February 6, 2012

Interview & Giveaway: Lauren Baratz-Logsted


As you guys know, I loved The Bro-Magnet. It was an original and hilarious story that I think every romance fan in need of a good laugh should read. And today I’m happy to welcome the person who created such an enjoyable story. Please let’s give a warm welcome to Lauren Baratz-Logstend!

Hello Lauren, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. Excuse me if a start laughing in the middle of the interviews but that’s what happens every time I think about your book. I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs, I hear The Bro-Magnet and I start laughing.

Q. First of all, tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

My career started 22 books prior to The Bro-Magnet with a novel called The Thin Pink Line. That earlier book received a starred Kirkus review – the first book of any of the thousands upon thousands of books published by any Harlequin imprint to ever do so – and was published in 11 countries and was optioned for a film. But if people come to Pink after reading Bro they’ll be in for a rude surprise because while Bro is a light comedy, Pinkis a very dark comedy, a satire.  In addition to writing, I love my daughter, reading, and shooting pool.   

Your career has been prolific and diverse. You have written books for children, teenagers and adults, something I find quite interesting since authors usually focus on one specific audience. Would you tell us more about your previous books and how did you go from writing books like The Thin Pink Line, to The Sisters Eight series, to finally The Bro-Magnet?

Just like I’m an eclectic reader who’ll read almost anything, I’m an eclectic reader. I don’t think, “Oh, I’ll write the same kind of a book all the time so I can become a brand,” nor do I ever thing, “Ooh, X genre is hot right now – I’ll write one of those!” Rather, an idea comes into my head, I love the idea, and I can’t help but write the book so that I’ll know how everything turns out.   
In terms of The Sisters 8 series, the idea for that came about when my family was snowbound in Crested Butte, CO, in December 2006. My daughter was six at the time, there were no other kids around or any TV, so by Day 9 we were looking for fresh ways to amuse ourselves. And how did we do that? My YA novelist husband Greg Logsted, Jackie and I brainstormed what would become a nine-book children’s series about octuplets whose parents go missing one New Year’s Eve.  
Greg is also partially responsible for The Bro-Magnet.  He’s a novelist by night but a window washer by day. One time he came home from work and mentioned that the owner of the house he’d done that day had asked him if he wanted to go skiing. It occurred to me that this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened. Who asks their window washer to socialize? That’s when it further occurred to me that my husband was...a bro-magnet. 

What can you tell us about The Bro-Magnet?

Outside of the fun of creating The Sisters 8 series with my daughter – how cool is that? – it’s the most fun I’ve ever had with any book. I love writing from a male POV and it was a joy to write. It tickles me when I hear readers say the cat scene is hysterical because, while I know you’re not supposed to laugh at your own jokes, I was laughing the whole time I was writing it. Oh, and here’s a scoop for you. You know how Johnny dreams of putting his cat on a leash, taking him to the local bar, sitting down on a stool and saying, “The usual for me and a saucer of milk for my furry little friend here”? I want to do that.

I admit that what made me decide to read The Bro-Magnet was the fact that the whole book was told from the hero’s POV. Did you always plan on writing a book entirely from a guy’s POV? Was it challenging writing from a male perspective?

Prior to this, the only one of my books to feature a male first-person POV is the YA novel Crazy Beautiful. That one’s not pure male POV though; it’s a he-said/she-said story in alternating male-female first-person accounts. But The Bro-Magnet from the beginning was conceived of as a purely male POV book. I have to admit, I never had a moment where it was difficult to write Johnny – who he is and what his voice is are just so clear in my mind.  Voice is one of the things I love as a writer. I’ve written books set in England, in the U.S., history, comedy, adult, teen, children’s. The Sister’s 8 is written in the rare first-person plural and yet each of the octuplets has her own distinct voice when speaking such that when I meet with little kids and I make up random lines of dialogue, they can tell me exactly who would say that line because they know the characters’ voices so well.

I’m in love with Johnny. I found him charming, sweet, honest and funny. Was he based on someone in particular? What inspired you to create such an interesting character?

