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Welcome to Lagniappe!
A blog containing that
little something extra from our authors. Keep
checking back as posting authors will change often. If you
have a question you'd like to see us the authors ask in
future months, email us!
Question of the month:
There are a lot of issues in this election year. Do you
address current issues in your writing? Why or why not?
Issues in books |
| What a great question! I try not to let any issues invade my books, because I write comedy and I don't want to politicize the story in any way. But I sometimes wonder if my leanings make their way in. I may be more transparent than I think! Posted by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Author of Wild & Hexy
on 5/4/2008 |
Addressing current issues |
| Because the majority of my books are historicals, I tend to address the issue for the time of the book, whether it is women's rights, or health care, as an example. When I write contemporary books, I don't want them to be dated a year from now, so I might address a broad issue such as education, but I don't focus on a particular event which would place the book in a narrow time slot. I want to write love stories fans will adore and read again and again, so I'm aiming for the timeless romantic quality all classics possess. Posted by Phoebe Conn
Author of DAWM OF DESIRE, May 2008
on 5/1/2008 |
Politics in our books |
Considering that the book I write today won't hit the stands for a year or more, I'd look pretty foolish addressing current topics. Not to mention the fallout if I tackled a controversy in a family-oriented line like Harlequin American Romance!
That doesn't mean that I don't put a spin on issues that might interest readers. For example, in my May release, The Family Next Door, , my widowed heroine discovers that her handsome new neighbor was the holdout juror in the trial of her husband's accused killer, responsible for letting the suspect go free. Although the thrust of the story concerns their growing love for each other, abetted by their preteen daughters, the issues of how a jury reaches a verdict and whether justice was served provide extra interest (and yes, I do ultimately answer the question of who was wrong and who was right).
Posted by Jacqueline Diamond
Author of The Family Next Door
on 5/1/2008 |
News from Montana |
| Just this week, a group of Montana writers got together to start an RWA chapter. We haven't had a chapter for many years. Part of the problem was that the state is so darned big, which makes it difficult to get together.
But the Montana Romance Writers is going to happen thanks to the hard work of some very talented people.
Meanwhile, I take off later this month to attend a plotting workshop out by Seattle, WA. While continuing my Whitehorse, Montana series for Harlequin Intrigue, I'm also working on a mainstream mystery that will be set where I grew up, in West Yellowstone, Montana.
The Whitehorse, Montana series, which was originally only six books, has now grown to 12 with Second Chance Cowboy out this month, followed by books, September, and June, July and August 2009 so far.
Other than that, I'm just waiting for spring to come to Montana. It's still snowing up here! Posted by B.J. Daniels
Author of Matchmaking With a Mission
on 5/1/2008 |
Politics Make Odd Bedfellows |
| Funny you should ask...
My newest book, America the Beautiful , released this month, is all about politics, but from a non-political standpoint. Imagine that a woman is running for President... Oh yeah, that's right. One is. Okay, so what's life like on the campaign trail? What is it like to have your world under a microscope, ever background detail examined, every word weighed in public? When does ambition become your driving force? How far would you go to become President? In this book, Emily Benton is the candidate and Kate Rosen is her best friend, her campaign manager and her conscience.
What drew me to tell this story is my very well-known NON-political stand. I don't like to argue about politics. I don't even want to discuss the subject in the mildest of terms. This made me the perfect candidate to write this series because I don't have a polarizing agenda or a candidate to support so I'm not presenting a series of ideas that will likely thrill one party and upset another. The story is solely about the people in politics, not politics itself. The storyline does mirror the real electorial process but offers a behind the scene look at a fictional campaign, all the difficulties, the temptations and the joys from the perspective of Kate, the campaign manager, who contends with the entire process by filtering her actions and reactions through her own strong faith, a faith that her best friend and candidate, Emily, doesn't share. America the Beautiful is published by Tyndale and is on the shelves now. Posted by Laura Hayden
Author of AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
on 5/1/2008 |
ADDRESSING POLITICS OR CURRENT ISSUES IN BOOKS |
| No, I seldom address topics like this in my books. I write romantic fiction, and most readers, I find, enjoy the chance to get *away* from the real world when they read my books. My characters have plenty of problems to address, don't get me wrong, but you can get all the politics or current issues you want on TV or the Internet, so I'd rather give my readers other things to feel and think about and. Posted by Toni Blake
Author of LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER
on 5/1/2008 |
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