Guest Post & Giveaway with Cynthia Ellingsen Author of The Whole Package

Hi! Thanks so much for letting me hang out on your shelf and chat with your readers about my debut novel, “The Whole Package” (Penguin-Berkley).

“The Whole Package” is a book about three best friends who lose everything. One loses her job, one loses her fortune and one loses her husband. Together, they decide to open up a restaurant staffed by scantily clad men... with hilarious and heartwarming results.

I had a blast writing this book. There are some scenes that have been called “laugh out loud” funny by readers and reviewers, so today I wanted to talk a little bit about writing comedy.

One of the reasons I love writing comedy is because I come from a theatre background. As part of my training, I took several improvisation classes at the Groundlings and Second City in both Chicago and Los Angeles. If you’re not familiar with improvisation or “improv”, it’s a form of sketch comedy where the actors get up on stage in front of the audience and literally, make the whole scene up.

Well, what great training! That’s what writers do every day. The improv training helped me with writing comedic scenes because I learned some important rules about comedy along the way. The most important thing I learned is to give the audience as much information as possible before launching into the jokes.

So, what does that mean? Well, in improv, the first few lines of the scene establish who you are, where you are and why you’re there. Right away. For example, “Hey, sis. I’m so happy we’re out on this boat to celebrate your birthday.” Okay. Now the audience knows who the characters are, where they are and what they’re doing. The scene can begin.

When writing comedy, I do my best to let my readers in on everything they need to know before launching into the funny. For example, in the first scene of “The Whole Package”, I let the readers in on where Jackie is and what she is doing right off the bat. Then, I drop a strong hint about who she is with the description of her name. Once that information has been shared, then the reader has information and can feel comfortable with the scene and how it unfolds. And hopefully, have a laugh along the way.

As readers or writers, what is it that you’ve learned from reading or writing comedy scenes? I’d love to hear from you, so share your thoughts in the comments section below and let’s talk it out!

Title: The Whole Package
Author: Cynthia Ellingsen
Publisher: Penguin/Berkley
Length: 409 pages
Genres: Contemporary Women's Fiction (Comedy)

Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | BN | The Book Depository

Life has thrown childhood friends Jackie, Cheryl, and Doris a few curveballs. Widowed and broke, Jackie returns home after an extravagant life in Paris, Doris is reliant on anti-depressants, and Cheryl’s plans for a corporate take-over are replaced with walking papers. But after a drunken night sampling the delights at strip club for women, the ladies stumble upon a genius idea and decide to open up The Whole Package—the world’s first restaurant staffed exclusively by very attractive men. Armed with Jackie’s connections, Doris’ ambition, and Cheryl’s business sense the ladies set out to make their mark in the world. 

French is a sexy language. Except, of course, if you are standing in line at a French café and the French you hear is a nasal, drawn out, “Fat American.“ Unnecessary, especially if you are simply trying to buy a chocolate croissant to dip into the first cappuccino of the day.

Jackie - and yes, it was Jackie and not Jacqueline even though she was closing in on forty instead of the throat of the snickering girl behind her – whirled around.

“Did you just call me fat?”

A French girl stared back at her. The girl had the audacity to cock her head. A yes.

Jackie was stunned. Okay, fine – and a little hurt. Such a judgment was the last thing she expected in this cheerful neighborhood cafe with its brightly painted walls, kitschy produce art and erratically placed wildflowers. Even the French sayings on the wall, written in such careful, scrolling script were meant to inspire good cheer, not snappy little insults.

 “Well, I am not fat!” Jackie said. And this was not in French, because after two years in the country she spoke French perfectly and proving it was no longer important. “I am sexy.”

A mustached host had been writing out specials on a blackboard with squeaking chalk. At this, he paused and took a look. Jackie ran her palms over her curvy hips and considered giving a slight shimmy. The man gave a nod in agreement and went back to the specials.

The French girl sniffed. She was dressed all in black, a total cliché. She was holding a sniveling, trendy dog. Its shaky face was framed by a bejeweled collar and its droopy eyes stared, along with everyone else in the cinnamon scented café.

“Perhaps you should order something to eat,” Jackie said, pointedly eyeing the girl’s bony frame . “You’re probably just suffering from low blood sugar.”

“Casse-toi.”

Jackie’s jaw dropped. Drawing herself up to her full height of 5’3” (5’6” with her three inch pumps), Jackie said, “If you want to live off of cigarettes and red wine and ignore the delicacies your country has to offer, you go right ahead. But I would rather get chased out of Le Bon Marche by a firing squad than strut around in a body that looks like it was stolen from an eight-year-old boy.”

The French girl gasped.

“I am going to embrace my sensuality,” Jackie said. “I am going to improve upon it. And,” she stood a bit taller, “it is gonna happen with a chocolate croissant.”

Cynthia Ellingsen is a fiction writer and screenwriter. She lives in Lexington, KY with her husband.

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