A couple of years ago I took a break from Superromance to write GENTLEMEN PREFER NERDS, a ‘caper’ story and romantic comedy. It’s about a meek, nerdy gemologist named Maddie, a jewel thief known as The Chameleon, and an mysterious English aristocrat, Fabian Montgomery, who comes to Maddie’s aid when a fabulous heart-shaped pink diamond is stolen from her aunt’s jewelry shop. (You can read the blurb and an excerpt on my website.)
The story is based on a Cinderella-type fantasy. An ordinary woman is plucked out of her ordinary life by an extraordinary man and taken on the wildest adventure of her life. In the process she’s transformed into the smartest, bravest, sexiest version of herself possible and is thus changed forever. It’s a powerful and delicious fantasy. And I wish it would happen to me! No, no, not really. I’m perfectly content with my life J
In my Superromance books I try to make my characters and situations as realistic as possible--I love writing Supers for those very characteristics. But I also adored writing GENTLEMEN PREFER NERDS as an opportunity to stretch my writing wings with something completely different and just for fun.
I had a riot thinking up outrageous OTT stunts for my characters to get up to. Part of the plot is for science geek Maddie to be turned into a sexy glamazon to seduce the jewel thief and steal the back the pink diamond. Fabian sends her to a ritzy spa to for her make-over. Most women love spas (I know I do!) but not poor Maddie. Still, when Fabian sits up and takes notice of her sexy new look, she decides it was worth the torture.
There are plenty of plot twists, danger and comic intervals but also a strong romance between Maddie and Fabian. They go on an emotional journey as well as an adventure. The story is light-hearted and fun but not ‘fluff’ if you know what I mean.
Helping me with my research was the wonderfully knowledgable gemologist, David Fortier of Tiptopgem.com. David patiently answered my many questions and I spent a lot of time coveting the gems for sale on his site! If you want to know anything about any kind of gemstones, he’s your go-to guy.
Once I’d written this ‘book of my heart’ I couldn’t find a home for it. No agent would take me on, saying there was no market for this kind of book. So when Carina Press opened their virtual doors I submitted unagented and quickly sold the manuscript. My editor Deborah Nemeth and senior editor Angela James have been terrific to work with. I’m hoping readers will prove those agents wrong!
I wrote GENTLEMEN PREFER NERDS intending it to be the first of a five book series, involving the same cast of characters and a different fabulous gemstone each time. That hasn’t eventuated--yet. But it’s still in the back of my mind to write the rest of the books one day.
What is your favorite gemstone? Do you own a piece of jewelry set with it? If you don’t, I’d love for you to tell me about your ultimate fantasy piece of jewelry.
51 comments:
Joan I think you've just made me fall in love with pink diamonds! My engagement ring is an emerald cut sapphire surrounded by two diamonds and I ADORE it. I love that the sapphire came from Emerald, Queensland, Australia. Who would have thought there was a sapphire mine in Emerald ;-)
I have to have a favourite gemstone?!
I really like aquamarine, but I couldn’t say I have a favourite. I also love emeralds and sapphires. Diamonds… My birthstone is amethyst…
I really couldn’t pick one.
I have quite a lot of opal jewellery, as I’m sure many Australians do (seeing as we have 97% of the world’s supply of it!) – but is that even a gemstone?
I love pink diamonds; drool over them in the shops. I love any red or pink precious stones. They make your hand look kissed and cherished.
Malvina
I saw a gorgeous pink diamond in the Tiffany's in Harrods a few years ago and fell head over heels in love. I kept drifting back to it, no matter where else I was supposed to be looking in the shop. Needless to say it didn't have a price tag. Does that mean it was free??!!!
Fiona, everyone falls in love with pink diamonds :)
Your engagement ring sounds gorgeous! And how cool that there are sapphires in Emerald.
Sonya, it's hard to pick just one, isn't it? I love opals, too, and it's my birthstone. I have a ring and earrings. My heroine Maddie's aunt in the book has a huge fire opal brooch. I think I wrote that because it's what I not-so-secretly want for myself.
Hi Malvina! I love the idea that precious stones make your hands look cherished. Beautiful sentiment!
Scarlet, lol, yes I'm sure no price tag meant it was free. It's nice to dream, anyway! I've got jewelry store envy just thinking about Tiffany's in Harrods. I could window shop there all day.
