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The basic premise of Absolutely, Positively goes like this: Molly Aberwick is the oldest of two daughters of a now-deceased eccentric inventor. She owns a tea shop and, on the side, runs a philanthropic organization which gives money to new inventors. She hires Harry Trevalyn to act as a consultant for the charity. Romance, danger, attempted murder and robots enter thereafter.

k2: Setting aside certain Amanda Quick titles (which we will rave about another time), Absolutely, Positively is my favorite book by Jayne Ann Krentz. Of course, I am a total sucker for smart, academic guys. Especially smart, academic guys with bad boy traits. JAK totally hooked me when, after an evening of carefully, perhaps over-planned, seduction (or is it over-planned plans for seduction?), our intellectual hero, Harry Trevalyn, is ready to make his move...only to be foiled by a housebreaker throwing a knife. All of Harry's carefully laid plans are thrown awry when he must simultaneously catch a tossed teapot full of very hot beverage while catching the knife mid-air. Totally spoils the mood, you know. I knew I couldn't put the book down. How many pages before you said, "Not tonight, honey, I have to finish this book?"

hk: About three. As an admitted JAK addict, putting her books down always caused untold inner conflict. Now, I know it's heresy to suggest this, but Absolutely, Positively, while a favorite, is not my favorite. [insert gasp here] Wildest Hearts holds that title. But that's an argument for another day.

Harry pulls me into this one. He's an over-controlled, really smart business guy with rough-around-the-edges looks who wants a woman and approaches said attraction with all the subtlety and romance of a bee sting. That's an irresistible lure. The fact Harry comes from a carnival family makes him just all that more attractive. His background adds to his straightlaced dysfunction - or, might be the cause of it - and gives him a level of interest the regular 'ole overcontrolled business guy lacks.

But, tell the truth... Did the Harry's carnival past combined with all the inventions left over in heroine Molly Aberwick's house by her deceased father, including a fleet of cleaning and sometimes scary robots roaming about, speak to your not-so-hidden geekdom or was it in anyway a distraction from the romance?

k2: Okay, I think you're calling me a geek.

hk: Absolutely, positively (come one, I had to work that into the review somewhere...)

k2: Okay, now I know you're calling me a geek because you admitted as much. Which is sad because I am a perfectly normal, shoe-fetished woman. Or maybe you remember our secret conversation about my weakness for geeks. I am all about the Clark Kent, not so much the Superman. Put glasses on a guy and I'm butter.

But it's Harry's absolute insistence that he's in control that wins me over every time (though, I often laugh about Molly's cleaning robots, moreso since the husband invested in cleaning robots -- they vacuum, they mop, I'm in love). He is wound so tight, it's scary. For a man who is absolutely, positively convinced of his intellectual and physical capabilities, he's terrified of who he is. He only enters into situations that he can control, and once he decides to engage in an affair with Molly, control is off the table. It's his downfall and salvation.

With Harry, it's all about family, and I'm fascinated by the power he holds over both sides of his. How do you see Harry in relation to his families?

hk: As dysfunctional as the rest of us...? They use him, take advantage of him, ignore his feelings and run to him whenever they need something. So, yeah, dysfunctional but normal. Actually, Harry's attempt to balance the competing needs of his wealthy, high-society maternal family and his carnival, not-so-high-society paternal family gives him a vulnerability. Here we have Harry, a controlled loner, who, in reality, is desperate to be accepted by an extended family that finds him odd. He uses money to save them and bribes to protect them from themselves. This peek into Harry's psyche makes him real and far less robotic than how he's described by those around him. At heart, the guy's a softie. More importantly, his actions prove he has a heart. And, the fact that Molly uses the families' against them for Harry's benefit near the end of the book is one of those completed circles that works so well in fiction.

Speaking of family...Molly has a sister in her 20s. Harry has a younger cousin. Both Harry and Molly took on parental roles and raised their respective relatives. Do these kids - to the extent people in their 20s qualify as "kids" - add, detract or remain neutral in terms of the plot for you? See, I can't quite figure out Kelsey's purpose except as a mirror to her sister Molly's character. Josh (Harry's cousin) is a bit more active, but does he add much? And, for that matter, what do you think of the eclectic cast of characters JAK throws in here?

k2: Let me state upfront and for the record that I hate romance kids (I'm okay will real kids, though, honestly, I prefer it when their parents come and take them home). Setting aside the issue of the beautiful, brainy younger sister JAK archetype (this is a character who often appears in her fiction, mostly as a contrast to the "original" heroine), I have to say that the character of Josh -- Harry's young cousin -- was very important. In so many ways, Josh is the Harry that Harry could never be. Kelsey, Molly's sister, is also important in that she made Molly into the person she is (Harry was Harry before Josh arrived). So you're right in that Kelsey serves as a mirror for Molly.

However, one theme that populates JAK novels is the sense of family -- not just family in the sense of mother, father, sister, brother, but extended, expanded, non-traditional family. This book is all about family, and what we will do to make ours a functional one, knowing, of course, that the only good family is a dysfunctional one.

