Interview with Stephanie Fournet, author of Kind of Cursed

What can you tell us about your new release, Kind of Cursed?

Kind of Cursed is my first romantic comedy and my first multicultural romance. Most of my novels deal with some serious themes—and in that way, this one is no different—but even with those themes, there is so much laughter. I have to give Penny Reid credit for showing me how to blend comedy with heartbreak and loss. Millie Delacroix, my main character, is dealing with her own heartbreak and loss, but she is resilient, self-deprecating, and awkward at all the wrong moments. I laughed a lot while I wrote her story.

On top of the fact that she has recently lost her parents and is caring for her much younger siblings, Millie believes that she bears a family curse—one that will wreck her life if she sleeps with anyone, which means sex is out for the next ten years.

Millie thinks she can handle a decade of celibacy until Luc Valencia, the hot, compassionate, and virtuous Mexican-American contractor turns up in her life. With a kitchen remodel, a house full of kids, and whole lot of sexual tension, Millie is kind of cursed.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I’ve wanted to write since I was seven. I’ve wanted to write romance since I was about twelve. But what really got me to finish my first novel, Fall Semester, was not getting a promotion I was gunning for at work. That disappointment became one of the best things that ever happened to me because I poured a ton of energy into my writing, and I haven’t stopped. Ironically, a few years later, I got that promotion. Timing is everything.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

Hmmm. This is a tough question, and the answer is mutable. In no particular order, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and I’m going to cheat and count the Outlander series as the last two.

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

I’ve been asked this question before, and my answers are the same. I’d invite Penny Reid, and I’d ask her if we could be friends.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Falling in love along with my characters is absolutely the best thing about writing.

What is a typical day like for you?

My day starts way too early: 4:15 a.m. I meditate, go for a run or work out with the best girlfriends in the whole world (shoutout to my Vault Vixens!). Then I go to work at a high school where I am Academic Dean and Director of College Counseling. I love my students and faculty dearly. Go, Blue Gators! After work, I come home where Gladys and Mabel, my two dogs, greet me at the door and beg for snacks and dinner and more snacks. Then it’s a a quick yoga session and a dog walk around the block before sitting down to write as much as I can before it’s time to make dinner with my husband. This is usually enhanced by some piano jazz and the occasional glass of wine. If I’m still awake at nine p.m., it’s a miracle.

What scene in Kind of Cursed was your favorite to write?

That would have to be the Cha-Cha-Moo-Moo soccer game scenes in Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen. Writing eight-year-old Emmett was a lot of fun, but I also really loved writing the texting scene between Millie and Luc as they watch—or fail to watch—the soccer game.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

There are absolutely no exceptions and no excuses. I’d literally have to be unconscious to miss a day of writing.

Stephanie Fournet is the author of the new book Kind of Cursed.

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