Book excerpt: The Bro-Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Today, we've got a real treat.  Not only do we have frequent guest Lauren Baratz-Logsted here for a visit, but she's generously offered to give us all a peek at her latest novel, The Bro-Magnet.  It's a funny, laugh out loud book, but don't take my word for it.  Keep reading for a glimpse at Lauren's The Bro Magnet:

I Am Born

(and I begin as life intends me to go on)

     Right from the start, I’ve been a disappointment to women.

     Here’s me at my own birth:

     On January 1, 1977, after thirty-two hours, fourteen minutes and fifty-three seconds of labor, most of it during a heat wave so bad there are citywide power outages – a heat wave that would have been perfectly normal in Florida, but in New England, not so much – my mother, Francesca Smith, gives birth to me at home at exactly 2:19 p.m.

     She insisted on the home birth because she said it would be more natural.

     Alfresca Tivoli, Francesca’s sister, is present as Francesca’s birthing coach because my father, John Smith, says it’s women’s work. Plus, he’s scared shitless.

     As I emerge from between my mother’s legs – all thirteen pounds, eight ounces of me – Alfresca catches me. Then I do the usual baby stuff: I get my cord cut, I’m slapped, I cry, I get weighed and measured, someone wipes the cheesy stuff off my hairy head, and finally I get handed off to my mother.

     “Oh,” Francesca says, gently parting the swaddling to examine my body further, “it’s a boy. This wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I was so sure, all along, I was going to have a girl.”

     Then, she dies.

     “If you’d been a girl,” Alfresca says, taking me from my dead mother’s arms as the midwife tries in vain to resuscitate my disappointed mother, “this never would have happened.”

     I know all this, not because I was born with some kind of precocious baby-genius capability to instantly understand language, but rather, because Aunt Alfresca has spent the last thirty-three years reminding me, at fairly regular intervals but with surprisingly little malice, that I killed her sister. 

     As I said, right from the start, I’ve been a disappointment to women.

     Some people would tell you it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

     All of those people would be men.

Funny, right?!  I laughed out loud a few times while reading that.  Still want more?  Hop over to Amazon to get an even longer sneak peek.  And then buy the darn thing, wouldja?  It's a great price and who doesn't need some laughter this holiday season?!

Guest blog: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

I'm so thrilled today because we've got the super-talented Lauren Baratz-Logsted here doing a guest blog!  In honor of today's release of her latest book for teens, LITTLE WOMEN AND ME, Lauren's here talking about inspiration for the book.

So, without further ado, take it away, Lauren!

My latest novel, LITTLE WOMEN AND ME, is about a contemporary teen who time-travels into the classic Louisa May Alcott novel, only to discover that in order to get back out again she's going to have to change something pretty major about the book.

I originally got the idea for the book when my daughter and her BFF both read Alcott's original Little Women. They both loved the book - as I did when I was younger - and they also had the same two problems I remember having with it: That Thing That Happens To Beth (so there won't be any spoilers, I put it like that in case there's one person left who doesn't know what That Thing is); and the fact that The Wrong Girl Winds Up Getting The Best Guy. So I decided to write a book in which I set right at least one of those two things.

Re-reading the original in preparation for writing my own twisted version reminded me about all the reasons I loved it as a young girl. There are sisters! Being the only girl of my generation in my family, I always wanted sisters. And those sisters mostly get along! Well, except for that unspeakably evil thing Amy does to Jo and then the intentional-neglect thing Jo does in return that almost kills Amy. And Jo herself! How many female writers are writers because they fell in love with the picture of Jo March, chomping on apples in the garret while penning her stories? Oh, wait a second. It's Jo March's fault I have a career that comes with no guaranteed paycheck or medical benefits. Blast you, Jo March!

Oops, sorry about that little detour there.

Anyway, in addition to finding so much I once loved about the book, there were some surprises. For one thing, LW is a very episodic book - teens today would say that so much in it is random! Then too, there are characters who I loved unreservedly decades ago that now, well, let's just say they can be a bit annoying. But that's part of what made writing LITTLE WOMEN AND ME so much fun: getting to see the book all over again through the eyes of my main character, Emily, who herself is encountering the book more up close and personal than she ever imagined after a few years away from it.

I hope readers will like what I've done.

 

You can read more about Lauren at www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com.

 

Author interview: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

We've got a real treat here today because the fabulous Lauren Baratz-Logsted has come to visit!  She's here to celebrate the paperback release of her young adult novel, The Education of Bet.

We're going to find out all about the novel, all about Lauren, and all about where she gets her fabulous story ideas!  So, what are we waiting for?  Here we go:

Tell us about your most recent novel in 30 words or less.
In Victorian England, a teenage girl decides to impersonate a boy in order to get a proper education.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?
The Idea Fairy visits me a few times a year. In between visitations, I keep my eyes and ears open but never my mouth - flies might fly in.

What is the inspiration behind this novel?
The classic novel of British boarding-school life, Tom Brown's Schooldays. I wanted to write a - hopefully! - entertaining novel that would also show that the things we take for granted, like a decent education for girls, has by no means always been a given.

When did you first begin writing?
I first got excited about writing when I was 12 but I didn't do anything about it until 20 years later when, at age 32, I walked out on my day job to take a chance on myself as a writer.

What do you think readers might be surprised to know about you?
That I really am as short as I say I am.

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?
Read, read, read everything you can get your hands on, and always remember: the only person who can ever really take you out of the game is you.

Congrats on the latest release!!
Thank you!!!


Thank you so much for stopping by, Lauren!  I love the advice about reading a lot if you want to write-- so often I meet people who want to write books, but they don't actually read books!  It's so important to know what's out there.

If you haven't already checked out Lauren's latest release, what are you waiting for?  You can order it now!