In 1999, I read The House on Olive Street, by
Robyn Carr. It was a game-changer. It
I like women.
No, not that
way, though “that way” is fine with me. What I mean is, I like reading about
women. I like when they’re on road trips or doing reunions or having book clubs
or just wailing into their wineglasses about what jerks men are. I can identify
with them. I can “be” them in the way I can never “be” the young, slim, and
impossibly beautiful heroine in romance novels.
To narrow it down more, I guess my
favorite thing (trope? I’m never sure where that word fits) to read is the girlfriend
book. I can sit on the couch in my sweats with my tea and blanket and read,
only stirring to get more to drink or something to eat and to turn on a light
as the day slips into evening. It’s like a little vacation of the soul.
My writing leans toward women’s
fiction—at least that’s what reviewers usually say—but romance is always at its
core. This suits me perfectly, because I truly love romance, but women’s
fiction? Well, that’s just comfortable. And fun.
The
Girls of Tonsil Lake is my next book. I don’t have a release date yet, but
I’m excited about it. It’s a girlfriend book and it was so much fun to write!
There’s some romance there, but mostly it’s about the Girls themselves. I hope
you watch for it, and that you enjoy it when it’s out. Sitting on your couch in
your sweats, drinking something good—you know, just a little vacation of the soul.
Me too! I love to read women's fiction and coincidently, I write humorous women's fiction. Not yet pub'd but I'm working on that.
ReplyDeleteIt's so satisfying, isn't it, Em? In a completely different way. Thanks for coming by! I look forward to when you're published.
ReplyDeleteI like girlfriend books as long as they're not too whiny.
ReplyDeletelol. I even like the whining! Most of us have lived long enough to have earned a little of that. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh Liz. How exciting to hear about your next book. I will watch for it to be published. I too love girlfriend books.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carolyn. I can't wait!
ReplyDeleteLove the book cover for Jar of Dreams, Liz! And I am right there with you, I love girlfriend books, which is why I love contemporary series' featuring girl friends and their love interests :)
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Niecey. I like some of those series' too. Thanks for coming by!
ReplyDeleteI found out I liked women's fiction when I read Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons. It was such a unique title, I just had to have it. Not much romance, but four friends who had a book club. That's where the title came from. They gave themselves the name as a joke. It loved it! Will look out for this book.
ReplyDeleteI like that title, Shawn!
ReplyDeleteNice Cover. Sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteLove the preview and the cover, Liz, congrats!
ReplyDeleteLiz--I can't wait for this book. You had me at the tagline ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lily, Kristi, and Margie. I think this is the first time a cover has made me more excited about a book coming--hope that's a harbinger of good to come!
ReplyDeleteI love women's fiction and my contemporary romances definitely have a strong leaning toward romantic women's fiction. Some readers love the secondary characters and family dynamics. Others are purists who would prefer that the story be all about the couple. Straight, no chaser.
ReplyDeleteBut I love reading about the growth of the heroine and how girlfriends and family play a role in who she is now and her development.
Hi, Reese. This book was such fun because there are four heroines and it was all about them. The men were there, but their POV wasn't. (I like reading men's POV, but don't write it so well.)
ReplyDeleteAwesome cover, Liz! So excited for you.
ReplyDeleteI have a few fav women's fiction authors, too. Nice change of pace when you want to really "connect" with the characters.
I like girlfriend books too, Liz. Very good cover. Tonsil Lake? That is a laugh in itself. How did you come up with that? *LOL*
ReplyDeleteThat's the right word, Kyra--connect! Women's fiction--particularly girlfriend books--give me a sense of connection I don't always get.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember how *I* came up with it, but the lake in the book was named by a man who thought it was shaped just like a tonsil. (His sobriety was an issue.) By the time I thought Tonsil Lake was a bit of a stretch, I couldn't think of it as anything else. Thanks for coming by, Joan!