Plumley, Lisa
Plumley, Lisa
PERSONAL:
Married; children: two sons.
ADDRESSES:
Home—Chandler, AZ. E-mail—lisa@lisaplumley.com.
CAREER:
Author.
WRITINGS:
Surrender, Zebra (New York, NY), 1997.
The Honeymoon Hoax, Zebra (New York, NY), 1998.
My Best Friend's Baby, Zebra (New York, NY), 1999.
Outlaw, Zebra (New York, NY), 1999.
Lawman, Zebra (New York, NY), 1999.
Man of the Year, Zebra (New York, NY), 2000.
Her Best Man, Zebra (New York, NY), 2000.
Making Over Mike, Zebra (New York, NY), 2001.
Falling for April, Zebra (New York, NY), 2002.
Reconsidering Riley, Zebra (New York, NY), 2002.
The Drifter, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.
The Matchmaker, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.
Perfect Together, Zebra (New York, NY), 2003.
Perfect Switch, Zebra (New York, NY), 2004.
Josie Day Is Coming Home, Zebra (New York, NY), 2005.
Once upon a Christmas, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.
Mad about Max, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.
The Rascal, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2006.
The Scoundrel, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2006.
Let's Misbehave, Wheeler Publishing (Waterville, ME), 2008.
Home for the Holidays, Zebra (New York, NY), 2008.
Work represented in anthologies, including Timeless Winter, Zebra (New York, NY), 1999; Timeless Spring, Zebra (New York, NY), 1999; Santa Baby, Zebra (New York, NY), 2002; I Shaved My Legs for This?!, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2006; and Hallowe'en Husbands, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2008.
SIDELIGHTS:
"I think I began writing almost as soon as I discovered reading!" best-selling romance writer Lisa Plumley declared in a statement posted on her home page. "In grade school, a friend and I entered a ‘Young Authors and Illustrators’ contest with our coauthored book—and won first prize. In junior high, I began a series of Nancy Drew-style mysteries starring (naturally enough) a teenaged sleuth who had a lot in common with me—except she had her own horse and I had … a Schwinn. In high school, I tried my hand at poetry and won a statewide contest—which only encouraged me to write angst-ridden poetry about prom dates and pimples. I've always been fascinated with the written word." "My first publication was a short contemporary romance called Surrender," Plumley continued, "about an uptight accountant who gets dumped by her boyfriend and decides to turn herself into a man magnet to win him back. She hires a hunky carpenter to renovate her house and pose as her boyfriend—but her plans get turned upside down when the hunk launches his own plan to woo her for himself. It was a hoot!" Plumley's novels, which range from contemporary romances, like Mad about Max, Perfect Switch, Josie Day Is Coming Home, Let's Misbehave, and Making Over Mike, to historicals like The Drifter and The Rascal, set in her Arizona homeland, continue to wow readers.
In Making Over Mike, Plumley tells the story of "life coach" (or "mentor") Amanda Connor, who has made a bid to jump-start her new business through a lottery. In collaboration with a local television producer, Amanda proposes to recreate the man who emerges with the winning lottery ticket. She had not counted on the winner being Mike Cavaco, a true couch potato with few ambitions in life and fewer means to make them come true. "Mike never suspects that he's about to become the man of Amanda's dreams," explained a reviewer for Writerspace. The novel, concluded Jill M. Smith, writing in the Romantic Times, "is both fun and lighthearted. Watch for more from this author."
Mad about Max tells the story of Max Nolan, whose current squeeze has disposed of his lucky suit to quirky neo-punk second-hand-clothing shop owner Lucy Logan. When Max shows up at Successfully Dressed, Lucy's shop, in his underwear, he is nonplussed by her refusal to simply resell him the suit in question. Instead, she insists that he earn it by volunteering in the store. "Max figures he can make some great contacts with the shop's rich benefactors," a Fresh Fiction reviewer commented. And Lucy? The fact that Max has killer abs and a gorgeous body surely has nothing to do with her decision to keep him involved as long as possible. Plumley, declared Shelley Mosley in Booklist, "presents another winner in this humorous and engaging tale about a man who literally loses his shirt, but finds his heart."
The plot of Perfect Switch centers around twin sisters Marley and Meredith Madison. Marley's got a successful career in television, while Meredith has opted for the less-glamorous life of a historian. When Marley approaches her sister for help (she's getting married and wants Meredith to impersonate her so the press will leave her alone on her honeymoon), Meredith blithely agrees—with no idea that she is letting herself in for two weeks at an actor's fantasy camp, run by studio mogul Tony Valentine. "So they strike a bargain," explained Kristin Ramsdell in the Library Journal: "Archive access for two weeks of serious Marley impersonation—with romantic, hilarious, and satisfying results." "What's not to love," asked Booklist contributor Shelley Mosley, "about a book with a heroine who fights the hero's Pygmalion efforts tooth and nail?"
