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Originally from the Midwest, Cristina now lives in South Carolina. She is a married mother of three, which keeps her busy. Cristina is the host of the Romance Obsessed with Lollagirl podcast, which is currently rated #17 in the top 50 best romance novel podcasts of 2022, where she has had the opportunity to interview several authors.
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She authors user stories on the Chapters Interactive stories app with over 260k reads.
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Princess For A Day is a steamy contemporary, royal romance retelling of the Princess and the Pauper, featuring a virgin plus-sized heroine, an LGBTQ+ snarky fairy godmother or bestie, and a prince betrothed to another woman.
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Seeing her boyfriend in the arms of another woman on her birthday was pretty bad. Having a picture of the night go viral was even worse! Now all 21-year-old Talia wants to do is drown her sorrows in ice cream and reality TV.
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Prince Grayson is betrothed to a princess he never met. When his father pushes for an official proposal, tensions rise as secrets come to light. Will Grayson follow his heart, or will he sacrifice everything to fulfill his duty to the crown?
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Talia's royal adventure begins when a mysterious woman arrives on her doorstep, inviting her to the kingdom of Serlavina. Princess lessons, balls, and first kisses. Oh, my! Pretending to be a princess seemed like a good idea until she met the prince. Will she break his heart or find her true love?
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One life-changing kiss would never be enough. Call it fate, kismet, mistaken identity, or a devious plot that brought them together. True love, royal intrigue, and the adventure of a lifetime await!
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Book Excerpt
Britt pulls a sparkly aquamarine dress with an asymmetrical hem out of her suitcase. Surprisingly, the tag displays my size.
"Wear this tonight. I bought it especially for you."
"You're like my fairy godmother. Instead of dressing me for a ball with a prince, you're trying to pimp me out in a nightclub."
She waves her hands with a flourish.
"Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, this is my trip too! I need my wing woman. If a little sparkle and pizzazz lift the spirits, isn't that worth it?"
She's right, of course. There's nothing I can do to repay the years of friendship she's bestowed on me. We're ride or die. I can't help the guilty bile that churns in my gut. Am I taking her friendship for granted by not enjoying myself on this trip? I vow to strike the name Alexander from my vocabulary for the evening.
An Uber takes us to the club. The bouncer slowly licked his lips, giving us a once-over before pulling aside the velvet rope. Ashlynn's summer hit blasts through the speakers, expertly mixed by the DJ. The sparkles on my dress shimmer in multiple shades of green and blue under the dance floor lights.
Britt orders us shots that burn going down and pool warmly in my stomach. The fruity cocktail I order is a welcome refreshment. Fire and ice send dueling signals to my brain. A comfortable buzz makes me giddy. My body moves fluidly to the music like a wacky, waving, inflatable arm-flailing tube man.
"Coming here was such a good idea," I admit.
"Remember, Britt is always right! Online reviews help too."
I tip my invisible hat to her, fighting the giggles threatening to escape at the image in my head. I clamp my hand over my mouth to stifle myself but erupt into laughter instead.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Don't look now, major hottie incoming."
I cast a nonchalant glance over my shoulder. Our eyes meet, and the stranger rewards me with a quick smile. His sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and Grecian nose remind me of Lip Gallagher's American version.
My attention returns to Britt, and we spin each other on the dance floor. Once the song ends, the man approaches. He practically shouts to gain our attention.
"You light up the dance floor, ladies. I was hoping to join you for a dance."
"Not interested."
"Where are my manners? I'm Wyatt. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Still not interested."
I elbow Britt before turning back to Wyatt.
"I apologize for Britt. I'm Talia. It's nice to meet you, Wyatt."
"The pleasure is mine, princess."
Wyatt takes my hand in a regal manner, gently placing a kiss on the back of it. A flush creeps into my cheeks as he winks at me.
"I hope I'm not being too forward, but it would give me great pleasure if you'd permit me to dance with your companion."
"You can ask the 'companion' yourself." Britt snaps.
"My apologies, m'lady. I meant no offense."
Wyatt grabs Britt's hand and gallantly bows to her. Her eyes grow wide, caught off guard by his sudden gesture.
"I might consider forgiving you if you buy us a drink. After that maybe you can ask me to dance again. I'm not promising I'll say yes."
"That sounds like a challenge, and I'm happy to oblige. My cousin and I have a private booth this evening. It would be a pleasure if you'd grace us with your presence. You can order the drink your heart desires, and then maybe we can have that dance on the private floor. I'll even let you pick the song."
