Today I am going to share a special Friday Finds post with you. I’m super excited about the publication and launch of a book that comes out today, called Petit Four. I’ve been looking forward to reading it since I heard about it a few weeks ago. It’s a collection of four stories by four different authors and edited by Lucie Simone. Sue Watson, a personal favorite of mine, is the main reason I’m looking forward to reading this novel but I’m also excited to be introduced to the other three authors; Cindy Arora, Lucie Simone, and Joel Zlotnik. If Sue Watson is involved and excited to be a part of this collection, then it’s sure to be fab!

Petit Four

Four Stories, Frosted with Love

Cake is often a major part of life’s celebrations, both big and small. From birthdays to wedding days, cake, in all its delectable concoctions, marks joyous occasions with a sweetness that can’t be beat. But even better is the love that is shared when two people connect over a sweet confection. Maybe it’s a cute new guy wreaking havoc on a broken heart, or a beautiful woman testing the limits of love, or an old beau stirring up long lost desires. Whatever the circumstances, cake can always be relied upon to save the day when it comes to affairs of the heart. In this collection of short stories, cake is the delicious center around which each tale unfolds and romance blooms.

When single mom and journalist, Olivia, sets out to find romance in Cindy Arora’s “Cake Therapy,” she gets a little help from her friends and more than a few slices of cake to coax her off the couch and into the arms of a truly great love. Lucie Simone’s “Aprez Vous” finds success-driven Tara in Paris reminiscing of her long lost love, Jean Marc, and her niece bound and determined to reunite them. In “The Heart-Shaped Secret of Raspberry Jam” by Sue Watson, cake enthusiast, Milly, meets her match in the kitchen, and other places, when new owners take over the tea rooms where she works and her talents and her heart are put to the test. And Scott, mayor of a small seaside community, flirts with political suicide in Joel Zlotnik’s “Her Charms” when he falls for new-in-town Nicole, an entrepreneur with a passion for cupcakes, and whose latest venture proves a little too sexy for the sleepy beach town.

From San Francisco to Paris, from small towns to tea rooms, this anthology tempts readers with humor, style, romance, and the powerful aphrodisiac that is cake. Petit Four is four stories, frosted with love.

About the Authors

Cindy Arora

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Author’s About Me from her website cindyarora.com:

I’m the mama of an adorable little boy who makes my heart melt every day aboutpic . | I was a newspaper reporter for 14 years which means I still carry notepads in my back pocket, stick pens behind my ears and have been known to call the police department in the middle of the night to report a “perp.” | I’ve worked as a bartendar, cocktail waitress, shot girl, banquet server, ham carver, fromager, pastry assistant and coffee mistress. | I’m a native Angeleno and totally normal.

My favorite kind of pie is cherry. | I love anything wrapped in puff pastry. | I think cupcakes are ridiculously cute and always will. | I don’t date vegetarians. But I will go to music festivals with them. | I have two beautiful and creative sisters. www.lashoegirl.com and www.bohoupcycle.com

I feel happiest living by the ocean. But don’t. Such is life. | I love happy endings. | The first book that made me realize I wanted to write about love and a girl’s journey was Fifteen by Beverly Clearly. | I am not afraid of calling myself a feminist, a chick lit writer or a whiskey enthusiast.

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.

Heartbreak Cake is her debut novel.

Luci Simone

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About Lucie from her website luciesimone.com:

Lucie Simone has a passion for travel, yoga, and writing. She has a degree in Journalism, a Master of Fine Arts in Television Production, and is a certified yoga teacher. Her love of comedy (and living under the delusion that she might one day be an actress) resulted in a stint studying improvisation, which, ironically enough, taught her to be a better writer.

Her short story, A Taste of Italy, won the New York Book Festival competition for best ebook and is a bestseller at Amazon UK. The release of her debut novel, Hollywood Ending, a romantic comedy about life in Hollywood for the not-so-rich-and-famous, marked the launch of her small press, Simon & Fig, which publishes Chick Lit, Lad Lit and Women’s Fiction exclusively.

Lucie lives, loves and writes in the City of Angels, but considers New York City her second home and visits as often as her bank account will allow.

Sue Watson

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Sue’s About Me from her website suewatsonbooks.com:

I was a journalist on women’s magazines and national newspapers before leaving it all behind for a career in TV. As a producer with the BBC I worked on garden makeovers, kitchen takeovers and daytime sofas – all the time making copious notes so that one day I might escape to the country and turn it all into a book.

After much deliberation and copious consumption of cake, I left my life in TV to write. My first novel was Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes about a woman struggling with weight, work, marriage and motherhood. My second novel Younger, Thinner, Blonder, is about a talk show host who has the perfect ‘Hello Magazine’ life… or does she?

My latest novel, Love, Lies and Lemon Cake is about hairdresser Faye Dobson, who’s lost her sparkle. She dreams of being whisked to Paris for dinner, making three wishes at the Trevi Fountain and having sex under the stars. But her wrinkles are multiplying, her husband’s passion is only for plumbing, and the nearest she’ll get to Rome is a take-away pizza. Can Faye get her life back before it’s too late?

Joel Zlotnik

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About Joel from his website joelzlotnik.com:

Joel Zlotnik is a former Southern California journalist who was lucky enough to find a second career on the other side of the notepad, answering questions instead of asking them. He recently cancelled his cable so he would write more and quickly discovered online binge watching. You can find him living at the beach in South Orange County, where he listens to records, reads and watches the waves.