Tackling Serious Issues within Romantic Comedies by Lynn Forth
I am delighted to have my friend and fellow author, Lynn Forth visit my blog today. Lynn writes tight, entertaining romantic comedy novels that always make her readers think and empathise with her characters. Over to you, Lynn.
Thank you for inviting me on to your site, Val. You are a really generous supporter of other writers. I thoroughly enjoy all your Hunter crime series and I marvel at your ability to think up criminal plotlines. I know I couldn’t do it. Even though we share the same publisher, Crooked Cat, our genres are very different.
But I began wondering if there were any similarities between our novels and I like to think that I too tackle some serious themes, albeit with a much lighter touch and much less bloodshed. My novels, like yours, always have a strong sense of place and amidst the banter and fun, I like to think my characters discover their true selves.
Although I write romantic comedies, there are also heart-wrenching issues which must be confronted. My heroines are always set adrift in new locations where they have to rely on their own resources. They may begin as innocents abroad but soon realise that all is not as idyllic as it seems.
My first book, Love in La La Land has an underlying awareness of the Hollywood ‘casting couch’. Long before the #Metoo movement was born, I realised how compromised many females were in the toxic masculine world of powerful movie tycoons. My English writer, Jane, is initially thrilled to visit the glamorous film world of Hollywood and enjoys sparring with screenwriter, Jack. But, as she uncovers more about this sleazy world of glittering parties, hovering paparazzi, and media manipulation, she has to decide who can be trusted and who can’t. And is losing her integrity a price worth paying for fame and success?
In my second novel, Love, Lies and Café au Lait, there is subterfuge aplenty and an exploration of identity and belonging. Annie from Accrington wants to escape, not only from the rain, but her ordinary life as well. She longs to become someone else so when she goes to the sophisticated city of Nice, she invents a more interesting persona and tries to live the life of her dreams. But real life intrudes and she is met by intrigue and deception. Is she just too nice for Nice? She has to learn resilience and fortitude. And her friendship with the fabulous Reen helps her learn the true meaning of parental love and the importance of roots.
In The Girl Who Used To Be Me my heroine, Kate, feels abandoned which affects her self-belief and leaves her wondering if she is worthy of love. When she moves from the Midlands to Marbella on the sunny Costa del Sol, she meets Reen, the funny, flamboyant, flamingo-loving character from my last book, who helps her heal her childhood wounds and believe in herself again.
Author Bio
An abiding fascination with books and people led Lynn to study English and Psychology at University. After a rewarding but all-consuming career as a College Lecturer, she escaped to fulfil her lifelong ambition to write novels, using many of her accumulated insights into what makes people tick.
She now writes uplifting romantic comedies full of sparky dialogue and strong characters.
She is fond of setting her heroines adrift in new sunny, locations where they have to rely on their own resources. The novels always have a strong sense of place and some serious themes are tackled with the lightest of touches. Amidst the banter and fun, her characters discover their true selves…and love.
She set her debut novel, Love in La La Land, in Hollywood which combined her love of films, humour and sunny places. Her second novel Love Lies and Cafe au Lait is set in Nice, a city she loves. And her third novel The Girl Who Used To Be Me follows one of her characters, the fabulous Reen, to her home territory of the Costa Del Sol.
An avid reader, Lynn runs two book clubs and, as a bit of a movie buff, she loves participating in the discussions at a local Film Club. Although not a big exercise fan, she enjoys the fun and music at her Zumba sessions, singing along enthusiastically to all the tunes. A great lover of colour, she tries to encourage a riotous array of flowers in her garden.
Lynn lives in Worcestershire, England with her family and writes in a room with a view of big skies, wooded hills and a distant lake.
She can be contacted at
Website: lynnforthauthor.wordpress.com.
Twitter: @lynnforth
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lynn.forth.560
Author Page: Lynn Forth Author
My books are available as both eBooks and paperbacks from Amazon
Love in La La land : myBook.to/LoveinLaLaLand1
Love Lies and Café au Lait : mybook.to/LoveLiesandCafeauLait
The Girl Who Used To Be Me : mybook.to/TheGirlWhoUsedToBeMe
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