BooksChatter: ℚ Love. Local. Latebreaking.: Newsroom Romance [1]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author H. Laurence Lareau to talk about Love. Local. Latebreaking. (12 September 2017, H. Laurence Lareau, 272 pages), a Contemporary Romance, book one in the Newsroom Romance series, which is FREE on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle's Owner Lending Library.

The passions are genuine, the humor spit-taking, the conflicts fraught, the plotting intelligent, and the happily-ever-afters are unexpected, plausible, and glorious. The Newsroom Romance series finds inspiration in television newsrooms and courtrooms—two pressure-packed environments where individual achievement and effective collaboration are required and often in tension.

When driven women and the men who drive them crazy meet there, they can find love—and daunting obstacles to making love work. These women and men are privileged by education and profession, yet they’re saddled with the responsibilities of speaking for others. Strengths and weaknesses come into high relief there, exposing the vulnerabilities and leading to trusting relationships or bitterness. The love resonates with any reader who appreciates the transformative power of a soulful connection.

Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

A very warm welcome to H. Laurence Lareau; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

What was the inspiration for Love. Local. Latebreaking. ?

"Love. Local. Latebreaking. was inspired by my experience working in television newsrooms in Champaign, Illinois and Lexington, Kentucky. Because the daily deadline pressure is so intense and the stories reported so often heartbreaking, humor takes on the gotta-laugh-or-I’ll-cry flavor of M*A*S*H."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"The heroes are, of course, slightly less-awesome versions of me. (Well, I wish.) My experience as a journalist and lawyer of course informs the books.

The hero in Love. Local. Latebreaking., Jake, is a karate instructor—and one of his moments of profound emotional vulnerability is on the training floor. I’ve trained in martial arts for many years, though I am by no means in Jake’s class!

And there’s an intense newscast focusing on traffic planning and dangers to bicyclists—because of a fatality—inspired by many panicked moments as a bicycle commuter."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Love. Local. Latebreaking. - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The cover went through several iterations before arriving where it did. The focus groups responded best to the current design, which stands distinctly apart from the usual romance cover."

Why should we read Love. Local. Latebreaking. and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"The Newsroom Romance series draws intense action and plotting from authentic situations. There’s no need for contrived rescues from implausibly deadly peril nor for billionaire heroes to solve problems with their bottomless chequebooks. Those tropes have a place, of course, but the tensions and resolutions in the Newsroom Romance series are much closer to most readers’ lived experiences. Yet they are no less exciting than swashbuckling derring-do."

Can you tell us something quirky about Love. Local. Latebreaking. , its story and characters?

"The bar at the Savery Hotel in Des Moines is where our heroines cut loose together. That bar holds many fond memories for me. While I attended law school in Des Moines, I spent many evenings listening to local jazz legend Irene Miles and cutting up with friends. If you ever go to Des Moines, it’s highly recommended. "

Who would you recommend Love. Local. Latebreaking. and the Newsroom Romance series to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"The Newsroom Romance series is definitely for the over-18 crowd. While the characters’ sexual encounters are intense, they’re vanilla—not at all along the lines of 50 Shades or similar books. (My favorite review of the series’ second book, Traffick Report, was that it should come with a disclaimer that batteries are not included!)

One of the events that drives the plot in Traffick Report concerns a human trafficking’s victim’s sex work; the action all takes place off-stage, but if even references to transactional sex are upsetting, read the first book, skip the second, and wait for Storm Sirens."

If you could / wished to turn Love. Local. Latebreaking. and the Newsroom Romance series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Mila Kunis would be perfect to play Karli, the heroine in Love. Local. Latebreaking.

Nicole Kidman would be solid as Bailey, the refined redhead heroine of Traffick Report.

Since I’m the world’s worst judge of masculine beauty, I’m pretty uncertain about the men. Viggo Mortensen would be able to carry off Jake’s dark intensity and great athleticism. Shea, the hero in Traffick Report, is much harder to cast. He has a long-distance runner’s physique, an unruly mop of dark curls, and lots of extroverted charm.

Whoever directed Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake in Friends with Benefits would do a fantastic job; love that movie!"

That would be Will Gluck.

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"Romance comes naturally to me as a writer because of the wonderful structure and because it’s descriptive of the greatest adventure most people will ever have: the quest for connection and completion.

While I read romance, I’m omnivorous. From young adult (Laini Taylor, Ilona Andrews, Rick Riordan) to fantasy (Terry Pratchett, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, Peter Clines, Lindsey Fairleigh) to history (Doris Kearns Goodwin, Mary Beard, Bettany Hughes) to historical fiction (Robert Graves, Robert Harris) to epically lowbrow humor (Robert Bevan), I love it all."

What is your writing process?

"Organizing a book before writing it remains an inaccessible mystery for me. I’ve tried laying out a storyboard of scenes and detailed plot-driven outlining. Mostly, I head toward somewhere and then find my characters pushing really hard to go elsewhere. Then I do my best to figure it out with their help."

What is in store next?

"Love. Local. Latebreaking. has a sequel, Traffick Report. The third in the series, Storm Sirens, is going to continue the intrigues, bringing a gutsy meteorologist to the front (there hasn’t been one on stage yet, and they’re a vital part of any television newsroom), and it will also take up the invisible and insidious opioid addiction crisis in deeply personal ways."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I’m not the only author in the family. My youngest, Lucy, and her mother, Liz, will release their first graphic novel through Papercutz—It’s not Rocket Science, first in the Geeky Fab Five series—on August 1! The publisher wants at least four more, too—and that mother-daughter team is going to make a huge splash!"

"I try to participate in local Tweed Rides with my kids. I dust off my vintage Raleigh DL-1 (perhaps the greatest bicycle ever engineered) and another vintage Raleigh that my fantastic son rides. The kids and I dress in whatever thrift-store clothing we think looks relatively Edwardian and cruise along the Mississippi River. "