Guest Author: Beth Kendrick + Giveaway!

Beth Kendrick, author of Second Time Around, has been kind enough to stop by Reading with Tequila to tell us about dream jobs.

Let’s talk dream jobs for a second.

If financial security weren’t an issue, if you didn’t have to worry about all those pesky little details like health benefits and retirement accounts and paying your electric bill, what would you want to do with your days?

That’s the question that sparked SECOND TIME AROUND, or as I like to refer to it, the “English major book”. People always ask novelists where we get our ideas, which can be frustrating, because most of the time we have no clue where we get our ideas. They just…materialize. (Cue high-pitched, mysterious music.)

But with this book, I know exactly where I got the idea: I was sitting around with a bunch of my friends from college, bemoaning our collective lack of career direction and laughing about how “we all should have gone to law school.”

Now behold the first line in the book: “We all should have gone to law school.” That whole night’s bar tab should have been a tax write-off! Here is the thirty-second summary of SECOND TIME AROUND:

Every summer, a group of former English majors hold a mini-reunion. They laugh, reminisce, and commiserate about their soul-sucking jobs. Maybe they should have listened to everyone who warned them to study something “practical.” 

Then an unexpected windfall arrives—one million dollars, to be exact—with the stipulation that they use it to jump-start their new careers. Almost overnight, a professor, a bartender, a copywriter, and an administrative assistant reinvent themselves as a bed-and-breakfast owner, a pastry chef, a novelist, and an event planner. But the changes in their professional roles create unexpected turbulence in their personal lives, and soon the secrets and scandals from their past resurface. 

When you’re mired in a fluorescent-lit cubicle hell all day, every day, opening a bed and breakfast starts to sound pretty great. Or being a photojournalist, vineyard operator, restaurateur, travel writer, red carpet stylist, international supermodel, etc. Those jobs have glamour, adventure, cache!

But not so fast. I interviewed a pastry chef, a contractor, an innkeeper, and a wedding planner, and got a fascinating glimpse into what they actually do all day. And I am here to tell you, the life of a pastry chef is not all cream puffs and chocolate. Every job has downsides that may not be readily apparent to the casual observer. Take being a novelist, for example. Signing contracts = love! Doing copyedits for the fifteenth time = hate. Sometimes we simultaneously love and hate our jobs (see: revising a manuscript on an incredibly tight deadline).

The bed and breakfast owner had the best stories. She explained to me that the rowdiest guests were often the “professional, suburban, middle-aged married couples” because they desperately needed to blow off steam since they were always so busy and responsible at home, and so they would cut loose and carouse and get into the shower and…well, it’s all in the book!

Speaking of which, you can get a sneak peek at the first chapter on my website: www.bethkendrick.com.

And I want to know (Jennifer, you too!): what is your dream job?

{Although it changes almost daily, it's always somewhere within the book industry. As of this exact moment, if money was no object, I would love to own my own bookstore.}

About the Author

Beth Kendrick got her B.A. in English at Carleton College before earning her Ph.D. in child psychology and then pulling a professional U-turn to pursue her dream job of becoming a novelist. When she is not slavishly working on her next novel, she’s cheering on the Chicago Cubs, watching TV series of questionable intellectual value (“Real Housewives of Orange County,” we’re looking at you), going to the gym, or learning how to bake (those last two kind of cancel each other out). She lives in Arizona with her family and two unruly rescue dogs. You can visit her website at www.BethKendrick.com.

About the Book

Every summer, four college friends hold a mini-reunion. They laugh, reminisce, and commiserate about their soul-sucking jobs. Maybe they should have listened to everyone who warned them to study something “practical.”

Then an unexpected windfall arrives—one million dollars, to be exact—with the stipulation that they use it to jump-start their new careers. Almost overnight, a professor, a bartender, a copywriter, and an administrative assistant reinvent themselves as a novelist, an event planner, a pastry chef, and a bed-and-breakfast owner. But the changes in their professional roles create unexpected turbulence in their personal lives, and soon the secrets and scandals from their past start to resurface.

For anyone who has ever wondered “What if?,” this engaging novel provides a sweet, funny look at friendship, romance, and second chances.

Giveaway

Beth has offered to give away SIGNED copy of Second Time Around to one lucky reader!

Deadline for entry is Wednesday, March 31 at 11:59pm EST. US and Canada only.

To enter, leave a comment answering Beth's question: What is your dream job?

Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact the winner.