Yes, I know, I’ve been gone forever and I really don’t have a very good excuse other than being busy.
For one thing I’m moving! Yea me! Seriously, yea me. During the tail end of my marriage my husband convinced me to move from San Francisco to Santa Cruz (about 1 ½ hours south of SF). I had lived in Santa Cruz before and vowed never to return…well, okay, I wanted to return for visits because my family was there but I never wanted to live there again. For one thing I’m a city girl and Santa Cruz is only a city in the loosest sense of the world. No matter how big it gets it always feels like a small town. Some people love that. I don’t. For another, it’s too close to my family. I love my family but I’ve always known that if I lived near them I would lean on them too much and then end up resenting them for my own dependence. Yes, I know I need therapy but there you have it. Anyhoo, I gave in to my now ex-husband’s request for no other reason than the fact that I had a child to think of. San Francisco’s school system is notoriously messed up and we were living in a one bedroom apartment three floors up….no elevator. Not an ideal living arrangement for a young couple with a baby. So, despite deep reservations, I agreed to move back to Santa Cruz….next door to my mother and stepfather.
As most of you know, I’m not married anymore. My ex left me with a load of debt and credit so bad that finding a new place to live was next to impossible. Many have pointed out that if I hadn’t lived so close to my parents I would have had a much more difficult time finding childcare. In fact I might have not been able to write the books I wrote because I wouldn’t have been able to afford the childcare that I needed in order to pursue a career as novelist. What would I have done when my son’s preschool didn’t work out (that would be preschool number 3 we won’t even get into the first two failures)?
All of this is true and yet here I am, feeling resentful, suffocated and restless.
Well I finally got my finances and life together enough to move. I’m moving to a new city with a renowned school district that is located within a few blocks of one of California’s biggest cities. To quote my friend, “You can always judge a town by what kind of chain stores are located there. Everybody has a Gap but only the best have a Sur La Table.”
In two weeks I’ll be living within a five minute drive to a Sur La Table.
I feel like I’m reclaiming my life and finally rejecting the life somebody else tried to thrust upon me. And my son is pretty excited too. Yes, he’s a little apprehensive about leaving his long time home but he’s also thrilled to be moving into an apartment building with a pool, lots of kids and an on site manager who gives the kids fresh baked cookies every Friday. Do I know how to pick ‘em or what?
So by now you’re probably wondering where exactly I’m moving. I can’t tell you that. Yes, I know how that sounds but you’re going to have to trust me on this. Eventually I’ll be able to shout it from the rooftops but not yet so bear with me.
And next time you indulge in a glass of wine or a cocktail I hope you’ll join me in a virtual toast---to Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit of Happiness.
Those three goals hold up no matter what country you’re from.
Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING
Pre-order your copy of OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (in stores 09/07)!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
The Two Lives Of Joni Rodgers
Joni Rodgers lives two lives (at least within the literary world). One is as a ghostwriter for celebrities. You know all those celebrity-tells-all memoirs? Somebody writes that stuff for them. Same can be said for the celebrity beauty secret books. The celebrity in question may contribute to the writing process but for the most part these are actors, actresses, musicians and athletes, NOT writers and while they may have a story to tell they usually don’t know what prose to use in order to tell it.
When people think celebrity they usually think fluff. I’ll admit that I’ve never read the celebrity memoirs Rodgers has written so I don’t know if her ghostwritten books fit that description. What I do know is that her novels do not. Rodger’s fiction is not easy reading but it is profound. Her latest book, The Secret Sisters , is about three women who must find their way through a very dark time. Each one is grieving a loved one but that’s where their similarities end. Pia, a high powered career woman falls apart after the unexpected death of her husband. Lily actually killed her niece in a drunk driving accident and is now in prison trying to come to terms with what she’s done and her current situation. Then of course there’s Beth, the grieving mother of the little girl who was killed who mouths words of forgiveness that she doesn’t really feel. Yes, I know it’s dark with a capital D but there’s also hope and believe it or not a lot of humor which I think is appropriate. After all, those of us who survive hard times have to find a way to laugh---it’s that or give up and for these women that’s not an option.
In the end this is a fairly amazing story of strength, redemption and personal growth. This isn’t escapism but for many it will be inspirational.
If you would like to learn more about Joni Rodgers be sure to visit her blog.
