Lisa Plumley

Do your family and friends read romances? Or are you the Lone Ranger of romance reading?

Join me today at Fresh Fiction, where I’m guest blogging about romance readers, nonromance readers, funny books, whether it’s okay to laugh at fiction, the (totally addictive) Nintendo Wii, and anything else that comes up.

It’ll be fun! Please drop by.

I was browsing the Library Journal Web site today and spotted this interesting video about what the romance genre is all about right now. The Day of Dialogue: Romance 2007 panel features author Eloisa James, editorial director Kate Duffy (Kensington), executive editor Mary-Theresa Hussey (Harlequin/Silhouette), and LJ romance columnist Kristin Ramsdell, and was moderated by LJ managing editor Bette-Lee Fox. It’s got a few laughs too, so check it out!

Till later,
Lisa

People often ask me if my books are based on real people or real events in my life.

On the surface, the answer to that question is a no-brainer. By which I mean: No! Are you kidding me? I write to escape!

Not really. Actually, the plain fact is, most people/daily events are just too…well, boring to make interesting fiction. (No offense, friends and family. You are awesome of course.) Most people go to work every day, go out at night, visit friends on the weekends, practice recreational square dancing in their spare time…you know, the typical stuff. There’s not a lot of drama involved. Not for me and (I’m just guessing here) not for you. Not unless you decide to act on your threat to “get even” with that annoying woman three cubicles down from you who keeps stealing your Diet Cokes from the office fridge. And even then your personal vendetta probably only matters to you, your parole officer, and Ms. Klepto Pants herself.

On the other hand, real life does inform a writer’s fictional world. How can it not? We’re imaginative, sensitive, easily influenced folks. For instance, we often concoct elaborate scenarios in which we deliver the perfect stinging comeback to that snooty waiter from lunch. Or we get lost in flights of fancy (and order the wrong coffee at Starbucks–I hate you, accidental decaf Americano!) after an overheard snippet of conversation sparks a new story idea. Or we walk around sporting togas after viewing an especially good episode of Rome. Just for instance.

No seriously. What I encounter/learn about/fear often makes its way into my books. That’s the truth. That’s why I’m always writing about super studly, ultra successful men. They’re all around me! Adoring me! I can barely swivel my office chair! (Abrupt movement startles the hunks into dropping their peppermint foot-massage lotion.)

No. Even more seriously (for real), that life-bleeds-into-fiction effect is why my heroines are often unsure of themselves, feel like a fish out of water, or make jokes to get through a tough situation. They’re a lot like me, in big and small ways. Some of them share my obsession with cute handbags. Some of them are determined to blaze their own path. Some of them even learn to love football. (Go Eagles! Go Seahawks! Why oh why do I always seem to root for the underdogs?) All of my characters grow and change over the course of a book…exactly like me. Which is, for better or worse, one of my very favorite things about the writing life.

Till later,
Lisa

I’ve been working on some new story ideas lately. I think it’s making me a little crazy. Going back and forth between contemporary/historical/paranormal romances (I write all three) and some special nonromance side projects is giving me a serious case of writer’s whiplash. But the one thing I can’t get away from is that I want all my stories to be FUNNY. Not The Three Stooges funny (aka, debatably funny) or There’s Something About Mary funny (aka, raunchily funny…which is admittedly sometimes just the ticket), but funny, all the same.

The good news is, humor comes naturally to me. I can’t help but see things in a weird way. This includes my characters, plot setups, potential complications…the whole nine yards. The trouble is that romantic comedies have fallen on serious hard times lately. Over the past few years, romantic comedies have become the rail-riding hobos of romances. Those of us who love writing them have been sidelined into bundling our jokes in a bandanna on a stick, shoving our frothy situations in our oversize pockets, and shuffling off to find our fortunes elsewhere…or not. Because of market changes, a few hilarious and talented writers have taken up more serious writing (kudos to them, but I can’t bring the drama!). A few have twisted their books and hooks to find new markets. And a few (sadly) have fallen by the wayside.

But I think it’s okay essential to bring the funny back to romances, and here are a few reasons why:

(1) A funny romance won’t make you cry (even when you’re PMSing!) OR freak out and spill all your Cheetos if someone taps you on the shoulder unexpectedly. Bonus points if your funny romance is thick enough to bludgeon the first chump who makes fun of your reading choices. Sucker.

(2) Laughing on the bus/on the subway/in the break room while reading a funny romance is good karma. It makes your co-commuters/coworkers wonder what you’re up to…which means they’ll be nicer to you until they figure it out.

(3) One man + one woman = hilarity in the making. Want proof? Check out the Lucky Charms scene in Susan Elizabeth Phillips‘ classic book, Nobody’s Baby But Mine. You’ll never look at breakfast cereal the same way again.

(4) A funny paperback romance is a multitasker. It’s a hand-and-fingers exerciser, a door stop, a storage spot for Fruit Rollups, a useful screen if you’re being chased by (myopic) spies, a reference for finding things that are exactly 6.7 inches long (ahem!), a shim for that wobbly table, a sleep aid (noooo!), a substitute for a flag when sending messages by semaphore, an anti-conversation device for use on crowded airplanes, a conversation starter when you meet people you like, a bundle of paper…AND a powerful mood restorer!

(5) Speaking of multitasking…while reading a funny romance, you don’t have to (a) acknowledge the dust bunnies in the corner (b) do something about them (c) dust bunnies are my friends, so step off!

(6) When your jerkface boss DOESN’T give you a raise for the third straight review period, reading about an arrogant multibillionaire CEO with secret baby problems and a hot new girlfriend really sucks. Be different. Laugh your @ss off instead!

