$75,000 a year?

I'm hard at work on a short story for the New Year's Chica Lit Blog Tour. If you haven't joined the fun of skipping from blog to blog, reading fresh new stories from your favorite authors, you're in for a treat. If you've joined our past tours, you know that the stories are all different - long, short, romantic, shocking, tender, and all as varied as their writers. 

I'll be writing about Rosie Caballero, the protagonist of my new book, LUCKY CHICA (January 6th - squee!). Before Rosie wins $600 million dollars in the Mega Bucks lottery, she has a pretty tough life. Afterwards, her life is just plain crazy.

I've often wondered how much money it would take to make life easy, or easier, or bearable. For some, $145 is all that stands between sleeping at night and chewing yourself up with worry, wondering how to get the cash to keep the lights turned on. For others, $145 is a week's lunch money. Seriously.

When I was researching for LUCKY CHICA, I read lots of white papers and articles on finance, and was impressed by this factoid: $75,000 a year is what it takes to be happy. Based on living in an average-sized home in a place like Atlanta, or Harrisburg, PA, where home prices are not insane, and having no debt, that is the yearly amount that would allow a family to travel a little in the summer, have a decent holiday, and keep the bills paid. Frankly, I think the figure is a little random, but it makes you think, doesn't it?

Lucky Chica review in Publishers Weekly

Son married off, check. New book almost finished, check. Gassed up the PT Cruiser for only $2.32, check. Nice review of Lucky Chica in PW - oh yeah, baby!! It's also my wedding anniversary tonight, so I'm off to listen to Gary mix a most excellent martini.

Here's what PW said about LUCKY CHICA:

Lucky Chica Berta Platas. St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.95 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-34174-9

Platas’s second wish fulfillment fantasy chica-lit novel (after Cinderella Lopez) follows the craziness that ensues as Cuban-American Rosie Caballero’s humdrum world undergoes an extreme makeover after she wins $600 million in the lottery. Rosie shares her megabucks with her grandmother and her lovable cousin Cheeto, and begins plotting how to best spend her riches, gradually transforming her dumpy self into a smart, curvy J-Lo celebrity sort, pursued by the tabloids—much like heartthrob actor Brad Merritt, who, in a magical twist of fate, becomes her boyfriend. But Rosie’s newfound status also attracts envious schemers, ex-boyfriends and the glaring media spotlight. Platas depicts Rosie and crew’s gilded ascension with a giddiness that’s pure escapist fun. (Jan.)