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Abby Jimenez knows the look for success.
The concealed ingredient? Betting connected herself. After all, years earlier becoming the writer of several bestselling rom-coms—her latest, Say You’ll Remember Me, is retired April 1—she built a baking concern close retired of her home.
After being laid disconnected from ger retail job, “It was precise scary opening up our archetypal bakery,” Abby admitted to E! News successful an exclusive interview. “I started Nadia Cakes retired of my location successful 2007. I had nary culinary background. I had taken 2 and a fractional classes to larn however to decorate cakes, and I had my ain barroom recipes.”
Not to mention, astatine the time, she and husband Carlos Jimenez were balancing beingness with 3 small ones: 2-year-old Naomi, 12-month-old Nadia and newborn Maya, who, arsenic she emphasized were “all successful diapers.” (Their daughters are present each successful their precocious teens and aboriginal twenties.)
But turning her passionateness for baking into her assemblage wasn’t without its risks, and by the time Abby and Carlos were acceptable to expand Nadia Cakes into a full-fledged bakery, they were successful superior debt.
“We charged $125,000 connected our recognition cards, and for the 5 months that it took for the bakery to beryllium built out, we were paying the minimums connected $125,000 recognition paper debt,” she recalled. “And we weren't adjacent making capable to statesman with. It was an each oregon thing happening to stake connected ourselves, stake connected this concern doing well.”
Abby Jimenez
Failure was not an option.
“My hubby discontinue his occupation 3 weeks aft the bakery opened,” she explained of Carlos’ determination articulation the institution arsenic CFO, “because we recognized that you enactment everything into Nadia Cakes to marque definite that it's successful, oregon we're going to suffer everything.”
It was a hazard that paid off, with Nadia Cakes subsequently expanding beyond its archetypal determination successful confederate California to 2 bakeries successful Minnesota, wherever the Jimenez household present calls home.
“I decidedly didn't embark connected this travel to beryllium an award-winning baker oregon a Food Network champion,” she stressed. “I was conscionable doing what I had to bash to wage my bills and instrumentality attraction of my family, similar that's each I was doing.”
It besides burnt Abby out. Exhausted, she stepped backmost to absorption connected different passion: Writing.
“When it came down to the books, that was astir apt the slightest magnitude of hazard that I'd ever had to instrumentality on,” Abby explained to E!, “because I didn't request the books to execute immoderate extremity that I had acceptable retired for myself.”
“I was penning the books due to the fact that it was fun,” she added. “It was thing that I profoundly enjoyed doing, and it was fulfilling for me.”
And since her debut novel, The Friend Zone, hit shelves successful 2019, she’s published a caller publication each azygous year—including BookTok favorites like The Happy Ever After Playlist, Part of Your World and Just for the Summer.
Abby Jimenez
While Abby’s characters person ranged from doctors and traveling nurses to carpenters and influencers, she’s yet to absorption connected a baker. Though the accustomed shoutout to Nadia Cakes successful her books is capable for her.
“I consciousness similar there's a interaction of baking PTSD there,” she acknowledged. “I find it much amusive to probe different careers and constitute astir those instead.”
And existent to form, Say You’ll Remember Me, her sixth novel, stays acold distant from the (professional) kitchen. In it, witty societal media manager Samantha and superior veterinarian Xavier autumn accelerated connected a perfect first date—only for Samantha to permission Minnesota for California to attraction for her mom, who suffers from dementia.
“This is simply a publication astir making memories and losing memories,” Abby shared, “I wrote a batch of my ain memories into this book.”
Abby Jimenez
But portion Abby’s characters often find themselves navigating life’s astir challenging hurdles, her books are ever infused with humor.
“The quality of penning a rom-com is it tin beryllium comic to the people who are speechmaking it—because it's not happening to them,” she explained. “It's a equilibrium that I ever emotion to strike. I volition ever constitute that into my books.”
And remainder assured, her characters volition ever get their rom-com ending. As she is speedy to punctual readers, “At the extremity of the day, they're going to get a blessed ever after, nary substance what I enactment them done successful the pages.”
Say You’ll Remember Me releases April 1. For more books hitting shelves this spring, support reading.
Scholastic
Sunrise connected the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Release: March 18
At agelong last, Collins is revealing what really when down erstwhile Haymitch Abernathy entered the Hunger Games for the Second Quarter Quell—and she doesn’t disappoint. Harrowing and heartbreaking, Sunrise connected the Reaping is perchance Collins’ astir gruesome outing successful Panem yet, though similar its predecessors it offers glimmers of the anticipation to come. Plus, it is chock afloat of nods to both The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as good arsenic the archetypal trilogy—including acquainted faces popping up.
Saga Press/ S&S
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Release: March 18
In 2012, the diary of a Lutheran pastor from 1912 is uncovered and, successful it, helium recounts his interactions with a Blackfeet man—and vampire—Good Stab. Moving betwixt three time periods (2012, 1912, and the clip of the 1870 Marias Massacre, successful which astir 200 Blackfeet radical were slaughtered by the U.S. army) the communicative is simply a chilling communicative of execution and revenge, with supernatural elements that lone heighten the narrative.
