Curnyn, Lynda

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CURNYN, Lynda

PERSONAL: Born in Brooklyn, NY. Education: Hofstra University, B.A.; New York University, M.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—Laura Dail, Laura Dail Literary Agency, 350 7th Ave., Ste. 2003, New York, NY 10001; fax: 212-947-0460. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Worked for eleven years as an editor for Harlequin (publisher), New York, NY.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend, Red Dress Ink (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2002.

Engaging Men, Red Dress Ink (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2003.

Bombshell, Red Dress Ink (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2004.

Killer Summer, Red Dress Ink (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2005.

Work represented in anthologies, including Girls' Night In, Red Dress Ink, 2004; and American Girls about Town, Downtown Press, 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Lynda Curnyn was born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island, and was educated and works in New York City. An English major, she became an editor with Harlequin and subsequently began writing for the romance publisher. Released by Harlequin's Red Dress imprint, her debut, Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend, finds New Yorker Emma Carter alone after her boyfriend leaves for a screenwriting job in Los Angeles. Emma believes that her dating days are over, particularly because she has gained weight, but she is haunted by the world of brides due to her job as editor at a bridal magazine. Pushed to the limit when her mother, who is remarrying, enlists her to help with the wedding planning, Emma compensates for her love-less life by eating sweets and then working them off at the gym, while her two best friends, Alyssa and Jade, try to keep her upbeat. Alyssa is thinking about cheating on her long-time lover, and Jade has sworn off love in favor of casual sex. Emma is dealing with her father's alcoholism and competing with a coworker for the position of contributing editor. A Publishers Weekly contributor called Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend, "part Sex in the City with more heart, and part Bridget Jones with less booze."

The protagonist of Engaging Men is Angie DiFranco, whose former boyfriends have gone on to marry other women and is now dating Kirk. Her friend, Michelle, tells her that men are like jars: Their lids have to be loosened before they will commit. Angie, an actress, is also concerned with her career; She has not been offered auditions since she accepted a part in a cable exercise show for children. Booklist contributor Kristine Huntley called Engaging Men "another fun and frothy crowd-pleaser."

In Bombshell, Grace Noonan, who first appeared in Engaging Men, is a marketing executive with a cosmetics company that has decided to change its focus from the over-thirty woman by bringing on a teenage super model. Grace, who is over thirty, dumps her boyfriend when he panics at the thought of a real commitment, which includes children, then faces her former boyfriend, the company's founder's son, when he shows up with a new woman on his arm. When Grace discovers that she may, in fact, be pregnant, she finds herself pleasantly surprised at the possibility. Reviewing the book, Huntley wrote that Curnyn's novels "keep getting better; readers will love following tough, sophisticated Grace on her quest for love and family."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2002, Kristine Huntley, review of Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend, p. 1384; June 1, 2004, Kristine Huntley, review of Bombshell, p. 1709.

Cosmopolitan, September, 2002, Anna Holmes, "The Way 9/11 Transformed My Love Life" (interview), p. 239.

Publishers Weekly, April 1, 2002, review of Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend, p. 53.