Sex, Love & Stiletto: The
Making of the Series
***
Thanks
so much for having me! I’ve had a few
opportunities to talk about specifics on my debut, AFTER THE KISS, but it’s
rare that authors get a chance to ramble about the big picture of their series
as a whole. The Stiletto world is so much more to me than just the string
that ties the series together, so THANK YOU for the opportunity to talk about
it!
Confession
time: early on in my romance reading career, I didn’t care for series. They
haven’t always been as big as they are today, and I used to narrow my eyes in
skepticism when I read on the back of the book that it was “first in a
fantastic new series . . .” I liked my books to be standalone. I wanted the
characters to meet, fight, fall in love, fight some more, and then get their
happy ending. From there, I’d mentally put them on the “happily ever after
shelf,” where they’d ride into the proverbial sunset where I wouldn’t have to worry
about them again. I think deep down I was terrified that by revisiting beloved
characters, I’d find out that he farted in bed, or that she had a little crush
on her boss, and that worst of all, the spark had dimmed even the tiniest bit.
Slowly,
but surely, it came around. I suspect it was the prolific Nora Roberts and her
trilogies about gorgeous Irish siblings, or modern day witches, or wedding
planners. It finally clicked that series could be about connecting with old
friends and visiting familiar places. In fact, I’ve come so far the other way,
that there are now a handful of series that I hope never
end. Say, Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor books, or Julie Anne Long’s Pennroyal
Green series.
The Stiletto series was born out of a few writerly desires:
First: I wanted to write a series that was very “New
York.” The end of Sex and the City
left a bit of a void in
Manhattan-based series, and as I was living in the heart of the city, I wanted
to write about the gorgeously dressed women in their high heels and designer
dresses and perfect hair. Despite Hollywood’s tendency to paint New Yorkers as
caricatures, they’re real people with real issues and real love lives. They
just happen to be a little more attractive than the rest of us!
Second: I wanted to write about women who wrote about
men—Manhattan’s own “Dear Abbys,” if you will. Only of course these
relationships “experts” then have to learn that love’s a heck of a lot more
complicated when it comes to your own life!
The
result? Sex, Love &
Stiletto: A contemporary series
about three magazine columnists who will do anything for a story—except fall in
love.
Intrigued?
I hope so! Here are some fast facts about the series:
What
exactly is “Stiletto”?
Stiletto is the name of the magazine where my heroines work.
Think Cosmopolitan and Glamour. Sexy, sassy and modern. It took me weeks to come
up with the right name, but as soon as Stiletto popped into my head, I knew
that was “it.” There’s something so iconic about the word and the image it
conjures up.
Who
are the Stiletto women?
Well,
the Stiletto staff is HUGE, but the series right now focuses primarily on the
three women behind the Love & Relationships department. Julie Greene (the
heroine of AFTER THE KISS, available now), is the flirty, fun one. I envisioned
her being a lot like Rachel from Friends. Grace Brighton is very East Coast
sophistication, maybe a tiny bit prissy on the outside, but funny, warm and
real on the inside. Last up is Riley McKenna, the bombshell of the group, who’s
mouthy, gorgeous and blunt, but fiercely loyal to those she cares about.
Are
there expansion plans for the trilogy?
Spoiler
alert: In Book Two (LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH, available Dec 7th),
we’ll see a recovering Southern Belle who turns their trio into a foursome, and
I have definite plans for Emma and her ex-fiance!
So
all of this goes down in New York City?
Yup!
Mostly in Manhattan, although Book 3 spends a fair amount of time in Brooklyn
where Riley was born and raised. The subway, cabs, Central Park, and swanky
uptown bars are all a major component of the series. I think of the city more
of a character than a setting!
Does
one have to love Sex and the
City to enjoy Stiletto?
I
think fans of the SATC will definitely see parallels, but there’s one huge
distinction: at the end of the day,
Sex and the City was about the women.
But with Stiletto, it’s all about the relationship. Big and Aidan in SATC were more or less
accessories in Carrie Bradshaw’s life, but the men in Stiletto
are very much real people. The books are split between heroine/hero point of
view, so we get inside these guys’ heads. And while the Stiletto
series definitely has plenty of sexy-times, it’s not in-your-face the way it
often was on SATC. Stiletto’s every bit about the sweet butterflies you get in
your stomach when he touches your hand accidentally as it is the hot and dirty
against the wall.
Can
we get a teaser?
Of
course :) Here’s an excerpt from one of my favorite scenes in AFTER THE KISS.
Julie thinks she has Mitchell wrapped wround her manicured finger, and she’s
so, SO wrong:
Neither spoke as
they fetched her coat and headed out the door.
“You like
Guinness?” he asked gruffly as they walked into the late spring air.
“Love it,” she
lied. She wasn’t really a beer girl unless she was on a boat in a bikini on the
hottest days of summer. But she knew how this worked. Playing the
high-maintenance card this early in the game would never get her a second date.
And it certainly
wouldn’t get her that story.
Mitchell led her
to a small Irish bar that she’d never heard of, and opened the door for her.
“Thanks,” she
murmured. He put his hand on the small of her back to guide her inside and
Julie froze.
Uh-oh. She’d been wrong about them not having any chemistry. Very
wrong. The brief brush of his fingers against her spine gave her immediate
goose bumps and Julie resisted the urge to turn and run. Being attracted to
Mitchell was not part of the plan, and yet here she was, quivering and wanting
to rub against him.
Mayday, mayday! I want to hump my story subject!
Mitchell snatched
his hand back too quickly, rapping it on the door jamb, and Julie felt a small
measure of relief. At least he’d felt it too.
“So what do you
do, Mitchell?” Julie asked, hoping to diffuse the sudden shock of awkwardness
as they settled at a cozy table in the corner
“Wall Street,” he
said as though it needed no further explanation. And really, it didn’t. In
Manhattan, you were either on Wall Street or not on Wall Street. And if you
were in the “not” category, you didn’t have the faintest idea what the hell
happened down there. And you didn’t really care.
Or at least Julie
didn’t care. Except this time, she had to pretend that the topic didn’t bore
her to death. If she was going to survive two months with this dud, she at
least needed to be able to speak his language.
“How interesting,”
she said, leaning forward slightly and casting her eyes up. “What’s that like?”
To her surprise,
Mitchell snorted and sat back in his chair watching her with a faintly
incredulous look. “Does that usually work for you?”
Julie jolted out
of her fluttering routine, blinking in confusion. “Does what work?”
He waved a
dismissive hand over her. “This whole thing. The eyelashes and the cooing and
the false interest.”
Julie sat back
sharply in surprise, feeling stung. “Who says it’s false?”
He braced his
forearms on the table as his eyes bored into hers.
Abruptly, Julie
realized her mistake. Mitchell Forbes might look harmless, but he
was definitely not to be trifled with. She’d played her cards all wrong.
Want
more? Buy AFTER THE KISS here: http://www.randomhouse.com/book/227822/after-the-kiss-by-lauren-layne
Thanks
so much for having me, Marisa! I’ve been a long-time fan of your blog, and I
was giddy when you asked me to visit :)
More
from Lauren Layne:Website: http://www.laurenlayne.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenLayneAuthor
Twitter: http:/www.twitter.com/_LaurenLayne
Tumblr: http://lauren-layne.tumblr.com
"In the first book of a delightful new series from Lauren Layne, the star columnist of Stiletto magazine will do anything for a story. Anything... except fall in love."
What do you think? Have you ever been attracted to someone you didn't want to be attracted to?
xoxo ~Marisa
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