In Josie Day Is Coming Home, Vegas showgirl Josie Day saves the life of a wealthy matron in the audience through the timely application of the Heimlich maneuver. In appreciation, the woman awards Josie an estate called Blue Moon in her home town of Donovan's Corner, Arizona. She neglects to mention, however, that the estate actually belongs to her nephew, Luke Donovan, who wants to turn it into a motorcycle repair shop. "Upon her arrival at Blue Moon, Josie mistakes Luke for the handyman," explained a Publishers Weekly reviewer. "Luke, meanwhile, thinks Josie is a real estate lady looking to sell the place." The novel, concluded a reviewer for MBR Bookwatch, "is an amusing light hearted romantic romp starring two likable protagonists who will remind the audience of the Doris Day-Rock Hudson pillow films."
Plumley's historical romances are also usually set in Arizona and deal with many of the same kinds of situations as do her contemporary novels. The Rascal pairs saloon keeper Jack Murphy and political activist Grace Crabtree in a royal battle of wills. Jack, a former professor, Plumley told an interviewer for Romance Vagabonds, is "determined to leave his intellectual past behind and turn himself into the prototypical ‘western guy,’ but on his way to becoming rugged, earthy, and macho, Jack hits a few bumps in the road—mostly because he's embroiled in a feud with the town's suffragist, the imperturbable Grace Crabtree … and Grace is determined to win!"
Let's Misbehave tells the story of the coming together of two more misfits: Marisol Winston and Cash Connelly. The novel is "a contemporary romance about a fun-loving heiress who enters ‘shopaholic rehab,’" Plumley told an interviewer for the Romance Reviews Today Blog, "and as part of her therapy has to get a real job … as a nanny/housekeeper for a macho single-dad NFL quarterback and his three rowdy kids. It was SO much fun to pair up Marisol and Cash, two total opposites who really need one another in the end." "Full of witty dialogue and hilarious situations," Shelley Mosley declared in Booklist, "this romp with a heart is certain to please readers."
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 1, 2002, Mary K. Chelton, review of Falling for April, p. 1312; September 15, 2002, Shelley Mosley, review of Reconsidering Riley, p. 217; April 15, 2003, Shelley Mosley, review of Perfect Together, p. 1453; June 1, 2004, Shelley Mosley, review of Perfect Switch, p. 1711; February 15, 2005, Shelley Mosley, review of Josie Day Is Coming Home, p. 1068; September 15, 2005, "Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After," p. 46; March 1, 2006, Shelley Mosley, review of The Scoundrel, p. 75; May 15, 2006, Shelley Mosley, review of Mad about Max, p. 30; May 15, 2007, Shelley Mosley, review of Let's Misbehave, p. 27.
Library Journal, February 15, 2002, Jo Manning, review of Falling for April, p. 130; May 15, 2003, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Perfect Together, p. 73; May 15, 2004, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Perfect Switch, p. 72.
MBR Bookwatch, April 1, 2005, review of Josie Day Is Coming Home.
Publishers Weekly, September 23, 2002, review of Reconsidering Riley, p. 56; March 21, 2005, review of Josie Day Is Coming Home, p. 41.
ONLINE
AllReaders.com,http://www.allreaders.com/ (May 22, 2008), Harriet Klausner, review of Falling for April.
BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (May 22, 2008), Martina Bexte, interview with Plumley.
Contemporary Romance Writers,http://www.contemporaryromance writers.com/ (May 22, 2008), Tara Green, interview with Plumley.
eHarlequin.com,http://www.eharlequin.com/ (May 22, 2008), author profile.
Fresh Fiction,http://freshfiction.com/ (May 22, 2008), reviews of I Shaved My Legs for This?!, Mad about Max, The Rascal, and Let's Misbehave.
Lisa Plumley Home Page,http://www.lisaplumley.com (May 22, 2008), author profile.
Romance Reader,http://www.theromancereader.com/ (May 22, 2008), Linda Mowery, review of The Honeymoon Hoax; Thea Davis, review of Outlaw; Nancy J. Silberstein, review of Making Over Mike; Cathy Sova, review of Falling for April; and Lesley Dunlap, review of The Drifter.
Romance Reviews Today Blog,http://romrevtoday.blogspot.com/ (May 22, 2008), "Ask Five with … LISA PLUMLEY!!!"
Romance Vagabonds,http:/www.romancevagabonds.com/ (May 22, 2008), "Vagabond Q&A with Lisa Plumley."
Romantic Times,http://romantictimes.com/ (May 22, 2008), Gerry Benninger, review of The Matchmaker; Jill M. Smith, review of Making Over Mike; Kathe Robin, review of The Drifter; Teresa Roebuck, review of Her Best Man; Maria C. Ferrer, review of Outlaw; Beth MacGregory, review of Timeless Winter; and Gerry Benninger, review of Timeless Spring.
Tote Bags 'n' Blogs,http://authorsoundrelations.blogspot.com/ (May 22, 2008), "True Canine Tales … with Lisa Plumley."
Writerspace,http://www.writerspace.com/ (May 22, 2008), "A Closer Look."