Johnny is pure invention except for two things: 1) as I said earlier, my husband has clients who’ve wanted to bro up to him, although all similarities between Greg and Johnny end there; 2) there’s a section in the book where Johnny recounts things he’s done that guys love and women get annoyed at, like all the clunker cars he’s owned – I actually once knew a guy who did all those things. Other than that, Johnny sprang from my brain. Over the years, I’ve written some dark characters and some complex characters and even some I-would-never-want-to-live-next-door-to-you characters. When I wrote the YA Victorian suspense novel The Twin’s Daughter, even though the book is told from a first-person female POV, there’s a boy in the story, Kit, who I just loved writing. He was the first purely good and heroic person I ever wrote with pretty much a starring role in one of my books. In some ways, Johnny is an extension of that kind of experience for me although I doubt you could find two books by me that are more different from each other.

Let’s talk about comedy. As I said before this book was hilarious, and I’m still laughing even though I read it days ago. Is comedy something that comes naturally for you, or did you have to work hard to come up with ideas for all the crazy situations and wonderful dialogue in the book? Do you know someone who actually thought that walking a cat would be a good idea? (As a cat owner I think this was ridiculously awesome!)

When I left my day job in 1994 to take a chance on myself as a writer, I thought for sure I’d write the G.A.N.: the Great American Novel. But the voice that came out of me when I started to write was a comedic one, and it stayed that way through my first several books before I started sometimes writing things that demanded a different voice.  The thing about writing comedic books is that it can be hard to find an audience. Drama? We can all agree on what’s tragic and at the risk of sounding cocky, I can write that scene that will make you gasp in shock (The Twin’s Daughter, Chapter 22) or bring a tear to your eye (The Twin’s Daughter, pages 321-322). But write something that a wide range of people will agree is funny? That’s hard. And yet I do love to write comedy. It really wasn’t hard coming up with the comedic situations in The Bro-Magnet. What was hard was wondering if readers would enjoy over-the-top scenes like the barn opera as much as I enjoyed writing them. You can imagine how gratifying it’s been for me, seeing the reaction of bloggers. The dialogue was sheer fun to write – sometimes I think I could just write whole books with dialogue and barely anything else. As for the cat question, let’s just say I’m a cat lover, a cat owner, and I have lots of fun ideas of things to do with cats. 

There’s a rumor going around that you’re writing a sequel, is it true? Can you tell us more about it? What else can we expect from you in the future?

In the future, you can expect more books from me! In addition to continuing to write for teens and children, my next novel for adults will be another offbeat comedic ebook called Z, about a writer who returns home to CT after years living out in L.A., only to meet a wealthy window washer who may or may not be Zorro. And yes, the rumor you heard is true. I hadn’t planned to write a sequel but then an idea popped into my head and I saw how strong reader response was to the book so I’ve decided to write Isn’t it Bromantic? It opens with the wedding of Johnny and Helen and if the theme of the first book was getting into trouble by pretending to be someone else, the theme of this one is getting into trouble by just being yourself.

And finally you have to answer our standard question: what’s your favorite romance novel?

It’s actually a historical novel but the doorstopper Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George contains not one but two strong romantic storylines and some of the scenes involving Cleo and Caesar or Cleo and Marc Antony are just brilliant. Thanks for having me!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions and I hope you visit us again!

To find out more about Lauren you can visit her website and follow her on Twitter.

GIVEAWAY:


Because I loved this book so much and I want to share it with you, I’ll give away one copy to one lucky commenter. All you have to do is leave a comment telling us what’s your favorite romantic comedy (can be book or movie, but books are more fun!). Remember to leave your email on the comment so I can contact the winner. Contest open to all.

Rules:
  • Winner gets one e-copy of The Bro Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (Kindle and Nook only)
  • Open Internationally.
  • Ends on 02/11/12.
  • Winner will be chosen using random.org and announced here.
  • Comment must have email address.


19 comments:

  1. OH I have heard such good things about this one! Please count me in! BTW, my daughter has read Sisters 8 and really enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're gonna love it Jay, hilarious book!! Good luck!

