How do you know when you’ve found Mr. Right? Do you look for charm, thick hair and an athletic build? How about fully-customizable modules, long battery life and a user-friendly interface? In Sarah Archer’s debut novel “The Plus One,” on sale now from Putnam, the line between the digital and the emotional is blurred, as one brilliant woman gives up the dating game and gets to work building the man of her dreams, one microchip at a time.
Twenty-nine-year-old Kelly Suttle is a robotics engineer at Automated Human Industries, where she’s creating a generation of cyborg so advanced, they’re virtually indistinguishable from the real deal. Sadly, she’s more adept in the laboratory than in her love life, and her dating history has been one disappointment after another. With her younger sister’s wedding around the corner, Kelly hatches a plan to build herself the perfect date and get her overbearing mother off her back. When a workplace rival uncovers the truth about her new beau’s identity, Kelly must race against the clock to protect her career and keep her “relationship” a secret.
Sarah Archer is a Black List Screenwriting Mini-Lab fellow who has published short stories and poems in a range of literary mags. She’s worked in literary management and development and has written material for Comedy Central projects. Her book tour will launch July 9 at PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo.