Tag Archive for: Living the Vida Lola

Warning: Nudity

/in /by

I’m going with a theme this week with blogging. Nudist resorts. Ever been to one? Want to? Would you if it was essential for research (or some other aspect of your life)?

I’ve been to a nudist resort, all in the name of research. See, in the currently-being-written third book in the Lola Cruz Mystery Series, Bare Naked Lola, Lola must go to a nudist resort to solve the case she’s working on. The question I’m faced with is: Will she, or won’t she–get naked, that is? Now, if you’ve read Living the Vida, Lola, you might be able to give an opinion on this. I know what my gut says, but I haven’t been faced with writing that particular scene yet so I can’t say for sure which way I’ll go with it.

I sort of imagine it as a Lucy and Ethel scene from I Love Lucy…all darting behind bushes and holding big leaves up!

But before I could write a single scene about a nudist resort, I had to go there and visit. And go I did. It was October, so the place was actually pretty quiet. People walked around with their shoes on and a towel slung over their shoulders (the towels are to sit on where ever you go, something I wouldn’t have known about had I not visited). Women are allowed to cover their bottom half during a certain time of month, but otherwise, if you are there, you are expected to be unclothed.

As I mentioned over at Good Girls Who Kill For Money Club on Monday, one of the most hilarious aspects was Nudestock (ala Woodstock)–and no, the bands didn’t have to be nude, although it was encouraged. Maybe Nudestock isn’t so different from the free-loving original, but still, it is something to see.

In book two of the my series, Hasta la Vista, Lola! (coming out in just 3 short months!), Lola didn’t have to do anything outrageous (other than breaking and entering, babysitting two nephews and a niece, and keeping her hands off Jack Callaghan), but there’s something so fun about putting your characters through something you’d never in a million years do. It tests you and your own boundaries and it can definitely make for hilarious scenes.

So here’s my question. What outrageous things have you done (in the name of research, or otherwise)? Would you visit a nudist resort? Just how daring are you?!

XO Misa

Hey, You Got Romance in My Mystery!

/in /by


In my inaugural post here at The Stiletto Gang, I want to start out by giving the high-heeled ladies a big high-heeled shout out.

I’m so thrilled to be here! They are such a great bunch of women, fabulous writers, and I’m happy to be in their company.

And now, here’s a little snippet of…

What a die-hard romance reader might say of a hybrid mystery romance: “Hey, you got mystery in my romance!”

What a die-hard mystery fan might say of a hybrid romance mystery: “Hey, you got romance in my mystery!”

Brings to mind a certain Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercial of by-gone years, doesn’t it?



Depending upon how you look at it, a mixed genre book starts out as one thing, then something else gets sprinkled into it. I don’t know what convensional wisdom says about mixed genre books; I just know what I like. A little romance makes the world go ‘round.

I love having romantic tension infuse a character’s growth.

I thoroughly enjoy reading (and writing about) characters who don’t exist purely in the vacuum of solving a mystery.

For me, a mystery book is made all the better when love enters into to. And if it’s a series where love grows, all the better. I want to spend time with the characters and grow with them, experience the blossoming of their love, and feel the satisfaction when they’ve committed to one another on the heels of solving whatever mystery is in their lives and potentially keeping them apart.

I also think that this type of hybrid book is a harder sell. Finding a home for Living the Vida Lola was a challenge for just this reason. It isn’t traditional mystery. Nor is it traditional romance. Publishers didn’t quite know what to do with it or how to market it. But it did find a home and since its publication, I’ve read quite a few mixed genre mystery romances. What the big deal is with marketing, I’m not really sure, but readers have made it known that they like a little romance in their mystery, or… a little mystery in their romance.

How about you? Are you a traditionalist? Like your mysteries and romances pure, or does mixing it up give you a thrill?


Counting Down

/in /by

Misa Ramirez is the author of the Lola Cruz mystery series: Living the Vida Lola (January ’09) and Dead Girl Walking (2010) from St. Martin’s Press Minotaur. A former middle and high school teacher, and current CEO and CFO for La Familia Ramirez, this blonde-haired, green-eyed, proud to be Latina-by-Marriage girl loves following Lola on her many adventures. Whether it’s contemplating belly button piercings or visiting nudist resorts, she’s always up for the challenge. Misa is hard at work on a new women’s fiction novel, is published in Woman’s World Magazine and Romance Writers Report, and has a children’s book published.

The countdown is on…13 days until Living the Vida Lola, the first book in the Lola Cruz Mystery Series, hits the streets and I can hardly believe it. It has been such a long and winding road; so many times I thought I was living a pipe dream [still am, since just because the book will be out, there’s no guarantee that it’ll sell in great enough quantities to build a solid career, but I’m hoping!].

13 days until I hold my creation in my hands.

13 days until others see the books vibrant turquoise color and sassy figure of Lola.

13 days until…I start focusing on my current work in progress. Dead Girl Walking, the second book in the series, is already with my editor and in the editing stages.

The countdown is fun. It’s invigorating. We moved from California to Texas this year in part so that I could quite my day job of teaching to focus on writing full time, and here I am, less than two weeks away from seeing my first book in the flesh, so to speak. Having dedicated writing time is amazing, but what I’ve realized is that publishing this book is not a means to an end. It’s really only the beginning. The first baby step in the career I’m trying to build. I’ve got book signings lined up, I’ve got two release parties planned–one in California and one in Texas–and I’ve done blog tours and guest posts like this one. When you’re not already a bestseller and don’t have massive publishing dollars behind you paying for placement and ads, the future is uncertain and luck plays an awfully big part of it.

And so, while I’m still counting down the days, I’m turning my full attention to the third book in the series, Bare Naked Ladies. It’s part way done and so much fun to write [crime at a nudist resort, anyone?!]. I’m also going to continue to work on a new book that’s in progress tentatively called The Curandera and the Chain Tree, the first in a Curandera Mystery Series.

And, as if that’s not enough, I’ve also been contemplating a book and/or series for younger girls [8-10 years old], something my daughter would love to read. Just because I think it would be fun and I’d love to write something for her.

I have a lot coals in the fire, and am stretched thin at times, but I’m doing what I love. I am living the dream and it’s as good as I imagined it would be. So ¡Viva Lola! I hope you join me on the ride. 🙂

There’s a quote that goes something like: If you want something done, ask a busy person. What I’ve realized is that I need all the coals in the fire…it keeps me focused. The more free-time I have, the less attentive I am with the tasks I have to get done. Are you one of those busy people who, the less time you have, the more you actually get done?

Misa Ramirez
http://misaramirez.com/