L A Johannesson

Romantic fiction with a geeky twist

L A Johannesson - Romantic fiction with a geeky twist

Tag Archives: chicklit

Sharing my book and my story with the Mr n Mrs Romance Podcast

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on a fabulous new podcast called Mr n Mrs Romance. Mr Romance, known as Jack, interviewed me about eloves me, eloves me not, being an author, my experiences with online dating and finding love.

Podcast #16 – eloves me, eloves me not with LA Johannesson

Jack was a terrific host. He asked some refreshing questions and we had a few laughs while I got to share a great deal about the inspiration for the book, the story, its characters and my own views on dating and love. Any conversation that can move from Star Trek to Shakespeare covers a lot of ground as is worth a listen. You can go straight to the audio here!

MrnMrsRomance (mrnmrsromance) on Twitter

Mr n Mrs Romance is a UK-based podcast with the aim of exploring the extraordinary breadth of the human condition in relation to romance, love and sex. With input from an amazing collection of individuals, they aim to compile a fascinating picture of relationship culture in the 21st century. Mr n Mrs Romance believe that in today’s society that there is no one way by which relationships are played out and as such, each podcast will aim to capture the many varied outlooks and practices of today’s relationship lifestyles.

As you’ll see from the diverse topics covered in the first 16 episodes, it is definitely delivering on its promise.

I had a blast as a guest. I’ve also learned a little from some of the other episodes (I’m just not saying which ones ;-) . I encourage you to have a listen and subscribe to it on iTunes.  

Mr n Mrs Romance are bound to keep it interesting!

You can also connect with them on twitter as @mrnmrsromance and on facebook.

 

PS – Thanks again Jack, you give good podcast!

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

Book’s First Review Scores an 8/10

It’s in. My very first review. I can stop gnawing my fingernails now!

The review process is very confronting especially for a new author. I submitted my novel for review by Chicklit Club, one of the pre-eminent ‘chick-lit’ blogs. These people are immersed in this genre, so understandably, I was keen to hear what they thought (okay and just a wee bit nervous, hoping they’d love my characters as my as I do).

The results are in and they thought it was literally ‘fabulous’. Here’s the full review:

With a newly broken heart, Kayte, 39, is determined to find her Mr Right. She is on the path to finding true love through the ups and downs, pleasures and dangers, of dating – blind and internet – and has to kiss a string of toads to find her prince. Together with her best friend and number one male (Dylan the dog), her happily married friend Chloe, and the mysterious Bigbadwolf (aka Roman) and his Book of RROOD (pronounced RUDE) for Roman’s Rules of Online Dating, Kayte sets off on her roller-coaster pursuit of love. Kayte is a modern, fit and healthy, IT-savvy Bridget Jones – and this romantic comedy has a chuckle or a twist on every page mixed with just the right amount of passionate liaisons. It has great one-liners, is fast moving and very entertaining. It is a fabulous debut. (AT)

 

 

 

 

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