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Love Is an Art! Teaser
Look at this great teaser trailer for Love Is an Art. It’s so clever. I love it!
Love Is an Art Book Trailer Love Is an Art Blurb
Love Is an Art Here’s the blurb:
He hates lawyers. So I’m a lawyer pretending to be an artist. Forgetting one tiny detail: I can’t paint.
Tessa: There’s something about the way the blond guy laughs and leans in to listen. My gaze keeps returning to him.
The only problem is, we’re at an art gallery after work, and I’ve swapped my lawyer suit for a paint-splattered shirt. I’m pretending to be a struggling artist, acting as bait to entice a scammer who conned my friend out of thousands of dollars.
I look pathetic. But still, I approach Hot Guy.
Our glances meet, and an awareness shimmers across. He offers to buy me a drink–we’re definitely flirting–and then he asks me what I do.
Just when Scammer Guy is in earshot.
I have no choice but to say I’m an artist. I can tell Hot Guy later that I’m not.But then he says he hates lawyers.
Now what?
Zeke: She’s the worst artist I’ve ever seen.
And I hate that that makes me suspect that she’s lying to me. After my ex-girlfriend cheated on me, trust is in short supply.
She makes me laugh, and it’s one adventure after another with her. Definitely different from my workaholic lawyer ex.
Maybe it’s time to give love a second chance.
All is fair in love and litigation, but when truth and deception clash, can you trust your heart?
*The romcom books in this series are interconnected standalones set in the same world. Each can be read as a pure standalone with a guaranteed happily ever after.
A Scavenger Hunt for Hearts Audiobook!
My author reading aloud of A Scavenger Hunt for Hearts is now all up on YouTube so you can listen to the whole book read aloud by me there. You can click the image above for the link. It’s like attending an author reading but in the privacy of your home 🙂
Let’s Talk
What are you watching/reading? I’m watching My Demon and Please Marry My Husband (both k-dramas). I’m reading When In Rome by Sarah Adams. And I’m hard at work on my next book.
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Go on a date with Love Is an Art
Go on a date with Love Is an Art! The paperback is now out on Amazon!
Here’s the blurb:
He hates lawyers. So I’m a lawyer pretending to be an artist. Forgetting one tiny detail: I can’t paint.
Tessa: There’s something about the way the blond guy laughs and leans in to listen. My gaze keeps returning to him. The only problem is, we’re at an art gallery after work, and I’ve swapped my lawyer suit for a paint-splattered shirt. I’m pretending to be a struggling artist, acting as bait to entice a scammer who conned my friend out of thousands of dollars.
I look pathetic. But still, I approach Hot Guy.
Our glances meet, and an awareness shimmers across. He offers to buy me a drink–we’re definitely flirting–and then he asks me what I do.
Just when Scammer Guy is in earshot.
I have no choice but to say I’m an artist. I can tell Hot Guy later I’m not.
But then he says he hates lawyers. Now what?
Zeke: She’s the worst artist I’ve ever seen.
And I hate that that makes me suspect that she’s lying to me. After my ex-girlfriend cheated on me, trust is in short supply.
She makes me laugh, and it’s one adventure after another with her. Definitely different from my workaholic lawyer ex.
Maybe it’s time to give love a second chance.
All is fair in love and litigation, but when truth and deception clash, can you trust your heart?
I’d like to take you on a date with Tessa and Zeke in Brooklyn.
Go on a Date with Tessa and Zeke in Love Is an Art
Zeke and Tessa have their first date in DUMBO, Brooklyn. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. That’s the Manhattan Bridge framed by the buildings.
Then Zeke and Tessa walk down to the waterfront and see this pathway, which has such a beachy feel.
And indeed it leads to beach down by the East River.
From there, let’s head back to the restaurants. Look at that beautiful Dutch architecture. I just love the rounded windows.
And walk up to rooftop of this building. There are more restaurants up top here so Zeke and Tessa grab dinner. Here’s a view out one of the windows.
Here’s one last view to leave you with! But the date continues now with a bike ride. And much more.
