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Featured Book Interview - June 2005
This month Stephanie Lehmann bares all. That is, all about writing and researching The Art of Undressing. Read on, and you’ll never look at pajamas the same way again!
DC: Can you give us a couple of how-to-strip-for-your-lover tips that Ginger learns from her mom?
SL: - Pick out music that makes you feel sexy, not him. You're the one doing the performing.
- Maintain eye contact with him. This keeps him involved. Men have short attention spans.
- Don't be afraid to touch yourself.
- Go slowly. Draw it out. It's like a mystery novel Let the suspense kill him. Make it so he's dying to get to the last page. Once you're naked, the story is over.
DC: Now that you've gone to strip clubs as part of your research, is it something you would do again?
SL: I was very curious to see what strip clubs were like, and to see how I would feel inside of one. But now that I know, I don't have any particular urge to go back. I'm afraid I've returned to my old staid existence. But hey, if anyone wants to go to one in Reno when we're at the Romance Writers of America convention, I'm game!
DC: Your protagonist Ginger can get excited about stainless steel baking surfaces. Do you feel that way about your writing tools?
SL: I just got a new laptop that I'm very excited about, and I'm trying not to get crumbs in the keyboard.
DC: What can we look forward to from the Lehmann pen?
SL: The novel I'm working on now is about a young woman who works at the Museum of Television, which means more fun research for me. I get to go to the Museum of Television and Broadcasting in midtown and look at old TV shows and tell myself I'm being productive.
DC: What do you wear when you write?
SL: I'm most productive in my pajamas. I like cotton bottoms with an elastic waist and favor pastels with things like hearts or flowers on them. for my tops, I wear tanks or t-shirts. I don't require that the tops and bottoms match. I have socks on and no shoes. If I go out to write, I wear clothes that resemble pajamas as much as possible without drawing notice to myself. And if possible, I slip my shoes off. The most important thing is to be comfortable. Nothing with a tight waist. I think that's the secret to successful writing: wear pants that aren't tight.
DC: Describe your office: (Do you have anything inspirational on the walls?)
SL: My “office” is a desk in the corner of the bedroom. It's a mess. I have pictures of my kids and my collection of young adult novels from the 50s and 60s for inspiration. I do most of my writing away from home on the laptop. So maybe my office actually looks a little like, um, Barnes and Noble?
DC: How does your living arrangement affect your writing/work?
SL: My entire apartment is a total mess. Housework is definitely a low priority for me. I'd rather revise my manuscript than my apartment. As a matter of fact, my husband recently said that I only write in order to avoid cleaning the apartment. I think this might actually be true.
DC: What about feeding your children?
SL: I do try to keep food in the house, but it's such an exercise in futility. I keep buying groceries, and then they eat it all up, and I have to go out AGAIN and buy groceries, and then they eat it up...
DC: Besides writing what do you do for fun?
SL: Eat things with carbohydrates in them, watch reality shows, and obsessively check my emails...
Thanks for your time, Stephanie. Keep doing what you’re doing, because you’re definitely doing something right!
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