What is Amanda Sellet reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Amanda Sellet, author of Hate to Fake It to You: A Novel.

Her entry begins:

This is a year of continuous and overlapping deadlines for me, which means even my leisure reading needs to multitask. Each of these titles relates to a current or future writing project, but since some of these works-in-progress are still top-secret, I’ll stick to the vague interest areas of “screwball comedy retellings,” “general fiction with a strong romantic subplot,” and “frothy mystery.”

Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow: In July, I had the absolute pleasure of moderating a virtual panel with a group of writers whose books draw inspiration from classic films—including this sparkling space caper, a must-read even if sci-fi isn’t your usual stomping ground. Fraimow updates the Preston Sturges classic The Lady Eve by trading cruise ships for spaceships, preserving the original’s wisecracking heroine, audacious hoax, and 1940s jargon in a beautifully crafted romp with...[read on]

About Hate to Fake It to You, from the publisher:

A waitress masquerading as an influencer and a wildlife photographer are on a collision course with romance—and chaos—in Hate to Fake It to You, a zany modern twist on a screwball comedy classic about figuring out what you really want—by pretending to be someone you’re not.

Everyone gets a glow-up on social media, but Libby Lane's online persona is the fakest of fakes. Cooked up as a joke by Libby and her best friends, Lillibet is the affluent, healthier-than-thou opposite of her glam-free life on the side of Oahu most tourists never see. The phony fronting is all in good fun, until a real influencer stumbles onto the Love, Lillibet Instagram feed and starts making waves.

When Hildy Johnson, the ambitious junior member of a media dynasty, travels to Hawaii to talk to Lillibet about parlaying her lifestyle brand into a job, Libby and her friends scramble to take the make-believe to a new level. Complicating the charade even further is Hildy’s handsome companion, a wildlife photographer named Jefferson Jones, whose keen eye sees more than he lets on.

Between the pretend husband, borrowed goats, a made-up holiday, and Libby’s very real attraction to Jefferson, it’s anyone’s guess which lie will blow their cover first . . . especially since Lillibet isn’t the only one with something to hide.

Visit Amanda Sellet's website.

Q&A with Amanda Sellet.

The Page 69 Test: By the Book.

Writers Read: Amanda Sellet (December 2022).

Writers Read: Amanda Sellet.

--Marshal Zeringue