Baylor University graduate student Olivia Taylor will release her debut novel, Welcome to the Paradise Motel, with Apprentice House Press on April 22nd, 2025.
A modern twist on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Welcome to the Paradise Motel follows Beatrice Bright, an ambitious young journalist whose world is turned upside down when her high school rival, Ben Constant, returns to their hometown in Florida.
“A light, charming story of best friends in a small Florida town who navigate conflicting relationships, careers, and values on their journey to love.” —Kathleen Anderson, author of Jane Austen’s Women: An Introduction
Available wherever books are sold.
Description:
Welcome to the Paradise Motel is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing set in Florida. Quick-tempered Beatrice Bright has carved out a niche for herself as a small-town reporter for the Paradise Post. Unfortunately, the biggest news in her tiny beach town is that her old rival, Ben Constant, is moving back and bringing his depressingly successful video game company along with him. After Ben’s arrogant re-entry into Paradise, Bea is convinced he hasn’t changed for the better. She and Ben reignite their rivalry in the midst of parades, interviews, holiday parties, and hurricanes. Fed up with the years of romantic tension between them, their friends at the Paradise Motel try to trick them into revealing their feelings for each other. But when one of their friends is slandered, Bea and Ben must face up to their feelings and work together to reveal the truth.
About the author:
Olivia Taylor grew up in Fernandina Beach, Florida, which has a healthy population of pirates and community theatres. In college, she lived in a motel-turned-dorm that inspired the Paradise Motel. She now lives in Waco, Texas, where she is a graduate student at Baylor University and one of the editors of the Mark Twain Journal. She enjoys painting, cozy videogames, and exploring local coffee shops. Her poetry has appeared in The Avalon Literary Review, The Lamp, and Living Waters Review.
About Apprentice House:
Apprentice House is the nation’s first and largest entirely student-managed book publisher. Students at Loyola University Maryland are responsible for every aspect of the publishing process, from acquisitions to design and publication of every book. Our mission is, first and foremost, to educate students about the book publishing process.
As a program within the Communication Department at Loyola University Maryland, it is driven by student work conducted in four courses: Introduction to Book Publishing, Manuscript Acquisitions and Development, Book Design and Production, and Book Marketing and Promotion.
Students in these courses serve as staff in Apprentice House’s acquisitions, design, and marketing departments, respectively.