Difference between revisions of "Jennifer Crusie"

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[[Category:RITA Winners|Crusie]]
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Jennifer Crusie's career as a romance author began when she read over 100 titles as part of a class project. She is known throughout the industry as a generous mentor, while her readers are attracted to her smart, funny style. Crusie began her career as an author for [[Harlequin|Harlequin]]. After leaving Harlequin, she moved to [[St. Martin's Press|St. Martin's Press]] where she has been wildly successful.
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[[Category:Authors - C]]
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[[Category:RITA Award Winners]]
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[[Category:RITA Award Finalists]]
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[[Category:Academics Who Write Romance]]
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[[Category:Ohio Authors]]
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[[Category:HQN Authors]]
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[[Category:Loveswept Authors]]
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[[Category:Harlequin Temptation Authors]]
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[[category:St. Martin's Press Authors]]
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[[Category:Contemporary Romance Authors]]
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[[Category:Romantic Comedy Authors]]
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[[Category:1949 Births]]
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[[Category:1992 Debut]]
  
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Crusie recently teamed with author Bob Mayer to co-author a series of books.
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'''Jennifer Crusie''' was born Jennifer Smith in Wapakoneta, Ohio. "Jenny," as she is called, chose the Crusie surname for her writing to honor her maternal grandmother (who was born a Crusie). Crusie has spent much of her life in and currently resides in Ohio.  
  
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Crusie was graduated from Wapakoneta High School, and then earned a bachelor's degree in Art Education from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.  She has a Master's degree in Professional Writing and Women's Literature from Wright State University, and an MFA in Fiction from Ohio State University.  She has also completed work towards a Ph.D. in feminist criticism and nineteenth century British and American literature at Ohio State University. 
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Crusie has taught all age levels, from pre-school through college, including 15 years in the Beavercreek (Ohio) public school system.  Her junior and senior high school courses included art, Literature (touching on mythology, the Bible in literature, college composition, and British and American literature), as well as time spent directing the sets and costumes crews for the high school's drama department.  She has also taught courses at Antioch University, Wright State University, and Ohio State.
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Writing was an accidental career.  Jennifer Crusie's career as a romance author began when she read over 100 romance novels as part of her research for her Ph.D. dissertation on the impact of gender on narrative strategies. This encouraged her to write romance herself, and eventually she put the Ph.D. on hold in order to earn an MFA in fiction from Ohio State University.
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Crusie sold her first novella, ''Sizzle,'' in August 1992.  For the first three years of her career, her books were presented as category romances under the Silhouette, [[Harlequin|Harlequin]], and Bantam Books [[Loveswept]] lines.  As an author for Bantam's [[Loveswept]] line, Jennifer Crusie wrote two romances. She wrote five novels for the [[Harlequin Temptation]] line. In 1995, Crusie developed a partnership with St. Martin's Press, and began writing single title novels.  Her books are known for their humor, and for the interesting scenarios her heroines are placed in.
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Although she remains ABD on her Ph.D. in Feminist Criticism from Ohio State University, she has written a a book of literary criticism on Anne Rice and contributed to the growing body of [[Romance Scholarship|academic work]] studying romance fiction. She is known throughout the industry as a generous mentor, while her readers are attracted to her smart, funny style.
  
 
== On the Web ==
 
== On the Web ==
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* [http://www.jennycrusie.com/ Jennifer Crusie]
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* Official Website [http://www.jennycrusie.com/]
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* [http://jennycrusie.blogspot.com/ argh ink - Jenny's blog]
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* Jenny's Blog [http://www.arghink.com/]
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* Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Crusie]
  
 
== Books ==
 
== Books ==
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=== Fiction ===
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* ''[[Agnes And The Hitman]]'' (with [[Bob Mayer]]) - 2007
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* [[Anyone But You]] - Originally released as part of Harlequin's short-lived "[[Love and Laughter|Love and Laughter]]" line, ''Anyone But You'' was re-released in January 2006 in hardcover by [[HQN|HQN]].
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* ''[[Anyone But You]]'' - 1996
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* ''Bet Me'' - [[Jennifer Crusie]] won the [[2005 RITA® Winners|2005 RITA®]] in the [[RITA®: Best Contemporary Single Title|Best Contemporary Single Title]] category; St. Martin's Press.
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* ''[[Bet Me]]'' - 2004
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* [[Charlie All Night]]
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* ''[[Charlie All Night]]'' - 1996
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* [[Cinderella Deal, The]] - 1996; [[Loveswept|Loveswept]]; Out-of-Print
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* ''[[The Cinderella Deal|Cinderella Deal, The]]'' - 1996
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* [[Crazy For You]] - ''Crazy For You'' marked Crusie's entrance into the world of single title romance. 2000; [[St. Martin's Press|St. Martin's Press]]
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* ''[[Crazy For You]]'' - 1999
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* [[Don't Look Down]] - 2006; Co-written with Bob Mayer; [[St. Martin's Press|St. Martin's Press]]
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* ''[[Crazy People]]'' - 2012
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* [[Faking It]] - 2004; [[St. Martin's Press|St. Martin's Press]]
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* ''[[Don't Look Down]]'' (with [[Bob Mayer]]- 2006
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* Fast Women
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* ''[[Faking It]]'' - 2002
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* ''Getting Rid of Bradley'' - [[Jennifer Crusie]] won the [[1995 RITA® Winners|1995 RITA®]] in the [[RITA®: Best Short Contemporary Series|Short Contemporary]] category.
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* ''[[Fast Women]]'' - 2001
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* [[Manhunting]] - 1993; [[Mira|Mira]]
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* ''[[Getting Rid Of Bradley]]'' - 1995
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* Strange Bedpersons
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* ''[[Hot Toy]]'' - 2006
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* Tell Me Lies
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* ''[[I'd Kill For That]]'' - 2004
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* Trust Me On This - Loveswept
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* ''[[Manhunting]]'' - 1993
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* [[What The Lady Wants]]
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* ''[[Maybe This Time]]'' - 2010
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* [[Welcome To Temptation]]
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* ''[[Sizzle]]'' - 1994
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* ''[[Strange Bedpersons]]'' - 1994
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* ''[[Tell Me Lies]]'' - 1998
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* ''[[Trust Me On This]]'' - 1997
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* ''[[Welcome To Temptation]]'' - 2000
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* ''[[What The Lady Wants]]'' - 1995
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* ''[[Wild Ride]]'' (with [[Bob Mayer]]) - 2010
  