      Delete
  2. I have heard so many things about this book. It is on my wish list (my wishing for more money to buy books list). I love Christie Craig's books. they have romance but lots of humor as well. Thanks for the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I wish for the same thing, more money for books! I need to add Christie Craig to my TBR list, haven't read anything by her. Thanks for the rec!

      Can't find your email on your Blogger profile, if you come back reply to this comment and leave one otherwise I won't be able to enter your name on the giveaway.

      Delete
    2. Sorry, I forgot to leave my email address ... Gator_Trish(at)msn(dot)com.

      Delete
  3. Love Lauren Baratz-Logsted! Such a great author that appeals to a wide audience. She's an inspiration! As for my favorite Romantic Comedy, I'd have to say Bridget Jones's Diary. Email address: aa67102n@pace.edu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love Bridget Jone's Diary! It's one of those rare cases where the movie works best than the book, at leas IMO. Didn't care much for the sequels, though.

      Delete
  4. Very nice interview ladies! I have read Crazy Beautiful and so I was a bit taken when I learn that the author of The Bro-Magnet was Ms Baratz-Logsted :) Good for you, Ms Baratz-Logsted for writing what you want and not limiting yourself to a genre :)

    I'm definitively going to have to check out some of your funnier work :)

    ps - no need to enter me in the giveaway. I don't have a Kindle or a Nook :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no! Do you have another e-reader? I think this book is only available for Kindle, Nook and iPad, but I'm not sure if I can gift iPad books. You could always read it on your laptop using the Kindle app, that's what I used to do before getting a Kindle. Think about it, you have time to decide ;-)

      Delete
    2. I have a Kobo. The Kindle app would be an option, but truthfully, I hate reading at a computer... so it'd probably dim my enjoyment of this book ^_^; I'll wait... it's bound to be sold somewhere in epub format eventually. But thanks Brie!

      Delete
  5. Fun interview! The Bro Magnet just landed on my wish list a week or so ago after I got wind of all the fun buzz on the book from book blogging friends. I would love to win a copy! Thanks for the chance.

    As for my favorite romantic comedy. Hmm... maybe Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. I actually really love a romance novel that can make me alternate between laughing and crying. I'm weird like that. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oops! Forgot my email address:
      krauscakes at verizon dot net

      Delete
    2. Bet Me is one of my favorite books, loved it! I agree with you, love books that makes you laugh and cry at the same time, emotion is always good and difficult! LOL

      Delete
  6. This one sounds awesome!And gosh that question is hard because once I'm on to a different book I nearly forget what's come before. So for now I'll say Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell.

    I loved the interview, very in depth. It's unusual to find comedic romance, but I do love to read them when I can get my hands on one. The author has some interesting inspiration for her books!

    jadaloves[at]gmail[dot]com

    Thanks for the giveaway Brie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Still haven't read Miranda's Big Mistake but it's on my Kindle. So far I have loved everything by that author so I'm sure is good.

      Delete
  7. I think I will have to put this book on my tbr list.. I am not familiar with your books Ms Baratz-Logsted, but the scene about wanting the cat on leash and taking him to the bar, had me chuckling out loud..

    I would have to go to any book by Jill Shalvis. Her books keep laughing by what I call her "Lucy" moments.. Like the last book I read in her "Lucky Harbor" series Head Over Heels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, that scene is awesome! Yo have no idea how funny it is. I'm sure you will love the book.

      Love Jill Shalvis, she writes great heartwarming books that are both sweet and funny.

      Delete
  8. For me the best comedy book is Bet me by Jennifer Crusie, but I must mention also Can You Keep a Secret?
    by Sophie Kinsella. I would love to win The Bro Magnet, I read so many great reviews of this book.
    My email is elenaoancea2007@gmail.com

    Thank you for the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete

Blogger likes to eat comments, so I suggest copying it before hitting "publish" just in case it doesn't go through the first time. This is a pain, I know, but it's the only solution/prevision I can think of, and it will save you the frustration of losing a comment. Also, thanks for visiting!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

FTC Disclaimer

The books reviewed here were purchased by us. If the book was provided by the author or publisher for review, it will be noted on the post. We do not get any type of monetary compensation from publishers or authors.