Thank you!
Thank you so much to all the readers, reviewers and bloggers who have already left such positive reviews of LOVE IS AN ART. I can’t wait for you to meet Tessa and Zeke!
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Caper Crush is on SALE!
Caper Crush, my opposites-attract romantic comedy e-book, is on sale for $0.99 for the first time!
And I’ve created a teaser video, working with the studio, Warraich Group. So much fun!
Here’s the blurb:
Somebody stole my painting! The one I need for the career-defining Vertex Art Exhibit.
I have mere weeks to find my painting or lose my artist dream forever—but it’s going to mean working with William.
William Haruki Matsumura. Good-looking, if you like the Secret Service type. You know, law-abiding, protector of women and children. That’s all fine, but I can never tell what he’s thinking. Which drives me crazy.
He insists on coming along to do “damage control.” As if “accidentally” wandering into certain areas is “breaking and entering.” I may be an emotional artist, but William shouldn’t dismiss my investigative skills yet.
William is definitely my opposite, and if there’s one takeaway from my parents’ divorce, it’s that opposites might attract, but it doesn’t last. But detecting with William is kind of fun—and fluttery. I definitely can’t trust these feelings, or can I? However this caper ends, I think this may be more than a crush.
Caper Crush Is ON SALE and Reaches #27 in Women’s Humorous Fiction! #Top30AmazonBestseller
Here’s a picture of it on the Amazon charts:
Let’s Talk
I really love Caper Crush, and so I’m super happy to see it selling so well now. I definitely think that some scenes were inspired by the k-dramas that I’ve become addicted to 🙂
Anyway, I highly recommend it. And although I may be biased (just a little), it also won an Independent Press Award for Distinguished Favorite in Romantic Comedy. And you can see my previous post here for other reviews.
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Partner Pursuit: Behind the Scenes
I’d love to share some behind the scenes photos of where I envisioned various scenes of Partner Pursuit taking place.
Here’s the corner where I envisioned Audrey and Jake’s cute-meet right outside the corner store.
A picture of the corner store where I envisioned Audrey bumping into Jake The Upper West Side also has many side streets filled with brownstones. They are a mix of single-family, two-family and multi-occupant houses. One floor could be an apartment or half a floor could be an apartment. Or you could have duplex apartment with a circular staircase like Audrey. They usually have about 5 floors. The parlor floor usually has eleven-foot ceilings so it can be the most desirable. I love the colorful colors of this row of brownstones on the Upper West Side.
And in another behind the scenes secret, this is the block where we did the photo shoot for my author picture.
Here’s a picture of Levain Bakery. I pictured them stopping by this Levain Bakery as they were bicycling to Riverside Park. It’s closed right now because of the pandemic because it’s an incredibly small space that gets really packed, but they opened up a more spacious Levain Bakery a few blocks north, so not to worry! And you may remember my previous post with a picture of the actual chocolate chip cookies. They weigh the cookie dough before they put in on the tray to make sure each is the right weight.
A picture of Levain Bakery Partner Pursuit: Behind the Scenes at Fairway
And here’s a picture of Fairway where Jake and Audrey go food shopping. Fairway has the most amazing selection of food.
Let’s Talk
How are you? Are there any other scenes from Partner Pursuit where you’d like to see my inspiration (if any?) Next time, I’ll do their bicycle date up the Hudson River.
Have a great weekend!
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PARTNER PURSUIT COVER REVEAL
I’m excited to reveal the cover for my debut novel PARTNER PURSUIT available in paperback on Amazon. The e-book will release on October 18, 2021 and is available for pre-order.
Partner Pursuit Cover by COVER EVER AFTER It was designed by COVER EVER AFTER in Australia. I love it! I asked her to add the little briefcase on the back of the bicycle because Audrey is a lawyer.
Here’s the blurb:
Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision.
Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor. Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One.
He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom.
But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family.
And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner. Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory.
If only she had not met him now.
Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis.
But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?