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=== Non-Fiction ===
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==Anthologies==
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* Anne Rice: A Critical Companion - 1996; Greenwood Press; Published under Jennifer Smith
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* ''[[Dogs And Goddesses]]'' - 2009
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* [[Flirting with Pride and Prejudice : Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece]] - 2005; Benbella Books; Jennifer Crusie, Editor
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* ''[[Santa Baby]]'' - 2013
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* [[Totally Charmed : Demons, Whitelighters and the Power of Three]] - 2005; Benbella Books; Jennifer Crusie, Editor
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* ''[[Unfortunate Miss Fortunes]]'' - 2007
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== Non-Fiction ==
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* ''[[Anne Rice: A Critical Companion]]'' - 1996
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* ''[[Antiheroes: Heroes, Villains, And The Fine Line Between]]'' - 2011
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* ''[[Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest]]'' - 2007
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* ''[[Flirting with Pride & Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece]]'' - 2005
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* ''[[Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters and the Power of Three]]'' - 2005
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==Awards==
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*2006  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Short Story, ''[[Hot Toy]]''
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*2005  [[Romance Writers of America (RWA) Awards|RITA Award]] Winner - Contemporary Single Title Romance, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Chick Lit/Women's Fiction, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Contemporary Romance, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Couple, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Funny, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Heroine, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Romance, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best All-Around Romance, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2002  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Winner - Best Funny, ''[[Faking It]]''
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*2002  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, ''[[Faking It]]''
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*2001  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, ''[[Fast Women]]''
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*2001  [[RT Reviewers Choice Award]] Winner - Contemporary Novel, ''[[Fast Women]]''
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*1999  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, ''[[Crazy For You]]''
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*1999  [[RT Reviewers Choice Award]] Winner - Contemporary Novel, ''[[Crazy For You]]''
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*1997  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, ''[[Anyone But You]]''
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*1997  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best All-Time Series Romance, ''[[Getting Rid Of Bradley]]''
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*1997  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best Short Series Romance, ''[[Trust Me On This]]''
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*1996  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best Short Series Romance, ''[[Anyone But You]]''
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*1995  [[Romance Writers of America (RWA) Awards|RITA Award]] Winner - Short Contemporary Romance, ''[[Getting Rid Of Bradley]]''
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==Recognition==
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*2018  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances, ''[[Anyone But You]]''
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*2018  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances, ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances, ''[[Welcome To Temptation]]''
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*2013  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#15), ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2013  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#20), ''[[Welcome To Temptation]]''
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*2010  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#16), ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2010  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#36), ''[[Welcome To Temptation]]''
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*2009  [[Booklist]] Starred Review, ''[[Dogs And Goddesses]]''
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*2009  [[Publishers Weekly]]'' Starred Review, ''[[Dogs And Goddesses]]''
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*2007  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#88), ''[[Anyone But You]]''
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*2007  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#9), ''[[Welcome To Temptation]]''
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*2007  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#8), ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#5), ''[[Bet Me]]''
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*2004  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#3), ''[[Welcome To Temptation]]''
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*2000  [[All About Romance Reader Award]] Top 100 Romances (#69), ''[[Crazy For You]]''
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*2000  [[Romance Writers of America (RWA) Awards|RITA Award]] Finalist - Contemporary Single Title Romance, ''[[Crazy For You]]''
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*1997  [[Romance Writers of America (RWA) Awards|RITA Award]] Finalist - Short Contemporary Romance, ''[[Charlie All Night]]''
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*1997  [[Romance Writers of America (RWA) Awards|RITA Award]] Finalist - Short Contemporary Romance, ''[[The Cinderella Deal]]''
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== Awards (body of work) ==
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*1996  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Awards]] Winner - Best Series/Category Romance Author
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*1995  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Award]] Winner - Best Series/Category Author
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*1995  [[RT Career Achievement Award]] Winner - Series Romance Love & Laughter
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*1994  [[Romance Readers Anonymous Awards]] Nominee - Best Series/Category Author
  
