Monday, July 26, 2010

Shirley Jump’s Writing Style Is So Lyrical I Wanted To Read It Out Loud!



Pure Romance! 5-Star Excellence! I Loved It!

I actually enjoyed reading Vegas Pregnancy Surprise as much as I enjoyed experiencing the story! But then, I love a pure romance. That’s a romance written without the aid of vampires, shape-shifters, murderers, spies, covered wagons, time travelers, or demons – all brought into the story to help provide added conflict and interest. To be sure, those are fine romances, too. But I have a motto.

Show me the romance!


“Vegas Pregnancy Surprise” is about a romance and that’s it! It’s as if the author took all the million parts of falling in love and expertly edited them back into a compelling romance! A romance that gradually unfolds while holding the reader’s interest, page after page, for over 248 pages! It takes a Romance PhD. to do that and the author did it.

Shirley Jump: Doctor of Romance!

The hero, Linc Curtis, is a Las Vegas computer software mogul. The heroine, Molly Hunter, is a just laid off San Diego kindergarten teacher. One night both hero and heroine, while in Las Vegas, do something totally out of character! They have a one night stand.

As strangers in the night.

They then depart never intending to meet again. Except the heroine becomes pregnant. Since she wants to learn something about her baby’s father, she finds him by searching the internet. Molly then goes to Vegas and lands a job in Linc's company.

That’s the plot.

The hero and heroine come to know and love each other.

That’s the payoff.

I loved the story and I loved the writing. The author often writes like a speech writer. Instead of writing a standard sentence, for example, she will write a sentence, allow time of a second or two to pass, (as in a speech) and then have what amounts to a punch line. (Not a funny punch line but a line that will make the reader smile. These are wonderful to have in speeches.)

Examples:


Standard prose:

She could still see the faces of the administration officials as they told her they were letting her go, with the promise that if funding improved, she would be the first kindergarten teacher hired back next fall.


JUMP prose:

She could still see the faces of the administration officials as they told her they were letting her go, with the promise that if funding improved, she would be the first kindergarten teacher hired back –
Next fall.


Standard Prose:

Molly may or may not be just one more in a long string of quick dates.

JUMP prose:

Molly could have just been one more in a long string of quick dates.
Or not.



Standard Prose:

Molly sighed. She reached for another tissue in her purse and faced the issue of what to do about the baby’s father.

JUMP prose:

Molly sighed. She reached for another tissue in her purse and faced issue number two.
The baby’s father.



Standard Prose:

Damn. Why did Molly Hunter have to come along and open a door he hadn’t even realized he’d shut?

JUMP prose:

And here Molly Hunter came along, opening a door he hadn’t even realized he’d shut.
Until now. Damn.


Standard Prose:

God, he wanted her. He’d always wanted her. The problem was in having her.

JUMP Prose:

God, he wanted her. He’d always wanted her. That wasn’t the problem.
Having her was.



All the above examples are only one of the author's techniques that together give her a delightful voice of her own!

Pure Romance – No One Does it Better!

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much, Vince!! You made my week! I'm so thrilled you enjoyed the book!!!!

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  2. Hi Shirley:

    Thanks for dropping by. I loved the book and I love your writing style. I’m going to ‘school’ on your writing and look forward to reading many more books!

    Thanks,

    Vince

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  3. I'm excited to read this one!!!! Thanks for the heads up review, Vince.

    Vince, if you ever get a chance to attend one of Shirley's online workshops...DO!!! Excellent.

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  4. Hi Tina:

    I will look into Shirley’s online workshops. I’d like to take one that’s just on how she writes prose. It’s so good!

    Vince

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