San Diego chick-lit author runner-up for MARSocial Author of the Year

San Diego author Sarka-Jonae Miller was recently named as a runner-up in the MARSocial Author of the Year contest for her novel, Between Boyfriends. Had she won, her book would have been on the fast track to film. Even so, Miller prizes her result in the MARSocial contest. She says it’s “a very exciting accomplishment” to finish so highly in the contest, which included over 160 other participants. Miller’s novel made an appearance on Amazon bestseller lists, but the strong placing in MARSocial brings her much satisfaction.

“It’s more impressive, in a way, because you’re up against other writers, some of whom have also had their books on bestseller lists,” she explains.

Between Boyfriends is a chick-lit novel about a woman named Jan Michaela Weston, a young socialite forced to grow up on the quick when circumstance throws her life into tumult. It’s a coming of age story propelled by a light-hearted sense of humor that reflects the author’s feelings on life and her chosen genre. The protagonist, for example, is named in homage to the lead actor from the 1980s TV show, Airwolf.

“[The lead] character ended up becoming Jan Michaela Weston [after Jan-Michael Vincent]...she is nothing like Stringfellow Hawke, but I wanted to make that reference,” says Miller, who describes herself as a huge fan of the show. She says that Alex Cord, who played Archangel on Airwolf and has since become a successful author, bought the book, and doled out compliments to her — an experience she places among the top five in her life!

Of course, Between Boyfriends isn’t meant as a shallow pastiche of Airwolf jokes. It’s just through that knowing sense of humor that Miller tries to approach the very real topic of growing up as a young woman.

The sequel to Between Boyfriends, titled Between the Sheets, is slated for a Valentine’s Day release, and Miller is almost finished with a third, as-yet-untitled book. Finishing highly in the MARSocial contest inspires the author to think about writing for the screen. “I want to write my own script someday and see what I can do with it,” she says.