Unbeknownst to Cal, Min has overheard the conversation. Cal refuses to accept the bet, but does accept a $10 bet that he can get Min to go to dinner with him. David bets Cal $10,000 that he can't get Min into bed within a month. Cal has a reputation as a ladies' man and someone full of luck, who has never lost a bet. At the other end of the bar, David finds acquaintance Calvin 'Cal' Morrisey and his friends. Min retreats to one corner of the bar to be comforted by her two best friends, Bonnie and Liza. He is upset that she has refused to have sex with him she's irritated that she is now without a date to her sister's upcoming wedding. The novel begin as the heroine, Minerva 'Min' Dobbs, a chubby, 33-year-old actuary, is dumped by her boyfriend, David. Crusie herself references the sense of community between readers and authors, describing it as 'one of the most powerful aspects of the romance novel'. Critic Kimberly Baldus sees the cherry 'as a wink from author to readers and back again, creating a sense of a community forged through shared knowledge and insights about the novel'. This was a nod to her online fans, who had named themselves 'The Cherries'. At Crusie's insistence, the cover of the book featured a cherry. To further support the book, Crusie embarked on a national book-signing tour. The book was given much support by the publisher, including ads in The New York Times and Glamour. Martin's Press, Jennifer Enderlin, agreed to purchase Bet Me, provided Crusie rewrote it. Martin's Press to release longer single-title novels. Over the next ten years, Crusie sold several short category romances, and then signed with St. There was no interest from the publishing industry, and Crusie put the manuscript aside. She finished her initial draft of Bet Me in 1992. To her surprise, she discovered that she enjoyed the genre, so much so that she became a literary critic for the genre and began writing romance novels herself. Crusie had never explored that genre, and she was convinced she would find it difficult to wade through that types of books. It won a Romance Writers of America Rita Award for Best Contemporary Single Title in 2005.Īs research for her MFA dissertation, Jennifer Crusie determined to read 100 romance novels. Bet Me is a contemporary romance novel written by Jennifer Crusie.

Bet me by jennifer crusie pdf