Carla Carter’s family is known for being unlucky in love. With the exception of her grandmother all of the women in the family have failed relationships, marriages, etc and when Carla prepares to walk down the aisle for the second time, she wants to be certain that she’s walking towards the right man. She founded a dating agency ‘Logical Love’ which is how she matched with Tom, but after her sister and grandmother take her to visit the family fortune teller, it’s revealed that Tom might not be the love of her life.
From there Carla takes a journey to meet all the men she met during her European gap year – 21 years ago including a visit to her first husband. In the process, she discovers not only important details about her family history, but she finds someone she didn’t even know existed in the process.
The Year of What If makes a perfect read for a long plane ride, or a warm afternoon by the pool. You won’t want to put it down until the very end! Check out the behind-the-scenes Q&A with Author Phaedra Patrick and pre-order your copy at the end of the post!
First of all, I absolutely LOVED the book. When were you first inspired with the storyline for your latest novel, The Year of What If?
Thanks for your kind words. The book started with the nugget of an idea, about a woman who was on the verge of getting married, only for a fortune teller to reveal that a man she’d met during her gap year, twenty years ago, was ‘the one,’ rather than her fiancé.
I’m not sure where the idea came from. Plots sometimes pop into my mind while I’m writing or doing something else. I started to have fun with it by layering in ‘what if’ questions for myself, such as what if the woman’s family were superstitious and she was the opposite? What if she was getting married for the second time and wanted to be extra sure about her fiancé? What if there was a family curse that had been around for a century that affected every woman’s relationship in the family? The idea grew bigger and began to take shape.
I loved the backstory regarding the curse of the women in Carla’s family. What was your research process like for the book?
My research didn’t feel like work at all, as I’ve always been fascinated by fortune tellers and whether they can predict the future, or if they believe they can, or if it’s a way to make money.
I knew the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the nineteen twenties had sparked rumors of curses to fly, but I didn’t know there’d been a spiritualist revival around the same time, with many people turning to mediums to contact loved ones after the end of World War I. It was something my agent mentioned to me and I enjoyed doing lots of research on Google to find out more about it.
I’ve been interested in tarot cards since watching the James Bond film Live and Let Die when I was a young girl. I even tried to make my versions with paper and crayons! Years later, I own a few sets and like to tell fortunes for my friends.
Have you visited all the locations that Carla revisits?
I’ve been to most of them. Barcelona is a favorite city of mine, and I holidayed there last year, so was hopefully able to capture the atmosphere of bustling Catalonia on the page. I’ve also visited Paris, Portugal, Amsterdam, and Girona.
Blanca del Mar was a Spanish town on the Costa Brava that I invented specifically for the book, and Carla’s visit to Sardinia was a late addition. It was the only place I hadn’t visited, but it looks so beautiful in photographs, I hope to go there one day.
Did you know the big revelation for Carla when you first started writing, or did you just decide, what if I made this person be the one she’s searching for?
I wasn’t sure which of the men Carla traces would be ‘the one’ to change her life and help end her family curse, but one person came forward as I wrote the book. I didn’t know how and where he fitted into the story at first, but he came to life well and I love how he ended up being at the heart of the story.
What was your favorite ‘former flame’ from the past that Carla caught up with?
I have a soft spot for Adam the rock star, especially because he’s rather sweet off-stage compared to his showbiz persona. Plus, who wouldn’t want a little taste of fame and fortune in the music industry, especially in the sunshine?
Loved the Babs character, who did you picture when writing her role?
I think she was her character, so I didn’t picture anyone in the public eye while writing her. Babs was very easy to bring to life with her big personality, numerous flaws, and heart of gold.
If The Year of What If were turned into a feature film, who do you imagine in the main roles?
This is so tricky. I didn’t have any actors in mind when I wrote the book. My second novel, Rise and Shine Benedict Stone, was made into a Hallmark movie and the actors they cast bore no resemblance to the characters in my imagination. They were so much more attractive!
Having said that, I think Rose Byrne or Kirsten Dunst would be great as Carla. Judy Dench would be fun as Carla’s grandmother, Lucinda, and I can picture Emma Thomson having a riotous time as Babs.
Are you currently working on your next novel and if so can we get a sneak peek?
I’m about twenty-five percent of the way into my next novel and am still finding my way. All I can say is I’m trying to imagine what life would be like living inside a coffee commercial!
Pre-order The Year of What If by Phaedra Patrick.
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