Readers here at Book Binge have read plenty of chick lit books (I’m a huge fan of chick lit stories) but today’s guest is a Lad Lit writer who is here to share some funny stories from his books. Please welcome, Steven Scaffardi to the blog.
For the last few weeks I have been lucky enough to visit some of the best book blogs on the internet as part of my Lad Lit Blog Tour. My goal has been to raise the profile of lad lit and to explain to all of the wonderful readers out there a bit more about the subject.
So far, I think I’ve done a good job of giving the genre a well-rounded explanation, from the Lad Lit FAQ at The Book Review Café to Lad Lit at the Movies on Becca’s Books.
Last week, I wrote a guest blog for Sarah’s Book Reviews in the UK where I listed my top five favourite stories from my debut comedy novel The Drought. It had such a great response that I thought I’d repeat the idea on the other side of that big Atlantic pond and put together the five funniest moments in my new novel The Flood.
So without further ado…
- “Funniest bar fight scene in the history of literature…”
That’s how author Clint Forgey described the chapter in which Dan and his friends end up in a bit of scuffle in a Nottingham bar with the locals. The boys go into the rundown pub to escape the bad weather, but what they encounter is a bar full of unsavoury characters who wouldn’t look out of place in a Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino film. Without giving too much away, what makes this such a great scene in the book is the way the punch-up comes to an abrupt end. Put it this way – it involves a jukebox, a dude called Dragon, and a cougar (the female variety and not the wild cat!). -
Allow me to introduce you to my friends
This was the opening chapter of The Flood, and for me it was important to set the scene for fans of The Drought as well as new readers. Even though this was the second book in the series, I wanted to write a story that people could pick up without having read the first book. With that in mind, I wanted to quickly introduce the four main characters to the reader, and somehow try to wrap up all of their quirky personality traits that had come through in The Drought. What I ended up with was four guys suffering from terrible hangovers and watching some very dodgy TV. You can check it out for yourself here. -
The horrors of public transport
The main character in the Sex, Love and Dating Disasters series, Dan, has his fair share of problems, whether it’s his sexual drought in the first book, or trying to juggle multiple women in book two. But one common headache Dan has in The Flood takes place on his train going to and from work. Whether it’s clashing with pregnant women, getting stalked or inappropriate arousal, Dan is in danger of being banned from using public transport ever again if he can’t get his stuff together. A number of reviewers have already highlighted the train scenes to be their favourite, with one Goodreads reviewer commenting: “There a couple of scenes on a train which contain some of the funniest writing that I have read in a long time.” -
Dan and Denise
One of my favourite characters of the entire series is Denise, who I introduce to the story in The Flood. Denise is the first girl Dan encounters during his four-date challenge, and she is the one known as the stalker (the other three girls being the crazy ex-girlfriend, the office ice queen who likes bad boys, and the one that got away). But Denise is certainly the most unpredictable of the three girls, and when you throw her ex-boyfriend Ronnie into the mix, you have a recipe for disaster. -
Trying to keep the girls from finding out from each other
Small spoiler alert here, but it’s only minor. Don’t read anymore…! For me, it was always inevitable that the four girls had to end up in the same place, at the same time, at some point in the book. This happens towards the end and I eventually had to write it over two chapters because the comical ideas and situations I had just kept coming. When you put the four female characters together – each with such strong and unique personalities – it probably comes as no surprise that poor old Dan has his work cut out for him. I won’t say anything more than that, but I think it’s one of the best scenes I have personally ever written.
About the Author
Steven Scaffardi is the author of the Sex, Love and Dating Disaster series. His first novel, The Drought, is the laugh-out-loud tale of one man’s quest to overcome the throes of a sexual drought. After the stormy break-up with his girlfriend of three years, Dan Hilles is faced with the daunting task of throwing himself back into the life of a single man. With the help of his three best pals, Dan is desperate and determined to get his leg-over with hilarious consequences!
The Drought and his new novel The Flood – a comedy about one man trying to juggle four women at the same time – are both available for just 99c on the Kindle at Amazon.
Follow all of the fun on his blog tour by following him on Twitter @SteveScaffardi or by using the hashtag #LadLitBlogTour. More information about Steven and his books can be found on his blog.
Blog Tour Stops
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