Jennifer Crusie
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.
Contents
On the Web
Books
- Agnes And The Hitman (with Bob Mayer) - 2007
- Anyone But You - 1996
- Bet Me - 2004
- Charlie All Night - 1996
- Cinderella Deal - 1996
- Crazy For You - 1999
- Crazy People - 2012
- Don't Look Down (with Bob Mayer- 2006
- Faking It - 2002
- Fast Women - 2001
- Getting Rid Of Bradley - 1995
- Hot Toy - 2006
- I'd Kill For That - 2004
- Manhunting - 1993
- Maybe This Time - 2010
- Sizzle - 1994
- Strange Bedpersons - 1994
- Tell Me Lies - 1998
- Trust Me On This - 1997
- Welcome To Temptation - 2000
- What The Lady Wants - 1995
- Wild Ride (with Bob Mayer) - 2010
Anthologies
- Dogs And Goddesses - 2009
- Santa Baby - 2013
- Unfortunate Miss Fortunes - 2007
Non-Fiction
- [[Anne Rice: A Critical Companion[[ - 1996
- Antiheroes: Heroes, Villains, And The Fine Line Between - 2011
- Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest - 2007
- [[Flirting with Pride & Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece[[ - 2005
- Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters and the Power of Three - 2005
Awards
- 2006 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Short Story, Hot Toy
- 2005 RITA Award Winner - Contemporary Single Title Romance, Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Chick Lit/Women's Fiction, Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Contemporary Romance, Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Couple, Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Funny, Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Heroine, Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Romance, Bet Me
- 2004 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best All-Around Romance, Bet Me
- 2002 All About Romance Reader Award Winner - Best Funny, Faking It
- 2002 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, Faking It
- 2001 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, Fast Women
- 2001 RT Reviewers Choice Award Winner - Contemporary Novel, Fast Women
- 1999 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, Crazy For You
- 1999 RT Reviewers Choice Award Winner - Contemporary Novel, Crazy For You
- 1997 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best Love and Laughter Romance, Anyone But You
- 1997 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best All-Time Series Romance, Getting Rid Of Bradley
- 1997 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best Short Series Romance, Trust Me On This
- 1996 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best Short Series Romance, Anyone But You
- 1995 RITA Award Winner - Short Contemporary Romance, Getting Rid Of Bradley
Recognition
- 2018 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances, Anyone But You
- 2018 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances, Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances, Welcome To Temptation
- 2013 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#15), Bet Me
- 2013 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#20), Welcome To Temptation
- 2010 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#16), Bet Me
- 2010 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#36), Welcome To Temptation
- 2009 Booklist Starred Review, Dogs And Goddesses
- 2009 Publishers Weekly Starred Review, Dogs And Goddesses
- 2007 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#88), Anyone But You
- 2007 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#9), Welcome To Temptation
- 2007 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#8), Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#5), Bet Me
- 2004 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#3), Welcome To Temptation
- 2000 All About Romance Reader Award Top 100 Romances (#69), Crazy For You
- 2000 RITA Award Finalist - Contemporary Single Title Romance, Crazy For You
- 1997 RITA Award Finalist - Short Contemporary Romance, Charlie All Night
- 1997 RITA Award Finalist - Short Contemporary Romance, The Cinderella Deal
Awards (body of work)
- 1996 Romance Readers Anonymous Awards Winner - Best Series/Category Romance Author
- 1995 Romance Readers Anonymous Award Winner - Best Series/Category Author
- 1995 RT Career Achievement Award Winner - Series Romance Love & Laughter
- 1994 Romance Readers Anonymous Awards Nominee - Best Series/Category Author
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.