Let’s Talk: COVER REVEAL
I hope you are doing well. What do you think of my cover?
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Never Have I Ever RomCom Tips
I highly recommend Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever and here are some takeaway romcom tips. If you haven’t watched it, watch it before you read below. It will make you laugh, cry, swoon and feel good at the end. Spoilers alert.
The Flawed Protagonist
One of the most brilliant things about Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever is the character of Devi Vishwakumar, who is definitely flawed, but so appealing that you’re immediately rooting for her. She has a temper, which is why John McEnroe is her narrator (brilliant casting). She storms out on her friend Eleanor when she finds out Eleonor is dating someone and didn’t tell her, and then angrily throws a book out the window, breaking the window, admits that she’s jealous of her beautiful cousin Kamala. . . and this is all in the pilot episode. As she admits, she does not take the high road. She’s also refreshingly honest.
She’s also vulnerable and hurting because she idolized her father and he just died. And their scenes together always bring me near tears.
She’s also incredibly determined. Joining the hot boys lunch table takes guts.
And I love the whole Indian-American cultural aspect, especially the mom’s comments about America. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is an amazingly talented actress.
The Love Triangle
First Kiss Never Have I Ever has a well-done romantic triangle. There’s the hot, but sensitive jock (Paxton Yoshida) vs. the nerdy smart guy (Ben Gross). And normally I would be all for the nerdy smart guy, but he was so awful in the beginning that I couldn’t get over that, especially because of his UN comment and how mean he is when he’s doing the school project with her friends.
Paxton is also very sweet. And I like that he doesn’t drink at parties during swim season. I liked how he apologized and was there for her on multiple occasions.
- when he comes over to her house to apologize that he wrongly freaked out about her meeting his sister. (He is very protective of his sister.) And he gives that glance back after they part.
- when she gets bitten by the coyote and he rushes out to pick her up and take her to hospital. (And then her mom is so mean to him.)
- When he tells her “you do you.” Which is kind of like Colin Firth’s statement “I like you just the way you are” in Bridget Jones.
- and the kiss in the car (which he even tells his sister about).
So, I will admit that I am Team Paxton and not Team Ben.
I was so disappointed when it switched to Ben Gross’s POV so that we would develop sympathy for him. But it did work, so that definitely gives tips for how to make someone likable again:
- have his parents completely abandon him. As he says, he’s Kevin in Home Alone, except his parents decide to stay in Paris.
- have his self-centered girlfriend ditch him
- show him being lonely
- make him cry when someone is nice to him
- have them work together as a team
And Ben’s behavior improves, especially when he offers her a place to stay when she has a falling out with her mom. And that car drive! So, I definitely saw his appeal. And I was less impressed with Paxton when they did the homework assignment together and his slogan wasn’t very good. And of course, Paxton often ignored Devi.
BUT I am still Team Paxton. And I can’t wait for Season 2 when presumably the love triangle tension will continue.
Or maybe I am just Team Devi.
The Antagonist
In many ways, Devi is her own worst enemy, but she’s a brilliantly developed character. And her fraught relationship with her mother, masterfully revealed, propels the plot.
Another takeaway is to give your character hard choices so that you test your character. I thought it was a tough choice when she has to choose between doing a favor for Paxton by modeling clothes for Paxton’s sister and being there for Eleanor. The right thing to do was to be there for Eleanor, but that’s not what she wanted to do.
Let’s Talk
Have you seen Never Have I Ever? I also love all the subplots (the mom’s, Kamala’s, Fabiola’s and Eleanor’s). What are your favorite scenes? Are you Team Paxton or Ben? And what romcom tips did you take away?
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RomCom Tips from Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama Movie Poster Here are my RomCom tips from SWEET HOME ALABAMA. A friend recommended SWEET HOME ALABAMA; I think I didn’t see it because I was afraid it would idealize the South/Civil War, and it does in parts.
