Squawk Radio
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
KITTY CHATS UP LISA KLEYPAS ABOUT IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN
KITTY: I caught up with Lisa at one of my favorite places, The Buff Your Butt Fantasy Spa and OTB Parlor. A little something for everyone, huh? She insisted we do the interview while she was getting a massage which wasn’t any big whoop for me but clearly Little Lisa, coyly sipping cosmos (“with two umbrellas, please, and, oh, can they be different colors?”) was having a good time as Rudolpho did her. Back rub, I meant.
The following interview about IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN was taken from a that taped session.
KITTY: Why do a Wallflower series about four loser women who can't get dates? A loser is a loser is a loser. What's romantic about that?
LISA: Well, I knew when I started thinking about a series that it would have to be a little different from my usual emotional angsty books. I wanted to have fun! And to me there is no more fun than getting together with my dearest friends Christina, Connie, Elizabeth, Eloisa and Teresa. And of course you, Kitty. The more I reflected on the funny, frank, interesting conversations we have, I . . . oh, excuse me, Kitty . . . cabana boy, bring another cosmo, please! . . . the more convinced I became that a female-oriented series was going to be a joy to write. I didn't want to create a cast of "cool girls," however I remember all too well those parties in high school when my friends and I could never get the popular boys to ask us to dance. So naturally my four heroines had to be wallflowers who help each other find husbands. I love the idea that instead of competing for men, these women would all be cheering for each other and doing whatever was necessary to help.Uh, Kitty . . . do you think you should be smoking around all that massage oil?
KITTY: What? Oh. Hold a min. I’m processing something you said...you mean you even got *invited* to those parties? I’m impressed. So, since you’ve already more or less called your friends losers, let’s get it all out. Who are the losers based on?
LISA: Each heroine is a mixture of qualities that I love in my friends, and I've also put a few of my own foibles and weaknesses in there. For example, the heroine of SECRETS OF A SUMMER NIGHT, Annabelle, loves jewelry and nice clothes. I don't think that makes her a bad person at all--but she's certainly not one of those martyred heroines who doesn't care about material possessions. By the way, love your new ankle bracelet, Kitty. And Lillian, the heroine of "It Happened One Autumn," has a biting sense of humor and a strong-willed personality, and something of a temper . . . like a few Squawkers we happen to know. Daisy, the youngest heroine, has the sunniest personality, very much like Teresa. And you, Kitty.
KITTY: You know, something tells me you’re gonna have some ‘splainin’ to do. But enough about those boring squawkers, let’s get down to the meat of the matter, so to speak. Why do some of your books have so much sex, and what is it with that fruit scene at the end of SUDDENLY YOU? You have some sort of vitamin deficiency?
LISA: I never sit down and plan out exactly how hot a particular book is going to be . . . each particular combination of hero and heroine makes it different. "Lady Sophia's Lover" features a powerful, sexy forty-year-old man who has been celibate for two years after the death of his wife. So when he gets together with the heroine, it's naturally going to be sizzling. But I also showed some playful, creative sex in that book, because as we all know, it only gets better after 40! As for Suddenly You . . . that featured an older woman/younger man pairing, which I think is an innately sexy premise. The love scenes with the younger man, Jack Devlin, turned out to be more daring because he is fearless and very uninhibited. And the rather infamous "raspberry scene" . . . well, I never intended it to be so "out there". But it was a situation in which the hero was trying to reconnect with the heroine both physically and emotionally, and he was reaching out to her with the most extreme intimacy possible. Kitty, sweetie, please leave that poor masseur alone. I think you're embarrassing him.
KITTY: What? Huh? Oh. Geez, can a girl get a little privacy around here? So, on to the next subject, the much anticipated contemporary. Brockway let me sneak a peak. Wooza. So, tell us what it’s about and then tell *me* why are we supposed to find Texas men attractive?
LISA: It is going to be a sexy modern fairy tale set in Houston. I realized that many of the same issues I love to deal with in my historicals -- being a social outsider, climbing one's way up from poverty, the compromises and pleasures and problems of relationships between opposites--all of this fits perfectly in a contemporary setting. And Texas men are attractive, Kitty! I admit, they are very alpha and a bit too macho at times . . . but this presents an enjoyable challenge to strong-minded women such as ourselves, doesn't it? What I like is that in spite of this testosterone overload, they are soft-spoken and very gentlemanly. There are no metrosexuals here in Texas, which means no competition for the bathroom mirror. And since they have no clue about the difference between chartreuse and yellow, they wouldn't dream of interfering with house decorating. They also take out the trash without even thinking about it.
KITTY: I’m a believer! But I’ve never heard it referred to as “taking the trash out.” Hm. Anyway, sounds like Texas men are a lot like Russell Crowe and while we’re on the subject...do you really have a thing for Russell Crowe or are you just humoring Teresa? Because she’s not that big, you know. Mean, but not big.
LISA: I really, really do. It started with Gladiator. He is a real man in the old-fashioned style of Robert Mitchum or Sterling Hayden. I do wish he would learn to control his temper . . . but the poor man's joints are lubricated with testosterone. He can't help it!
KITTY: No accountin’ for taste, I guess. Plus there’s that availability thing. I say, go with what you got...or can get your hands on. Where’s Rudolpho going in such a hurry? Crap. That’s all I got for questions except...what’s next--should we go for a loofah salt scrub or an herbal wrap?
LISA: Kitty, dear, I have a surprise for you! I've paid for you to have a Brazilian bikini wax. Don't thank me, I wanted to give you a treat!
