TopShelf Magazine June 2023

Q YOU ARE ORIGINAL FROM THE UNITED STATES BUT NOW LIVE IN NEW ZEALAND…WHY DID YOU RELOCATE AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST CULTURE SHOCK?

I relocated after I met the man who is now my husband. He’s a ‘kiwi’ and came and stayed with him in Wellington for three months. When I returned to LA, I was already making plans on what to pack!

My biggest culture shock was (it’s soooo frivolous!) the fact there’s no Apple store in the country. I know, it’s so ridiculous, but I’m a tech lover and a fan of the Genius bar so that one hurt. There are ALOT of NZ terms that have confused me over the years and made for some funny moments. One of their favorite sayings here is “sweet as”. So if I was to ask you how you’re doing, you would reply, “Sweet as!”. For me, I was always waiting for the person who said it to finish the sentence, but it never comes. Like…sweet as what?

Q: YOU HAVE YOUR VERY OWN “MEET-CUTE” STORY, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT AND WERE THINGS ALWAYS SMOOTH SAILING?

I met my husband at a friend’s wedding in Cancun - he and the groom are brothers. The funny thing is I wasn’t 100% sure I could go on the trip. I secured my room, but I didn’t get my ticket until the last minute because of work. Once I knew I could get away easily, I booked it. And I’m glad I did!

Smooth sailing and long distance relationships aren’t usually words most would pair together, but we made it work over the miles and once I got here and moved to this country officially, we worked even

harder to stay on the same page and to, well, put our dues into our relationship.

Q.OUT OF ALL THE WRITING YOU HAVE DONE, WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU FEEL THE BIGGEST CONNECTION TO AND FROM WHAT STORY/BOOK IS THAT CHARACTER FROM?

I think it would be Abby from my first books, the Abby George Series (Rum Punch Regrets, Gotta Go To Come Back, and Sugart City Secrets). I was living on the isalnd of St. Kitts when I started writing them––the island and the people I was meeting there were my inspiration.

Q: WITH YOUR BOOKS, IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BINGE READ YOUR BOOKS, WHICH WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THAT THEY START READING FIRST AND WHY?

I love writing rom com, so I’d say start with my most recent one The Art of Falling in Love with Your Best Friend. It’s the first book in a new series (the next one is out August 3rd) and I LOVE these characters!

If they like chick lit, where the the book is about the journey of the main MC, then Rum Punch Regrets is a good one and it’s the first in the Abby George Series. (This series also *may or may not* be under contrat right now with a production company…)

Q: YOU HAVE SAID YOU READ “RIDCULOUSLY FAST” BUT WHAT GENRES DO YOU READ WHEN YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO READ FOR YOURSELF?

I love all genres! I’ll always have a rom com book that I’m reading, but I love thrillers, crime and drama, and cozy

mystery, too.

Q: WHAT GENRE BOOKS DO YOU NOT WRITE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRY?

Thriller.

Q: YOUR COVERS ARE SO COLORFUL AND QUIRKY, DO YOU EVER FEEL THAT THE COVERS DON’T GIVE ENOUGH IDEA OF THE STORY?

I feel like each cover represents a nice taster of what you’re getting in the book… and I am LOVING the trend of the illustrated covers, too!

Q: LAST YEAR YOU GAVE A PRESENTATION ON HOW AUTHORS CAN USE TIKTOK …WITH ALL THE RUMBLING OF THE USA MAKING THE APP ILLEGAL WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR AUTHORS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES IF THE APP SUDDENLY DISAPPEARS?

It can all go away at any moment - TikTok, Facebook, Instagram…As authors, we should always think about taking our audience off platform!

Keep them moving because every social media channel could go away. Get them to your newsletter, most importantly, or maybe look into subscription models like Ream or Patreon. These are other ways to bring your readers into your world and to grow your community.

Q: LET’S IMAGINE THT YOU WERE INVITED TO A WORLDFAMOUS WRITER’S CONFERENCE…AT THAT CONFERENCE,

YOU ARE SEATED BETWEEN TWO OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE AUTHORS, WHO ARE THEY AND WHAT ONE QUESTION WOULD YOU ASK EACH OF THEM?

The only author I would want to sit by would be Agatha Christie because we’re born on the same day. I’d want to know what kind of cake she would liketo eat so I could treat her to a piece. ;)

ABOUT ANNE KEMP

Anne Kemp is a bestselling author of romantic comedies. She loves reading (and she does it ridiculously fast, too!), gluten-free baking (because everyone needs a hobby that makes them crazy), and finding time to binge-watch her favorite shows. She grew up in Maryland but made Los Angeles her home until she encountered her own real-life meet-cute at a friend's wedding where she ended up married to one of the groomsmen. For real.

Anne now lives on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, and even though she was married at Mt. Doom, no…she doesn’t have a Hobbit. However, she and her husband do have a terrier named George Clooney and when she’s not writing, she’s usually with them taking a long walk on the river by their home.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Website www.annekemp.com

TikTok @annekempauthor

Instagram @annekmepauthor

Facebook Page @missannekemp

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