We are very excited to have back with us today Logan Belle, aka Jamie Brenner.ย ย ย We had the opportunity to read her latest novel, THE LIBRARIAN, and as with other books we’ve read by her the magic of New York shows through and her writing flows beautifully.ย Please welcome her to UTC today!
Hi Logan, welcome to UTC!ย Lets talk about your latest release.ย I like the elements you’ve added to the same tale we’ve seen repackaged in so many books lately.ย How did you come up with your idea for THE LIBRARIAN?
Thanks Francesca! And congrats on the siteโs new home โ it looks fantastic. The Librarian started with the idea of Bettie Page. Iโve always been more in the Bettie Page camp than the Marilyn Monroe camp โ to me Bettie is about a woman owning her sexuality and Marilyn is more about a manโs fantasy. Last year I was in LA and I stumbled on a Bettie Page store in Hollywood. The clothes were fantastic and a beautiful homage to her, and I started thinking about what I could do for her with a novel. And then BDSM started blowing up in fiction, and I realized Bettie was a fetish model when BDSM was not just taboo, the imagery was illegal! She was extremely brave to represent sexuality the way she did. I started imagining a female character who discovers her own sexuality not just through a powerful man, but through the legacy of Bettie Page.ย I talked to my agent and partner about the idea, and he sent my first novels, the burlesque trilogy Blue Angel, to one of Bettieโs representatives. Luckily, she loved the books and got on board with doing a novel for Bettie.
I love having some insight into the characters.ย Sebastian is very sexy and powerful.ย How would you best describe him and what are his best and worst characteristics?
I see Sebastian as the type of guy โ and there are a lot of them in New York โ who was raised with extreme privilege and has all the access that money can buy. I see him as the guy that every woman wants. At the same time, he has suffered through tragedy and has given up on the idea of love or even happiness, really.ย His best characteristics are that he is creative and generous and genuinely likes women. His worst are that he breezes through life with a sense of entitlement, and he is not emotionally available.
I’m not the biggest fan of naive heroines, but Regina put her foot down and wasn’t a pushover when it mattered.ย How do you see Regina?
First of all, I agree that the naรฏve heroine can be annoying. But I felt I had to start there with this story in order to really give room for an inspired transformation. It was a challenge for me.ย I see Regina as a woman who was very influenced by her mother โ a woman greatly disappointed by her own life —ย to play it safe. Regina is a romantic at heart, but has had it drilled into her head that to be impetuous about love is to invite suffering. It took a man as extreme and commanding as Sebastian to break her free of that.
The ending of THE LIBRARIAN is pretty much set as a HEA, but have you considered continuing this as a series?
To be honest, by the third book of my last series, I told myself that unless there was a really strong reason to bring characters through a three-book arc, I wasnโt going to do it again. And I think The Librarian is complete. But I am really happy that readers have emailed me asking for another Regina and Sebastian novel. It means a lot to me that they want to see more. However, from the beginning, I did envision that the Bettie Page novel idea might go forward with other self-discovery stories. Iโm already thinking of another heroine in need of sexual awakening
I just loved the Bettie Page aspect of the story, maybe it’s just my personal fascination with that era and sex appeal.ย Did you have all that information already in your head or did you have to do any research for this?
I had my own ideas of Bettie in my mind, but also lots of questions. I did my research. I looked at dozens and dozens of photos to get a full sense of her physical transformation (I loved seeing photos of her before her trademark bangs!) and the scope of how she was represented in her work, and I read books like Bettie Page Confidential by Bunny Yeager and Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-up Legend by Karen Essex and James L. Swanson. For anyone who really wants the truth about Bettie Page, I highly recommend the documentary Bettie Page Revealed. Itโs painstakingly researched, full of photographs that I donโt think are published anywhere, and Bettie herself gave hours of interviews before her death. It really gives you the sense of the risks she took and also the pure joy she experienced when being photographed. Unfortunately, I didnโt get to see it until after I completed the novel, but it was extremely moving.
The setting of this book is obviously New York City and I felt your descriptions brought the city to life in great detail, from places to lifestyle pace, to people.ย Again, did you do research on all the places you mentioned?ย And do you consider that the setting was an important part of the story you wrote, or it wouldn’t have worked?
The New York Public Library was, to me, almost as important a โcharacterโ as any other. And the idea of the library โ โsex in the libraryโ was vital. There is no book without that idea โ the contrast between the stereotypical idea of a librarian, and wanton sexuality.
As for the NYPL, it is an awe-inspiring place, and one of the challenges in writing this novel was trying to convey its majesty in words. I spent a lot of time in the main reading room of the library while doing a freelance writing project two summers ago, and thought at the time that it was one of the romantic places Iโd ever been to โ that I could imagine someone falling in love there. And the opening scene of the novel actually happened to me โ the part where a strange woman starts talking to Regina about the lion statues? It was such a random New York moment, I had to include it in the book. One coincidental thing happened with another place setting: I write about a bar and club called Nurse Bettie and use it as the place where Regina is scandalized by her first burlesque show. A few weeks ago, I was invited to a party for the new Bettie Page documentary Bettie Page Reveals All. The party was held at Nurse Bettie! I met the owner of the bar and told him about using the bar in this book, and he was surprised and happy about it.