Yes, Sonya- opal sure is a gemstone! It is an unusual one in that it does not have a characteristic structure. They call this type of gem "amorphous"- and another amorphous gem is amber.
Fiona I don't know how long ago you get your engagement ring but maybe you started the trend! I am getting more requests all the time for colored gemstone engagement rings.
Like some of you I am also enthralled with the new huge pink diamond find. If you look closely at the pics you can tell that this is not an amorphous gem- you can actually see the characteristic structure expressed by geometric shapes on the crystal faces. I am always amazed when nature gives us something with such shapes; it really looks like intelligent design.
Joan I am ready to help you make that fire opal brooch! Just say the word! :)
~Dave
Joan,
Congratulations on the release of Gentlemen Prefer Nerds. I love the combination of themes. I can't resist quiet mouse transformation stories because of the hidden depths they uncover. I guess my favourite gem would be emerald. Don't have any but I sure can imagine them on me :-)
Louise
Congratulations on your release, Joan! I love a Cinderella story and this sounds like a great one *g*
Joan,
This sounds like such a fun story! My first release was also a romantic comedy. I found that comedy is much harder to write than I thought it would be:-) I love sapphires (the ones in Kentucky Wildcat blue) especially when coupled with diamonds! But I'm a huge fan of anything pink, so this pink diamond is intriguing.
Hi Joan,
Congrats on your new release. This does sound like a very fun story. I like pearls, and I do have a necklace with one small pearl.
I'm too pragmatic to be much of a jewelry person in real life, much to my husband's relief. I'm also horribly absent minded and would be afraid to lose something valuable.
However, I do love them on other people, enjoy looking at them online from time to time, and of course I love fictional jewels b/c they're free. :-)
I would have to say sapphires are my favorite. There is a tiny one on my engagement ring and blue is one of my favorite colors.
Joan-
The new book sounds great - my favorite gemstone has to be my birthstone - RUBY. My husband even got me a ruby ring surrounded by diamond chips - it is just as precious as he is!!
I like diamonds and peridots. I have some of each. :)
Pink diamonds are fabulous. I love gem markets. I wish I knew enough about gemstones to knowledgeably buy in one of them. My fav is South Sea black pearls. I saw a necklace to die for in a shop on the Ponte de Vecchio in Florence. It cost twice the price of our house and dh wouldn't buy it for me. (surprise)
Hi Dave! Thanks for stopping by. I knew there was something different about opals but I just couldn't think of it. I've been to Coober Pedy and seen the mines there. Amazing stuff.
Hi Louise, I love emeralds, too. Well, to be honest, I love them all. But I could totally see you in a necklace of beautiful green stones. We can dream!
Hi Beth, yes, it's a fun fantasy, not so much the rags to riches but as Louise said, from a mouse to a siren. I love the notion of pushing a character beyond their self-imposed limits to discover their true self. Kind of like polishing a rough diamond.
Pamela, yes, comedy is harder to write than drama! I always think it's a shame that comedy movies and books (and actors for that matter) don't get the respect they deserve. The trick is getting the emotion into the story as well. Sapphires with diamonds are a classic combination. Love it.
Hi Tammy, thanks! Pearls are beautiful. I have a pair of pearl earrings my s-i-l gave me. I love them.
Hi Jill, sapphires seem to be ruling the day! Blue is my favorite color, too. Although when it comes to diamonds I'd have to say pink.
This is the website I poured over when I was writing this book. http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/
Janet, your husband is a keeper! Rubies are spectacular. When I get around to writing the sequel to Nerds. ruby is going to be the next gemstone featured. Hmm, now I'm saying when, not if....
Since diamonds are my birthstone they are also my favorite gymstone.
I'm back. Just thought of another gorgeous gemstone - pariaba tourmaline - that beautful pale green is just gorgeous!
Ellen, you can't go wrong with diamonds. Especially pink ones :)
Scarlet, ooh, yes to the tourmaline. I had to Google pariaba. The pale green is beautiful and I really like the teal color as well.
Joan, I'm going to brag - I've been lucky enough to read this book and it is funny, sexy, smart and so, so much fun. If you loved Remington Steele or Moonlighting or Romancing the Stone, you will love this book. Huge congrats Joan on the release. I'm so thrilled you found a home for this story.