When people think celebrity they usually think fluff. I’ll admit that I’ve never read the celebrity memoirs Rodgers has written so I don’t know if her ghostwritten books fit that description. What I do know is that her novels do not. Rodger’s fiction is not easy reading but it is profound. Her latest book, The Secret Sisters , is about three women who must find their way through a very dark time. Each one is grieving a loved one but that’s where their similarities end. Pia, a high powered career woman falls apart after the unexpected death of her husband. Lily actually killed her niece in a drunk driving accident and is now in prison trying to come to terms with what she’s done and her current situation. Then of course there’s Beth, the grieving mother of the little girl who was killed who mouths words of forgiveness that she doesn’t really feel. Yes, I know it’s dark with a capital D but there’s also hope and believe it or not a lot of humor which I think is appropriate. After all, those of us who survive hard times have to find a way to laugh---it’s that or give up and for these women that’s not an option.
In the end this is a fairly amazing story of strength, redemption and personal growth. This isn’t escapism but for many it will be inspirational.
If you would like to learn more about Joni Rodgers be sure to visit her blog.
Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING
Pre-order your copy of OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (in stores 09/07)!
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING
Pre-order your copy of OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (in stores 09/07)!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Okay, here’s a book I’m dying to read: Coupon Girl by Becky Motew. 36 year old Jeannie, Motew’s protagonist, sells coupons. She gets businesses to offer coupons to their customers and have said coupons printed up and distributed by the mail-order company Jeannine works for. When her employer holds a sales competition Jeannine is determined to win, so determined she gets involved in a community theater production of The Sound Of Music just so she can drum up business. Thanks to some humorous criminals, a few prim donnas, a cute director and a co-worker from hell…well let’s just say complications ensue.
Okay, so why am I so eager to lay my hands on this particular novel? Well for one thing, it’s not a romance. Yes, there are men whom Jeannine as designs on but all the critics seem to be in agreement that this book simply doesn’t fit the romance format. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. I am so sick of seeing Chick lit described as “Urban Romances.” Forgive my language but that’s bullshit. In over half my books my protagonist doesn’t end up with the guy. I can do that because I write chick lit, not romances! That’s not to say I don’t occasionally indulge in a Linda Howard novel but the critics rush to lump the two genres together is a testimony to their misguided efforts to categorize all contemporary novels written by female authors into one niche that they can ignore and trivialize. Contemporary fiction written for, about and by women is as varied as that written for, about and by men and it’s time the critics started to acknowledge that. And finally, FINALLY a book (Coupon Girl) has managed to get some of the critics to at least consider this not-so-revolutionary idea.
Second, it is obvious to me from the excerpts I’ve read that Jeannine is a fun protagonist (and again, this is something the critics agree on). She’s slightly cynical and extremely witty. She’s also down to earth---as in not glamorous. She’s not pursuing her dream to become a famous novelist or Broadway actress. She’s not trying to climb her way up to the top of the fashion industry. She sells coupons and she’s involved in the production of a small community theater. This dispels another myth that the critics like to perpetuate which is that all chick lit protagonist are involved in an ultra-hip, girly-type industry.
Motew is not the first author who has written a chick lit novel without giving a nod to the whirlwind of stereotypes that surround the genre but she’s one of the very few who has managed to do so AND managed to get the literary world to acknowledge her efforts and individualistic writing style. So go check out her blog and please, check out her book. Publishers need to know that chick lit readers aren’t desperate for formulaic and predictable novels. A romance read is great once in a while but I think most of us like to mix it up occasionally.
Okay so that’s what I have to say about that. I’ll now step off my soapbox long enough to announce that I’m on YouTube. I don’t know how I got there but while trying to find an article that was written about me a little while ago I stumbled across it. It’s an interview from 2005 which I did in Italy and if I do say so myself, it’s a fairly good one. So go check it out. Right now YouTube shows that it’s only been viewed 17 times and that will just never do.
Okay, so why am I so eager to lay my hands on this particular novel? Well for one thing, it’s not a romance. Yes, there are men whom Jeannine as designs on but all the critics seem to be in agreement that this book simply doesn’t fit the romance format. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. I am so sick of seeing Chick lit described as “Urban Romances.” Forgive my language but that’s bullshit. In over half my books my protagonist doesn’t end up with the guy. I can do that because I write chick lit, not romances! That’s not to say I don’t occasionally indulge in a Linda Howard novel but the critics rush to lump the two genres together is a testimony to their misguided efforts to categorize all contemporary novels written by female authors into one niche that they can ignore and trivialize. Contemporary fiction written for, about and by women is as varied as that written for, about and by men and it’s time the critics started to acknowledge that. And finally, FINALLY a book (Coupon Girl) has managed to get some of the critics to at least consider this not-so-revolutionary idea.