The Love Triangle
Patrick Dempsey is perfect as the Other Guy. Except maybe for his mother. BUT, he loves her and is over-the-top about it: honestly a room full of roses (“one for every time I thought of you”), the proposal at Tiffany’s (ok, actually, I thought that was weird to propose publicly in front of all these store employees, but the thought was good), supports her career, willing to stand up to his mother for her (or is that part of her appeal that she doesn’t appeal to his mother?). But as opposed to the Bellamy of previous posts, he’s the Other Guy with a twist because he could be a viable mate for Reese Witherspoon. As Billy Mernit advises,
“The most effective Bellamy is the one who poses a genuine threat to your central romance, meaning: for maximum triangle tension, design a Mr. or Ms. Wrong who we can believe can actually be a viable mate for your protagonist.”
Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit at p. 134.And that adds to the tension. Is she really going to give up Mr. Perfect?
The Character Arc
The character arc of Melanie was also well-done. She’s run from her past and she has to come to terms with it. She has rejected Alabama and chosen New York, but as Jake says, why can’t she have both? And that’s her arc as she comes to realize that she doesn’t have to reject her past to succeed in her future. The scene at the bar where she insults everyone is also well-done because she is flawed and not very likable. And the next few scenes are her making up for those mistakes. And growing.
The Chemistry
The movie succeeds in large part because of the chemistry between Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas. Smoking. But the initial scenes also show their tempers and suggest why they have the history they do.
This is one of my favorite scenes–when they have their heart-to-heart talk. And kiss.
Sweet Home Alabama – the scene where they talk honestly She does not have the same chemistry with Andrew. And the fact that she hasn’t told him any of her past is a big red flag. (As it should have been for him.)
The Antagonists
Melanie is probably her own worst antagonist. The conflict between Melanie and Jake is the main driver of the plot. There are also the mothers: her own mother who wants her to stay in New York and marry Andrew, and Andrew’s mother who doesn’t want her son to marry Melanie.
Let’s Talk RomCom Tips
Have you seen SWEET HOME ALABAMA? What are your romcom tips from SWEET HOME ALABAMA? What’s your favorite scene? What did you like about the movie? And did you feel bad for Patrick Dempsey at the end (I did) even though I wanted her to go back to Jake?
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Developing Supporting Characters
So, I’m starting my second novel and developing the supporting characters. I’m also about to take my third Linnea Sinclair month-long class, which will be on secondary characters. So excited! I highly recommend signing up now for it. It’s only $30.00. She is an AMAZING teacher (and writer). So, I will have a lot more insights into this at the end of this month (but you have to take her class for those). But for now, here’s where I’m starting from.
Only dolls would volunteer to be photographed for a “supporting characters” picture–which leads to some other advice I’ve heard: everyone thinks they’re the MC. Use Supporting Characters to Create Conflict and Add Dimension
The best analysis I’ve seen so far on developing your supporting characters is Billy Mernit’s analysis of the TOOTSIE characters in his book, Writing the Romantic Comedy. And if you are writing a romantic comedy or love watching romantic comedies, I HIGHLY recommend reading his book. He has an amazing pictorial representation of the characters.
“[T]he supporting characters are all in some way reflections of Michael [Michael is the name of the character who becomes Tootsie] and thus force him to confront his issues.”
Writing the Romantic Comedy, by Billy Mernit (2000) at p. 76.So, as an example, in my current WIP, if my protagonist is going to be emotionally reserved, then another character has to be very emotional. Supporting characters should conflict and bring out different traits in the MC. Here’s an initial circle representation, based on Mernit’s picture for Tootsie.
Good luck reading my handwriting! Even I can’t read it sometimes 🙂 But you should get the idea. (To be honest, I keep going back and forth on whether she will be emotionally reserved. Emotional might be more fun.) In my first not-yet-published novel, Partner Pursuit, Audrey is a workaholic, while Jake, the love interest, is trying to live life to the fullest.
Add a Friend
Unless the person is a lonely introvert, then I suggest adding a friend. I always wonder about characters who don’t seem to have any friends. Also, this gives your protagonist someone to confide in. And then the buddy can give advice. As Billy Mernit says, “Buddies move the story forward.” (at p. 68). For example, in OVERBOARD (2018), it is Eva Longoria, the best friend, who suggests to Anna Faris that she should pretend she is his wife and he can work to pay off what he owes her.
