I got LuAnn McLane's upcoming release in the mail yesterday, and I can't wait for the chance to read it. One thing I adore about her stories is that they're sassy and fun and sexy, yet also full of those quirky characteristics of small town, and in this case particularly, a small southern town. Having grown up in a small town for most of my life, I feel a connection to characters who are living in places where it's not unusual, even in this day and age, to leave the door unlocked. Where everyone knows you, your parents and your siblings. Where there's one traffic light and most stores are closed on Sundays. That's exactly how I grew up, and LuAnn manages to really bring places like that to life, with a heavy dash of southern hospitality thrown in.
She's written several books over the last few years, and I've read most of them and enjoyed them all. They are a refreshing change of pace from the incredible array of historicals, paranormals and scorching erotic romances that I consume on a regular basis. Her voice is so distinctive in her books, and I admire that a lot, considering how books start to "sound" exactly the same after awhile and it's hard to tell them apart.
So today I'm spotlighting LuAnn as my pick for an underrated author. Her stories may not appeal to everyone and there's not a lot of new material brought to the table, though I think she's done her part to rejuvenate books about sports (i.e. baseball in "Hot August Nights" and motorcross racing in "Driven by Desire"), but her books are immensely likeable and charming, and her characters are people I can easily relate to. Her stories are straight-up romance with the main focus on the hero and heroine, and she tends to pepper them with references to favorite country singers, which, as a fan of country music, really appeals to me.
I've also been fortunate to have spoken to LuAnn many times, and she is as genuine and as sweet as her stories. Even if I'd never met her though, I would still be a fan of her books. But knowing LuAnn is the icing on the cake, and it makes me want to see her do well in her career.
So which author do you think is underrated, and why?
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Signet (March 3, 2009)
ISBN-10: 045122633X
ISBN-13: 978-0451226334
Publisher: Signet (March 3, 2009)
ISBN-10: 045122633X
ISBN-13: 978-0451226334
Raised by her widowed father, Jolie Russell has always een more into getting dirty than looking pretty. She can keep up with any man—that is, until wealthy and sexy land developer Cody Dean struts into her life.
Cody buys the Russell farm with an impossible-to-refuse multimillion-dollar offer that Jolie and her father can't refuse, then relocates them to the Copper Creek Estates. But the country club atmosphere isn’t ready for Jolie’s kind of country. As her two worlds collide, Jolie wonders how she can ever hope to capture Cody’s heart without giving up her grits.
Labels: authors, LuAnn McLane
posted by Stacy~ at 2/20/2009 06:22:00 AM
Oh! Fun topic! I have a ton of authors that I think are underrated:
byJudith James should have gotten WAY more acclaim for Broken Wing.
Ann Aguirre should be at the top of best seller lists for her work.
And um, the biggie to me: Colleen Gleason. For the life of me I can't understand why her books are on the NY Times Best Seller list. It seems like the buzz grows a bit with each book, but considering how glowingly these book are reviewed, why the heck aren't they best sellers?? She's my author who I say to everyone, "If you're not reading Colleen Gleason, you should be."
Hi Stacy I agree with you about Luann. I love her stories they are always fun fast reads. She has the ability to create characters you would like to have as friends.
byUnderrated authors. There are several out there. PC Cast in one that comes to mind. Her stories are always so detailed and vivid for me. She has created a wonderful YA series with her daughter Kristin as well. Perhaps she is going to become more widly known as I just heard that the 4th book in that series is going to release in HB in a couple of months.
I am always drawn into Gena Showalter's stories too and think she is very underrated. Susan Grant creates fabulous worlds in her writing and I think she is very underrated.
Julie Kenner and her demon fighting soccar mom series is fabulous too. A new one in that series should be hitting the shelves this summer I think.
Another thing I have wondered lately is whatever happened to....but that's another blog.
Have a good weekend.