The Nerd Daily recently got the chance to sit down with Helena Hunting, acclaimed bestselling author of the Pucked series, Meet Cute, and the Good Luck Charm, amongst many others. We got to ask her all our questions surrounding her upcoming release Kiss My Cupcake, sweet treats and what romance tropes she can’t live without!
Hi, Helena! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi there! Thanks so much for having me here to chat with you! It’s an absolute pleasure. I live in Canada, outside of Toronto with my awesome tween daughter who is amazingly crafty, and my husband who often says things that end up as one liners in my books. My two cats, Digit (she has two extra toes on each paw) and Pumpkin (he’s trying to eat himself into the shape of his name) like to hang out in my office, and sometimes on my keyboard, so they can offer their unsolicited and often unhelpful advice while I’m writing.
We love a good romance trope here at The Nerd Daily and rivals-to-lovers is always a fan favorite! What are your favorite tropes that you can never get enough of? Which do you love to read and write about the most?
I have a huge love of all things second chance and I’m a sucker for friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers. The banter is always so much fun in enemies to lovers, since we all know there’s a fine line between love and hate.
You’re an absolute writing machine! Your backlist is impressive, spanning both multiple series and acclaimed standalones. What’s your favorite part of the writing process? What’s your least favorite?
My favorite part of writing a story is usually the meet cute, where the hero and the heroine have their first introduction to each other, and then we get to experience the ups and downs caused by the obstacles in their journey before they fall in love. My least favorite part is the first round of content edits. That’s typically when all the “heavy lifting” and deconstructing takes place, but as a general rule, I come out the other side of that feeling like the story and the characters are in a much better place.
Now tell us something about your upcoming release Kiss My Cupcake!
I am so excited for readers to fall in love with these characters and this story. Kiss My Cupcake is light, fluffy, and sweet, just like buttercream icing. It was an absolute hoot to write. Blaire is a high strung, passionate and determined heroine and Ronan is a laidback, delicious hero, and together they’re the perfect mix of sweet and savory. And now I’m hungry.
I devoured Kiss My Cupcake the way I wished I could have devoured all the magnificent creations Blaire comes up with! How did you come up with Blaire’s innovative cupcake flavors and design?
My daughter and I spent a lot of time watching Cake Wars while I was writing Kiss My Cupcake. Some of the cupcake creations are based on cocktails or shots, like the lemon drop cupcake and the screaming orgasm. It provided great opportunities for Blaire to tease Ronan and amp up the tension between them. I scoured Pinterest often, and when it came to Blaire’s sense of style, and her cupcake shop, I really loved the idea of this very Betty Crocker entrepreneur who wanted to do things her own way.
Alongside that question, if you had to choose between spending an evening in the Knight Cap with Ronan or at Buttercream and Booze with Blaire, where would you go?
Well . . . that’s tough, because I think Blaire would be a lot of fun to hang out with, and cupcakes are delicious, but I sure wouldn’t mind spending a few hours staring at Ronan, watching him flex his forearms and pour pints.
Ronan Knight absolutely made me swoon, but I have to be honest, his grandfather was a showstealer for me! That man deserves the world. Can you share anything about him that maybe didn’t make it into this book or what your favorite scene including him was?
Ronan is a good guy, but yes, Gramps was a showstealer for sure. There was a moment in the book when my editor was freaking out, thinking I was going to do something awful to him, sending me threatening messages via track changes! I spent a lot of time making up scenes in my head that involved Gramps. Like trying to convince Ronan that he should wear a kilt because it was tradition. The whole Wheel of Fortune thing is actually something inspired by my dad since he has watched it my entire life, and he and his dad worked side by side at their family sign painting (now mostly vinyl graphics) shop until my grandfather passed away when he was in his seventies.
Are there any scenes that didn’t make the cut for Kiss My Cupcake that we might be seeing as outtakes on your website at some point (*cut to me looking at you with my best puppy eyes because I need more Ronan and Blaire in my life*)?
Sooooo . . . often my sexy scenes can be a little . . . steamier. And I made some cuts to that scene (which is actually pretty long as it is) for the sake of moving the story along. I always share deleted scenes in my newsletter and usually in my reader group as well!
With Kiss My Cupcake releasing soon, are you already working on another project? If so, can you share a few tidbits with us?
I’m always in the middle of one or more other projects, even when a new book is releasing! I just passed over the first draft for a new series with SMP, I’m currently working on the first book for a new series with Montlake and I’m slated to write another book for Forever next year. I also have another release this fall, so there’s no shortage of books coming from me in the next couple of years!
You’ve been writing for a long time – any advice you can share with our fellow readers hoping to become an author one day?
Just keep writing if that’s what you’re passionate about and find a group of friends who will support you on your journey. Join a writer’s group if you can, online or in-person (if that’s an option), hang out in other author groups and get to know your fellow readers.
Last but not least, do you have any bookish recommendations for our readers?
I just finished reading DROWNING IN STARS by my bestie Debra Anastasia and I am so in love with that story. It’s amazing and absolutely her best book to date and I can’t wait for people to fall in love with those characters the way I did. It is hands down a top 2020 read for me and releases on August 9th.
