Author Stephanie Evanovich On Her Sports-Themed Stories

Best-selling novelist Stephanie Evanovich discusses starting her writing career late in life, her famous relation to acclaimed author Janet Evanovich, and why her sports-themed romantic stories resonate with her readers.

10/3/2016 #1901

Excerpt:

"We are pleased to be joined by the beautiful and talented and also great writer Stephanie Evanovich, the author of "The Total Package". There's the cover of the book. Who is the total package? For the sake of the book the total package is a man named Tyson Palmer? Who is? He is a football player who just fell down. He fell down? And What? Is he getting another chance? He fell down by being given too much too soon. Wait a minute, hold on, I'm thinking... Johnny Manziel? Think Johnny Manziel. Gets another chance? Absolutely, yes he does. From everybody except one sports reporter that he can't figure out what it is. Is that Dani Carr? It would be. So hold on, Dani Carr...? Are you a mind reader? Hold on wait a minute. I see a link!  No hold on, wait a minute, we're not, I read the notes. You're reading my mind! And I read enough of the book to know that Dani Carr is this sportswriter. It is. Covering this... is he a quarterback? He's a quarterback. He's a quarterback? Tyson Palmer's a quarterback. Okay so, did they have a previous relationship? As a matter of fact, they did Steve. In high... college? In college. And of course, he remembers. Actually he's just out of college and she's just finishing up. Why does he not remember this relationship? Because he just, you know, he's got an addiction problem which, you know, I write comedy just to step away for a second. I do write comedy for... I don't need to tell anybody there's nothing funny about addiction. And it takes a small part of the book, but I also believe it deserved to be talked about. So the thing is he doesn't remember? He doesn't remember. But something happened between them. Something significant. He doesn't remember. She's not responding to his...? Advances. ...advances. And it's frustrating. But you believe your books, your previous book? Actually I have two. There's The Sweet Spot which was my second book, and Big Girl Panties was my debut novel. Big Girl Panties? Yeah, oh I can't believe you said it! Yeah, I wanted to say it. I was looking forward to saying it. Okay. I never said it before. Question, you have a pretty famous last name? I do. Because? I'm related to somebody incredibly famous. You are? I am. Janet Evanovich is my aunt. And, it's so interesting. Through marriage. I have to clarify, I didn't in no way swim in her gene pool. My father and her husband are brothers. You spent a lot of years before you became a writer acting? A very frustrated actor, yes. Why the transition? Because after 30 years and finding out that the movie..."