This makes Harry's entire role in the book more precarious and raises the stakes for Molly. If Harry can't bring the Strattons and Trevalyns together, then he remains fragmented. I think he also doesn't come to terms with, well, his psychic side (though he would deny that he's psychic in the first place). All that aside, I think the core theme of this book is trusting yourself and the rest will follow...or am I just getting all starry-eyed here?

hk: You're cute when you're starry-eyed. Sort of goes with the geek-speak thing you do. But, in this case, you're also correct. Whether writing futuristic, historical or contemporary, JAK does emphasize family. Even better, she deals with non-biological family and the bonds people develop outside of a sibling or parental relationship. It's a modern concept that she adapts to very non-modern situations, including her favorite one - the marriage of convenience (which is not present in this book, but plays a role in her body of work).

Those relationships lend themselves to the overall theme of trusting yourself - and the broader theme of self-acceptance. Both are alive and kicking here. There is a mutual rescuing here between Harry and Molly, sure, but there's also an individual finding himself/herself. This recognition wraps around the romance, making it deeper and more complex. Kind of a, "you must love yourself before you can truly love others" type of thing but without all the Hallmark Hall Of Fame movie preachiness.

Everything we're talking about is inherent to a JAK book. She writes about strong people who might not know they're strong. About people who serve as the backbone of their family dynamic, whether traditional or not. About love and finding that one true mate. So, if the ideas continue throughout JAK's work, what is it about this JAK book that makes it stand out? In other words, why is this one your favorite? What does it have that some of the others might not?

k2: That's easy: Harry. I really like Harry. I came to Krentz the usual way: via her Amanda Quick novels. In those books, my favorite hero is Jared Ryder/Viscount Chillhurst. He's a reluctant hero, the savior of his family despite his best intentions. Harry is very similar. Plus he's really, really good with his hands. Never discount that quality in a man.

hk: I love Jared Ryder...and a good contemporary comedic circus romance.

I also like the humor ("I eat happy campers for breakfast"). And the ways the families come together. I also like the carnival, which practically makes this a circus romance, no?

k2: The one thing, however, that didn't quite work for me is the mystery. I'm not sure why. I can, naturally, ignore this because, well, I'm me, but any thoughts on, oh, the plot of this novel?

hk: Oh, yeah. Plot. Important feature. This one falls in line with a familiar JAK set-up: the heroine has a business or business idea and turns to a business pro (in the form of a fearless hero) for assistance. Somehow Krentz manages to prevent her heroines from falling into the weenie trap in this traditional scenario. But the girl-needs-boy-for-work-then-they-get-busy outline is one that plays out throughout JAK's work.

Here, Molly hires Harry to help her ferret out real invention ideas submitted to her family's charitable organization from the pseudo (i.e., whackjob) ones. Turns out someone is stalking Molly or her organization's money or both. Harry steps in, uses his contacts and brains, and helps to figure out the bad guy. That all works for me, though I will admit the actual who and how is a bit light here. But, let's be frank here. JAK is known as mystery-lite. That's not a criticism. It's a reality. The romance is the focus. The mystery is the filler. Knowing that going in and never confusing JAK with romantic suspense prevents disappointment.

So, on re-read (for the 50th time), is this still your JAK favorite?

k2: Yeah, it is still my favorite (as long as I exclude Amanda Quick titles). I am a real sucker for characters who fight the fact that they're different before coming to accept that being a little weird is a Good Thing. Molly is completely comfortable in her skin. She knows who she is. Harry is uncomfortable in his: he can't figure out who he is because his families refuse to acknowledge that, by sheer dint of genetics, he carries two different bloodlines, philosophies, lifestyles, cultures, social classes...you name it...inside him. He's constantly at war with his instincts because, after his parents died, nobody gave him the freedom to just be himself. He repays that favor by making sure that Josh is given every chance in the world to follow his own path (though, interestingly, that path is defined by Harry or, maybe, greatly influenced by Harry).

(Aside: I did think the villain in this piece was a bit heavy-handed, but, being an optimist, I kind of thought that heaviness was potentially a red herring).

hk: He is a tad over-the-top.

k2: Now my confession (they say it's good for the soul, I'm not so sure): in a moment of, hmm, passion, I loaned my copy of my book to my sister. My younger sister who lives many miles away. And, for some unknown reason, this book is not available anywhere. At all. Unless I buy used, but I have emotional issues and don't buy used. Even ordering from Amazon has been an exercise in fruition -- my copy still hasn't arrived. What's up with a world where the one JAK book I need is completely unavailable to me? There is no justice in the world.

So, yes, I've been working almost entirely from memory. I feel bad about this, but think I've managed okay. Sure, I forgot to go off on a rant about psychology, but there's always something we miss...

hk:

k2: Hello?

hk: I'm not even sure what to say about that admission. Guess it proves how much you love the book that you can recall it from memory. I'm thinking it also proves my previous theory about you being a geek...

As for the psychology aspect, that also is explored in other JAK titles. Harry has what we'll call psychic abilities. A former fiancee referred to these abilities as delusions. Molly, being Harry's soulmate, accepts Harry for who (and what) he is. Ahhh, true love.

You can visit Jayne Ann Krentz here and check out this backlist fav here and (maybe) buy it here.