HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Talk about suspense and terror! I met Lisa Barr at the auditions for the Jewish Book Festival. Do you know it? Authors travel to New York city, and they have exactly two minutes--I mean exactly, they will pretty much yank you away from the podium if you go too long--to pitch your book to an audience of representatives from temples across the country who MAY invite you to speak at their book groups. It's a fabulous series of events and I adored it, but wow. The auditions were terrifying.
(I almost went over because I forget to allow time for laughter. Word to the wise.)
Anyway, there as this gorgeous slinky woman sitting next to me and of course, we were instant BFF's because we were bonded by our shared nervousness. We've been pals ever since, and her newest book THE UNBREAKABLES is out this week!
We are so pleased to have the amazing Lisa Barr--check out that bio below!--with us today. And she is taking us into dangerous territory: breaking your personal brand!
From Historical Thriller to Sexy Beach Read:
Here’s Why I’m a Literary “Mutt"
As a journalist for more than 25 years, I have covered everything from terrorism in the Middle East to Sex & Relationships (Yes, I did an actual story for a major newspaper on the “love muscle” – don’t ask).
As an author, I went from writing award-winning historical fiction to penning a hardcore sexy beach read. And guess what, shhh … I’m thinking of jumping ship again. I just turned in a new manuscript to my agent, which is very suspenseful.
In the publishing world, Genre Jumping is a cardinal sin. Your “brand” is your brand and it’s engraved in stone: You can’t write love stories if you’re a crime writer. You can’t write Sci-fi if your readers are expecting Erotica. You can’t write a war story if you’ve been named one of Goodreads top Romance writers. In other words, you’re locked in, and that key is tossed.
I guess I’ve always been the girl who can’t sit still, who can’t be pinned down, who never takes No for answer.
But here’s the thing … I’m not all over the place. There is a method to my madness; a thread running through all of my work. It comes down to this: How far would you go for your passion?
Crime writers give us bullets to the brain, romance writers focus on bullets to the heart. My take is that both tend to lead us to the very same place. Finding your passion is both the journey and the destination behind a really good character.
In my first novel Fugitive Colors, a suspenseful tale of an artist’s revenge on the eve of WWII, passion drives all of my characters, who live in a world where a paintbrush is more lethal than a gun. One young artist steals art, another dies for his art, and another stands up for art at his own expense.
In The Unbreakables, Sophie Bloom, my protagonist, loses her marriage, her besties, and her art. In a nutshell, she is living a passion-less life and has to go find herself once again. In my work-in-progress, a young journalist’s deepest passion is getting to the truth no matter the cost, nearly losing everything in the process.
Passion: Would you die for it, kill for it, or stand up for it? This genre-jumper takes this theme, asks these questions, wherever she goes. As a novelist, I think like a journalist. Here’s how I recommend finding your characters’ raison d’etre. Let's go Old School:
Who: Your protagonist and minor characters all have a passion that drives him/her. What is it, and how does it intersect with the other characters?
What: If passion is the carrot, what is the stick? What gets in the way of your characters’ passion? A problem arises …
When: In love and war, timing is everything. Go strong, go fifth gear, make us feel that passion being taken away in a pivotal moment. Because later on, when they get it back, the reader will truly feel the impact.
Where: Where does all this action unfold? The setting must have a powerful pull for our characters. It, too, must feel sexy, enticing; a place where passion meets its environmental match.
Why: Is fighting for this passion worth a full book? Is it worth a reader’s time? Tell me through the character’s actions and thoughts why I should care? Why love/art/money/romance/power (name your passion) is worth 350 pages to get it back.
How: This is what makes or breaks your book. How is your protagonist going to get what she wants in the end? How much rope will you give her to get it?
I may be a mutt of a writer, but the one constant in everything I do – writing/parenting/wife-ing—is passion. How far will I go to get it? The distance, baby.
HANK: So agree--every day, I think: what what does my character want, and how far would they go to get it. But! In real life do I think that? My Mom used to say--"You will if you want to."
What's a moment where you did something you never thought you would--because you wanted something so much? How did that work out?
OR: Do you mind if your favorite author tries something new?
Lisa Barr is the award-winning author of THE UNBREAKABLES (Harper) and the historical thriller FUGITIVE COLORS, a suspenseful tale of stolen art, love, lust, deception, and revenge on the eve of World War II. The novel won the Independent Publishers Book Award (IPPY) gold medal for "Best Literary Fiction 2014" and first prize at the Hollywood Film Festival (Opus Magnum Discovery Award).
