'Romance fiction is brain candy, not brain surgery," said best-selling romance novelist Jill Shalvis of Truckee.
Apparently, candy sells well. The award-winning author has published more then 50 titles, including books in nine series.
The third entry in her recent "Lucky Harbor" series, "Head Over Heels," will appear in December. "Simply Irresistible" and "The Sweetest Thing" are currently on bookshelves (Forever, $6.99 and $7.99, respectively).
Shalvis and her general contractor husband, David, have three teenage children. She is an avid outdoorswoman who gives her age this way: "I'm old." Visit her at www.jillshalvis.com.
What's your background?
I was a journalism major at Cal State Northridge and thought my life was going to be nonfiction. I was entirely wrong. I published my first book in 1999 and moved to Truckee from L.A. when I fell in love with the mountains.
Where is the fictitious Lucky Harbor?
On the Washington coast at the base of the Olympic Mountains. I wanted to create a place so I could make it mine and do what I wanted with it.
What's the series about?
Three sisters from different walks of life grow up separately and don't know each other, but get stuck together for a year. It turns out they don't like each other, either. Their mother dies and leaves them a falling-down inn on the beach. In order to fix it up and sell it, they have to stick together. By Book 2 they open it as a bed-and-breakfast.
Why is the romance genre so popular?
I really believe it's because of the (requisite) happy-ever-after endings. In today's harsh world, people look for comfort reads, for escape.
What moves women romantically?
It's not a particular moment, but more (an accumulation) of the little things. Having someone you can count on at the end of the day – your own little happy ever after.
What about you?
For me, it's not the flowers or the candlelit dinner, but the companionship and familiarity. It's having someone to make the bed with in the morning. Or someone who's going to help with the laundry, or someone who's going to listen to you complain that the kids didn't do this or that.
Does your husband help with the books, too?
He's there to listen, but he does not partake in the writing. Once in awhile he comes up with a good idea when I'm stuck. It's having someone there that's important.
What readers read
More readers share their summer-reading lists:
• "Here is my eclectic list:"
"A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
"The Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
"Day by Day Armageddon" by J.L. Bourne
"The Winter Sea" by Susanna Kearsley
"Salem Falls" by Jodi Picoult
– Ann Marie Hensley
Roseville
• "These are the authors I love (and anything by Tammy Hoag and J.A. Jance):"
"Bel-Air Dead" by Stuart Woods
"The Fifth Witness" by Michael Connelly
"10th Anniversary" by James Patterson
"Eyes Wide Open" by Andrew Gross
– Laura Burnham
Antelope
By local scribes
Meanwhile, authors with Sacramento connections continue to tell their tales:
• "Vanished in the Night" by Eileen Carr (Pocket, $7.99, 352 pages): When 20-year-old human remains are uncovered at a Sacramento construction site, crimes of the present soon come to the surface, too. This is the second romantic-suspense title for "Carr," who is really Eileen Rendahl of Davis. Under the "Rendahl" byline are four chick-lit and two urban-fantasy novels. Visit her at www.eileenrendahl.com and http://drunkwritertalk.blogspot.com.
• "The Sins of Brother Curtis" by Lisa Davis (Scribner, $27, 368 pages): Davis, an investigative journalist, details the landmark case of a lawsuit brought against the Mormon Church (settled in 2001). Charges of systematic sexual abuse against a deceased child molester were at the heart, but broader issues came to the forefront.
• "Red Storm" by Frank Luna (Gravity Bay, $14.99, 288 pages): An away team from Earth is ending its 18-month mission at Mars Base when all communication with the home planet ends. When the relief crew aboard the Mars 3 spacecraft arrives, there's a shock waiting inside. Luna is an Emmy Award-winning senior director at Channel 13 (KOVR).
• "Lost and Found" by Shanell Keys (AuthorHouse, $22, 164 pages): Though her sister disappeared years earlier, Kate's life is going well until two children knock on her door and say they're her nephew and niece. Will this strange development lead to her long-lost sister?
• "A Man With Three Great German Shepherds and 1,000 Troy Ounces of Gold" by Mark Butterworth (CreateSpace, $9.99, 168 pages): Dan Martin is a retired Navy veteran whose dogs find fame after rescuing a priest. Dan hopes to find fortune from the incident, but unexpected troubles follow.
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