Après-Midi Recap

Whitney Cubbison spoke at Après-Midi once before touting her first book, Will There Be Wine? to an audience that cracked up laughing because the stories were so funny! Whitney came back with another round from Book One, then graced us with some of the best excerpts from Book Two, Will There Be Love? Can you see a pattern here!? And Whitney is working on Book Three, Will There Be Time?

She is a dual American and French citizen living in Paris since 2009. She grew up in Texas and California and graduated from UCLA with a degree in French. She started her career in Communications working for high-tech PR agencies in San Francisco and eventually joined Microsoft where she worked for sixteen years, thirteen of which from the Paris office. During that time, she held various international roles that encompassed public relations, employee communications, executive speechwriting, and social media. She earned her French citizenship in early 2022 and left Microsoft in the summer of that year to focus on completing her first novel, Will There Be Wine?  

 The story, while fiction, is deeply inspired by Whitney’s own experiences as an ex-pat divorcée living in Paris and trying to navigate the cultural minefield of dating in a foreign country. She self-published the book in January 2023 and has since sold more than 3,100 copies. Will There Be Love? came out in April 2025 as the sequel to Whitney ’s debut novel, Will There Be Wine?, however it can be read as a stand-alone. Whereas the first is a romcom, Will There Be Love? is a “romdram” – romantic drama! And it will keep you up late into the night turning pages as all the drama unfolds! Whitney’s novels are fantastic reads for anyone who loves Paris, strong female characters, romance, a hint of spice, fabulous female friendships, world travels, and of course, wine! Here are the two blurbs:

As we head into the holiday season, Whitney’s debut novel is a perfect escapist read for anyone who loves romantic comedy, Paris, strong female characters, fabulous female friendships, world travels, and of course, wine! Here’s the blurb:

Austen Keller was living her dream. She landed a career-defining job which moved her and her husband to Paris. Shortly thereafter, she was divorced. This wasn’t the plan. Yet there she was—pushing 40 and starting over. A decade after she’d last been single, Austen enters the dating scene playing by a new set of rules in a different language, culture, and lingerie standards. She experiences every type of miserable first date imaginable and lives to tell the tales of Pierre the Mansplainer, Simon the Snoozer, Emile the Over-Sharer, Guillaume of the Gym Shorts, and many more. On most dates, she struggles to get past one glass of Bordeaux without wanting to bolt. Even worse, no one chases after her when she runs. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that whoever said French men were romantic deserves a swift kick in the pants. Austen continues to ask herself: Is “having it all” too much to ask?

A genuine and tragically hilarious novel about an ex-pat woman’s journey of self-discovery through a string of disastrous dates, relationships forged in a deep cultural divide, world travels, and wine. A LOT OF WINE.

Will There Be Love?

A propulsive exploration of romantic and platonic love, commitment, shared history, betrayal and personal reckoning. To celebrate her fortieth birthday, Ophelia and her husband Gianluca gather an unlikely group of eight friends and lovers – some old, some new, some false, some true – for a long weekend in Ibiza. However, the idyllic villa setting may be the only thing holding together a complicated tangle of friendship, love, and betrayal. Among the guests is Ophelia’s old university flame, Matt, and his new girlfriend, Austen. While Matt finds himself falling in love, Austen is holding back, carefully protecting her heart. Ophelia knows she loves her husband, but “love” is a word she never learned to say, a silence rooted in a childhood tragedy. What she doesn’t know is that Gianluca has been whispering it to someone else. And when his mistress crashes the party along with her own boyfriend, she brings a revelation that could unravel everything. Across Rome, Paris and Ibiza, the party guests navigate the tangled paths that bring people together and push them apart, exploring where love begins, where it falters, and the courage it takes to hold on—or to let go.

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