In addition, Lisa has served as an editor for The Jerusalem Post, managing editor of Today’s Chicago Woman, managing editor of Moment magazine, and an editor/reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Among the highlights of her career, Lisa covered the famous handshake between the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and President Bill Clinton at the White House. Lisa is also the creator and editor of the popular parenting blog, GIRLilla Warfare . She has been featured on Good Morning America, Today, Fox & Friends, and the Australia morning news show Sunrise for her work as an author, journalist, and blogger. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three daughters (aka Drama Central).
THE UNBREAKABLES
A delicious, sharp novel about a Chicago woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre—a lust for life, art, and passion.
“Artful, feminist, and emotionally gripping. The Unbreakables is a remarkable tribute to a woman’s strength in the face of heartbreak and adversity.”
— Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient
The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime...
It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed...including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town.
Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor.
As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever...and what it means to be truly unbreakable.
Congratulations, Lisa, on your new book. Sophie’s story sounds quite intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI don’t particularly mind about authors trying new things. In fact, as much as I enjoy the series, or the genre books I’ve come to expect from my favorite authors, I’m always willing to read something new and different. I think that might be because my favorite writers have a way of drawing me into the story, no matter what genre or style the story may be . . . .
And, Hank . . . auditioning for a book festival???
Oh, yes, it’s quite amazing! I think when Lisa and I were there, there were 60 people, maybe more, and it went for two days! and it was really nerve-racking! But then you get invited to speak all around the country, and it is all worth it!
DeleteI don't mind when my favorite authors try something new, as long as they don't mind if I don't follow them if it doesn't interest me. Since I will read the occasional book outside my normal genres, I can't complain when an author writes something that appeals to them.
ReplyDeleteOh, that’s a great way of looking at it! Readers got to do it so why not writers!
DeleteI don't have a problem with authors switching genres. Maybe because I enjoy reading more than one genre. After all, authors have to follow their passions too!
ReplyDeleteExactly. And sometimes, you just have a really good idea. And how can you ignore that?
DeleteI think the level to which someone cares about when their favorite authors try something new is tied to how much the reader likes the "new" direction.
ReplyDeleteVery wise!
DeleteThen, you may just think oh I don’t like this book… Not that you don’t like the author.
Exactly. After all, who couldn't like you? Congrats on making the BOLO APB list by the way!
DeleteI do think it's tricky, genre-jumping. But as someone said, "Jump and the net will appear." Though I wouldn't bet the farm. Lisa, congratulations!! It sounds as if your net HAS appeared.
ReplyDeleteOh, I never thought of “leap and the net will appear” exactly like that! Perfect. And you know, I have that motto on my bulletin board at channel 7. I think if you really want to leap, the net definitely will appear. You may just not know what it is.
DeleteCongratulations on finding that brand and following it, Lisa! I write cozy and historical under separate names, even though my historicals are still amateur sleuth and fairly gentle. Did you consider using a pseudonym?
ReplyDeleteYes, that is such a good question! And you have quite the story, too, Edith!
DeleteLisa, it's kind of a miracle no one has used the Ashley Madison scandal before now. Awesome way to impel a story.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn, and at the end of the e-book was a long, long list of her other titles. (Did you know she wrote the book that inspired Hitchcock's The Birds? I had no idea.) She also wrote many nonfiction works, including a bio of the Bronte sisters' brother Bramwell.
My own feeling about switching genres is why is it such a big deal? And why push authors to change their names? I would just as easily read a JD Robb as a Nora Roberts, and does not seem to have adversely affected Charlaine Harris to have so many disparate series. A good book is a good book.
Those different names are such a good shorthand for readers, right? You know exactly what you’re getting. And oh, I did not know that about The Birds. Did you read it? It would be interesting to see how she made it terrifying… since much of the movies’ intensity comes from the visual.
DeleteI don't mind at all when a favorite author tries something new. Usually it's a matter of whether or not I like the way she writes - if I like her style I'll probably stick with her no matter what. That is, I would at least try the new thing.
ReplyDeleteBut it gets tricky if the author discontinues a series when I am still wanting more. I'll still read the new stuff and hope she gets back to the other at some point.
