Jenn McKinlay: I'm very excited to have the second e-novella in the Museum of Literature series out today ($2.99). These have been such fun stories to write because I can do whatever I want with them.
Here's the thing about writing long running series like the Cupcake Bakery, Library Lovers, and London Hat Shop mysteries, every now and then I get a bit of series fatigue. Sometimes I feel as if I've just turned in a cupcake mystery and then another one is coming out. The worlds are established and the characters are familiar friends and there is a lot of comfort in that. It's truly like visiting old friends every time I write another one, but I can't exactly whisk the bakers or the milliners or the crafternooners off for a holiday on a Greek island in the Aegean sea, now can I? Well, I could but it would be weird.
Enter the e-novellas. The first one Royal Valentine was a nod to my love of all things Jane Austen with a trip to Bath and a visit to the Jane Austen Centre there. So fun! And The Attraction Distraction came from my life long love of Greek myths and my worship of Madeline Miller's books The Song of Achilles and Circe (HIGHLY recommend)! After reading her books, I just desperately wanted to go to Greece and revisit the Trojan War, Achilles, Helen, and all of that Homeric tale telling. So I did.
Because the novellas are based on a fictional Museum of Literature, I get to dive deeper into different parts of literature that I love. It's such a treat to be able to revisit the books I love and make them a stepping off place for some grand adventures because I don't know about you, but after two years of being stuck in my own zip code, I want some adventure!
While I know that some readers love a good cry with their rom-coms--
the old laugh, cry, laugh again thing-- I much prefer putting my characters in jeopardy. Give me a life or death thrill ride over crying in your Ben & Jerry's every time! This is why Romancing the Stone and now The Lost City are two of my favorite romcom films. I want travel, adventure, laughs, and a brush with death - is that asking too much?
How about you, Reds and Readers? Do you like your romcom with a side of sad 😩 or a side of yikes 😲? No judgment! LOL.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Royal Valentine, a second novella in the Museum of Literature romcom series, in which the only thing standing between a single-minded Classics scholar and the literary discovery of a lifetime is her heart.
There is nothing Sarah Novak loves more than a literary adventure. When the director of the Museum of Literature sends Sarah to an uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea to look for a rare artifact from Ancient Greece, Sarah, an expert on the Classics, is all in.
One problem. Nine other scholars are also on the hunt for the artifact, one of whom is Irishman Liam Maguire, Sarah's ex and the man she beat out for the curator position at the museum seven years ago. Liam wants to form an alliance, but Sarah refuses. He broke her heart once before; she's not giving him the chance to do it again.
When a series of mysterious "accidents" befall the scholars one by one, Sarah is forced to rethink her position on her sworn enemy, particularly when Liam saves her life. She agrees to team up with the swoony Irishman, knowing full well that finding the treasure will likely cost her heart.
Happy Book Birthday, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteI hadn’t given it much thought, but if I had to choose between cry and danger, I believe the danger would win out. There’s simply something compelling about a story when the characters are in jeopardy . . . .
Yes! I mean I don't mind some tears but I much prefer mortal peril. LOL.
DeleteCongrats on your book release and yes, I like a little mischief and mayhem in books.
ReplyDeleteKeeps it lively, yes?
DeleteJENN: Happy book birthday! I expect danger & jeopardy in mysteries. I prefer to laugh, cry & laugh again at the hijinks in rom-coms.
ReplyDeleteNoted! I think maybe I need to write a thriller.
DeleteGive me some danger with my romance any time! So many congratulations on taking charge and writing the books you wanted to write. I can't wait to read this one.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Edith! Much appreciated.
DeleteSometimes danger, sometimes tears!
ReplyDeleteYour stories are magical, Jenn.
Going up to the office to buy it for my Kindle NOW. (Amazon wouldn't even show it at 9 last night. Humph!)
Amazon can be sooo rude if you don't release exclusively with them. Oy.
DeleteI'm not one for weepy stories. Maybe it's because I've had three daughters to help steer through heartbreaks. Give me funny or thrilling, instead.
ReplyDeleteYes! I cry waaaaay too easily and have a hard time torturing my characters emotionally.
