Author of the Limitless Roads Cafe
Today, I’m chatting with YA contemporary author, Samantha Hughes, about her debut book Limitless Roads Cafe which was released in May 2023.
Helen: Welcome Samantha, and thank you so much for taking time to chat with me today. Tell us a little about your novel.
Samantha: My YA Contemporary is called LIMITLESS ROADS CAFE and follows a teen named Kinsey Fontana who aspires to be an event planner. She works at a cafe hiring teens with any type of disability – she is autistic – and she plans a fundraiser when it threatens to close. However, she needs help from her former best friend Melissa Castillo, whose parents own the hotel where the fundraiser will take place, and the place that rejected Kinsey for an event planning internship.
Helen: Congratulations on releasing your novel. It is great to see an inclusive main character who is dealing with a disability as well as external issues. What was the idea behind the cover?
Samantha: I told my cover designer to show the cafe and include disability symbols in the window so someone seeing the cover would realize that this is a cafe hiring teens with disabilities. I had Kinsey holding a notepad and coffee to show her organized, hardworking personality.
Helen: I love asking that question because we always discover more detail in the cover than we did at first glance. Similarly with the name. I’m sure the reason you Limitless Roads Cafe wasn’t just because it was the name of the cafe.
Samantha: Limitless Roads Cafe is the name of the fictional cafe in the book. It may be too obvious but I chose it as the title not just because it is the physical main setting in the book but for other reasons. It not only hires teens with disabilities but provides a safe place for them and for patrons with disabilities. The cafe is a place that these characters don’t often find in other public places, thus increasing their determination to save it.
Helen: Which genre do you typically write?
Samantha: I write YA because everyone enjoys it no matter their age, and some concepts don’t change across age, like self-discovery or the desire to fit in. In fact, I read YA books to remind myself to remain optimistic and hold on to at least some of my idealism. I’m hoping my books can do the same for other adults as well as teens.
Helen: If you didn’t write YA books what genre woudl you like to try?
Samantha: I would love to try writing in fantasy but not the usual medieval-like setting.
Helen: Who is your protagonist and why did you write him/her?
Samantha: Kinsey Fontana is the protagonist, a teenage aspiring event planner. I wrote her because I didn’t see many autistic girls as a main character – or even as a side character – growing up. I wrote her because event planning is not a career that most people would assume someone autistic and/or with anxiety would want to pursue due to stereotypes in the media. But I, like my character, chose a career nobody would have guessed I would pursue and I’ve defied expectations. So can Kinsey, other fictional characters, and people in real life.
Helen: That is one of the great things about writing, you can choose to write about someone you wouldn’t typicllay find in novels. How do you come up with the ideas for your books?
Samantha: Inspiration can come from anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE. They could come to me while running errands and I find an interesting story in a magazine. An idea can come when I think of ways a movie or a book could have been written better (basically what I would have done if I had been the writer. Sometimes I imagine writing a successful movie, something the audience and I don’t see enough of.
Helen: Now your book is released, what are you working on next?
Samantha: I won’t say too much other than that the next book will involve lots of cupcakes and cakes and will focus on the concept of success.
Helen: Intrguing! When you write, do you listen to music or do you prefer silence?
Samantha: Music is a must when I write. It has to have a beat so I maintain the energy, so I listen to mostly pop or electronic.
Helen: And when you write, are you a planner or a pantser?
Samantha: A planner all the way. I create an outline for each book and try to stick to it.
Helen: That’s good seeing as you wrote about an event planner! Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Just to close us out, could you share how you overcome the dreaded self-doubt?
Samantha: I read social media posts are articles by other writers who talk about self-doubt. This reminds me that self-doubt is natural, and that I can’t let it win. I remind myself of what I’ve accomplished rather than what I didn’t accomplish.
About the Author
Samantha Picaro is the author of Limitless Roads Cafe. Her identity as #ActuallyAutistic informs her writing, where the heroines are determined, and comedy is balanced with drama. She has a B.A. in Psychology and a Master’s in Social Work, and she has put those degrees to use in the nonprofit sector. When not writing or at her non-writing job, you can find her trying new coffee flavors, reading (of course), and volunteering for various causes. She lives in New Jersey.
Follow Samantha:
Purchase Limitless Road Cafe via Amazon
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback
As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.
If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.
Helen Garraway 