Guest post written by author Amanda Aksel
Amanda Aksel is a West Coast transplant whose curiosity about people led her to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Instead of pursuing a career as a couples counselor, she wrote about one in her first novel. Her new novel No Funny Business is out July 12th.
Let’s be real, who doesn’t love a forced proximity trope in romance? A situation that two charming, attractive characters can’t escape is a recipe for boisterous fun. Especially when one of those characters is bound by a promise—no funny business. And where’s the best place to stick these two love fools in order for sparks to fly?
On a road trip, of course!
For Olivia and Nick, two down-on-their-luck stand-ups, “No Funny Business” is all about the funny business (literally and figuratively). While a romantic women’s fiction comedy about two jokers on a cross country stand-up road tour may seem like the perfect set up, I had an ulterior motive. I’d been itching to write a road trip, especially one that brought two unsuspecting characters together. Ah, Olivia and Nick never stood a chance against my imagination or life experience. No, I never fell in love on a road trip. But I’ve clocked a lot of miles in my life.
When you’re born into a military family, you’re known as a military brat. You’re also known for not sticking around one place too long because your family gets stationed somewhere new every few years. This is the story of my childhood. Because of it, I got to road trip across the United States five times in my life—we’re talking 15,000 miles! And that doesn’t count all my other road trips up and down the East Coast.
Tapping into my memories of road noise, classic rock music on the radio, and unique experiences along the way, I was able to bring Olivia and Nick’s comedy road tour to life. In this book, the road trip serves many purposes. Each of the ten cities have personal meaning for me while also acting as significant mile markers for Olivia.
For instance, Graceland in Memphis is one of my all-time favorite stops. You’ll never guess the kind of shenanigans Olivia and Nick get into there. If you’re an Elvis fan, you won’t want to miss it (cue “Can’t Help Falling in Love”). There’s Texas—a gigantic state that takes forever to commute through. While I’m not a Texan, my parents are, and we spent a lot of time in their hometowns of El Paso and Midland during those cross country trips. I wanted to be sure these Texas towns got a spotlight in the novel (plus I was craving Whataburger). So I made Midland Olivia’s hometown—a place she hasn’t been back to since she ran away to pursue stand-up in New York City. Then, there’s Las Vegas. And you know what they say about Vegas . . . I think its slogan comes from the liberating energy of Las Vegas Boulevard (you can drink alcohol anywhere). Nick and Olivia are certainly liberated there. You’ll see what I mean when you read it.
Looking back, I realize that writing “No Funny Business” in the midst of a global pandemic felt a lot like a cross country trip—being stuck in a limited space, terrain changing from day to day, and the anticipation of reaching the final destination. From the outset of creating this story, I kept thinking of one of my favorite quotes by Nichiren Daishonin (a 13th Century Buddhist philosopher) who said, “The journey from Kamakura to Kyoto takes twelve days. If you travel for eleven but stop with only one day remaining, how can you admire the moon over the capital?” Just like Olivia, I faced many trials along the way but one thing we have in common is we never gave up. Despite the “dead end” signs, flat tires, and rising cost of gas, we showed up and did our best to bring the laughs all so we could view that proverbial mood over the capital.
Needless to say, it’s been a trip. And I’d do it all over again.
