Shamiz Patel shares her journey of writing across different genres, from a fantasy trilogy to a flirty rom-com, highlighting how each book has its own unique development process and timeline.


Author bio:

Shameez Patel was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. She lives there with her husband, child, and three cats. During the day, she juggles her time between parenting her daughter and working in STEM, but at night, she escapes to new worlds that always have someone to fall in love with.

Book Blurb 1: Playing Flirty (out now)

For Rose Marie Jones, risks are a hard no—except for on Game Night. For one precious evening a week, Rose can forget about her demanding boss and her lackluster love life and focus on beating the pants off her friends. But no one brings out her competitive side quite like William Ashdern.

Her best friend’s half-brother, William is the paragon of a sexy nerd. The tall, dorky, and handsome game designer is Rose’s playing nemesis. But when Rose decides to enter a contest with the board game she’s secretly invented, there’s only one person who can help her win.

Now the competition between Rose and William is getting a lot more serious. And after spending her entire life trying not to lose, Rose might finally be ready to risk it all—and play to win.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538768380

Book Blurb 2: Next Level Love (out Jan 2026)

When your favorite player turns out to be your very real boss, the rules are a lot more complicated.

Elizabeth Gordon-Bettencourt is rebuilding her life on her own terms, starting with a new internship, a shot at her dream job as a civil engineer, and a whole lot of distance from her family’s drama. With her life full of change, the one constant is @theanswerisno, a charming gamer who seems to just . . . get her. Even if he has no interest in meeting her in real life.

Elizabeth would feel a lot more confident about her job if her new boss wasn’t so hard to read. Lincoln Carden is quiet, demanding, and adamant about avoiding small talk—especially in the office. What she doesn’t know is that online, he’s someone else entirely: quick, confident, and a little bit flirty. And his favorite player to team up with is @pancakesareelite, the one person who never makes him feel like he has to try so hard.

As their two worlds start to collide, Elizabeth and Lincoln start to wonder: With their careers on the line and their online friendship at risk, is a romance IRL worth it?

Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538768402/

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