Phi Alpha Pi by Sara Marks

This is my stop during the blog tour for Phi Alpha Pi by Sara Marks. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 14 till 28 May. See the tour schedule here.



Phi Alpha Pi (21st Century Austen #2)

by Sara Marks

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age category: New Adult, Adult

Release Date: May 28, 2018

Blurb:

Phi Alpha Pi is the oldest and largest sorority on campus and new president Lizbeth has a busy senior year ahead of her. She’s determined to keep her sorority in good standing on campus after a year on academic probation. She’s trying to manage the new sorority house manager, Mrs. C, who has her own ideas about how to support the sorority sisters. All while trying to find balance with her own academic goals to complete an honors thesis, graduate, and decide her future plans.



The last thing Lizbeth expects is her anger when Wil, a new member of the Alpha Pi fraternity, pushes every one of her buttons. Lizbeth finds Wil, a new transfer to the university with his best friend, to be rude, snobby, and judgmental. Even though she tries to avoid him, he seems to be everywhere, scowling with displeasure when he sees her. That is, until his Thanksgiving proclamation of love. That causes Lizbeth to reconsider how she sees the world.

You can find Phi Alpha Pi on Goodreads



You can buy Phi Alpha Pi here:

- Amazon

- B&N

- Kobo

Excerpt:

Excerpt #2:

The more they walked around the museum, the more Lizbeth realized they liked a lot of the same pieces and artists for very similar reasons. They didn't draw while in the Matisse exhibit, but Lizbeth would periodically sit and doodle while listening to tour guides who led groups through the space. Her paper was quickly filled with little triangle butterflies and poorly drawn horses.

"Suddenly I expect you to love unicorns and rainbows,” Wil said, sitting next to her on a bench and looking over her shoulder.

"I do!"

"I was joking."

"I'm not. I also love mermaids. Ask Becca. For years I was going to turn into one when I grew up. It was my career goal for quite a while."

"Are you a good swimmer?"

"Fantastic! I’m a much better swimmer than I am an artist."

Wil laughed at her.

"You are great at riding horses and swimming? Did you want to become a unicorn later?"

"No, I was going to be a mermaid princess who came on land to ride her unicorns. That's why my grandparents bought me Windfola."

Wil blushed, probably remembering his plan to buy her horse.

"Then your income would be princess-based."

"Obviously, a great plan."

This time they both laughed. Wil wouldn’t let her see what was on his paper. They left the exhibit and headed for a cafe in the museum to grab lunch. As they left the exhibits, Lizbeth saw him fold his paper and slip it into his back pocket. As they made their way to the cafe, they got distracted by a collection about roosters across cultures. They stood before a painting of a rooster called "The Cock.” Neither recognized the artist, but Lizbeth felt inspired.

"The thing that catches my eye about this cock is the color and shape. Notice the left curvature of the cock. The shape is of an average cock. What are your thoughts about the cock, Wil?" Lizbeth said.

She turned to face Wil and found him trying to stifle a laugh.

"Do you find cocks funny, Wil? A cock is nothing to laugh at. If you had a cock as grand as this would you want people laughing at it?" Lizbeth said.

She would have continued, but she started laughing herself. She let Wil take her hand and pull her out of the room.

"You’ve seen my terrible drawings. Let me see what you did," Lizbeth said once they were seated with lunch from the cafe.

"No, it's nothing."

"Wil, don't worry. I won't tell your aunt how you aren’t a well-rounded young lady."

Wil laughed at the joke, but refused to let her see what he had drawn.

"This isn’t over. The more you refuse, the more I want to see what you drew,” Lizbeth said as she got up to throw away their trash.

Check out the first book in this series!



"Tension builds as they each learn about the current version of the person they once loved and resolve the ramifications of their choices."



Links:

- Goodreads

- Amazon

- B&N

- Kobo

About the Author:

Born in Boston, MA and raised in Miami, FL, Sara Marks has two masters degrees and plans to never stop getting over educated. She likes the idea of having all the academic regalia she can ever possess and winning with the most degrees in her family. By day she's an academic librarian. In what little free time she has, she also knits and plays with her dog Cedric Doggory.



You can find and contact Sara Marks here:

- Website

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Instagram

- Goodreads

- Amazon

- Mailing List



Interview with Sara Marks

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

I don’t let characters hijack a story, but I do give them some room to explore.  After years of doing NaNoWriMo I’ve learned that I should have an outline of what I want to happen, but to leave room for characters to go where it makes sense.  For example, with Phi Alpha Pi, I tried to fit Jorge in the spot Wickham had in the original story. It doesn’t make sense anymore. Once I gave him the freedom to explore and I found a place for him in the story that really made sense.  There are other stories that I have written when I’ve had no idea how things might be resolved. In those cases, I really let all the characters flow through the story until the resolution fell into place.

Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

I find that people either love or hate Austen.  For those who can’t get into her books because of how they relate to modern lives, my books are more relatable.  For those who love Austen, this is a way the story could look in modern times. They are also fun and easy reads that don’t require you read the original to understand what’s going on.  

Have you written any other books that are not published?

SO MANY!  Right now I’m focused on about four different projects.  The next book, out in the summer of 2019, is a mystery book that isn’t based on anyone else.  The third book in the 21st Century Austen series, Woodhouse Yarn and Cafe, will be out in 2020.  I also have some short story collections, including a horror one about an ice planet that requires sacrifices. Last, I’m beginning to lay the foundation for an epic, romance, fantasy series that I’ve been playing with for most of my life.

Pen or typewriter or computer?

Computer!  I’m not a romantic when it comes to the writing process.  I want to be able to move quickly. That being said, I use pen and paper to keep organized and write down brainstorms.  I’m a huge fan of bullet journaling and writing down outlines in a shared notebook. When I start actually writing something, it’s right to the computer. I write at a local cafe and it’s common to see me there with the notebook with my notes for the book I’m working on, the computer, and my writer’s bible managing all my projects.

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Thank you!  Everyone I meet in person and online has been incredibly supportive and open.  So many new opportunities have come up to connect with new people and share my writing.  I hope this next year, sharing Phi Alpha Pi, will continue to help me meet new people and find new readers!

Giveaways

There are two tour wide giveaways during the blog tour of Phi Alpha Pi! There is a US Only Giveaway for a prize pack and an international giveaway for 14 e-copies and a print copy of Phi Alpha Pi!



US Only Giveaway

One winner will win a Prize Pack containing:

- Mrs. C's homemade officers shirt in Comic Sans (you pick XL or XXL)

- A Phi Alpha Pi sorority sticker, candle, and bracelet (some of the items mentioned in the story).

- An illustration by cover designer Risa Rodil

- A rooster dishtowel (so you can make cock jokes with Lizbeth and Wil)

- Autographed printed copies of Modern Persuasion, A Little More Modern Persuasion, and Phi Alpha Pi (not pictured)





For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Open for all Giveaway

These are the prizes you can win:

- 14 winners will each win an e-copy of Phi Alpha Pi by Sara Marks

- 1 winner will win a print copy of Phi Alpha Pi by Sara Marks



For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway