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New Romance Podcast: Jules & James

I was introduced to a new romance podcast recently that I’ve been enjoying: Jules & James.

I’m a fan of podcasts, especially romance for writers and book nerds like myself. But Jules & James is different than my usual podcasts. First, it’s a fictional story–a dialogue between two people who meet over the phone when one of them misdials the other. Jules is a British woman who’s passionate about filmmaking, and when she mistakenly calls James, an American living in Paris, he somehow convinces her to keep talking. She’s his sign, he tells her, that he’s meant to stay in Paris and continue his painting instead of flying back home to a more responsible job and life.

The first episode is full of the awkwardness of two strangers having an impromptu conversation over the phone that just keeps going. They both realize they’re artists, and despite different backgrounds, passions, and communication styles, they decide to keep talking each week, primarily about their art. What follows is a slow-burn between two people who find sharing their thoughts, dreams, and inspirations with each other worthwhile despite the weird way they met.

Referred to as “one part Before Sunrise, one part Griffin and Sabine,” Jules & James is definitely a podcast for those of us who enjoy dialogue-heavy romance and meditations on art.

However, Jules & James is different in another way: it’s going to be more than a podcast. According to the website, the project will eventually expand to having the characters have online identities viewers can interact with.

I’m curious to see where this story goes–not to mention how (and when!) Jules & James will finally meet face-to-face.

If you’re curious to listen, you can find out more about Jules & James or listen to the first three episodes here, as well as on major apps like Stitcher and iTunes. New episodes will be released weekly.

Let me know what you think of this podcast below! Are you a fan of awkward meet-cutes?

Tags:  Jules & James, podcasts, romance podcasts




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 Top Ten Signs You're Reading Genre Fiction  Writers Who Read: Naomi Zener  Six Ways Sweet Valley High Lied to Us  Writers Who Read: Daniel Hales  SCARY, LOVESICK, FOOLISH out!Copyright © G. G. Andrew [New Romance Podcast: Jules & James], All Right Reserved. 2017.

What I Listen to When I Write–and STOLEN IN LOVE Preorder Sale!

I’ve been a neglectful blogger here lately, but I’ve got good reasons, I swear! I’m still blogging over at the BookBub Blog and on Lady Smut, and also I’ve been finishing Stolen in Love, the second book in my Love & Lawbreakers series.

As I finished, revised, and edited this draft, I’ve thought a lot about how big a part music plays in my writing. I’ve always used music as inspiration–for my daydreams as a kid, and now as a writer–but the more I write, the more I consciously find and listen to songs that take me further into a story. I don’t often listen while I write–too distracting–but more in those between moments, when I’m in my car or out walking and want to become more excited about the story…and thus come up with fun plot twists, bits of dialogue or character traits. (This is the most enjoyable part of writing fiction, I think.)

Sometimes these inspirational songs make sense to others, because of the lyrical content or emotion of the song. I listened to many Halloween-themed songs while I wrote Crazy, Sexy, Ghoulish, including a lot of the soundtrack to The Nightmare Before Christmas. For Jaded, Bearded, Wolfish, the third in that series, I was all about “Werewolves of London.” (Of course. It’s the most well-known song with howling, right? If there are others, please post below.) Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” brought me into the emotions of Nora and Brendan in Scary, Lovesick, Foolish when they are (maybe) breaking up and feeling raw in their anger, hurt, and passion towards each other.

And I’ve daydreamed so many of my stories to Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love.” Maybe because it’s a fantastic song, maybe because so many of my stories have the opposites-attract, forbidden love vibe this song captures for me. (Though it’s probably about a hundred times sillier when it comes out of my pen.)

It’s not just the lyrics for me, though. Sometimes it’s the very sound–or even the accent of the singer. When I hear the Pet Shop Boys’ cover of “You Were Always on My Mind,” I can’t help but think of Graffiti in Love, because it became its theme song as I wrote it, not only because the sounds of that number brought out certain emotions in me, but because the lyrics were sung in a British accent, like the hero in that book had.

Some of my musical choices may be completely inexplicable to others. For my paranormal novella in the Under Your Spell collection, I put on Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” Though I wasn’t writing about a downtrodden worker, the upbeat quality to that underdog anthem really reminded me of my main character in that story, who’s driven to find the devil to reverse her bad luck.

So what did I listen to while writing Stolen in Love? Three things:

1.) Adele’s “Water Under the Bridge.” This song. THIS song. They’ve been playing it on the radio so much the past few months, but for me, it’s been a boon because the lyrics and emotions are so much of what my heroine, Kim, experiences when she falls for Scott, a police officer. She’s a kleptomaniac with a criminal record, and he’s trying to uphold the law. They shouldn’t want each other, but they do. Especially with Scott, his logical mind says he should respond to her one way, but his body (and heart) feel another way entirely. I imagine Kim singing this song to him, word for word.

2.) The Pretenders. When I finished Graffiti in Love and first started daydreaming about Kim’s story, the music of the Pretenders really reminded me of her character. Their songs have this mixture of toughness and vulnerability I love and that I tried to capture with Kim. I especially love “Back on the Chain Gang,” “Brass in Pocket,” and the sweetness of “2000 Miles.”

3.) Josh Ritter’s “Where the Night Goes.” My friend Jen of Heartforms introduced me to Josh Ritter, and I’ve been loving his music, which sounds like a blend of folk and pop to my ears. This song is probably my oddest choice, because the lyrics don’t exactly match the story of Stolen in Love (with a slight exception of the “tough girl” part, though the rest of the line doesn’t fit). But something about this song swept me away and got me in the headspace for finishing the novel.

Maybe I just really, really like these songs. And when you’re listening to something you love, that’s the best kind of inspiration for whatever you’re creating.

What music have you been listening to? I love getting recommendations for songs or new artists, so if you have any, drop them in the comments! I’ll be needing a new song for the novella I’m starting this month…

 

Psst! Speaking of Stolen in Love, it’s currently on preorder for only .99! The book releases Saturday, May 13th, and after then the price will go up. So if second-chance romantic suspense is your thing, grab it now for just under a dollar!

 

Amazon

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You can find out more about the book here!

Tags:  Love and Lawbreakers, music, Stolen in Love, writing




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 Writers Who Read: Tanya Selvaratnam  Writers Who Read: Amanda Gale  Writers Who Read Anniversary!  Romance Trope Tuesday: Secret Baby  Smart & Sexy Spring Giveaway! (and other Facebook news)Copyright © G. G. Andrew [What I Listen to When I Write--and STOLEN IN LOVE Preorder Sale!], All Right Reserved. 2017.

Romance Trope Tuesday: Secret Baby in THE SWITCH

A couple weeks back, I blogged on the secret baby trope in romance–where usually a female character gets pregnant without telling the baby’s father, and then later is romantically reunited with him. This week I’m looking at a twist on this trope in the romantic comedy The Switch.

Unlike the way this trope usually plays out, in The Switch, the woman is the last to know who the real child of her father is, though the story offers many of the same benefits and surprises that secret baby romances usually do.

In the 2010 film, Wally (Jason Bateman) and Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) have been friends for years. They once dated, but it didn’t take–mostly because Wally is incredibly neurotic and pessimistic. At the start of the movie, Kassie tells him that, despite being single, she’s ready to be a mom–and wants to get artificially inseminated. Wally is naturally critical of her plans (because, of course, he’s got Feelings for her he can’t seem to share), and the two fight.

Yet Wally grudgingly shows up at her insemination party, where the donor Roland (Patrick Wilson) is already in attendance, ready to provide his contribution. Wally’s unhappy about the situation, and gets drunk and takes a weird pill from Kassie’s friend. He eventually stumbles into the bathroom, where Roland’s sperm waits in a cup, and drunkenly messes around with it–then accidentally drops it in the sink! We can see the wheels turning in Wally’s addled brain–he’s got to replace the seed. Unfortunately, he’s so out of it he won’t remember this moment for years. Consent-wise, it’s a strange moment–she hasn’t given him permission for this, but he’s beyond out of it–and the situation is made slightly less terrible by the fact that it’s the adorably arch Jason Bateman in the role. You could maybe forgive a guy friend if he did this, but only if he were Jason Bateman.

Afterwards, Kassie becomes pregnant and moves away to raise the child, and the two lose touch.

Flash forward seven years. Kassie moves back in town, complete with a son, Sebastian. She calls Wally, and the two friends reunite. As I’ve said before, secret baby stories are almost always second-chance romances too, though you could imagine this movie happening as a friends-to-lovers tale because of the artificial insemination aspect. (Maybe Wally could’ve added his sperm to the cup to just cover his goof, though in The Switch you get the sense it’s at least in part because of Wally’s jealousy of the donor and repressed feelings for Kassie.)

Kassie’s son, of course, isn’t what Wally or anyone else expected: instead of a confident, athletic boy like his supposed biological father, Roland, Sebastian is intense and neurotic, complete with hypochondria, insomnia, and many weird fixations and anxieties. He’s like a mini-Wally, as strangers keep pointing out.

As I wrote in my earlier post, some of the fun in the secret baby trope is the dramatic tension of wondering how male characters will react to the fact they’ve fathered a child. Here, both characters are in the dark for the first half of the film; only the viewer knows that Wally is Sebastian’s father at first. So instead of that one big moment of the father character finding out, we get both parents being surprised. We also don’t get the downside of the secret baby trope, the possible confusion, disbelief, and anger at the female character for withholding such a big secret from her child’s father–though Wally’s sperm switcheroo isn’t exactly a #lifegoal for most people.

Wally eventually starts to remember his mistake, with help from a friend and a few snippets of memory. Halfway through the movie, with a look over his face only Jason Bateman could express, he exclaims, “I hijacked Cassie’s pregnancy? How could I not remember that?”

He starts to tell her, but when she suspects he’s telling her he has feelings for her, he cuts her off, saying that’s not it, and she storms off, embarrassed. Basically, he screws up, because the movie’s only been running an hour. Meanwhile, Kassie’s been hanging out with the donor Roland, who’s newly single and expresses interest in getting to know both her and Sebastian (whom he believes to be his son) better. What follows is a series of scenes of Roland trying to bond with Sebastian and failing, Wally and Sebastian bonding over bullies and lice, and Wally and Kassie being awkward around each other.

One of the pleasures of a secret baby story is that it can be very heartwarming. There’s not only the romance between the leads, but the relationship(s) between parent and child–which often changes the adult character(s) for the better. This is true in The Switch, as Wally softens and learns to care for Sebastian, finally expressing to Kassie near the end that his son has changed him. This bromance (if I can use that term with father and son) often overshadows the romance in The Switch in sweetness and development, as the kid is adorable and the neurotic pairing of Wally and Sebastian is perfection.

