sleeping with ward cleaver

February 13th, 2008

Singers have American Idol. Writers have American Title, which debut author Jenny Gardiner won last year. RT Bookclub Magazine hosts the competition, in which readers actually vote every month on the best first paragraph, best scene, best dialogue, etc. Brilliant idea. The winner receives a publishing contract, so huge congratulations to Jenny (who is a very nice person, besides being very talented! I have this book on order (love the title) and can't wait to read it. 

Here's the scoop on SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER, which has just been published:

Claire Doolittle is not a happy camper. The married mother of five seems to have lost her way in life. Swept off her feet years earlier by Mr. Right, she’s dismayed that husband Jack has turned into Mr. Always Right, and the only sweeping happening in her life involves a broom and a dustpan. Jack’s officious, perfunctory way has left fun, spontaneity and laughter at the doorstep, and Claire is beginning to wonder if she’s actually married to a modern-day version of Ward Cleaver, the stuff-shirted father figure from Leave it to Beaver sitcom fame.

Worse yet, she’s so bogged down by her overwhelming life and so turned off by the idea of getting it on with her stodgy father-figure of a husband, she’s simply blocked out all of her memories of the Claire-who-used-to-be. Cue a former fiancé, who re-enters her life when she desperately needs to figure out who she was, who she is, and who she wants to be. And if she wants to salvage her sagging marriage, or fall back on her old fiancé, who’s wooing her with promises of what could have been. Throw in a predatory hottie from Jack’s office who’s set her sights on Claire’s ho-hum husband, and you’ve got the recipe for a mid-life crisis of epic proportions.

Jenny Gardiner’s novel, winner of Dorchester Publishing’s American Title III contest, is sure to lure you into the mundane yet compelling world of Claire Doolittle and will leave you cheering for her marriage.

Okay, so in honor of my upcoming novel QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRIAGE, I asked Jenny Gardiner to give me her top five questions that couples should ask before saying I Do. Here's what she said:

That's an interesting challenge, particularly because SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER revolves around a stale marriage in need of life support.

Important things to ask your partner before deciding to marry, based upon what Claire Doolittle, my protagonist, would probably ask:
1) When all hell is breaking loose and the kids are going nuts and we're both exhausted and in dire need of a good night's sleep, will you cop out, go to bed and leave it to your partner to handle?
2) Will you agree to work out the anger before bedtime, or would you prefer to go to bed angry?
3) Will you be happy in twenty years if your spouse calls you in the middle of the day just to chat, or will you tell your spouse you're too busy and to stop bothering you at work?
4) What happens if your shared interests diverge and all of a sudden you don't like to do the same things any more?
5) Do you think you can love your spouse even if you really don't like your spouse?

Thanks, Jenny! 

Visit Jenny's website: JennyGardiner.net for more information!

 

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