Today, we’re very pleased to welcome Cynthia Ellingsen to the site. She’s talking about her new novel, The Whole Package which came out earlier this month! I really love this article, in fact I laughed when Cynthia writes about her husband hearing her shout at her PC! Scroll down to find out more… (And, as an aside, are all writers like that?)

Hi ChickLit Reviews! Thank you so much for inviting me to guest post today. I’m so excited to talk with you about my debut novel, The Whole Package.

One of the best things about writing The Whole Package was creating the romance between Cheryl and Andy.

The love story between these two is very passionate and when I was writing it, I would get super involved. Like, hair tossing and tsk-ing and all of that. The thing is, Cheryl and Andy just cannot stand the fact that they are completely, hopelessly and utterly attracted to one another, which made it incredibly fun to write.

In these instances where I’d get all fired up about their romance, I totally frightened my husband because I’d shout at my computer. This would happen in moments like the scene where it suddenly dawns on Cheryl that she has no idea whether or not Andy is available or *gasp* married.

“Are you married?” Cheryl demanded.

Andy’s mouth fell open and he actually started laughing. It echoed long and loud through the starry night. “Why would you care about my marital status?” he chuckled, rubbing his gloved hand across his forehead.

“I don’t, I…”

His eyes flickered over her body. “You got a little crush?” he whispered.

Cheryl drew back, speechless. She wanted to punch him but at the same time… “No. I just… I…”

Andy pulled his hands out of his pockets. He crossed his arms, the left hand deliberately on top. Cheryl glanced down and gasped. He was wearing gloves. They were thick leather, which made it impossible to see an imprint of a ring.

“Asshole,” Cheryl said, stomping into her house and slamming the door in his face.

She could hear him laughing all the way back to his car.

This scene got me hot. I mean, I couldn’t believe this Andy guy. Here he is, whisking Cheryl away to a dinner she didn’t even want to go to, flirting like it’s his job and then walking her to the front door and not even bothering to make a move. Whaaa?

“Of course she’s going to think he’s married,” I shouted at my computer.

This prompted my husband to burst into my office. “You okay?” he asked.

Awkward pause.

“Totally,” I said, casually straightening something on my desk. “Why? What’s up?”

“I heard… shouting.”

“Oh. Did you?” Casual sip of water.

“Yes. What happened?”

Well, since he asked, I went into a whole tirade about it. First of all, Andy showed up at Cheryl’s doorstep unannounced and just expected her to drop everything and go on a date with him. So, she does but not before changing into a scandalous dress and stilettos designed to embarrass him in public. Then, they have this nice dinner and she starts to have feeeeelings for him and…

At this point, it was pretty clear husband was sorry he’d asked. There was a whole lot of nodding, smiling and backing towards the door.

Whatever. Writing is a contact sport.

Visit Cynthia at www.cynthiaellingsen.com

Thanks so much Cynthia!

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