It all ends happily, of course, and despite its modern take on secret babies, The Switch delivers one of the best parts of the trope: the uniting of not only two people, but a family.

Have you seen The Switch? If so, let me know your thoughts!

~

Check back later this spring when I’ll be looking at a new trope as part of this series!

You can read more about romance tropes in the Romance Trope Tuesday series here, including friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, enemies-to-lovers, and fated mates.

You can also follow this series by signing up for my mailing list, subscribing to individual posts (bottom right), and/or following the hashtag #RomanceTropeTuesday on Twitter or my Facebook page.

Tags:  Romance Trope Tuesday, romance tropes, secret baby, tropes




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Comments:  0 (Zero), Be the first to leave a reply!You might be interested in this:  
 What Does It Mean When We Read a Book Fast?  SOMEWHERE WARM free until New Year's  Writers Who Read: Kieran Lyne  Making Mr. Melty Ice Cream: Frozen Fruity Flaxseed  Romance Trope Tuesday: Second-Chance Romance Reading ListCopyright © G. G. Andrew [Romance Trope Tuesday: Secret Baby in THE SWITCH], All Right Reserved. 2017.

Romance Trope Tuesday: Secret Baby

Photo by Daiga Ellaby from Unsplash

The secret baby trope in romance is one readers either seem to love or absolutely hate!

If you’re new to this, basically this trope is where the (usually) female character gets pregnant and/or has a child of the male main character without telling him (for Reasons).

Why do readers and writers secretly love this trope?

It creates a lot of dramatic tension.

Twists that the reader doesn’t see coming are always cool, but there’s something even greater sometimes about a secret only a character doesn’t know. Usually the reader is in on the secret of the baby’s daddy before the daddy in question is, so we’re left excited and wondering how he’s going to react, which leads to…

It makes for a very exciting story.

The couple is not only facing external and internal conflicts on the way to their happily-ever-after, but a surprise baby that ups the intensity.

It pairs well with second-chance romance.

Whenever I’ve polled fellow romance writers or readers, second-chance romance is almost always on the shortlist of favorite tropes. Secret baby stories are nearly always second-chance romances, since there’s the moment of secret baby conception, then a time period of months or years where the baby is kept secret. Blending with such a well-loved trope makes secret babies all the more satisfying. 

It can also be heartwarming.

Because babies. (All those hormones too, maybe.)

But not everyone is a fan of this trope. In fact, some readers LOATHE it. Especially because it means the (usually) woman is keeping secrets from the man, especially a whopper like the fact he’s conceived a child.

Although there are better and worse ways to present this. “A lot of people don’t like the secret baby trope because it often means lying,” says romance author Rebecca Brooks, “but there can be sympathetic reasons the hero doesn’t know he’s a father that don’t involve deceit. ” Brooks is currently writing a secret baby storyline in MAKE ME YOURS, book four in her Men of Gold Mountain series, a book she describes as “a second chance romance about a bad ass rock star and the one—or really two!—who got away.”

I have to admit I haven’t read this trope much at all, though I’m excited to read Rebecca’s story and a couple others. How do you feel about this trope? Have you found any of these romances you love? Let me know!

~

Check back later this month when I’ll look at a twist on the secret baby trope in the Jennifer Aniston/Jason Bateman comedy The Switch. 

You can read more about romance tropes in the Romance Trope Tuesday series here, including friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, enemies-to-lovers, and fated mates.

You can also follow this series by signing up for my mailing list, subscribing to individual posts (bottom right), and/or following the hashtag #RomanceTropeTuesday on Twitter or my Facebook page.

 

 

 

Tags:  Romance Trope Tuesday, romance tropes, secret baby, tropes




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 Top Ten Romance Releases in 2014  Reductress Articles  Writers Who Read: Laurie Boris  Girl B Bites It: A Horror Trope That Needs to Die  Writers Who Read: Anna SchumacherCopyright © G. G. Andrew [Romance Trope Tuesday: Secret Baby], All Right Reserved. 2017.

Romance Trope Tuesday: Fated Mates in SERENDIPITY

Happy Tuesday! I’ve been blogging this month about the fated mates trope in romance–when two people are destined to be together. Last week I shared some examples of books that use this trope and why readers love (or loathe!) fated mates. This week I’m looking at this trope at work in the 2001 John Cusack/Kate Beckinsale film Serendipity. As you’ll read, I have some issues with the movie (I kind of hate-watch it), but it’s a good example of a film that examines this trope head on, in both dialogue and plot.

When Sarah (Beckinsale) and Jonathan (Cusack) first meet, they’re both after the same pair of gloves. It’s a meet-cute for the holidays in New York City, and naturally they follow this up by getting some sugary hot drinks. The two are obviously attracted to one another, even though they both admit to being in other relationships. When she starts to leave, Jonathan cranks up his flirting desperately, but Sarah won’t even give him her first name. “If we’re meant to meet again, then we’ll meet again,” she says. “It’s just not the right time now.” Sarah believes in Fate, you see, and even when she meets a guy she likes–a CUSACK, for God’s sake–she’s not having him unless there’s some kind of divine sign. Preferably multiple signs.