Do you have a favorite scene in the book?
I love the scene in which Regina first catches Sebastian having sex in the library. That moment of her experiencing both repulsion and desire is interesting to me. Maybe more interesting than any actual sex between them.
What’s next for Logan Belle?
Iโm writing a modern-day retelling of the classic erotic novel Lady Chatterleyโs Lover by D.H. Lawrence.ย Itโs called MISS CHATTERLEY, and is being published as a serial in the spring by Pocket books.
Thanks so much for sharing with us today!
Inspired by the iconic Bettie Pageโs evolution from secretary to sex symbol, Logan Belleโs sizzling new novel explores the transformation of librarian Regina Finch from ingรฉnue to object of one powerful manโs irresistible desire.
Regina Finch, brilliant and bookish, has worked her way up to her dream job as a librarian at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library.ย But her discovery of the sordid sexual adventures of a handsome young scion among the hallowed halls and sacred stacks of the library unleashes a confusing blend of repulsion and desire that threatens to consume her.ย It is only through her introduction to the work of Bettie Pageโthe worldโs most popular ingรฉnue-turned-fetish-modelโ that Regina can hope to discover her own sexual prowess and seduce the man she has come to love.
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About the Author
Jamie Brenner, also writing as Logan Belle, grew up in Main Line Philadelphia on a steady diet of Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, and Aaron Spelling.
Her latest novel is The Gin Lovers, published as an original e-book serial with St. Martinโs Press.ย Jamie is the author of the erotic romance trilogy Blue Angel, published under the pseudonym Logan Belle. Also writing as Logan Belle, her upcoming erotic romance Bettie Page Presents: The Librarian will be published by Pocket Star/Simon & Schuster and has been translated into a dozen languages.
Jamie is a contributor to HeroesandHeartbreakers.com and has worked in book publishing for over a decade as a scout, publicist, and agent. She lives in New York City.ย For updates and obsessions, follow her on Twitter.
Grabbed my attention ~ Another for the TBD pile.
Heather ~ Books Books and More Books
I meant TBR pile.
Welcome Logan Belle aka Jamie Brenner! I would love to win this book.
Thanks Tina! Good luck! Let me know what happens ๐
Sounds fantastic! Thanks so much for the great interview and congrats to Logan on the new release!
Thanks Erin! It was a lot of fun to write. I hope you read it and enjoy it.
I have to admit that I don’t really know anything about Bettie Paige but I love the sound of this book and I’m definitely adding it to my reading list. I love watching women get transformed and learning what they want and need.
I love the cover and I already had the book in my TBR, reading the interview just makes me add it to my Christmas wishlist. Thank you for the interview
As a New York City librarian, I can’t wait to read this book just for the library details alone!
You will definitely get details about the NYPL in there. I spent a lot of time there and researched some of the more arcane architectural info with a great book called The New York Public Library: The Architecture and Decoration of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building by Henry Hope Reed and Francis Morrone. The book has beautiful photographs.
Thanks for the great interview and giveaway. The Librarian sounds fantastic. Can’t wait to read it. How did you pick your pen name?
Thanks Joanne! I picked the name Logan because it’s the last name of my favorite soap character, Brooke Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful. And her longtime love, Ridge, always called her “Logan.” Bell is the name of the writing family who created The Bold and The Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. These two shows were my obsession growing up!
Thanks for the blog Logan / Jamie, only found out about your book recently & can’t wait to read them, would love to read The Librarian but it’s not available in Australia ๐
I’ve not read Logan Belle. The book sounds interesting.
Thanks for the great interview. I just added this book to my tbr shelf and my wishlist. I will be looking into the other series ๐ Cant wait to read them.
Thanks Emily!
I am so happy you are interested in taking a look and I hope you enjoy.
And Francesca, thanks again for introducing me to all the great readers you have on UTC.
Love the setting of the book…Bettie Paige aspect and that it’s set in New York. Thanks for the giveaway.
I’ve had my eye on this one. Thanks for the giveaway.
Sexy Librarian, I hope you read it and tell me what you think ๐
Hi Logan, I’m definitely looking forward to reading The Librarian. Thanks so much for this chance.
Carol L
The librarian sounds really interesting!
Sounds good. Thanks for the interview!
Great giveaway!
Merry Christmas
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Logan is a new to me author, but since reading Francesca’s review of The Librarian, this is now on my my TBB list ! Great post!
Not entering..
Have the ARC edition and have really enjoyed this book… Congrats ๐
Thanks Beckey — I’m so happy to hear that!!
I’ll have to put this on my wish list.
I read the review and added it to my TBR, now I have the chance to win it! Thanks for the giveaway and the interview!
Sounds like my kind of book! Can’t wait to read it!
on my to read list already! thanks for the interview and giveaway.
I was not familiar with Bettie Page but she sounds fascinating.
She is! Her life story was shrouded in mystery for many years — she just disappeared. But her fans never forgot her, and before she died she was “re” discovered. There are a few good books out there and a fantastic documentary.