 
== Story Elements ==
 
== Story Elements ==
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=== Dogs ===
 
=== Dogs ===
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Jennifer Crusie novels often feature dogs as characters (clearly she's not a cat person). Her ability to make canines come alive on the page has often lead to readers to refer to [[Anyone But You|Anyone But You]] as  "Fred's book". The depressed half-basset hound, half-beagle steals every scene he's in.
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Jennifer Crusie novels often feature dogs as characters. Her ability to make canines come alive on the page has often lead to readers to refer to [[Anyone But You|Anyone But You]] as  "Fred's book". The depressed half-basset hound, half-beagle steals every scene he's in.
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A stray dog also plays a key role in Crusie's breakout classic [[Welcome To Temptation|Welcome To Temptation]]. Other Crusie books featuring dogs in major roles include [[Charlie All Night|Charlie All Night]], [[Crazy For You - Jennifer Crusie|Crazy For You]] -- the dog leads to a break-up.
  
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A stray dog also plays a key role in Crusie's breakout classic [[Welcome To Temptation|Welcome To Temptation]]. Other Crusie books featuring dogs in major roles include [[Charlie All Night|Charlie All Night]], [[Crazy For You|Crazy For You]] -- the dog leads to a break-up.
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Her depiction of dogs draws on her experiences with her own dogs. Cats also feature in a number of her books, in [[Strange Bedpersons]], [[The Cinderella Deal]] and [[Bet Me - Jennifer Crusie|Bet Me]], and again she acknowledges that she's been influenced by her pets.
  
 
=== Family ===
 
=== Family ===

Latest revision as of 01:20, 7 October 2024


Jennifer Crusie was born Jennifer Smith in Wapakoneta, Ohio. "Jenny," as she is called, chose the Crusie surname for her writing to honor her maternal grandmother (who was born a Crusie). Crusie has spent much of her life in and currently resides in Ohio.

Crusie was graduated from Wapakoneta High School, and then earned a bachelor's degree in Art Education from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. She has a Master's degree in Professional Writing and Women's Literature from Wright State University, and an MFA in Fiction from Ohio State University. She has also completed work towards a Ph.D. in feminist criticism and nineteenth century British and American literature at Ohio State University.

Crusie has taught all age levels, from pre-school through college, including 15 years in the Beavercreek (Ohio) public school system. Her junior and senior high school courses included art, Literature (touching on mythology, the Bible in literature, college composition, and British and American literature), as well as time spent directing the sets and costumes crews for the high school's drama department. She has also taught courses at Antioch University, Wright State University, and Ohio State.

Writing was an accidental career. Jennifer Crusie's career as a romance author began when she read over 100 romance novels as part of her research for her Ph.D. dissertation on the impact of gender on narrative strategies. This encouraged her to write romance herself, and eventually she put the Ph.D. on hold in order to earn an MFA in fiction from Ohio State University.

Crusie sold her first novella, Sizzle, in August 1992. For the first three years of her career, her books were presented as category romances under the Silhouette, Harlequin, and Bantam Books Loveswept lines. As an author for Bantam's Loveswept line, Jennifer Crusie wrote two romances. She wrote five novels for the Harlequin Temptation line. In 1995, Crusie developed a partnership with St. Martin's Press, and began writing single title novels. Her books are known for their humor, and for the interesting scenarios her heroines are placed in.

Although she remains ABD on her Ph.D. in Feminist Criticism from Ohio State University, she has written a a book of literary criticism on Anne Rice and contributed to the growing body of academic work studying romance fiction. She is known throughout the industry as a generous mentor, while her readers are attracted to her smart, funny style.

On the Web

  • Official Website [1]
  • Jenny's Blog [2]
  • Wikipedia [3]

Books

Anthologies

Non-Fiction

Awards

Recognition

Awards (body of work)

Story Elements

Like many authors, Jennifer Crusie taps certain elements and themes from story-to-story. She recombines these in new and different ways while continuing to explore her signature themes.

Dogs

Jennifer Crusie novels often feature dogs as characters. Her ability to make canines come alive on the page has often lead to readers to refer to Anyone But You as "Fred's book". The depressed half-basset hound, half-beagle steals every scene he's in.

A stray dog also plays a key role in Crusie's breakout classic Welcome To Temptation. Other Crusie books featuring dogs in major roles include Charlie All Night, Crazy For You -- the dog leads to a break-up.

Her depiction of dogs draws on her experiences with her own dogs. Cats also feature in a number of her books, in Strange Bedpersons, The Cinderella Deal and Bet Me, and again she acknowledges that she's been influenced by her pets.

Family

A key aspect of Jennifer Crusie's work is family ties. Her heroines tend to come from slightly eccentric yet strongly bonded families. The concept of family extends to close friendships.

Friends

Crusie's heroines tend to have strong friendships with other women. These friendships are integral to the story.

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