Second, it is obvious to me from the excerpts I’ve read that Jeannine is a fun protagonist (and again, this is something the critics agree on). She’s slightly cynical and extremely witty. She’s also down to earth---as in not glamorous. She’s not pursuing her dream to become a famous novelist or Broadway actress. She’s not trying to climb her way up to the top of the fashion industry. She sells coupons and she’s involved in the production of a small community theater. This dispels another myth that the critics like to perpetuate which is that all chick lit protagonist are involved in an ultra-hip, girly-type industry.
Motew is not the first author who has written a chick lit novel without giving a nod to the whirlwind of stereotypes that surround the genre but she’s one of the very few who has managed to do so AND managed to get the literary world to acknowledge her efforts and individualistic writing style. So go check out her blog and please, check out her book. Publishers need to know that chick lit readers aren’t desperate for formulaic and predictable novels. A romance read is great once in a while but I think most of us like to mix it up occasionally.
Okay so that’s what I have to say about that. I’ll now step off my soapbox long enough to announce that I’m on YouTube. I don’t know how I got there but while trying to find an article that was written about me a little while ago I stumbled across it. It’s an interview from 2005 which I did in Italy and if I do say so myself, it’s a fairly good one. So go check it out. Right now YouTube shows that it’s only been viewed 17 times and that will just never do.
Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING
Pre-order your copy of OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (in stores 09/07)!
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING
Pre-order your copy of OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (in stores 09/07)!
Monday, June 04, 2007
Hi everyone! Sorry I’ve been out of touch for a while. I’ve been at Book Expo America in New York! There I signed copies of my upcoming September release, Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate! Meeting all the book industry people and walking around the other publisher’s booths was incredibly fun (as it always is at BEA) and in the spirit of that event I decided to make this week “Book Blog Week.” Every day this week I’ll post a blog about a book that has recently been released and at the end of the week I’ll tell you a little about two books of mine that you’ll be able to lay your hands on in the very near future.
Kelly Parra’s book Graffiti Girl (published by the über-hip MTV Books) is the perfect novel to start with because it sort of ties in with my last blog about “bad boys and girls.” Parra’s protagonist, the young and headstrong Angel Rodriguez, is trying to make a name for herself as an artist but the she’s finding that to be an extremely difficult task. Frustrated she turns to Miguel Badalin and his notorious graffiti crew Reyes del Norte. What initially caught my attention was this books highly original premise. From what I can tell from the little I’ve read so far, Angel has no romantic interest in Miguel. What she can’t resist is the danger and excitement of the art form he pursues. And who can blame her? Imagine if you were an artist; could anything be more thrilling than sneaking out in the middle of night and painting on a forbidden canvas which the world will be exposed to whether they want to be or not? True graffiti artists (I’m not talking about gang members who scrawl their insignias on buses and subway stations, but actual honest-to-God-talented-painters) must feel like the Robin Hoods of the cultural world. They are bringing beauty and artistic vision to working men and women who may never have the time or the money to regularly visit a museum, let alone buy something at a gallery.
Of course there are complications. Angel’s boyfriend hates Miguel and eventually Angel feels like she must choose between the two men as well as the two art worlds--the “legitimate” art world and the graffiti art world.
Anyway, I strongly recommend that you check it out and while you’re at it take a look at Parra’s Myspace blog.
Tune in tomorrow to hear about another fabulous novel!
Kelly Parra’s book Graffiti Girl (published by the über-hip MTV Books) is the perfect novel to start with because it sort of ties in with my last blog about “bad boys and girls.” Parra’s protagonist, the young and headstrong Angel Rodriguez, is trying to make a name for herself as an artist but the she’s finding that to be an extremely difficult task. Frustrated she turns to Miguel Badalin and his notorious graffiti crew Reyes del Norte. What initially caught my attention was this books highly original premise. From what I can tell from the little I’ve read so far, Angel has no romantic interest in Miguel. What she can’t resist is the danger and excitement of the art form he pursues. And who can blame her? Imagine if you were an artist; could anything be more thrilling than sneaking out in the middle of night and painting on a forbidden canvas which the world will be exposed to whether they want to be or not? True graffiti artists (I’m not talking about gang members who scrawl their insignias on buses and subway stations, but actual honest-to-God-talented-painters) must feel like the Robin Hoods of the cultural world. They are bringing beauty and artistic vision to working men and women who may never have the time or the money to regularly visit a museum, let alone buy something at a gallery.
Of course there are complications. Angel’s boyfriend hates Miguel and eventually Angel feels like she must choose between the two men as well as the two art worlds--the “legitimate” art world and the graffiti art world.
Anyway, I strongly recommend that you check it out and while you’re at it take a look at Parra’s Myspace blog.
Tune in tomorrow to hear about another fabulous novel!
Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING
Pre-order your copy of OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (in stores 09/07)!
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING
Pre-order your copy of OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (in stores 09/07)!
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