Jennifer Mathis and Tuere Morton They are the two lucky persons whose names Gina's son picked out of the hat (or whatever). Congratulations Jennifer and Tuere! I'm betting you'll giggle your way through the book.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Interview with Gina Ardito
"Fall in love with your laugh."That’s the first thing I saw when I went to Gina Ardito’s website. I was hooked; I had to know more about this writer. I read on and wasn’t disappointed. Gina combines what she believes are life’s two most important qualities, love and laughter, in her books. When she’s not writing, she loves and laughs in Long Island with her husband, two children, a bionic dog and two cats. Sounds like my kind of a person. There's more: not only is Gina good-natured, she’s generous. Leave a comment here and you might be one of two lucky readers to win an autographed copy of her latest book, Nobody's Darling. Now, let’s hear from Gina herself.
SANDY CODY: Tell us about Nobody’s Darling.
GINA ARDITO: I came up with the idea for Nobody’s Darling after a family ski trip a few years ago. When we arrived home, spring had truly sprung in our neighborhood. So my husband and kids immediately took off on a long bike ride to our local Italian ice shop while I unloaded the car then headed to the kennel to pick up our dog. I brought the dog home, gave her a bath, and then unpacked the suitcases and started putting things away. That’s when it struck me: I need a wife. My heroine in Nobody’s Darling, April Raine, runs Rainey-Day-Wife, a parenting services organization that offers families the gift of extra time by taking care of all those little details that pile up. Dr. Jefferson Prentiss, a television psychologist known as Dr. Jeff, believes April’s business actually hurts families by putting their basic needs in the hands of profit-seeking strangers. So the two agree to spend a month in a "Big Brother" style cabin in the mountains in an updated battle of the sexes for the benefit of a daytime talk show. When the dust settles, who will win? The mom or the doc? Or will love prevail?
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Thoughts on babies
My niece and nephew are expecting their first baby right now, any minute. This baby is special for the family in that it’s the first of the next generation. I’m already a great aunt three times and another on the way, through my husband’s side, but this will be my brother’s first grandchild and thus the first for my family.
We’re all excited and can’t wait to find out what sex it is. The young couple decided they didn’t want to know, which seems to be unusual nowadays. My sister-in-law and I agree that not knowing is part of the excitement. When our children were born knowing in advance wasn’t an option. In fact I didn’t even have an ultra sound scan for either of my children and we all survived in good health. Mind you I was much younger, in my mid twenties, when I had my first baby.
We’re all excited and can’t wait to find out what sex it is. The young couple decided they didn’t want to know, which seems to be unusual nowadays. My sister-in-law and I agree that not knowing is part of the excitement. When our children were born knowing in advance wasn’t an option. In fact I didn’t even have an ultra sound scan for either of my children and we all survived in good health. Mind you I was much younger, in my mid twenties, when I had my first baby.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Humor Writing
What makes a story funny? Misunderstandings? Deception? Secrets? Yes, these same devices many authors use to add suspense to a serious story can effectively add humor to a light story.
In my book “Stolen Son” the hero is keeping a major secret: His five-year-old adopted son is the heroine’s birth son, the one who was kidnapped from her when he was an infant.
There’s certainly nothing funny about that! “Stolen Son” if full of drama.
In my most recent release, romantic comedy “Male Fraud,” however, the mighty big secret the heroine is keeping from her hero is a hilarious one--at least to us readers it’s funny.
Heroine Terry Fiscus has disguised herself as a man in order to get a job as a trainer for the hero’s pro football team. Dan, the hero, is the coach for the Chicago Cyclones.
Terry’s deception in “Male Fraud” sets up all kinds of humorous situations. They may not be funny to her, but they have readers grinning from ear to ear.
Deception, secrets and misunderstandings can be great devices for generating humor in stories. Remember “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?” Or “Maid in Manhattan?” Secrets and deception drove the humor in the plots of those movies.
Confusion is also an effective device for generating humor. A quick pace can add to the fun too. “Seinfeld” frequently used a fast pace to enhance the humor of the very clever writing for that hit show.
Take a look at this snippet from “Male Fraud” which illustrates the use of both confusion and a quick pace in generating a funny scene.