Wyatt winks at Britt, rattling her. It's astonishing to see her blush. Anyone who can keep her on her toes is worth getting to know better. His good looks are an added bonus.
I don't need to look at Britt to know what her answer will be. The air around her vibrates with excitement. It's not every day someone asks us to join them in the VIP section of a club. Who knows what kind of shenanigans people get up to there? Wyatt piques Britt's curiosity, and I'd be remiss not to admit I'm interested in meeting his cousin.
"Thank you for the invitation. We'd love to join you."
"Hell yes! VIP, baby!" Britt hollers.
Q&A with Cristina Lollabrigida
Q: Can you tell me a bit about yourself and how became an author?
A: I've loved reading for as long as I can remember and have always been a storyteller. I have a pop-up children's story I wrote as a grade-schooler. Having a college reading level in middle school made me want to read the books my mom read. I started reading Marry Higgins Clark and Patricia Cornwell in 6th grade.
In high school, I wrote my first novel. It was a dark paranormal romance about a human girl and a vampire. I had hoped to publish it, but honestly knew nothing about querying at the time. I hope to rewrite it one day.
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Q: What is your writing process like?
A: I'm a total pantser. When a story comes to me, I jot down ideas or write little scenes that I want to incorporate into my story. With Princess For A Day, I wrote myself into a significant plot hole. I sat down with a notebook and wrote out several directions to take the story in so I didn't have to rewrite the whole thing. I turned it into a plot twist that fans of the story loved. As a result, it helped me walk down a more combined path.
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Q: What do you like to do when you are not writing?
A: When I'm not writing, my family keeps me busy. My children are currently 12, 4, and 1. I enjoy playing interactive story app games. I also host a romance novel review podcast where I've had the pleasure of interviewing several authors.
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Q: How do you celebrate when you are finished writing a book?
A: I do a happy dance and take a break for a minute before diving into the next work in progress.
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Q: How do you celebrate when your books are released?
A: Writing and putting yourself out there is a very stressful and emotional experience. I plan on rewarding myself with some much needed me time.
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Q: Can you tell me how the book/series came about?
A: I am a big fan of visual stories that immerse the reader into the story as the main character. I started playing Choices. My favorite Choices series was The Royal Romance, a story about a waitress from New York who is swept up in the affairs of royalty as she vies for the affection of the prince.
Shortly after, I discovered Chapters Interactive Stories. I started writing user stories about a year and a half ago and was contacted by the app to Beta test visual user stories. I wanted to write my own royal romance story, and Princess For A Day was born.
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Q: Are any of your characters similar to real-life friends or family?
A: Britt's character is written after my best friend. The visual character resembles her as closely as I could get. She has the biggest heart, and even though we live far apart now, we have Zoom coffee dates to catch up.
My daughter designed Wren's visual character. I had to give her a kick-ass part because of her.
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Q: What was the most challenging part of writing this book?
A: Finding Grayson's voice was the most challenging part of writing this book. Sometimes I would skip a chapter and return to his point of view later. As a modern royal, I wanted him to have an air of arrogance and formality that fit his title while allowing his demeanor to slip without feeling out of character.
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Q: What part of writing this book was the most fun for you?
A: I enjoyed writing the relationships between Talia and Britt and Grayson and Wyatt. Everyone needs someone to confide in and turn to for support. Sometimes our found family is closest to us than our birth family. Those relationships are pivotal to the story.
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Q: What Authors or other Books have inspired you to write this book?
A: This story was inspired by Pixelberry Studios The Royal Romance series. It's a retelling of The Princess and the Pauper–which is a barbie movie. The original is The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.
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Q: What is your favorite passage from this book?
A:
"Wear this tonight. I bought it especially for you."
"You're like my fairy godmother. Instead of dressing me for a ball with a prince, you're trying to pimp me out in a nightclub."
She waves her hands with a flourish.
"Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, this is my trip too! I need my wing woman. If a little sparkle and pizzazz lift the spirits, isn't that worth it?"
Britt is the unofficial fairy godmother of this story. Talia wouldn't have gone on this adventure if it wasn't for her support.
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Q: If you could meet any of your characters, who would it be and what would you say to them?
A: Hands down, Wyatt. Wyatt is my favorite supporting character in this story. He is genuine and doesn't begrudge Grayson's title.