Diane Owens Prettyman is the author of the new novel Love Is for the Birds. Her other books include Redesigning Emma. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Q: What inspired you to write Love Is for the Birds, and how did you create your characters Teddy and Jack?
A: During Covid, I watched a fair amount of romance on television. I’ve always loved happy ending stories and beach reads, especially in the summer. Naturally, I wanted to write one. I created two characters straight out of a Hallmark movie, or Virgin River, because some readers love that small-town trope.
There are only two non-negotiables in romance—a central love story and an optimistic and satisfying ending. These two non-negotiables are the reason why romance is such a popular genre.
After Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf, whole towns were destroyed. Port Aransas has a wonderful candy store that inspired my character Teddy. Jack’s role evolved from stories I’d heard about people bringing supplies and food to the island after the storm.
My book has an underlying tone that everything is going to work out even in the midst of the hurricane recovery process, even though Teddy has lost everything. Losing the candy store, the last piece of her mother, shocked Teddy into discovering her path for the future.
The candy store, with its family atmosphere, is the perfect place for healing. Everyone loves to visit a candy store. Every beach town has one.
I wanted Teddy to be experiencing some trauma in her life in addition to the hurricane. The mother – daughter relationship is ripe with material to create tension.
I decided to have Teddy blame herself for the death of her mother even though it was clearly an accident. In order to rebuild Bird Isle, and her shop, she has to face the guilt and shame she feels regarding her relationship with her mother.
Then, the handsome Texas barbecue pitmaster comes to town to feed the hurricane survivors and workmen. Barbecue is also very Texas. In Austin, there are almost as many barbecue joints as taco stands.
There’s something sexy about a strong, barbecue pitmaster who smells like mesquite smoke and spice. Unfortunately, he is mourning the death of his wife. This creates a push-pull dynamic between him and Teddy. He’s not sure he can get over his wife. She’s not sure he can either.
Plus, Teddy has this boyfriend. She feels obligated to her boyfriend, who kinda-sorta stuck by her after her mother’s death, but Teddy can’t deny her attraction to Jack.
Q: The novel is set along the Texas Gulf Coast--how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: My fictional town of Bird Isle blossomed out of my many trips to Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf. Port Aransas is an island in the Gulf. I hate to give it a lot of attention, because it’s a fantastic place and unexpected. You are in Texas, and there’s this super cool beach vibe—midway between a Florida and California vibe.
Port Aransas is only about three hours from Austin. And, this is important to me, the water is warm. I love the Pacific and swim in it, but when I moved to Texas, I discovered the Gulf’s warm waters and friendly waves. The Gulf has a different beauty from Oregon’s volcanic rocks and treacherous shorelines. The Gulf is welcoming and soothing.
Except when a hurricane comes. Port Aransas was basically completely destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. I had/now have this favorite condo I like to stay at when I go to Port A. The place was out of business for three or so years after the hurricane. I felt a tremendous loss because going to the beach each year on my birthday was an annual ritual.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Teddy and Jack?
A: They are both dealing with death. The thought of second chances is far from their minds.
After her mother’s death, guilt consumes Teddy. She has a boyfriend, but that relationship is shaky. He is living in Houston. When Teddy’s mother died, she moved back to Bird Isle to take care of the candy store. Teddy’s relationship with her boyfriend has been strained ever since.
Jack struggles to get past his love for Angie, who died of cancer. He is attracted to Teddy right away. But he struggles to let go of the life he had with Angie.
Both Jack and Teddy want their relationship to work, but neither of them trusts their feelings.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: I’m sorry I don’t have the name of someone who critiqued my book in a contest. She said, “You do know, the name of this book is ‘Love is for the Birds.’”
I played with the title and even wanted to change it to “Sweet Somethings,” but my publisher advised to keep the title of Love is for the Birds because it is unique. In fact, surprisingly, there are very few beach reads and romances coming out of the Texas Gulf.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I regularly contribute essays to the Austin American Statesman. I have a great novel in progress that I am about 10 chapters away from finishing.
My WIP is about a woman fired from her job at 40. She travels to visit ancestors in Wales. When she arrives, she’s confronted with a portrait of an ancestor who looks exactly like her.
Because she is a lookalike, the family is convinced she is the one chosen to find the missing sapphire of St. David. The treasure disappeared in the 16th century when Glastonbury Abbey was destroyed by King Henry VIII. A family member had lived in the monastery.
The story combines present day with the 16th century when King Henry VIII destroyed the monasteries and stole their priceless relics.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Just the other day, a friend told me how she loved rom-coms. Her comment surprised me because she is very bright, funny, and intelligent. I figured her for a literary fiction reader only. Despite the fact that romance is hyper-popular--romance is second only to crime thrillers in terms of sales and popularity--many readers are genre snobs about romance and beach reads.
I would argue that readers like the tropes in romance. They can be soothing because they are familiar and trustworthy, so I went all in with a candy store owner and barbecue pitmaster.
I had an early reviewer comment that she went back and forth between loving the Hallmark style and disliking it. She finally settled on liking the story. She recognized that I deliberately went all out on the Hallmark style to create a break from the slog of daily life and the constant barrage of depressing news. Familiar tropes in romance novels, like stories about second chances, make the world feel less uncertain.
At the same time, in writing a romance you want to make something unique to avoid cliches. The hurricane and whooping cranes provide distinctive subplots.
A good beach read is like tearing into a bag of Cheetos. Sometimes you need the indulgence.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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