“I don’t really believe in accidents. I think Fate’s behind everything,” Sarah explains to Jonathan. Though she qualifies this a bit, suggesting it’s not just destiny, but its dance with human choice which guides her. “I think we make our own decisions. I just think Fate sends us little signs, and it’s how we read the signs that determines whether we’re happy or not.” (Jonathan replies in this conversation, without even a touch of irony, “Lucky discoveries. Columbus and America.”)

Let me admit my bias here: I almost always prefer Kate Beckinsale clad in leather and killing werewolves and vampires. That said, I find the beginning of Serendipity one of the more frustrating scenes in any romance. Sarah seems to like Jonathan, and he really likes her, but in response to him trying to exchange numbers with her, she leaves their connection to chance. They run into each other again that evening, and go ice-skating, but then when a breeze blows Jonathan’s number out of her hands, she assumes they are not Meant to Be. But just to be sure, she tests it: he writes his number on a $5 bill and she buys Certs with it at a food cart to send it out into the world. (Sidebar: are Certs still a thing?) She also puts her own name and number in a book, Love in the Time of Cholera, and says she’ll donate it to a used bookstore the next day. If either of these items find their way to them in the future, she surmises, it’ll be a Sign to forge ahead.

“What if it’s all in our hands, and we just walk away?” Jonathan asks, and reasonably so, because man. Sarah doesn’t just like signs, she’s practically a slave to them. It’s like she’s eight and twisting an apple stem while reciting the alphabet and just hoping it snaps off at “J.”

In a final, last-ditch attempt to assuage Jonathan’s completely understandable protests that “You don’t just have the most incredible night with a person and then leave it all to chance, do you?”, she makes them both jump in elevators opposite one another, thinking if the universe is on their team they’ll both arrive on the same floor. She then tells him her first name as a parting gift to torture him for years to come: “Hey, it’s Sarah. My name’s Sarah.” Surprise surprise, they both hit the 23rd floor, but the universe is cruel or at least New Yorkers are because into Jonathan’s elevator jumps a man and his son, who’s clad in a devil costume (Why is this kid in a devil costume at Christmas? No idea.) and pushes all the elevator buttons. And the two miss each other. Because one of them is crazy.

Fast forward a “few years” in the future, and both Sarah and Jonathan are engaged to other people. But they haven’t been able to get their one night, and each other, out of their minds. In some ways, they’ve switched places. Jonathan is now always on the lookout for the book with Sarah’s number and signs that he’s marrying the wrong woman. Sarah is a counselor who tells her clients to give up on the idea of destiny or soul mates. Yet slowly, signs start appearing that push them both to start frantically searching for the other, despite lack of last names or phone numbers. (Because Sarah. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.) Near misses and coincidences multiple, the two fly across the country back and forth, and the signs culminate in the appearance of that $5 bill and that used copy of Love in the Time of Cholera. Though the quest is not without its frustrations: “Maybe the absences of signs is a sign,” Jonathan says at one point, discouraged and sitting on a park bench.

It all turns out happily, of course, but along the way Jonathan, Sarah, and their friends all explore and question the idea of magic in romance, of two people being soul mates or something mystical at work in our lives. Jonathan’s best man is at first the voice of reason, but then gets caught up in the reckless passion of his friend. Sarah’s friend, the owner of a New Age store, is oddly skeptical of fate herself. “Life is chaotic…otherwise why would you get out of bed?” she says of the idea of destiny.

The film’s plot seems to draw the conclusion that, like Sarah said in the beginning, the universe “sends us little signs, and it’s how we read the signs that determines whether we’re happy or not.” I like how this movie brings a bit of magic to romance, though I could’ve done without Sarah’s trying to suss out destiny’s intent with parlor tricks.

For those of you who’ve seen this, what did you think of Serendipity? Were Jonathan and Sarah truly fated mates?

 

I’ll be back in a couple weeks to tackle a new trope–and another readers either love or hate: secret babies!

You can read more about romance tropes in the Romance Trope Tuesday series here, including friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, and enemies-to-lovers.

You can also follow this series by signing up for my mailing list, subscribing to individual posts (bottom right), and/or following the hashtag #RomanceTropeTuesday on Twitter or my Facebook page.

Tags:  fated mates, romance, Serendipity, tropes




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Comments:  0 (Zero), Be the first to leave a reply!You might be interested in this:  
 Are You Surprised by the Books that Stay with You?  Top 10 Ways to Use Twitter Without Losing Your Soul  Writers Who Read: Mick Harris  Writers Who Read: Maureen O'Leary Wanket  Writers Who Read: Shelley EttingerCopyright © G. G. Andrew [Romance Trope Tuesday: Fated Mates in SERENDIPITY], All Right Reserved. 2017.

Romance Trope Tuesday: Fated Mates

Happy 2017! I’m resurrecting the series I started this summer, Romance Trope Tuesday, with a bit of a twist: instead of four separate posts, I’ll be delving deeper into these tropes with two longer posts per month combining what the trope is, where it appears in romance, and how it works in a movie. Plus, I’ll be sharing quotes from readers and authors of romance about why they love (or hate) these tropes.