Assign “Tags” to Supporting Characters
If you have a lot of supporting characters, and I’m reading late at night, tired, I might get lost and confuse them unless you give them a “tag” or dominant impression so that I remember who this character is. Here’s what writing guru Dwight Swain advises:
“A tag is a label. You hang tags on story people so that your reader can tell one character from another. An impression, dominant or otherwise, is created by the tags a character bears.”
Techniques of the Selling Writer, Dwight V. Swain, at p. 226.This is something I also need to improve in my writing.
Let’s Talk
Who are some of your favorite supporting characters? Why? What advice do you give about supporting characters?
And let’s talk about the topic on everyone’s minds: I am trying to stock up for the coronavirus, but it’s practically impossible. The food seems to be eaten as soon as it comes in. It’s like the opposite of doing laundry–I empty the hamper and do the laundry and yet, it’s full again of dirty clothes. Here, I load up the refrigerator and the cabinets, and yet they’re empty. The only thing I can safely say is that we seem to have enough toilet paper. Hurray for that.
Wishing everyone a great weekend. Keep washing your hands.
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Analyzing the new OVERBOARD
Overboard movie poster So OVERBOARD (1987) with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell is one of my favorite movies, but I still wanted to see the new OVERBOARD (2018) and to spend some time analyzing it. (It’s free right now on Amazon Prime). And I enjoyed it in the end, but on its own terms. Since I’m writing a romantic comedy, and since I love watching romantic comedies, I also love discussing and analyzing romantic comedies. And there were some interesting lessons.
Analyzing the New OVERBOARD
Here are some of mythoughts on the new OVERBOARD:
- Still like the set-up of the scam
- Shows how to make an unlikable love interest likable
- Uses double entendre in comic scenes – based on the scene with the male buddies
- Missing the chemistry of the original OVERBOARD
The Comedy Scam
According to John Truby, “the plan is always a scam in comedy.” So that’s the case in OVERBOARD, since Anna Faris’s character decides to pretend that Eugenio Derbez is her husband. This also brings in the “fake dating” romcom trope, which is one of my favorites. Only, OVERBOARD has a clever twist since only one of them is aware that they are “fake” married.
P.S. I highly highly recommend John Truby’s course on Comedy. It is one of the best courses on comedy I have taken so far.
Making an Unlikable Love Interest Likable
I REALLY disliked Eugenio Derbez’s character initially. He was so so awful. He had to be awful so you sympathize with the Anna Faris character taking advantage of him. So I was impressed with the scriptwriting because I started to like him. BUT am I really that easy? He makes lunch for her and I’m like, okay, I guess you’re a good guy. I guess I am really that easy. His amnesia, though, also allowed the audience to give him a fresh start.
My Favorite Scene in OVERBOARD
My favorite scene was actually when Eugenio Derbez was hanging out with the guys and he says: “I don’t think this is my life. I don’t have sex with my wife.”
The other guy says that the last time he had sex with his wife was 9 months before our daughter was born. And our daughter is now 2. (So there you have the set-up, the joke, and then the topper (and now our daughter is 2).) And that nobody thinks that this is their life.
Eugenio says that he feels that he should be the guy owning the pool, not building the pool. And all the guys say that they think that.
So it has the double entendre aspect because you know that this is not Eugenio’s life (and that in his former life, he did have sex all the time and was the guy owning the pool) and that makes that funny. But the conversation also has truth to it (everybody thinks that), which adds to the humor.
Missing the Chemistry of the Original OVERBOARD
I think that from a romantic point of view, it was missing the chemistry of the original OVERBOARD. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell definitely had more chemistry. Maybe that’s because they have chemistry in real life, but I also think that the OVERBOARD (2018) script had less flirtatious banter between the leads. I’ll have to go watch the original again to see if my theory is correct. 🙂
I remember that I wrote one scene in my draft novel where the male romantic lead was doing the dishes and my writing tutor in my Penguin UK Constructing a Novel Writer’s Academy course found this boring and said I needed to add more sparks. Meanwhile, as someone who hates doing dishes, I thought that the male romantic lead doing the dishes was sexy. Lol.
