L A Johannesson

Romantic fiction with a geeky twist

L A Johannesson - Romantic fiction with a geeky twist

Category Archives: chick lit

It’s Great to Be Nominated (but, it’s better to win!)

Enter or Nominate | Great Dating Blogs

It’s time for The Great Dating Blog Awards 2013.

eloves me, eloves me not and I have been nominated for the following:

Best Newcomer Award http://www.greatdatingblogs.com/best-newcomer-round-one-2013/

Best Niche Blog http://www.greatdatingblogs.com/best-niche-blog-2013-nominations/

And the one I really, really, really want to win…

Best Dating Book Award http://www.greatdatingblogs.com/best-dating-book-2013-nominations/

If you feel so inclined and would like to cast a vote for any/all of my nominations, I’d be most grateful.

It’s great to be nominated (but it’s better to win) and to win you need votes!

Seriously, I am honoured to be nominated and happy to be getting a little more acknowledgement for the website, for the book and for all the activities I’ve directed promoting it through the dating world. So whatever happens, happens and I’m happy to be nominated!

Cheers,

LA

 

RIASS Interview: LA Johannesson on writing “technological romance”

Read in A Single Sitting  (RIASS) gives good interview.

riass

I recently chatted with Stephanie Campisi about eloves me, eloves me not. I was very impressed by how prepared and thoughtful her questions were. We covered a lot of ground including the book’s inspiration, my writing choices especially around featuring technology so prominently, the world of online dating and current perceptions of it, the challenges and opportunities associated with independent publishing and what’s required by an author as they move into the marketing phase.

You can find the full interview here: Interview: LA Johannesson on writing “technological romance”

Favourite interview quote: “self-published authors need to look for every opportunity to tell, and sell, their stories.”

Thank you Stephanie for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you and your community!

Steamy Sex Scenes – In or Out?

Should Chick Lit Novels Include Steamy Sex Scenes?

Where are you on this issue? In or out?

 

Poll – Steamy Sex Scenes – In or Out?

  • In – They help create added intimacy and authenticity (43%, 6 Votes)
  • Out – I find them completely off-putting (29%, 4 Votes)
  • In – They’re an absolute must! (21%, 3 Votes)
  • Out – They can provide some spice but I prefer bland (7%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 14

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In a chick lit novel, say a romantic comedy, like, uh, I don’t know, ‘eloves me, eloves me not’, how important are the sex scenes to the overall story?

Do you need those graphic, detailed descriptions of intimate pairings to further appreciate the storyline and better understand the character? Or, do you prefer just to be teased up to it, taken close, but then have the actual act left to your imagination as you are transported off to a new post-coital scene taking place somewhere else?

Are sex scenes an absolute must in contemporary romance? Do you think they add a necessary dimension of authenticity to a romantic story, but aren’t exactly mandatory?

Or are you one of those people who thinks that sexy scenes can add a little spice, but you’re okay with bland and prefer leaving them to the imagination? Or, do you get put completely off a story when you reach a graphic interlude?

I’m most interested in learning where chick lit, romance and women’s fiction readers stand on this issue. But I’d be open to having other genre readers weigh in too.

 

 

A Golden Opportunity – L. A. Johannesson, Author Interviewed on Chick Lit Central


Dog BGA huge thanks goes out the the great ladies at Chick Lit Central for this recent fun author interview. They were  so professional and responsive all the way through the process. I especially loved their idea of using a pet theme to guide the interview. And it was a perfect fit for the book.

Getting exposure on such a well-known chick lit blog was certainly appreciated. I continue to be humbled by the interest and support from this community.

Chick Lit Central_ The Blog!_ L.A. Johannesson is simply golden and you could retrieve her book!

In addition to the interview, there’s another chance to win ‘eloves me, eloves me not’. For the full interview and contest entry details, click here.

Good luck and thanks again Chick Lit Central for this golden opportunity!

 

P.S. Seems the animals in literature theme is a popular one these days (and, yay, I’m right on trend) – here’s an article from HuffPost Books On Great Animals from Literature

 

What is ‘chick lit’ anyway?

As I promote my book the descriptor that get tossed around most often is ‘chick lit’.

I’m pretty sure ‘eloves me, eloves me not’ sits within this genre. It has many of the characteristics of the great chick lit works of our time – Sex and The City, The Devil Wears Prada, anything Shopaholic related and let’s not forget our beloved Bridget Jones.

Some of the typical haracteristics of chick lit are:

  • Written by women for women
  • Quirky protagonists
  • Funny
  • Creates intimacy by use of the first person format (confiding to reader)
  • Deals with life issues (love,  dating, relationships, marriage, friendships, career, etc.)
  • Relies on a circle of friends for support
  • Dead end jobs they usually hate, often with bad bosses
  • Unsuitable boyfriends or a lack of one
  • Urban-but no real sense of place
  • Outrageous situations
  • Obsessed with fashion, weight, shopping, shoes
  • Somewhere between ‘romance’ and ‘literary’
  • Often a form of masked memoir

Yep, I’d pretty much say that ‘eloves me, eloves me not’ is chick lit through and through. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But it also has a ‘geeky’ twist.

It’s possibly one of the first to define the new genre of ‘digi chick lit’ – where the additional characteristic of being a ‘girl geek’ who’s adept at the latest in technology would be added to the list.

 

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