#1,958,125 with a Bullet
Since this seems to be a week for educators and self-published novels, let’s take a look at Crazy Fortunes, the romance novel penned by Lawrence, Massachusetts, school principal Beth Gannon. The local teachers’ union isn’t too thrilled with it because Gannon reportedly is “peddling her steamy story on the school department’s dime, urging teachers during faculty meetings to buy the $13.95 paperback.”
Judging only by the excerpts available through Amazon, I think Crazy Fortunes has a lot of educational value. An English composition teacher could use it to illustrate the improper use of paragraphs, overdone dialogue tags and a bad case of adverbosity. Gannon does seem to have mastered the art of the romance novel blurb cliché:
When Jake attempts to recapture her heart, Lila must wade through the memories of their relationship and the sea of questions plaguing her thoughts. Now she is faced with an uncomfortable decision. Will she choose a second chance with Jake, or will she remain with the man whose ring she wears?
The book apparently contains “explicit sex scenes,” which you could use in biology class, or maybe you could redact all the naughty bits and lead the class in a discussion of censorship.
At the very least, we should all chip in and find Gannon an editor. She needs the help.
