ABOUT THE BOOK:
For eighteen year old Gia Winters, having a movie star for a father, a former Playboy bunny as a mother, a Hollywood mansion, and a closet stocked with Chanel is simply another day in the life.
But her world is turned upside down when her father mysteriously hires a group of bodyguards to trail the family 24/7 and threatening phone calls from a “Dr. D” start buzzing daily.
When Gia scores the coveted role of Miss Golden Globe, she is forced to strike a deal with her bodyguard, Jack, who is almost as arrogant as he is attractive. Juggling Gia’s romantic failures, fashion faux pas, and celebrity obsessions, the duo investigate a series of clues with the help of a police cadet, who has a special set of skills and an even better set of dimples.
But with the Golden Globes just around the corner, danger levels rise higher than her stilettos as Gia learns that the biggest secrets might be the ones buried in her own home.
In a place where the hills have eyes, high school nemeses, bad hair days, raging parties, and stolen kisses, there can only be trouble for a girl who was just starting to consider herself lucky.
Come back Saturday for a review of the book (spoiler alert: I really liked it!)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in India, Saba Kapur spent her childhood in Indonesia and Kiev, Ukraine. Her passion for storytelling developed at a young age, born from a deep seated love of books.
Saba is a 20-year-old writer currently in her final year of college, studying International Relations and Criminology at Monash University. She hopes to one day become a fabulous lawyer in New York City, with a closet full of stilettos. Lucky Me is her first novel and an ode to her favorite things: fashion, romance and mystery.
In her spare time, Saba enjoys reading, watching anything to do with Ryan Gosling and pretending she’s Beyoncé. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with her parents, her older sister and a large supply of chocolate.
AUTHOR Q AND A
What
inspired you to write Lucky Me? Where were you when the idea came to you? When
did you decide to write it? The idea for Lucky Me actually came to me in the
shower! I was in tenth grade, and had been spending a lot of time in the
library. High school drama was at its peak, and I found my solace amongst
books. I think that’s where most of my urge to write came from. This idea just
popped into my head and I typed up a rough first chapter, and decided to
continue from there. I never wrote it with the intention of having it
published; it was initially just a hobby. The idea for the book developed from
various places. I had noticed that, particularly amongst my generation, the
focus on young celebrities was growing in Hollywood, which really intrigued me.
I wanted to write something that was funny but also had an element of mystery,
as those are my favorite kinds of books to read.
How did your love for fashion influence the
characters and story? Fashion is something that I’ve always been interested in, and because of the
setting of the novel, it was easy to incorporate it throughout the book. There
is no singular definition of fashion, and I love that it’s so subjective and
fluid, because it allows you so much opportunity for fun and creativity. I
tried to integrate this sentiment into Gia’s personality, but of course
tailored (no pun intended) to suit her lifestyle. The importance of looking
good is extremely influential amongst my generation, especially with young
celebrities as role models. I felt that Gia would be incomplete or unauthentic
without including her love for fashion.
Did you base
Gia’s character off of anyone in particular? Gia is a product of many influences. I tried to develop her as a
combination of some of real-life celebrities and my favourite female
characters, taking a few personality traits from each one. Gia definitely has elements
of Cher Horowtiz (from one of my favourite movies, Clueless) with her love for fashion, and Blair Waldorf (from the
books and TV show, Gossip Girl) who I
spent most of high school pretending to be!
In reality, Gia is really a heightened depiction of my own personality. We
are different in so many ways (namely, I don’t make as many poor life choices
and do not own a single pair of Louboutins). But we are very similar through
our sarcastic and witty personalities. Gia also shares my love for Audrey Hepburn,
who I have idolized ever since watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s, in seventh
grade.
Who would
you imagine Gia’s celebrity best friends (squad) would be? I think in reality, Gia would hate to be friends with young models; purely
because she’d be worried they were prettier than her. Maybe Gia would be lucky
enough to join Taylor Swift’s squad, which seems like a lot of fun. She would
probably befriend someone fashionable but also fun, like Selena Gomez. But
truthfully I’m only saying that for selfish reasons (I’m secretly hoping Selena
wants to be my best friend).
I love the idea of having a girl squad.
What authors
do you look up to and why? This may sound a little clichéd, but I try and learn something from every
book I read. If there’s a particular
writing style I like, I try to incorporate it into my own writing. I have such
respect for so many authors, particularly those who write in my preferred
genre, such as Meg Cabot, Janet Evanovich and Sophie Kinsella. They have
completely mastered the art of mystery, humor and romance. Those are some of my favorite authors too!!
Do you plan
to write a sequel? I am currently working on the sequel! Lucky Me ended with a few unanswered
questions, and I just felt that I couldn’t fit it all into one book without
taking away from the main story. I always intended on writing another book, and
I’m having so much fun exploring what’s next in Gia’s life, now that she’s
graduating from high school. I feel like the characters are growing up alongside
me. Oh, I'm so glad!
