Business is sweet for pastry chef Indira Aguilar. Her indie bakery, Cake Pan, is fast becoming the talk of the wedding circuit for its unique take on cakes and homespun creations for the modern bride, garnering national recognition and drawing in celebrity clients. But while her professional life is blossoming, her personal life is crumbling.

Indira may have a talent for blending buttercream into bliss, but when it comes to relationships, she’s got a lot to learn. Considering that the love of her life, Josh Oliver is not only married, but also runs the award-winning pastry department of her fiercest competition, Crystal Cove Resort, Indira puts much more at stake than just her heart when she ends her affair with him.

Rumors begin to fly as the small seaside community of Long Beach learns of her secret relationship, and Indira must defend not only her actions, but her wedding business and her reputation while trying to maneuver the choppy heartbreak waters of starting over, finding new love, and facing her past. With the support of friends, family, a fondness for butter, and a determined spirit, Indira may just bake her way back to happiness and possibly into the heart of Crystal Cove’s dishy new chef, Noah. But one thing is certain. Where there’s heartbreak, there must be cake.

Cindy Arora was a staff writer at The San Gabriel Valley Tribune, The Orange County Register and Sacramento Magazine. She’s been published in Saveur, Tasting Table, Orange Coast Magazine and Fodor’s. She’s also mama to an adorable little boy, a feminist, a whiskey enthusiast, and proud to call herself a Chick Lit author. Heartbreak Cake is her debut novel. To learn more about Cindy, please visit her website!

Cindy shared that she’d spent some time as a pastry chef’s assistant, along with a bevy of jobs including a newspaper journalist, waiter, bartender, and fromager (I’m guessing this has to do with making cheese?). I could tell that she felt a little apologetic for having had so many careers, but I was quick to point out that that’s what makes a writer so great!

Having a varied job history might make a potential employer nervous, but when it comes to writing, it’s all research! Work places make for terrific story settings since a vast majority of us can relate to the nine-to-five drudgery, the passionate professional, the dedicated small business owner, or the creative artist. And readers often love going behind the scenes in a glamorous industry like showbiz or seeing what life is really like behind the coffee shop counter.

But what about the paper-pushing author who bides her time with a boring day job and writes thrillers at night? Is she lacking in experience? Well, I’d bet she’s saving all that creative energy for building worlds full of adventure and mayhem when the workday ends. And in the meantime, that bland office job provides a nice paycheck so she doesn’t have to be a starving artist.

So no matter what work you do or how many positions dot your resume, find the good in it. See those careers as research and that day job as supporting your writing habit. And remember, you might be selling insurance today or making pizzas at night, but your profession? Your profession is: author. And it’s all research.

Happy Wrting!

Few authors sell the first book they write. Generally, that first foray into writing a full-length novel is where writers cut their teeth. It’s usually a year or more in the making (sometimes 10 years!) unless NaNoWriMo (writing a 50,000 word book in the month of November) is employed. But even then, the product of those 30 days of pounding out the pages usually needs an enormous amount of editing.

So, what’s a new writer with a brilliant idea to do? Spend a huge chunk of her life writing a novel that she knows will never see the light of day? Maybe. Many, many writers embark on their career paths with just such a scenario. But there is another way. Perhaps a more fulfilling way.

Writerly types are often plagued with story ideas or snippets of scenes or taunted by characters in their heads trying to bubble to the surface in any way possible. And generally, these inspiring nuggets get scribbled onto a piece of paper in a frenzy before their brilliance evaporates; then, tucked away into a drawer, pinned to a corkboard, or filed away in a dream journal. But instead of collecting a pile of story ideas, how about putting them in play right away? How about writing a short story, or even flash fiction?

Short stories serve as a great way to hone your writing skills. Working in short formats allows you to study structure, plotting out a clear and tight beginning, middle and end. You learn to develop full character arcs and to create imaginary worlds. Short fiction gives a new writer the opportunity to discover her voice, explore her passions, and determine what her overarching themes are all about – what message she is imparting.

But just because it’s a short story, that doesn’t mean no one will read it. Au contraire! In the age of Wattpad, blogging and YouTube, there are plenty of places to display your short stories. And with those forums come friends, followers, and fans. So, why cut your teeth on a massive 90,000 word novel when you can create ten different stories, each one better than the last? And when you have learned the storytelling ropes, you’ll be ready to not only write your first novel, but to sell it, too.   

Happy Writing!

Simon & Fig