DeleteHappy Book Birthday Jenn ! I just downloaded it.
ReplyDeleteI prefer a little danger or adventure in my romcoms but a good cry can do the job too.
Danielle
Definitely depends on the day!
DeleteClearly today is going to be a good day! Jenn has released a new romcom, and Amy Pershing's latest Cape Cod mystery should hit my doorstep in 3-2-1 . . . Work? Who needs to work?
ReplyDeleteYour priorities are perfectly in order, Gigi.
DeleteCongratulations Jenn! You are such an amazing person--we stand in awe of you and now I'm off to download too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lucy. I think I have a work disorder but it's fine...everything is fine.
DeleteCongratulations! I like stories that make me laugh and cry and definitely prefer danger and death to a sappy romance.
ReplyDeleteSamesies! I can only handle so much introspection before I feel the need to blow something up.
DeleteCongratulations, Jenn! I think I like a little adventure in my rom-com.
ReplyDeleteYay, Liz! Adventure on the page is also much less dangerous than in real life.
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ReplyDeleteSounds like an exciting read. Congratulations. I have been enjoying Lindsay and Sully and the Library series over this last year.
Oh, thank you. That series was my testing ground for adventure - with boat chases and all that thrillery stuff :)
DeleteCongrats on the release, Jenn! And the TBR pile grows taller. Humor and adventure, please. Too much sadness in the real world, so I don't want it in my fictional worlds.
ReplyDeleteI think I have real world fatigue as well, Chris! Get me out of here. LOL.
DeleteDanger in the Greek islands? I'm in! Congratulations on novella #2, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Flora! Danger in the Greek Islands sounds like an excellent thriller title. Hmm....
DeleteI agree that "The Song of Achilles" and "Circe" are brilliant, Jenn, but I'll bet you cried quite a lot in "Achilles!" I certainly did--even though, like every other reader, I knew exactly what was going to happen to Patroclus and Achilles at the end before I even started the book. But although "Achilles" is a rom, it's definitely not a com, so I guess it's irrelevant here. When it comes to weepy versus adventurous rom-coms, I think I like both (although I always need a happy end.) In any case, "The Attraction Distraction" sounds like lots of fun, and I will buy it for my Kindle. Congratulations on a new release!
ReplyDeleteYes, I cried and cried and cried...Madeline Miller's writing is just exquisite but it's definitely literature not romcom - thank goodness. Who needs competition like that? LOL.
DeleteCongrats! Just bought it. Couldn't resist the concept, the gorgeous cover... sounds like the perfect getaway read to me. I prefer Yikes! with my romance reading/viewing. And I thought, yeah, me too on all of the following: Love "Romancing the Stone" and want to see "Lost City," love, love, love the novel Circe (I'm also a huge fan girl for Madeline Miller!) and have Achilles but haven't read yet, love islands and whisking away (at least in story-mode) to exotic locations. I think your premise for the museum is fantastic, and yay for you (and for readers) for writing novellas between all your regular series. I'm in awe of your publishing achievements!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jess. You're very kind. I read Circe first and thought there's no way I'll love Song of Achilles as much. I was sooo wrong. You'll love it, too, I'm sure. Miller is just one of the most gifted story tellers of our age. Period. Full stop.
DeleteCongratulations on another great book, Jenn! Don't know how you do it but I'm glad you do. I guess it all depends on the book, whether or not I want thrills and adventure, or a safer kind of romance. Whatever kind you want to write works for me!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judi. Very kind of you to say!
DeleteCongratulations Jenn, I love a good laugh too and you are the master of that in my opinion. - Celia
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celia. I'm just more comfortable making a joke about horrific things than I am with crying about them. It tends to be problematic when bad news happens...LOL.
DeleteSwoony Irishman on a Greek island? Let's go! A little jeopardy with longing glances sounds good. And always a good laugh, though people can look at you a little strangely when a burst of laughter escapes while eating lunch in a nearby sandwich shop. :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL! Even worse in the waiting room at the dentist's office, which is where I am, preparing for a new crown. Waaaahhhh. Thanks for the chuckle.