January’s focus is fated mates. This is when two people seemed destined to be together. Maybe they keep bumping into each other, so it seems like their relationship is in the cards. Or maybe, like in fantasy stories, their pairing is prophesied or more blatantly supernatural. In Kresley Cole’s A Hunger Like No Other, a Scottish werewolf has been chained up and tortured by vampires until he senses the presence of his future mate above ground. He’s so determined to find her, he sacrifices a limb and then kidnaps her…only to discover she’s half vampire.

This is one of those tropes that readers seem to either love or hate. Let’s start with the love first. Why are some readers destined to read these books?

They’re super romantic.

The idea that two people are meant to be together packs some serious swoonage. It’s not just a love connection, it’s written in the stars. They’re soul mates. It’s epic.

Fated mates work well in paranormal stories…

Like in A Hunger Like No Other, the supernatural or spiritual significance to fated mates works well in speculative tales. A.C. Rose, author of the fated mates story Arousal, describes what she loves about writing these epic romances: “Many of my books feature characters who have an instant attraction and a sense of familiarity or connection. Sometimes they have dreams or insights that foretell something is happening or about to happen in their lives, or that open them to possibilities. Since I have written so much about real stories of magical ways people found one another, I am a fan of instant love and like to throw my characters into situations where the love and desire come before normal dating.”

…but also contemporary

Even if a story isn’t obviously supernatural in nature, there can still be a sense of two people being made for each other, maybe because incredible coincidences or signs keep pushing them together, or there’s simply a sense of rightness to their match that defies logic and time. In Barbara Samuel’s RITA-award winning Meant to be Married, Elias and Sarah were separated for over a decade because of their sparring families and a secret, but when they are reunited, their love burns brighter than ever.

It adds tension–a boon to any story

Even when two people are fated to be together, the path isn’t always smooth. Their intended could be of a species they are mortal enemies with, like in Kresley Cole’s novel or Laini Taylor’s YA series Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Their families could have long-standing enmity toward each other, as in Meant to be Married. Or the two could disagree with destiny. In Arousal, sexy European billionaire Nicolai knows New Yorker Allison is his destiny after his grandmother has a mystical vision. The trouble is, Allison’s skeptical and doesn’t believe in love.

But this trope isn’t for everybody. Some readers aren’t into the way fated mates seems to take the choice out of love. “Fated mates makes me a little squeamish,” admits historical romance author Elizabeth Cole, “because it seems to remove free will from the decision to engage in a romance, which is KINDA important.”

This trope can also feel less romantic to those of us who like watching a couple decide whether they’re right for each other on their own. “Fated mates bothers me for some reason,” romance writer and reader Christina Alexandra told me. “It’s like it leaves out the best parts of romance…the couple learning about each other and the awkwardness they feel sometimes.”

How do you feel about romance with fated mates? Are these stories in the cards for you? Comment below or share on my Facebook page!

~

Stay tuned for later this month when I’ll look at the tug-of-war because destiny and choice in the (maybe) fated mates film Serendipity.

You can read more about romance tropes in the Romance Trope Tuesday series here, including friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, and enemies-to-lovers.

You can also follow this series by signing up for my mailing list, subscribing to individual posts (bottom right), and/or following the hashtag #RomanceTropeTuesday on Twitter or my Facebook page.

 

Tags:  forbidden love, forbidden romance, Romance Trope Tuesday, romance tropes




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 Writers Who Read: Kassandra Lamb  Writers Who Read: Elizabeth Enslin  Guest Post: Why I Write Romance for Women Over 40  6 Best Podcasts for Romance Writers  Writers Who Read: Amy Kathleen RyanCopyright © G. G. Andrew [Romance Trope Tuesday: Fated Mates], All Right Reserved. 2017.

Get Your Geek On: Preorder COVALENT BONDS!

I’m excited to announce a World Weaver Press geek romance anthology I’m in, COVALENT BONDS, is now available for preorder! 

Covalent bonds aren’t just about atoms sharing electron pairs anymore—it’s about the electricity that happens when you pair two geeks together. This anthology celebrates geeks of all kinds (enthusiasts, be it for comics, Dr. Who, movies, gaming, computers, or even grammar), and allows them to step out of their traditional supporting roles and into the shoes of the romantic lead. Forget the old stereotypes: geeks are sexy.

This collection is available for a special geeky preorder price of $3.14. (Get it?) (It took me a while. #geekfail) I’m stoked to be part of this anthology, which also has stories from Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Tellulah Darling, Mara Malins, Jeremiah Murphy, Marie Piper, Charlotte M. Ray, Wendy Sparrow, and Cori Vidae.

COVALENT BONDS features my story, “Girl Meets Grammarian.” What’s it about?

Poet Eliza Stein is trying to establish herself as a new professor at a prestigious university. But when she meets and quarrels with the older Dr. Kunal Narang over sentence diagramming, she realizes it’s going to be more difficult to stake out her place than she expected. If only Kunal wasn’t so infuriating, so infuriatingly charming–or so good with his hands.

Sentence diagramming as sexy? Believe it or not, I made it happen.

You can read an excerpt of “Girl Meets Grammarian” here, or check out the collection at any of the fine stores below. Get your geek on!

Amazon

World Weaver Press

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Paperbacks are also available at World Weaver Press.

