited to be participating in the Hear Our Voices book tour for Taj McCoy’s upcoming book, Zora Books Her Happily Ever After! It’s a fun adult romantic comedy with a dash of mystery that I definitely enjoyed But don’t just take it from me. I got a chance to talk with the author herself, Taj McCoy, about the book and writing in general.
Welcome to the blog, Taj! I’m super excited for Zora Books Her Happy Ever After to be released. Can we start with sharing with everyone what the book is about, and what inspired the story?
Sure, the story is about a plus-size Black and Filipina bookstore owner in DC who has a crush on a local author. He charms her at a book event and asks her out, and much to her chagrin, the grumpy man sitting next to her at the event happens to be the author’s best friend. As she gets to know the friend better, he’s not as grumpy as he appears, and she begins dating both guys. As things progress, she realizes that they’re keeping a secret from her and she has to determine what that secret is before she can choose which guy she wants to be with for her HEA.
I wanted to write a romcom that included a little mystery at its core. I’m a huge fan of cozy mysteries, and I thought that this was a fun concept that could help me challenge myself while still remaining in genre.
What parts of Zora and her story are you hoping people will most enjoy and connect with?
This story is my ode to bibliophiles––booksellers and the folks who love to be surrounded by books. It’s also a story that leans into the strong relationships that we forge with our grandparents and our community. There’s also some great foodie moments that I hope people will enjoy.
What does ‘happy ever after’ mean to you?
It means that the main character and the love interest end up happily together and in love.
I absolutely love reading stories that portray Black love, which is one of the first things that excited me about your book. How important is representation of Black love and joy for you, and what do you still want to see more of when it comes to Black love stories in publishing?
Black love is important for me to write about, because I feel like too often we are stereotyped as coming from broken homes. I love for people to see Black characters who are strong, successful, loving, committed, intelligent, funny, and most of all human. We need more stories that infuse Black love and Black joy without capitalizing off of Black trauma. Too often, there is an expectation that someone from an underrepresented community must speak on behalf of their entire community, and that’s simply not true. No culture is a monolith, and it’s necessary for many voices to provide different perspectives within the community for us to really be strongly represented in publishing.
I completely agree, and I’m excited for the perspective that your book will share. Now, let’s talk about romance tropes! Some are well loved, some well hated, but I feel like tropes are part of what makes a good romance. Do you have a favorite romance trope, or a least favorite? Can you tell us what tropes we might come across in Zora Books Her Happy Ever After?
My favorite romance tropes are probably second chance romance and fake dating (neither of these are in Zora). In Zora, we have a love triangle, we have grumpy sunshine, we have a nod to Cyrano de Bergerac, and we have a bookstore romance.
What is the biggest lesson you learned throughout the process of writing, editing, querying, and getting ready to publish this book?
It really helps to build community at all levels of this process. People who have been through it before you can help you understand some of the nuances and oddities of the industry. There are others who will appreciate you for helping them learn the same as they come up. But promotion really is at its greatest when your community is vast––you never know who will recommend you for the next panel or interview or event, or who might see your work because of a repost. Building good will by engaging with and supporting your peers is a great start.
How do you maintain balance between writing and other things you have going on in your life?
I am still working on finding balance, but for now, I schedule time.
Rapid Fire Round!
Coffee or tea?
Coffee
Morning, noon, or night?
Depends on what we’re doing
Salty or sweet?
Salty
iPhone or Android?
iPhone
E-book or hardcover?
Paperback
Last TV show you binged?
Kaleidescope
Any fur babies?
Not yet
About the Book
Synopsis:
Zora has committed every inch of her life to establishing her thriving DC bookstore, making it into a pillar of the community, and she just hasn’t had time for romance. But when a mystery author she’s been crushing on for years agrees to have an event at her store, she starts to rethink her priorities. Lawrence is every bit as charming as she imagined, even if his understanding of his own books seems just a bit shallow. When he asks her out after his reading, she’s almost elated enough to forget about the grumpy guy who sat next to her making snide comments all evening. Apparently the grouch is Lawrence’s best friend, Reid, but she can’t imagine what kind of friendship that must be. They couldn’t be more different.
But as she starts seeing Lawrence, and spending more and more time with Reid, Zora finds first impressions can be deceiving. Reid is smart and thoughtful—he’s also interested. After years of avoiding dating, she suddenly has two handsome men competing for her affection. But even as she struggles to choose between them, she can’t shake the feeling that they’re both hiding something—a mystery she’s determined to solve before she can find her HEA.
Zora Books Her Happy Ever After releases from MIRA Books on 4/25/23. It’s a very fun, enjoyable read. Take note, this one is adult romance, so there are some steamy scenes in it. If it sounds like your kind of thing, get your copy and get ready for a great read. To learn more about Taj McCoy and all of the other awesome things she’s doing, check out her website, and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads!
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Faith Noelle 