(7) It’s rumored that if you throw a funny romance against a wall, it will make a twee, high-pitched, ridiculously amusing sound. Nobody really knows for sure. People who read funny romances want to hug them, not hurl them.

( After you read a funny romance, you feel better than you did before. Pure magic.

Happy reading!

Till later,
Lisa

Okay, so if you’re like me (at least me a few years ago), right now you’re saying, “Meet me on the whaaaa…?” (Answer: gridiron = football field, for the uninitiated.)

Why do you want to know that? Because football is fun!

I know, I know. You’re envisioning a bunch of huge, helmeted, sweaty guys crashing into each other, seemingly at random, with ultra long “timeouts” in between. You’re thinking about how you can never even see that teeny-tiny ball on TV, much less figure out who’s supposed to hold onto it. Maybe you’re even feeling a little guilty, because the last time you tried to watch a football game with your husband/boyfriend/significant other and everyone started jumping up and down and screaming about something…you did too, just so you wouldn’t feel left out. Even though you didn’t have a clue what all the fuss was about. Sound familiar?

Well, I’m here to tell you that football really can be fun. The game is full of riveting moments of competition, brute strength, savvy, personal sacrifice, heated rivalry…even humor. There’s drama galore, just like on Desperate Housewives. You’ll see amazing plays. You’ll feel smart as you begin to recognize the strategy behind those plays. You’ll be unable to resist sneaking peeks at the players’ tight uniformed butts (hint: pay attention to the snap!). I confess: I love football now, and I’m always bummed when the season ends.

That’s part of the reason why my newest book is about Cash Connelly, a former pro quarterback in the NFL and a character I’m especially fond of. Cash is brash, burly, macho, and smart, with a knack for leadership and a total inability to comprehend why his pampered new nanny/housekeeper, Marisol Winston, can’t seem to control things in his chaotic household. I worked hard to come up with a storyline that was good enough for Cash. I’m happy to say that I think I found one in Let’s Misbehave.

Don’t worry though! You don’t have to know a blitz from a backfield to have fun reading the book–I promise. Although part of the story centers on Cash’s efforts to get re-signed to the pros (with his former team, the imaginary but awesome Phoenix Scorpions), the rest is pure, sexy fun as he and Marisol fall in love and try to mesh their two very different worlds.

So if you’re a football fan like me, rest assured that all the background in Let’s Misbehave is thoroughly researched, and it comes from the heart. And if you’re not? That’s okay too. Just settle in for a few laughs…and enjoy the tight butts while you’re there.

If you’ve got questions for me, please feel free to leave them in the comments. And if you haven’t dropped by my MySpace page yet, why not try it today? I’d love to be friends.

Till next time…
Lisa

“Where do you get your book ideas?”

That’s the question people ask me most often, and I’m usually left groping for an answer, because getting ideas is never a problem. I have a million of them! So do all the other writers I know. It’s taking one of those fledgling ideas and transforming it into a 400 page manuscript that gets tricky! But I think I understand why the “ideas” question is so popular. As a reader, I’m curious about how writers come up with characters and plots too. But as a writer, I know there’s no easy way to describe that unpredictable process that leads from idea to outline to manuscript (and I’m too superstitious to delve into it very deeply).

I can give you an example though. Let’s Misbehave came about because I had an idea that collided with an interest at exactly the right time. That’s usually my “formula” (for lack of a better word): idea + interest = book I want to write. See, I’d just finished another manuscript, and I was kicking back with one of my guilty pleasures (a glossy fashion magazine) when I saw it: a one-paragraph piece about a shopaholic rehab center in Italy. Apparently, shopaholics went to the center for therapy, then were assigned jobs in the community as part of their treatment.

Now, I realize that oniomania (the clinical name for disordered shopping) is a serious condition. Of course. But come on—I’m a romantic comedy writer! I couldn’t wait to come up with the perfect shopaholic heroine, ambush her with a shopaholicism intervention, and set her up with the worst possible (for her) “real job” assignment…as a nanny/housekeeper to a trio of wild-and-crazy triplets and their football player bachelor dad. Voilà! Let’s Misbehave was off and running, at least in my imagination.

That just about covers the idea portion of the Let’s Misbehave equation. So where does the interest part come in? I’ll be back soon with the inside scoop!

Till next time…
Lisa

P.S. Early reviews for Let’s Misbehave are already coming in! Drop by my Web site to find out what readers are saying about the story.

Hi, and thanks for checking out this page! I’m so excited to have this chance to tell you about what’s new, what’s now, and what’s coming next! I promise I’ll try to post frequent updates for you.

As I write this, I just finished double-checking the copy-edited manuscript for my next book, Let’s Misbehave. I have to tell you, looking at the story again made me remember how much I loved writing it. I really can’t wait to share it with you.Wondering what it’s about? Here’s my quick and dirty description:

When Marisol Winston’s “shopaholic rehab” requires her to work as a nanny/housekeeper for three rowdy kids and their hunky NFL quarterback single dad, the last thing she expects is to fall in love. But Cash Connelly makes resisting his charms all but impossible! How is a partygirl heiress supposed to cope with PB&Js, dirty laundry, and an irresistibly appealing man, all at the same time?

That’s it! Sounds fun, right? I can’t tell you what a blast it was to write Cash and Marisol’s story. I hope you’ll be on the lookout for it this summer!

In the meantime, please drop by my Web site to find out more about any of my books, read complete first-chapter excerpts, find out about contests and freebies, sign up for new-book reminder e-mails and more. The site is pretty much a compendium of everything related to my books, so if you can’t find it there…well, just drop me an e-mail and I’ll do my best to answer your question myself. Or post a question in the comments here. Either way, it’s always nice to hear from readers.

That’s it for now! Till next time…
Lisa