After years of television shows and movies portraying New Jersey in less than desirable ways, New Jersey native Cathy Padilla has written a contemporary romance novel, A Taste for Love, highlighting the beauty and grandeur of Monmouth County. Available for purchase April 18, the novel is set in the rolling hills of Holmdel and uses the tagline: New Jersey - Where Love Blooms and Gardens Grow. Written employing the same point-of-view used by both Jane Austen and Nora Roberts, third-person omniscient, the author hopes to bring back the underused perspective while giving a nod to two prolific romance authors.
"I wanted to share a story that is both heart-warming and interesting and I find the omniscient point-of-view creates more complex characters. I grew up loving Pride and Prejudice (by
Jane Austen) and it felt natural for me to write from a similar viewpoint." Padilla says. "It's not popular today, in fact most editors frown upon it and call it 'head-hopping', but I have faith my readers will embrace the story and heroine. I appreciate my publisher, Clean Reads, allowing me this opportunity. It is a 'clean' romance, so readers can share the book with their grandparents and teens the way my mother shared Austen with me."
Padilla has lived in Monmouth County her entire life, except for the four years she spent at The College of New Jersey (Ewing, NJ) studying English and journalism. After being hired as the first editor of the college magazine at TCNJ, she worked as the Director of Institutional Advancement at Monmouth University for nearly a decade promoting the college. While a student at TCNJ, her linguistic professor encouraged her to write novels and it became a some-day goal she says she is thrilled to have come to fruition.
Padilla founded an online organization called LookingForEats that donated all profits to children with cancer who live in New Jersey and for the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Money was raised through events with local celebrities such as Chef Lidia Bastianich and television personality
Caroline Manzo. Deciding to spend more time at home caring for her mother, Padilla has since dedicated herself to writing.
A Taste for Love is the story of a career-minded, independent woman facing a loveless marriage dictated by blackmail. She falls in love with a man she doesn't know has come to save her and finds a way to overcome her own reluctant heart. Set at a fictitious country club, The Club at Longview, readers meet and come to know the Texmara family. The first in a series of 'For Love' books, the novel goes beyond surface romance and contemplates what it means to love and the sacrifices love sometimes requires. All romance novels have a happy ending, but not every character in Padilla's books find his or her happily ever after.
"I love a great story. So I wanted to write love stories that are realistic with exciting plots and a good bit of suspense," Padilla says. "My editors keep commenting how refreshing it is to read characters who don't really do what the reader expects them to all the time. I'm hoping my readers feel the same way."
You can contact Padilla at 732-272-5044 or at Cathy6Padilla@gmail.com to request review copies or an interview. High resolution book cover photos are available at 4Love.Club.
Please visit Padilla's website: 4Love.Club and become a member of the club that is dedicated to the love of family, fun, food, and entertainment...because it's all For Love!
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