Yes Judi! But if I can speak from my own experience :-) sometimes you just get a good idea, and it doesn’t fit in the series… And well, off you go !
DeleteCongratulations on your newest book, Lisa. I know nothing about the Ashley Madison scandal, or if I do, I've forgotten.
ReplyDeleteWriters changing genre? Quelle horreur! Kidding. I look forward to a change, if only from a series to a stand alone. Seeing one of my favorites branch out assures that I will buy the book and see what's going on. But then I dislike the notion of genre anyway. A really good piece of writing might contain some or all of the various aspects: mystery, romance, religion, history, fantasy, etc. Why limit ones self?
And WTH is this about changing names? Do writers get so rich under one name that they need to invent another in order to open a different bank account? Please.
“Do writers get so rich”. Bwa ha ha.... xxxx
DeleteAnd when Lisa gets here, she will tell us all about Ashley Madison! It seemed to come and go very quickly. I mean that not as a double entendre. :-)
Well, I looked it up. Who knew you could make money with what we were all giving away in the sixties?
DeleteThese days, you can monetize anything and everything.
Deletecongratulations on your latest! If PD James could jump genres for a book before returning to her Adam Dalgleish series, every writer can.
ReplyDeleteTrue! Xx
DeleteUsually when I like an author's writing, I'll continue to like her no matter the genre or the brand.
ReplyDeleteI'm really interested in Sophie Bloom's story. It resonates in me because after being married 25 years, thinking and living for husband and children I became celibate and had to rediscover what were my interests and passions to continue living.
As the years passed , I accomplished a lot of things that made me happy and proud of me.
We have one life, right? So we all have to try to be as happy as we possibly can…
DeleteI've talked before about getting fired and making that decision to take the summer off and write. I wouldn't be published if I hadn't done that.
ReplyDeleteI think a writer can write different genres IF she takes the time to find the connecting thread...which you have clearly done. Good luck!
Success out of adversity! And taking a risk… Hooray!
DeleteI will follow a writer I admire to any genre they care to attempt. It's the writing that brings me back, book after book.
ReplyDeleteAnd if it works, it works!
DeleteLisa, this sounds fantastic! I love stories about women on journeys of self discovery. I’m a genre jumper, too, so I get it. My brand is humor no matter what I write. Thankfully, my publisher is a-okay with that or at least, they pretend to be...
ReplyDeleteWe are ALL a-ok with that!
DeleteI may follow a favorite writer to a new genre. If I love the first book I may continue. But if I don’t, it’s not because I no longer like the writer; it’s mostly because the genre doesn’t appeal to me all that much. I can recognize that the book is well-written and will recommend it to people looking for something new to read. It’s a matter of taste! There’s a wonderful cookie bakery down the street from me. I have eaten my way through all the cookie offerings. Several years ago the baker branched and now has scones, muffins, and cupcakes. I’ve tried them. I don’t love them, I don’t hate them. I rarely buy them now. I recommend them to my friends who like that sort of goodie. I still show up to buy her cookies.
ReplyDeleteDebRo
You know, you may have just articulated the secret of the universe. Xxx
DeleteLisa is TRYING to comment! SIgh. More to come..xoxoo
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with authors changing genres. I usually will try any book by a favorite writer and mostly like the new works. Sometimes I don't and just follow the original series. I do hate the different names because it makes it hard for me to keep track of my authors. At least keep the same last initial so I can keep them together.
ReplyDeleteOH, that is so interesting! Hmmm... I never thought about the difference between a pseudonym that is TRYING to fool us, and one that is just...signaling another type of book or series. Hmm.
DeleteLisa is TRYING AND TRYING!
ReplyDeleteFROM LISA!Dear Jungle Red --
ReplyDeleteI have been trying unsuccessfully to reply to all of you on the blog. I even brought my tech-savvy hubby in on it -- NO CIGARS. That said, here's a collective THANK YOU to all. I truly appreciate the opportunity to share this piece with you, and more importantly, to hear your thoughts.
I am so grateful for all your warm and encouraging words regarding THE UNBREAKABLES -- it means the world to me. It sounds like all of you are open to authors genre jumping, as long as it's good, and especially if there is a thread that connects the author to her/his various novels.
Wishing all of you much success and of course, Happy Summer & Happy Reading.
With Warmest Regards,
xoxo Lisa Barr