DeleteOw, Jenn, sending sympathy. I have a root canal this afternoon! And then a crown.
DeleteDeana here. ... you both are having the most marvelous of days, aren't you? (insert grimace face )
DeleteCongratulations, Jenn! The Attraction Distraction now resides on my Kindle. Looking forward to a great read.
ReplyDeleteI like a lot of comedy and a bit of pathos in my rom-coms.
A bit of pathos, I can handle. Just don't gut me. Life is hard enough. IMHO!
DeleteSo true!
DeleteCongratulations, Jenn. I love your titles.
ReplyDeleteI like characters who find one another witty and who laugh with one another. Mayhem is good, too.
I adore mayhem! Spices the whole plot line up :)
DeleteOh! I thought of you this morning as I caught just a bit on the CBC of someone who is doing a take on Austen -- The Gay Pride and Prejudice.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jun/02/hear-here-gay-pride-and-prejudice-podcast
DeleteThanks for this, c d !
DeleteOoooh, I am in! Thanks for the link.
DeleteHmmm, can I have it all? Adventure, risk, rewards, laughs and a good cry, too? Congrats on your latest book; sounds like it was as fun to write as it will be to read. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, you can! But I'll have to work on the crying bits. *sigh* I am just terrible at torturing my characters emotionally. I should probably write a male protagonist. LOL.
DeleteOh, Jenn. You had me at ROMANCING THE STONE. I will always love my HEA spiced up with a little DOA and POS. I can't wait to read THE ATTRACTION DISTRACTION!
ReplyDeletePS, for readers who didn't know, you can go to Dreamscape Audio on Facebook and get a chance to win THE ATTRACTION DISTRACTION in audio!
Julia! You are no longer anonymous. Congratulations!
DeleteBest Movie Ever!!! Just sayin'.
DeleteJENN: Congratulations on your new book release today! So sorry to be late this morning! I overslept this morning since I am still recovering from the Shingles Vaccine and the DTAP vaccine. My pre-order of your enovella arrived and I look forward to reading it today.
ReplyDeleteBig Fan of Happy Stories. For me, rom-com is a chance to escape from the reality of sad news. In fiction, including rom-com, I have low tolerance for sadness. If a novel is TOO sad with too many Triggers, then it is a DNF for me. I think a rom-com with a side of Yikes! depends on the plotting. I'm quite picky about the books I read. LOL.
Diana
As you should be. Life is too short to read books you don't love, IMHO. Thanks for ordering. You're the best!
DeleteYay, Jenn! The Attraction Distraction is now on my Kindle and is going to the dentist's office with me:-) I much prefer humor and a little danger to weepy, and I love that you've allowed yourself to go in a new direction. LOVE Romancing the Stone, one of my favorite movies ever.
ReplyDeleteDid you read Mary Stewart's books set in Greece? My Brother Michael and This Rough Magic? Those sold me on Grecian adventures years ago.
Ack, I'm on my way to the dentist, too. *insert sad face*
DeleteCongrats!
ReplyDeleteI try to shy away from sides of sad in my reading.
Ditto.
DeleteOh Jenn, for some reason (because I'm sure you explained it when the first book came out) I didn't get the whole Museum of Literature concept. I know I'm losing it, but this is crazy because I love this idea so much. I do have Royal Valentine on my Kindle and will now be adding The Attraction Distraction. The literature and location connections are fascinating. Debs worded it just right, humor and danger are my preference, too. Congratulations on the new book!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. I'm presently writing the third novella - It Happened One Christmas Eve - and it's fun diving into beloved Christmas stories, even though it's June and 110 in AZ. LOL!
DeleteSounds like a winner, Jenn! I like my rom-coms very much like Romancing the Stone. Full of yikes, eeks, and shrieks. Preferably no sadness and tears.
ReplyDeleteYou're my people, Pat!
DeleteBy the way Jenn, thanks a lot for the ear worm of Indiana Jones theme,
ReplyDeleteDanielle
ROTFL - you're welcome!
DeleteI love this series, Jenn… they’d be perfect if they weren’t so short! Rom-com with your sense of humor and a little threat is fantastic…. Please write more…and make the next one about Olive, please.
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