Ballantine Books/Penguin Random House
Saltwater by Kate Hays
Release: March 25
Every year, the Lingates instrumentality to their luxurious villa successful Capri, contempt a 1992 calamity that near household subordinate Sarah dead astatine the bottommost of a cliff. Though deemed a horrible accident, thing isn’t rather right. And precisely 30 years later, the enigma intensifies arsenic the necklace Sarah was wearing that fateful nighttime turns up, mounting disconnected a deadly concatenation of events that uncovers the secrets from that night—including what really happened to Sarah.
G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Random House
All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett
Release: April 1
American assemblage postgraduate Anna arrives to commencement a caller beingness successful London, lone for the world of the metropolis to dampen each she’d envisioned astir her imagination home. That is, until she gets caught up successful the satellite of the elite erstwhile she’s hired arsenic a tutor by a affluent household and is soon befriended by her student’s older sister. But successful keeping up with this beingness of luxury, whitethorn conscionable travel with a price.
Forever/Hachette Books
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
Release: April 1
For Samatha and Xavier, a atrocious archetypal content soon gives mode to a life-changing archetypal date—which was not what Samantha had successful caput for her last nighttime successful Minnesota earlier moving nearly 2,000 miles away. But as she navigates a devastating household situation and Xavier tries to support his caput down and physique his budding vet practice, they can’t look to hide their magical nighttime together. It’s heartfelt, comic and utterly unputdownable.
Simon & Schuster For Young Readers
Fearless by Lauren Roberts
Release: April 8
Lauren Roberts is backmost with the epic decision to the Powerless series, which sees Paedyn and Kai some backmost successful Ilya. But portion they are reunited astatine last, a determination mightiness interruption them forever—and destruct Ilya successful the process.
Blackstone Publishing
The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose
Release: April 15
Five years after The Perfect Divorce, Jeneva Rose is erstwhile much throwing Sarah Morgan for a loop, arsenic she discovers her matrimony to her second husband isn’t without its secrets, namely his infidelity. However, arsenic she seeks a divorce, caller grounds surrounding the execution lawsuit involving her first hubby pops up. Plus, husband no. 2’s mistress soon goes missing. Suffice to say, Rose doles retired an endless proviso of juicy twists and turns successful this breathtaking page-turner.
Berkley, Penguin Random House
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Release: April 22
Taking airy inspiration from Taylor Swift’s “Last Great American Dynasty,” the latest from Henry follows writers Alice and Hayden who get connected a tiny land disconnected the seashore of Georgia for the accidental of a lifetime: The accidental to constitute the definitive biography of the now-reclusive 20th period tabloid sensation Margaret Ives. But arsenic they conflict it retired for the apical prize—and effort to portion unneurotic Margaret’s ever-elusive story—sparks can’t assistance but fly.
One World/Penguin Random House
Matriarch by Tina Knowles
Release: April 22
Knowles is laying her cards down down down down and telling her story—from the precise opening successful Galveston, TX, arsenic the youngest of 7 to life to, arsenic the rubric suggests, matriarch of 1 of the biggest families in pop culture. Prepare to get to cognize Ms. Tina Knowles similar ne'er before.
Knopf/Doubleday/
The Pretender by Jo Harkin
Release: April 22
Chances are you’ve ne'er heard of Lambert Simnel but backmost successful the precocious 15th century, helium astir brought the rising Tudor regularisation to its knees erstwhile he emerged out of obscurity arsenic a agelong thought-to-be-dead Plantagenet duke, who whitethorn conscionable person a assertion to the throne of England. This gripping communicative follows a young man, a puppet for the Tudor detractors, who is thrust into the satellite of aristocracy—and each the dangers and deceit that travel with it.
Berkley, Penguin Random House
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
Release: May 6
Fortune is backmost successful Barry’s Bay, this clip to spot Charlie Florek conscionable his lucifer successful Alice Everly. Set a fewer years after Every Summer After, a heartbroken Alice winds up at the lake—where she spent the summertime that changed everything for her arsenic a teen—for immoderate clip with her recently-injured grandmother. She rapidly befriends Charlie, their neighbour and cottage’s caretaker for the summer and, we’ll, we’ll fto Fortune instrumentality it from here. After all, fans person been begging her to springiness Charlie his happily ever aft for years—and she’s afloat delivered with a sweet, summertime emotion story.
Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Release: May 6
Backman is simply a can’t-miss writer for a reason. Set successful dual timelines, My Friends follows a pivotal summertime for a radical of teenagers and a budding creator who 25 years aboriginal is mesmerized by a coating depicting 3 of those friends—and she’s find to larn much astir the people, and the place, down it. In existent Backman fashion, it’s a beautiful, occasionally heartbreaking introspection of life, loss, and the radical who prolong us.
Ballantine Books/Penguin Random House
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
Release: May 20
Looking for closure aft her fiancée’s death, Abby goes to the land wherever the calamity took place. There, she meets a man who says helium knows what happened earlier her fiancée’s abrupt death—only helium goes missing soon after. Now trapped connected an land with her fiancée’s imaginable slayer connected the loose, and a close-knit radical of ex-pats who are much suspicious than ever, Abby goes connected a quest to get to the information earlier it’s excessively late.
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