Please welcome Fran Baker who loves to write what I love to read. Is there anything better than a book that keeps you clamoring for more?
I love those old romantic comedies for the crackling dialogue, comedic timing, corny jokes and sometimes cornier plots. Oh, and for the tantalizing suggestion of sex. You know what I’m talking about: the passionate, starlit kisses and the fierce, fiery embraces that take you as far as the bedroom … and then shut the door in your face.
One of my favorites is “Adam’s Rib.” The pairing of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, always a pretty good go, was a classic. Married lawyers, one a prosecutor and one a defense attorney, living the good life at home and then squaring off in the courtroom--you just knew this was going to be a battle of rapier-sharp wits.
As a former court reporter who’s married to a now-retired judge, I’m always up for a good legal story. So when, a couple of years ago, I saw that TCM was running “Adam’s Rib” for the umpteenth time, I settled in for the umpteenth time to watch it. But this time, when Adam (Spencer Tracy) tells Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) that he's been asked to run for judge and she asks him who will run against him, I was struck by an idea …
What if a contemporary couple of married attorneys wound up opposing each other for a judgeship? I had the perfect expert to ask pertinent questions of, and I’d been in enough courtrooms myself to know how the legal system worked. Why not write my own romantic legal comedy?
That’s how Romeo, Romeo, my original eBook novel, came to be. The characters’ names came to me almost immediately: Gian Luigi Romeo and Maggie Kelly Romeo. The opening scene (no shutting the bedroom door here!) practically wrote itself. Once I had those, I was off. I wrote the first draft in record time and then I rewrote it and polished it and … had no idea what to do with it.
One thing I did know was that I should get a blurb for Romeo, Romeo. I contacted New York Times bestselling author Deborah Smith. Deborah and I had both written for Bantam’s Loveswept line of romances, and we’ve worked together for library mailings and such since we both started our own presses. Add in the facts that I’m a big fan of her novels and an even bigger fan of her sense of humor, and I thought maybe this would be a good fit.
To my delight, it was. Deborah wrote: “This hot, funny, smart romantic comedy will make readers think of a great Tracy and Hepburn film, with a side dish of hearty passion. Fran Baker knows how to generate heat and humor.”
Now I had a completed book and a terrific blurb. I gave serious thought to trying to sell it. But after looking around and seeing a romance industry in a state of flux, I decided to chance the winds of change and publish Romeo, Romeo myself. It’s available at Amazon as well as all the eBook stores, and it’s my hope that you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Okay, enough about me and my romantic comedy. It's your turn to tell me what your favorite old romantic comedy is.
About the Author: Fran Baker is the author of eleven novels, with a twelfth in progress. Readers are invited to visit her web sites at www.FranBaker.com or www.DelphiBooks.us. Romeo, Romeo and The Widow and the Wildcatter are available at Amazon (Amazon.com: Romeo, Romeo: Fran Baker: Kindle Store) or wherever eBooks are sold.
I love those old romantic comedies for the crackling dialogue, comedic timing, corny jokes and sometimes cornier plots. Oh, and for the tantalizing suggestion of sex. You know what I’m talking about: the passionate, starlit kisses and the fierce, fiery embraces that take you as far as the bedroom … and then shut the door in your face.
One of my favorites is “Adam’s Rib.” The pairing of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, always a pretty good go, was a classic. Married lawyers, one a prosecutor and one a defense attorney, living the good life at home and then squaring off in the courtroom--you just knew this was going to be a battle of rapier-sharp wits.
As a former court reporter who’s married to a now-retired judge, I’m always up for a good legal story. So when, a couple of years ago, I saw that TCM was running “Adam’s Rib” for the umpteenth time, I settled in for the umpteenth time to watch it. But this time, when Adam (Spencer Tracy) tells Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) that he's been asked to run for judge and she asks him who will run against him, I was struck by an idea …
What if a contemporary couple of married attorneys wound up opposing each other for a judgeship? I had the perfect expert to ask pertinent questions of, and I’d been in enough courtrooms myself to know how the legal system worked. Why not write my own romantic legal comedy?
That’s how Romeo, Romeo, my original eBook novel, came to be. The characters’ names came to me almost immediately: Gian Luigi Romeo and Maggie Kelly Romeo. The opening scene (no shutting the bedroom door here!) practically wrote itself. Once I had those, I was off. I wrote the first draft in record time and then I rewrote it and polished it and … had no idea what to do with it.
One thing I did know was that I should get a blurb for Romeo, Romeo. I contacted New York Times bestselling author Deborah Smith. Deborah and I had both written for Bantam’s Loveswept line of romances, and we’ve worked together for library mailings and such since we both started our own presses. Add in the facts that I’m a big fan of her novels and an even bigger fan of her sense of humor, and I thought maybe this would be a good fit.
To my delight, it was. Deborah wrote: “This hot, funny, smart romantic comedy will make readers think of a great Tracy and Hepburn film, with a side dish of hearty passion. Fran Baker knows how to generate heat and humor.”
Now I had a completed book and a terrific blurb. I gave serious thought to trying to sell it. But after looking around and seeing a romance industry in a state of flux, I decided to chance the winds of change and publish Romeo, Romeo myself. It’s available at Amazon as well as all the eBook stores, and it’s my hope that you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Okay, enough about me and my romantic comedy. It's your turn to tell me what your favorite old romantic comedy is.
About the Author: Fran Baker is the author of eleven novels, with a twelfth in progress. Readers are invited to visit her web sites at www.FranBaker.com or www.DelphiBooks.us. Romeo, Romeo and The Widow and the Wildcatter are available at Amazon (Amazon.com: Romeo, Romeo: Fran Baker: Kindle Store) or wherever eBooks are sold.
Hi Linda and Fran - what a great cover and intriquing story line on Fran's new release. Major congrats!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Becky
www.BeckyBarker.com
Thanks, Becky. It was a fun book to write. Now I hope it finds readers looking for a little heat and humor!
ReplyDeleteFran
www.FranBaker.com
www.DelphiBooks.us
Thank you for visiting me, Fran!
ReplyDeleteAnd here's hopes there's a lot of sales for you.
I've read Romeo, Romeo -- it's great fun! A fresh and modern spin on Hepburn and Tracy and "Adam's Rib." Thanks for the laughs, Fran!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Fran, for the entertaining blog. I love to see a new spin on a classic. I love the Thin Man movies. Myrna Loy and Wm. Powell drink like fish and still manage to solve the crime with great wit and humor.
ReplyDeleteAh, The Thin Man! I love those movies too, Phoebe. Especially all the little asides that you may miss the first time or two, but catch eventually.
ReplyDeleteHi, Lynn! Thanks for stopping by.
And Linda, thank you for offering us newbie eBookers a place to connect with readers.
Fran
www.FranBaker.com
www.DelphiBooks.us
Thankk you
ReplyDelete