Guest Post and Giveaway: Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry

We’re so pleased to have author Lisa Henry joining us today on the tour for her new novel, Adulting 101.

Welcome, Lisa!

Hi, and welcome to the blog tour to celebrate the release of Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry. I’m visiting some of my favourite blogs around the place to talk about writing Adulting 101, some of my influences and inspiration, and even sharing an excerpt or two! Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a prize!

Adulting: Still Doing It Wrong

Look, I’m not saying I was drunk when Amelia from Riptide cornered me at GRL last year in San Diego and told me to write her a funny book, but… Okay, fine, I was drunk. I was also dressed as an old time Hollywood director. As you do.

But if there’s one thing I have in common with Nick, one of the MCs from Adulting 101, it’s the ability to make crazy decisions. Not that writing a funny book is a crazy decision, just that maybe most people out there might have put a little more thought into it. Or, you know, some actual thought. But that’s never been my style.

Here’s a by no means comprehensive list of the big decisions I’ve made, for not-very-adult reasons:

My mortgage.

When I was in my twenties, I was living in the granny flat at the back of my mum’s house. It worked for us. We were close, while not quite living in each other’s pockets. One day, I decided I wanted a puppy.

“Mum? Can I get a puppy?”

“No. We already have a dog.”

“You have a dog. I want my own dog.”

“I don’t want another dog.”

“If I had my own place, I’d get my own dog!”

Two days later I was at a mortgage broker’s, being offered a ludicrous sum of money to buy a house with.

I bought a house. Then I bought a puppy. Best. Decision. Ever.

My university degree.

I went to university because I didn’t want to get a job yet.

That is seriously the only reason.

I can remember standing in the shower the morning that the university offers were going to be published in the paper, thinking, “Shit. If I don’t get in, I’m going to have to get a job. A fulltime job.”

Up until then I’d only worked in a checkout at a supermarket, and in a coffee shop at an entertainment precinct. Actually, I’d worked both these part time jobs while also finishing my final year of high school. God only know why I was terrified of the idea of getting a fulltime job, since I pretty much had the whole working thing well and truly figured out by then.

Anyway, I got into university. Phew.

My car.

I bought my first new car when the driver’s door handle on my second-hand car broke. It seemed like too much of a hassle to get it fixed and I got sick of climbing in the passenger’s seat. To be kind of fair, this was only after a whole bunch of other things had broken on my second-hand car, so I have to give myself a little bit of a pass on this one.

When I went to the car dealership and they asked what sort of car I wanted, I said, “A blue one.”

There are a lot of people out there who have really got a handle on this adult stuff, like knowing how investments work, or picking wine by some means other than the funny pictures on the label, or who own an actual complete set of dinner plates. Obviously I am not, and never will be, one of them. But it turns out I’m okay with that. Which is lucky, because otherwise it’d be a hell of a learning curve!

About the Book

The struggle is real.

Nick Stahlnecker is eighteen and not ready to grow up yet. He has a summer job, a case of existential panic, and a hopeless crush on the unattainable Jai Hazenbrook. Except how do you know that your coworker’s unattainable unless you ask to blow him in the porta-potty?

That’s probably not what Dad meant when he said Nick should act more like an adult.

Twenty-five-year-old Jai is back in his hometown of Franklin, Ohio, just long enough to earn the money to get the hell out again. His long-term goal of seeing more of the world is worth the short-term pain of living in his mother’s basement, but only barely.

Meeting Nick doesn’t fit in with Jai’s plans at all, but, as Jai soon learns, you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to have the adventure of a lifetime.

This is not a summer romance. This is a summer friendship-with-benefits. It’s got pizza with disgusting toppings, Netflix and chill, and accidental exhibitionism. That’s all. There are no feelings here. None. Shut up.

You can find out more about Adulting 101 at Riptide.

About the Author

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

You can email me at lisahenryonline@gmail.com, or check out My Website. Got Twitter? Follow me at LisaHenryOnline. Hanging out on Goodreads? So am I: Lisa Henry. And Facebook.

The Giveaway

Each comment on this blog tour enters you for a chance to win a $20 Riptide credit and an ebook of your choice from my back catalogue. You’ll also win a super secret cute little gift that’s very close to my (and Nick’s) heart! Entries close August 20, and contest is not restricted to US residents. Remember to leave your email address in the comments so I can contact you if you win!