Sexy man doing dishes But she was right and I did add more banter to the scene.
Meme that I want you to want to do the dishes from The Break-Up Exactly. Why would anyone want to do the dishes?
Three Take-Aways from Analyzing the New OVERBOARD
- Use a scam in your comedy. Add a twist if you can.
- Make sure there is flirtatious banter between the leads
- Comic scenes that play with double entendres work.
Let’s Talk
Have you seen the 2018 OVERBOARD? Did you like it or hate it? What was your favorite scene? What was your favorite scene in the 1987 OVERBOARD?
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Can there be too much dialogue in a manuscript?
Two Friends Talking Can there be too much dialogue in a manuscript?
According to some, yes.
Robert McKee’s Advice on Film Dialogue
I was taken aback by McKee’s advice: “The best advice for writing film dialogue is don’t. Never write a line of dialogue when you can create a visual expression.”
As he explains in Story, “But if you write for the eye when the dialogue comes, as it must, it sparks interest because the audience is hungry for it.” (Story, p. 393). Of course this is for film, and that’s different from a novel, but I still like the notion of the audience or reader being hungry for the dialogue.
I love writing dialogue. I also like to read dialogue. I read that much faster than long paragraphs of description. And of course, the above advice is for film. So does it also apply when writing a novel?
Studying the Techniques of Other Writers in My Genre
I can see that Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes has less dialogue than my MS. Some conversations are expressed via paragraphs like this one:
“When it got to the late afternoon, Evvie poured bourbon and made snacks, and they sat on the love seat with their feet on the coffee table and listened to the new episode of the true-crime podcast they’d both been following. Dean rolled his eyes and complained that the people were clearly never going to solve the case, and Evvie passed him a peanut butter cracker and said it was about the journey.”
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes at p. 280So I ‘m going to review my MS and see what I can re-write in this manner.
And I’m in the middle of reading Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke (and I’m really enjoying it) and studying her technique.
And here’s a conversation that you definitely don’t want to hear in detail, which is the author’s point, as neither does her character Tara. Lol.
“Tara introduced herself to the silver-haired gentleman beside her, and before long was engaged in a conversation about an unpleasant-sounding bovine condition called campylobacter.”
Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke at p. 70.What is My Dialogue Doing?
As you’ve undoubtedly read, conversations have to move the plot forward or reveal something about the characters. See https://nybookeditors.com/2017/05/your-guide-to-writing-better-dialogue/. And I realized that some of my scenes were just fun banter. But can I keep some of that if it is humorous? I think they did reveal something of my protagonist, so I kept some of it, but shortened it.
The Well-Storied blog gives this great advice to “identify the tension at the core of the scene” and craft related dialogue. That’s just one of 19 good tips at https://www.well-storied.com/blog/write-better-dialogue.
And I also found this blog post from Ride the Pen very helpful about using body language tags to express emotion and convey conflict and character. See https://www.ridethepen.com/body-language-in-dialogue/ .
Adding Action
I also found this advice very helpful from The Editors Blog: “If characters only talk, if they don’t respond to the conflict with action, then that conflict isn’t accomplishing as much as it could. ” https://theeditorsblog.net/2011/10/25/dialogue-my-characters-talk-too-much/
All of the above blog posts are great resources, so I suggest reading them in full.
Three Take-Aways
- Review dialogue in MS and see if it is moving the plot forward or revealing something about my characters. (Or if it’s funny, in which case I also want to keep it.)
- Label my scenes as action vs. talking. See if I need to add more action. (Probably.)
- In talking scenes, check if the description can be enhanced such that it creates a “visual expression” (possibly via body language).
What’s your preference when reading? Can you share any advice about writing dialogue?