Tags:  Covalent Bonds, geek romance, World Weaver Press




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 Writing is My French Lover (on BIG MAGIC)  Sex Danger: Six Things on IT FOLLOWS  Top Ten Signs You're Reading Literary Fiction  Romance Trope Tuesday: 13 Going on 30  The 10 Best Fall Entertainment ReleasesCopyright © G. G. Andrew [Get Your Geek On: Preorder COVALENT BONDS!], All Right Reserved. 2017.

Ten Best Search Terms in 2016

Well, another year has almost passed us by. And what a year it was. Some great books, some terrible celebrity deaths, some weird political upheaval, and a female Ghostbusters…. 2016 won’t be a year we’ll be forgetting any time soon. And of course, much like in 2014 and 2015, it was a year when people found this site through some pretty weird search terms. Here are my ten personal favorites:

“taste me“: No, thanks, I just ate.
“write down ten prose books“: I’m imagining this is a person Googling their teacher’s instructions, like, “What does it all mean?”
“bull and blossom“: The untold love story?
“the best kiss you had“: This is both sweet and strange for someone to search under. Also I want to maybe try it.
“gg tips tomorrow“: I feel like this could be a good side business for me. Can’t you picture it written on the side of the van with a smiley face giving the thumbs up? GG Tips Tomorrow!
“erotica defusce“: I’m not cool enough to know what this means. When I try to search “defusce” myself, the definition of “defuse” keeps coming up, leading me to believe this has something to do with explosives.
“read horror nd terrifying hardcore sex stories“: I like how in this person’s eagerness, they couldn’t spell “and.” Also: ouch.
“flaxseed ice cream“: I actually tried to make this, once. It was…yeah. Maybe this person had better luck.
“what to write next“: Look, I’ve been here. You’re staring at a blank page, and you’re so desperate you’re like, Maybe Google knows.
“why are [bestselling romance author] and [other bestselling romance author] no longer friends“: Perhaps my favorite if only for the scandal of it all. (There were real names in those brackets, but I took them out to not cause more controversy.)

Happy New Year!

Tags:  2016, search terms, top ten list




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 Writers Who Read: Lynn Kanter  Reductress Articles  Blog Hop: My Writing Process  Writers Who Read: Rebecca Brooks  My Wild Wish ListCopyright © G. G. Andrew [Ten Best Search Terms in 2016], All Right Reserved. 2017.

The Ten Best GILMORE GIRLS Episodes

The new Gilmore Girls episodes will hit Netflix this Friday, Nov. 25th!

The Gilmore Girls series, much like a fantastic Thanksgiving dish, came with a delicious mixture of ingredients that combined to make a perfect show. Take a sweet, strong bond between young mom Lorelai and her teen daughter, Rory. Add in some savory conflict between Lorelai and her well-to-do parents. Smear on a backdrop of a town of seriously quirky characters who do things like hold wakes for cats and debate about town troubadours. Stir in generous amounts of romance, the forbidden and the slow-burn and everything in-between. Season with witty humor and cultural references to everything from David Bowie to classic literature to Absolutely Fabulous.

It always made for a great watch, and that’s why Jen of Heartforms and I are so excited to see the new Gilmore Girls episodes coming to Netflix this week! In our enthusiasm for all things Gilmore, we’ve rewatched the best moments of the series to bring you our top ten Gilmore Girls episodes, complete with recaps of why they’re so essential to the series.

Season 1 Episode 9, “Rory’s Dance”

Rory’s first formal dance at Chilton! This episode is full of great Rory moments and life lessons. Rory, initially reluctant to go, decides to attend after Lorelai convinces her not to skip the dance–or anything else in life–because she’s afraid. Tristan torments Rory one second, gazes longingly at her the next, and later gets into a fight with Dean over her. Emily chides Rory that you don’t go running out the door when a boy honks for you. Dean is in top form too: he doesn’t want to go, doesn’t want to wear a suit, and doesn’t want to dance, yet does all of these things for Rory. And when she asks if he’s her boyfriend, he replies, “I am if you want me to be.” At the end, Rory and Dean fall asleep overnight at Miss Patty’s dance studio, which causes two epic fights: first between Lorelai and Emily, and then between Lorelai and Rory. Both are heartbreaking and real and give us great insight into the three generations of Gilmore women.

Paris is our secret spirit animal.

Season 1 Episode 13, “Concert Interruptus”

“Concert Interruptus” shows the sparks that fire two of the show’s great relationships: Rory and Paris’s friendship, and Lorelai and Luke’s loveship. Lorelai, Sookie, Rory, and the Chilton mean girls go to a Bangles concert in NYC, where we see the beginnings of Rory and Paris not being total enemies. Madeline and Louise take off with the guys they met at the concert, while Paris chooses to stay and enjoy the show–so much that she later tells Rory, “I think this is the best night I’ve ever had.” Meanwhile in Stars Hollow, Luke flips out when he sees Lorelai wearing a jacket that used to belong to an ex-girlfriend. This prompts Lorelai to start asking about the girlfriend, and Sookie accuses her of being jealous. Of course, we don’t get to see Luke and Lorelai together for a few more seasons, but Lorelai’s too-interested questions about Luke’s romantic past are a great indication of what’s to come.

