Jane Heller: Chick lit still has a pulse, trust me

Book industry folks are always declaring certain romance subgenres "dead." At least five years ago, vampires were dead. I mean, of course they're dead dead. But some were saying the subgenre of vampire romance was dead. It's been a drawn-out death, hasn't it? Maybe no one told the book industry that vampires are immortal. Time of death was recently called on romantic suspense, yet it remains a top-selling subgenre. And some industry folks have been planning a memorial service for "chick lit" (Bridget Jones had been tapped to give the eulogy). But they should talk to best-selling author Jane Heller, whose chick-lit back list, including An Ex to Grind and Some Nerve, is out in e-book format now. She also has a non-fiction book, You'd Better Not Die or I'll Kill You: A Caregiver's Survival Guide to Keeping You in Good Health and Good Spirits, coming in November.

Jane: The other day I had lunch with a movie producer at a trendy restaurant in Beverly Hills, which meant that I had to wear something other than a T-shirt and sweats, put on makeup, comb my hair and drag myself away from the computer. An effort, yes, but I was looking forward to an interaction with an actual human instead of the isolation of authordom.

As the producer and I picked at salads involving entirely too much kale, she explained why it's so hard these days to sell the studios on romantic comedies, the genre I've been writing since the '90s. I've penned 13 best-selling novels -- all featuring happy-ever-afters, including two books (The Club and The Secret Ingredient) in which the heroine and hero are married -- and nine of them have been optioned for movies and television. One novel, An Ex to Grind, is in active development at Fox with Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro attached to play the leads. What's more, my reader e-mail indicates that there's still a serious devotion to love stories out there, particularly stories with humor, and now that all my books are available in e-book editions they're reaching a new and avid audience.

I've heard from perky college-age women who tell me the books are a great escape from term papers. I've heard from harried career women who say my heroines and their relatable predicaments make them laugh out loud. I've heard from busy stay-at-home moms who say they devour my books while the kids are asleep or at school. I've heard from seniors with medical problems who thank me for writing stories that get them through painful days. I've even heard from a psychotherapist who said she "prescribed" my novels to all her depressed patients because they were "better than Prozac." Hollywood may have changed its mind about romantic comedies, but readers haven't.

"Studios won't green-light romantic comedies anymore because they don't make money overseas," the producer said. "Well, unless we're talking about vampires or S&M -- or both."

"I don't write about vampires," I said, "and nobody is forced to do anything against her will in my books. Well, except for the heroine of Best Enemies who was forced to pretend to be engaged to a man she hardly knew -- she had to save face with her high school nemesis who ran off with the guy she was supposed to marry."

"I loved that book," she said. "It should be a movie for sure."

"But?"

"Studios would rather make movies about superheroes."

"Their loss. My books are about ordinary women who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances and along the way find true love. Much more empowering than putting on a Batman costume."

"Every once in a while, there's an exception," she conceded. "Like Bridesmaids."

"I loved Bridesmaids and Kristen Wiig's character did end up with that nice cop, but they weren't on screen together for most of the movie. Their romance was sort of a subplot."

"Come to think of it, your novel Princess Charming is about women friends who take a cruise together, right?"

"Right. Three divorcees."

"Sort of like The First Wives Club?"

"Except the heroine falls madly in love for the first time in her life."

"So it could be pitched as Bridesmaids meets First Wives Club on a ship!"

"I guess so," I said, "but the love story is very central to Princess Charming, unlike those others."

"Look, the studios just don't get female-driven romances, OK?" she summed up. "They only get bromances like The Hangover."

We finished our lunch -- she paid -- and I drove home to Santa Barbara grateful that while chick flicks may be on life support, chick lit is still alive and sitting on my laptop.

To learn more about Jane Heller and her books, you can visit her website, JaneHeller.com.