Why we love Lucy Robinson...plus a book giveaway

We proudly welcome Lucy Robinson to our side of  the pond, as she is launching her novels in the US and Canada this month. Both of her novels have received positive reviews from us, so we're glad that more readers will get a chance to check them out.

Lucy Robinson grew up near Stroud in Gloucestershire, in a small cottage that housed an array of delinquent animals along with her family. After studying acting and then working behind the scenes in theatre and television, she was still looking for her "Thing." When she became a writer in 2010, she knew she had found it. She also has found the man of her dreams. Since they're both more suited to country life, they moved from London to Bristol last year. She's now back doing all the things she loved as a kid – riding horses, playing her violin, reading fiendishly and spending a lot of time in wellington boots. She blogs most days and takes a lot of baths, as well.

Today, Lucy is here to talk about male romantic leads in chick lit novels and has THREE print or e-books of A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger for some lucky readers in the US and/or Canada. In addition, she has a print copy of The Greatest Love Story of All Time for a lucky reader in the US or Canada!

Visit Lucy at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Check out the reviews here:
A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger (reviewed by Miriam)
The Greatest Love Story of All Time (reviewed by Becky)

The Men of Our Dreams

What makes for the perfect male romantic lead in a chick lit novel? A smart, preppy, chivalrous man with excellent control of his facial hair and a closet full of designer clothes? A clever and successful businessman with a chunky bank balance and good shoes? Is he tall and muscular and does he have a head of sculpted hair? (Indeed, any sort of a hairstyle at all?) Is he basically PERFECT?

If so, I have failed quite comprehensively with every book that I’ve written. And I will probably keep on failing, because the truth is, I’m addicted to imperfect men. This month sees the US/Canadian launch of A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger and I can’t help but wonder what my readers on that side of the pond will make of its romantic lead. He is totally wonderful, in my opinion, but he’s also one of the most chronically imperfect men ever to exist in a novel. (As the title suggests, he’s a total stranger, apart from anything else.) The romantic leads in my other two novels are just as bad - scruffy and flawed – and, nearly halfway into my fourth book, I can confidently report that the latest romantic lead isn’t any better.

It all began when I was twelve years old and I read Gone with the Wind about four hundred times in one year. I don’t think I have ever fancied someone so much as I fancied Rhett Butler. He was a tyrant! A nightmare! Quite apart from the fact that he had a big black moustache, he was a complete bastard and made Scarlett O’Hara’s life a misery most of the time. But holy cow if I saw him in the street today I would throw him to the ground and snog his face off.

Fast forward twenty-two years and here I am, living with a man who is devilishly handsome but behaves like a ten year-old most of the time and makes more mess than a bomb. He forgets everything and there are holes in his clothes. I love him madly. There is no hope for me!

And this is why I am completely unable to create romantic leads who aren’t, on some level, a bit rubbish. A bit rough round the edges, or a bit scruffy, or a bit damaged. But here’s the thing: it’s my firm belief that the only way to get a reader to fall in love with my male leads is for me to fall in love with them myself. The more hopeless they are, the more imperfect, the more unconventional they are, the more I love them, and by the time I finish writing a book, I’m besotted. I love them so much that boyfriend gets quite jealous and starts snooping in my phone. (That’s not really true.)

For the chance to win a copy, tell me who your "book boyfriend" is from any chick lit novel, and why. Happy dreaming!


Thanks to Lucy for visiting with us and sharing her book with our readers.

How to win:  Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US/Canada only. Giveaway ends April 29th at midnight EST.