Two vicious trollops walk into a bar…

Season 2 Episode 16, “There’s the Rub”

If I had one complaint about Gilmore Girls, it’s that there wasn’t enough Emily/Lorelai bonding. Sure, they have vast differences in personality, values, wardrobes, and humor, but I’d love to have seen more of an underlying affection (however deeply buried) there. Luckily, in “There’s the Rub,” we get some of that. In the episode, Emily gifts Lorelai a weekend at a spa–and then invites herself along. What follows is Lorelai’s supposedly relaxing weekend growing tiresome by her mother’s incessant chatter and directives. “Compliment your masseur’s hands, Lorelai,” she chides during their massages. The two eventually start to bond when Emily agrees to wear Lorelai’s lipstick (a shade called “Vicious Trollop,” which should’ve been the name of this episode, IMO) and go to a bar together. Of course, because no two Gilmores can get along forever, after they have some fun Emily becomes angry at Lorelai for causing her to behave inappropriately. Later, in a poignant moment, she asks her daughter, “Why can’t we have what you and Rory have?” Eventually, they end up connecting again, through stealing robes, like you do. In the subplot, Rory has her own unlikely bonding when Paris lies on her behalf after Dean is angry and jealous about hot bad boy Jess showing up at her place.

Season 2, Episode 22, “I Can’t Get Started”

This second season episode is great for both its Lorelai/Chris and Rory/Jess romantic plotlines along with some great moments with Sookie, Paris, and Kurt. It will also reign forever as the episode where Lorelai’s catchphrase “Oy with the poodles already!” appears. On a whim, Lorelai invites Rory’s father Christopher to the rehearsal dinner for Sookie’s wedding, and they share a moment on a front step laughing over Brigadoon references. (Also important to note: Lorelai is wearing an incredible dress in this scene.) Chris reveals that he and girlfriend Sherry are on the outs, and later he and Lorelai begin kissing. “I never dreamed I’d get this lucky,” Chris says to her, and they spend the night together–only to discover moments before Sookie’s wedding that Sherry has found out she’s pregnant and thrown a wrench into their plans to rekindle their relationship. Meanwhile, Rory discovers Jess in the woods before the wedding and can’t help but kiss him–despite still being with Dean. (That kiss rating as one of the best kisses in a show packed with awesome lip-locks.) As usual, colorful characters add touches of humor to this sometimes-tense episode. Sookie is adorable as ever as the bride-to-be, and Paris intense and hilarious as she asks the more likeable Rory to be her vice presidential candidate in her bid for student body president–or, as she puts it, the “Damon to my Affleck.” Though the best line belongs to Kirk, who after telling Luke he hopes he can meet a woman at Sookie’s wedding, confesses, “I’m so damn lonely not even Animal Planet does it for me any more.”

Only thing tougher than dancing all night: dealing with boys.

Season 3, Episode 7, “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?”

A fan favorite, this episode showcases some of the best romantic tension the show has to offer, plus the strong mother/daughter bond between Lorelai and Rory and a smorgasbord of town quirk. “They Shoot Gilmores” revolves around the Stars Hollow Dance Marathon, where couples must remain dancing to Big Band music, minus a few breaks, until one couple is left standing. Lorelai is desperate to win, especially since Kirk usually takes the trophy. After a dance partner bails on her, she cajoles Rory into being her plus-one, and the two start the marathon with caffeine and high hopes. Rory’s still with Dean, but she isn’t over the forbidden kiss she shared with Jess, who’s driving her crazy by making out with a new girl all over town. Rory and Jess are openly hostile to one another throughout the marathon, but each word is spiced with tension–and Dean speaks this truth in the episode’s best line near the end: “You’re into him, and he’s into you.” Along with the high-stakes romance, there are some smaller, sweeter moments with three other couples in the episode: Dave and Lane, Luke and Lorelai, and Paris and Jamie.

Season 3, Episode 9, “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”

This is another great episode to see the range of weirdness that is the Gilmores’ hometown of Stars Hollow. Lorelai and Rory have somehow accepted invitations to four Thanksgiving dinners–Mrs. Kim’s, Luke’s, Sookie’s, and the older Gilmores–and they’ve got to keep them all. At Mrs. Kim’s, tofu is being served and Lane’s love interest, Dave, is pretending to be a Christian musician to play for Mrs. Kim to get in her good graces so she might one day allow him to date Lane–which, I think, makes him probably the best guy on this show, since he plays for hours without a break and for very little money. Later, Sookie’s horrified at her husband Jackson’s insistence at deep-frying their Thanksgiving meal–and getting progressively more drunk and hilarious as the night wears on. The Gilmore dinner is filled with conflict and tension over Rory’s future, because that’s the dish served most often there. Somewhere in there, Lorelai, Luke, Rory, and Jess sit down to a sweet meal at Luke’s Diner. Though this episode ultimately belongs to Dave and Lane, who share their first kiss in the bushes outside her house, once Mrs. Kim allows him to stop playing.

Season 4, Episode 13, “Nag Hammadi Is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels”

Jess is back in Stars Hollow after having left town a year earlier and ghosting on Rory. He can’t get back out of town because he’s waiting for Gypsy to fix his car, so of course he runs into Rory a bunch and each time runs away, until Rory, understandably irritated, yells, “I get to leave first!” on the next encounter. Jess chases her through the streets of Stars Hollow and blurts out, “I love you,” gets in his car, and drives off. That Jess loves Rory is a revelation to no one–even Gypsy says, “That’s not her. She cut her hair,” when she sees Jess staring at the back of a girl with long, brown hair–but that Jess finally does an about-face and admits it makes my heart soar. Other stuff happens too, but this episode is all about that “I love you.”