Hey, Sarah, thanks for the kind words! Don't forget those old Cary Grant movies like To Catch A Thief.
I'm not a gemstone gal, but this book sounds great! I might be wearing my fantasy jewelry, as I had somebody on Etsy make it for me -- a silver circle the size of a quarter with a textured surface, on a silver chain. :)
Joan, I am sidestepping your question just to comment that I don't know if I'd have recognized the pink diamond as a diamond. I guess if the gems were found in the Midwestern US, I might be on the alert for the possibility, but I don't know. Hmmm. They are lovely!
I just left a very grumpy comment over on another blog about being tired of dark, edgy books, Joan, and yours sounds like the perfect antidote to that - just delicious and fun and page-turning, with a great title.
Love pink diamonds. Those are my favourite colours in roses, too - all those blush, champagne, apricot, pinky tones.
Ceylon sapphires. Nomnomnom. A more vivid blue than the ones found closer to home. Did you know you can visit sapphire mines in Inverell (Aus?). Do some panning, buy stones (which then go os to be cut), have a bbq...
Dream of finding The Big One ;)
Ruthie, your custom-made silver necklace sounds just lovely. Nice to have something really special.
Mary, the one found in WA recently is quite pale. Most pinks are. The darker the color, the rarer and more valuable the stone, hence the one in my books is an intense raspberry color.
Hi Lillian, nice to see you here! I love pink roses, too, so delicate. And yeah, we all need a fun read sometimes. Real life is angsty enough!
Hey, Kelly, I had to go Google Ceylon sapphires. You're right, gorgeous color! I knew we have sapphire mines in Oz but not that you can actually pan for them. I wonder how many people go there and stay for years, still dreaming of finding the Big One?
My birthstone is a ruby but it's not my favorite gemstone. I love malachite, followed by tiger eye and amber. My parents were rock hounds so there are a lot of rocks out there that are semiprecious that are really beautiful. I have a partial rock hound in me but one of my great nephews has already become a true rock hound at the age of 6.
Kaelee, I love rubies! But the others you mention are gorgeous, too. Rock hounding is a great hobby - there's so much to learn. Fun for boys, too, who love to hit things with hammers -- er, I mean carefully chip away stones. My son was into that at 6.
Hi Joan! Pink diamonds are beautiful. I don't really have a favorite stone. As I tell my husband, if it's pretty and sparkly I love it, lol! I do have to say that my dream stone is a heart shaped engagement ring. I love my ring, its a family heirloom, but that has always been my dream ring.
Have a wonderful weekend!
You've got me thinking Pink! Wish I could be in the running to win the book, but you can bet your diamonds I'm going to buy a copy.
Alina, you would love the pink diamond in Gentlemen Prefer Nerds. It's heart-shaped! I hope someday you get your dream ring.
Oh, Ro, if only I had diamonds :)
Hmmm, don't have a favorite gemstone. Never wanted diamonds. I do like gold and emeralds if their deep green and smallish. Also turquoise and silver as long as it's understated but beautiful. I don't like anything to garish. :)
Snookie, you sound like you've got great taste. Those are wonderful color combinations. 'Course I would say that, green and gold are the Australian colors! :) I really love silver and turquoise, too.
I don't really have a favourite gemstone. I'm more of a silver jewellery girl without any stones. :)
Your new book sounds fantastic!
I'd love to read it.
I remember drooling over pink diamonds when I was travelling in Western Australia! They have the most beautiful light inside them, somehow. Having said that, though, I think my personal favourites are the cognac diamonds with their rich golden colour. I'm lucky enough to have one in a pendant and I absolutely adore it. It came directly from the Argyle diamond mine in WA.
Claudia, I love silver jewelry but I think it looks better on people with dark hair. I tend towards gold.
Emmie, I would so love to see the Argyle Diamonds in Western Australia. In my book I called the diamond mine Ogilvie but it's based on Argyle which is a big producer of pink diamonds (as you know :). Your cognac diamond pendant sounds beautiful!
Hi Joan, very excited you contacted me via Facebook. You can contact me at (without the spaces and such):
malvina @ iinet dot net dot au
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Malvina
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