Setup: Terry is crying and upset because she’s just learned something awful from Dan who is the man she loves (and is dating as the lovely Teresa outside of work) and her boss (when she’s posing as a man at work). Her friend, plastic surgeon Jean, is comforting her.
“You look like your puppy just died.” (Jean)
“I don’t have a puppy.” (Terry)
“Never mind.”
“I’m crying because Dan loves me, but he wants to get rid of me. I completely misjudged him. I thought he was the kind of guy who stuck by a woman he loved no matter what.”
“He wants to dump you? What makes you think such a thing? Did he tell you your relationship is over?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to have to be a bit clearer about what you mean.”
Terry wiped her nose again and sighed away her tears so she could speak distinctly.
“I went to Dan’s office today to talk with him, and while we were speaking, he told Terry he has to find a way to get out of his relationship with Teresa. He says she’s--I’m--Teresa’s consuming his every thought. If he’s thinking about her--me--he can’t focus on his team the way he needs to.”
Jean pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I don’t believe this. He’s confiding in you about you behind your back?”
“What?”
“He’s confiding in you about you behind your back?”
“What? You’re confusing me.”
“Exactly.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you and Dan. Your whole situation has gotten ridiculous…”
I bet you’re smiling….
Using devices such as irony, puns, and caricatured characters can contribute to humor just as effectively as the devices illustrated here.
Humor writing is as challenging as suspense writing is. No matter how “light” the prose may appear the work required to make them that way is “heavy.” And worth the effort.
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
For more information on “Male Fraud” go to:
http://sites.google.com/site/malefraudbook
In my book “Stolen Son” the hero is keeping a major secret: His five-year-old adopted son is the heroine’s birth son, the one who was kidnapped from her when he was an infant.
There’s certainly nothing funny about that! “Stolen Son” if full of drama.
In my most recent release, romantic comedy “Male Fraud,” however, the mighty big secret the heroine is keeping from her hero is a hilarious one--at least to us readers it’s funny.
Heroine Terry Fiscus has disguised herself as a man in order to get a job as a trainer for the hero’s pro football team. Dan, the hero, is the coach for the Chicago Cyclones.
Terry’s deception in “Male Fraud” sets up all kinds of humorous situations. They may not be funny to her, but they have readers grinning from ear to ear.
Deception, secrets and misunderstandings can be great devices for generating humor in stories. Remember “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?” Or “Maid in Manhattan?” Secrets and deception drove the humor in the plots of those movies.
Confusion is also an effective device for generating humor. A quick pace can add to the fun too. “Seinfeld” frequently used a fast pace to enhance the humor of the very clever writing for that hit show.
Take a look at this snippet from “Male Fraud” which illustrates the use of both confusion and a quick pace in generating a funny scene.
Setup: Terry is crying and upset because she’s just learned something awful from Dan who is the man she loves (and is dating as the lovely Teresa outside of work) and her boss (when she’s posing as a man at work). Her friend, plastic surgeon Jean, is comforting her.
“You look like your puppy just died.” (Jean)
“I don’t have a puppy.” (Terry)
“Never mind.”
“I’m crying because Dan loves me, but he wants to get rid of me. I completely misjudged him. I thought he was the kind of guy who stuck by a woman he loved no matter what.”
“He wants to dump you? What makes you think such a thing? Did he tell you your relationship is over?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to have to be a bit clearer about what you mean.”
Terry wiped her nose again and sighed away her tears so she could speak distinctly.
“I went to Dan’s office today to talk with him, and while we were speaking, he told Terry he has to find a way to get out of his relationship with Teresa. He says she’s--I’m--Teresa’s consuming his every thought. If he’s thinking about her--me--he can’t focus on his team the way he needs to.”
Jean pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I don’t believe this. He’s confiding in you about you behind your back?”
“What?”
“He’s confiding in you about you behind your back?”
“What? You’re confusing me.”
“Exactly.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you and Dan. Your whole situation has gotten ridiculous…”
I bet you’re smiling….
Using devices such as irony, puns, and caricatured characters can contribute to humor just as effectively as the devices illustrated here.
Humor writing is as challenging as suspense writing is. No matter how “light” the prose may appear the work required to make them that way is “heavy.” And worth the effort.
Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author
http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff
For more information on “Male Fraud” go to:
http://sites.google.com/site/malefraudbook
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