That kiss though…

Season 4, Episode 22, “Raincoats and Recipes”

“Raincoats and Recipes” is one of the strongest episodes of the series, and not just because it’s the episode where Luke and Lorelai finally–finally!–kiss for the first time. Lorelai and Sookie’s new inn is almost open, and they invite the townspeople over for a weekend test run. All the familiar characters attend, including Kirk, who asks Luke to babysit him because he’s nervous he’ll have a night terror in front of his girlfriend (and, being Kirk, those nightmares often lead him to end up naked on a rooftop). So Luke’s got one eye on Kirk and another on Lorelai, whom he’s been trying to date. But then her ex Jason shows up and claims they’re still together. An angry Luke confronts Lorelai, and the two argue and then kiss while arguing, taking turns saying, “Will you just stand still?” Meanwhile, Rory has her own first when she chooses to lose her virginity to Dean–a still-married Dean. Lorelai comes home and discovers her, and the two have an incredibly raw and emotional fight. The last scene, of Rory crying on the steps outside, is gut-wrenching but powerful.

Jumping with an umbrella. Like you do.

Season 5, Episode 7, “You Jump, I Jump, Jack”

Secret societies! Investigative journalism! Jumping! This is the episode where Logan takes Rory to the Life and Death Brigade’s gathering and Rory, in a ball gown and holding Logan’s hand, ends up jumping from on high with an umbrella. Dean, with whom she’s playing endless phone tag, is on his way out, while Logan is clearly on his way in, and we’re all a little relieved because of the whole adultery-with-Dean thing. (Still love Dean, though!) This episode also has some Lane sweetness as she goes on her first date with Zack. Those two are adorable in their awkward cuteness: they get dressed up and … decide to go nowhere. Instead, they watch a movie on the couch, exactly like they did the night before. Zack walks Lane back to her room and their first kiss occurs as Zack is carrying sleeping Brian on his back. That their dates resemble their normal hanging out, with nicer clothes and fewer people (the previous night Zack was in his underwear and Brian was there) just shows that they are made for each other.

Grief, Mrs. Kim-style.

Season 6, Episode 11, “The Perfect Dress”

Rory starts putting her Yale life back together after the boat shenanigans with Logan, dropping out, and the epic fight with Lorelai that sent her to her grandparent’s pool house for several months. She moves into Paris’s apartment, which is in an unsavory part of town, and Logan, who’s broken up with her and now regrets it, is trying to woo her with coffee and rescue her from squalor. Meanwhile, Lorelai is planning her wedding, and we can feel a heartbreak coming because it’s all just too perfect. Luke even sees her in her perfect wedding dress, and a flashing red sign might as well have come on the screen at that moment. But for me this episode belongs to Lane and her mother. For most of the series, we’ve seen Mrs. Kim stifle and try to control Lane. Finally, we see evidence of Mrs. Kim’s beating heart. Lane, angry and moody after the break up with Zack and the break up of Hep Alien, sulks around the antique shop giving everyone attitude … a little bit like Mrs. Kim does. Finally, Mrs. Kim has had enough and, after pulling all the shades, retrieves some hidden liquor and sits Lane down: “You have grieved and now we move on.” And after the first shot: “one more.”

Squee with us about the new episodes on the Third Drafts and G.G. Andrew Facebook pages!

Tags:  Gilmore Girls, Netflix, television




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 Writers Who Read: Emma Barry  Smart & Sexy Spring Giveaway! (and other Facebook news)  Writers Who Read: Michalle Gould  Writers Who Read: Devi Lockwood  Girl B Bites It: A Horror Trope That Needs to DieCopyright © G. G. Andrew [The Ten Best GILMORE GIRLS Episodes], All Right Reserved. 2016.

Two Awesome #Instafreebie Giveaways for Romance Readers

Happy November! 

I’ve been a little MIA on the blog lately, due to doing more freelance writing, promoting my Halloween romance series, and life-happenings (oh, those pesky life-happenings).

But I’m so excited for November, which has three awesome things going for it:

Thanksgiving
The return of Gilmore Girls
These awesome giveaways of free books I’m about to share with you.

*I’m in a group giveaway on Instafreebie called Forget Politics #VoteforLove. Because whatever your political persuasion, if you’re like me, you are just plain tired of this election. Vote on Tuesday, but before and after, grab some of these free romantic reads. The full list is here, and includes contemporary romances, historical, YA, romantic comedies, and my New Year’s Eve short story Somewhere Warm.

*Later in November is Thanksgiving, of course, and I’m in another of these fantastic Instafreebie giveaways, Thanksgiving for Romance Readers. This one’s all about being grateful for the love (and heroes) in our lives and offers over 30 romances for some lucky readers. Go here for the full list, which again spans a range of genres to please every reader of love stories!

I have a feeling November is going to be a great month…

 

 

 

Tags:  book giveaway, Instafreebie, romance, Somewhere Warm




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 Mr. Melty Curried Carrot Concoction  Writers Who Read: Tiffany Reisz  Writers Who Read: Chrissy Kolaya  Writers Who Read: Gabrielle Selz  Writers Who Read: Jessica GoodfellowCopyright © G. G. Andrew [Two Awesome #Instafreebie Giveaways for Romance Readers], All Right Reserved. 2016.