RSS Add-Me
Diana Holquist and Her Sexiest Man Alive Contest
Happy Thanksgiving week everyone! 
This Monday, Diana Holquist has stopped by to chat about her newest release- Sexiest Man Alive, and this thing she has for Gerard Butler. Not that I can blame her at all for her taste in men. And if you feel like talking about your sexy man of choice, go ahead. I will make sure to start it off and maybe Diana will stop on by to help out.
We all know the saying- "You can’t choose a book by its cover", but your cover for Sexiest Man Alive is quite eye catching. Do you feel having an appealing cover is important for selling a book?YES!!!!! Oh, dear. Sorry for shouting. But yes. Cover. Back copy blurb. When you’re a newbie like me, that stuff is everything, because no one knows your name.
Your heroine of Sexiest Man Alive has an interesting phobia of being shy and hyperventilating whenever she is around gorgeous men. How did you come up with that idea?I didn’t make this up. People have these issues. They’re called social phobias. It’s like a phobia of snakes or heights or stage fright, only its a fear around a kind of person. A lot of people have sent me e-mails saying, hey, me too! You know, one in four people consider themselves shy in some situations, and yet every book I read is about a kick-ass heroine who isn’t afraid of anything. Why is that? I think people want to read about real issues sometimes. Plus, er, okay…so I’m a social phobic too. Not around sexy men. Just around a very specific type of person. If you know me, and you’re that kind of person, you think I’m INSANE. If you’re not, you think I’m totally normal. (Ha!) It’s actually very common.
How hard is it to write romantic comedies? Would you ever think about writing something darker?Romantic Comedy is Dead. You don’t know how often I hear that. But I also get reviews and e-mails from folks saying, what a relief to read something funny and light after all that angst. I love romantic comedy. I think it’s coming back. You heard it here first! So, no. I’d never write anything dark. I think life is terrifying enough without making stuff up. I tried to read a vampire book once, and had to put it down. Too scary. At one point in Sexiest Man Alive, the heroine says, “you’re crazy if you’re NOT scared of this man.” That’s what interests me. Real life and real fears about real people.
Reviews are a sensitive subject to some authors. Do you pay attention to them? And how important is it to have another author’s word of approval about your book and on the cover?
Hee, hee. Whatever could you mean, Kate? (I’m laughing because Kate works with a website that loved Sexiest Man Alive, while the owner of the site PANNED it on her “personal” blog.) Hey, it takes all kinds. This business is too small to hold a grudge or to take stuff personally. It’s a book. I love it. Most people love it. If someone hates it, well, I’m not for everyone. Read something else. Some negative reviews are very thoughtful and helpful. Others aren’t. Enough said. As for author quotes on the cover, they’re essential for initial sales, but it’s all up to your book and your writing in the end. As we say in the ad biz, nothing kills a bad product faster than a good ad. You can get people to pick up your book once, but readers aren’t dumb. They won’t go back to an author that doesn’t deliver no matter what Ms. Bestselling Author says on the cover.
Can you tell us of any projects you have coming up?
I just turned in Hungry for More, the third and last book in the One True Love trilogy about the gypsy who can tell you the name of your soul mate. It’ll be out next fall. My next book after that is totally different, but I’m not sure I can pull it off yet, so I’m not saying any more. Come back in five months.
You’ve been doing a poll for People’s Sexiest Man of 2007 on your website. If it was up to you to select the cover for your next book, which cover model would you choose, and why?
Oooh…You know, I so fell in love with Gerard Butler’s fans doing that poll. They were so passionate and intense in defense of their man. He won my poll by a landside. I think I’d have to do them the honor by choosing Gerry. Gerry as a sexy French chef. Yeah…I could see that…(“Eat hearty lads, for tonight we dine….in bed!!!!”—Sorry, that’s a little Gerard Butler from 300 joke….)
Who did People magazine pick to put on their cover as the sexiest man alive for 2007?
Send your answer to aarblog@gmail.com. One winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Thursday night, November 22, 2007. (Unfortunately because of high postal rates, we can only ship to US addresses.)The winner will be announced here and notified by email on Friday, November 23, 2007.
Diana, I thought your comment about phobias/being shy, was very
interesting. "You know, one in four people consider themselves shy in some
situations, and yet every book I read is about a kick-ass heroine who isn’t
afraid of anything." While I enjoy a good kick-ass heroine, I probably
relate far more to the shy heroines.
Now say a man like Gerard Butler comes up to me in a bar I would be really
tongue tied and handsomephobic. LOL
Hi everyone.
I enjoyed the heck out of this book and can't wait for the next one!