Today's guest: Meg Mitchell Moore Why we love her: Her debut, The Arrivals, (in paperback now) was one of our favorite books of 2012

Her latest: So Far Away (It's out tomorrow- May 29! Pre-order it here. )

The scoop: The lives of a wayward teenager and a lonely archivist are unexpectedly joined through the discovery of an old diary.

Thirteen-year-old Natalie Gallagher is trying to escape: from her parents’ ugly divorce, and from the vicious cyber-bullying of her former best friend. She discovers a dusty old diary in her family’s basement and is inspired to unlock its secrets.

Kathleen Lynch, an archivist at the Massachusetts State Archives, has her own painful secrets: she’s a widow estranged from her only daughter. Natalie’s research brings her to Kathleen, who in Natalie sees traces of the daughter she has lost.

What could the life of an Irish immigrant domestic servant from the 1920s teach them both? In the pages of the diary, they will learn that their fears and frustrations are timeless.

Our thoughts: Meg delivers yet again with this riveting sophomore novel. Definitely an author to watch!

Giveaway: 5 copies! Just leave a comment and be entered to win. We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm EST on Sunday, June 3rd.

Fun fact: No only is Meg's writer crush Elin Hilderbrand, but Meg was lucky enough to get a blurb from Elin for The Arrivals.

Where to read more about Meg: Her website, Facebook and Twitter.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...MEG MITCHELL MOORE'S 5 THINGS I'D TELL THE TEEN ME

1. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. All those people who tell you not to sit in the sun are right. Pale skin can be beautiful. Baby oil is really only for babies.

2. Drive across the country at least once before you have children. I am about to do for this for the first time as our family takes on a cross-country move. The trip will be rushed, the dog will be cranky and I’ll take the shortest way from point A to point B. Oh, how I had wish I had time to take it slowly and do it right! I want to stop in Midwestern diners and eat pie, drive down little main streets in towns I’ve never heard of, hear ten different accents in a week.

3. Appreciate your parents. I guess this is one of the great paradoxes of the world, but truly you do not understand just how much your parents do for you until you are trying to keep little people happy and fed and turn them into productive members of society. Those things you got in trouble for in high school? You deserved it. At the same time, try hard to remember what all of this feels like so that when your own kids go through it you can empathize.

4. Trust your talent, work your butt off. It took me a long time to trust my abilities to write fiction. Turns out the only thing that separated the people who were doing it from me was that they were willing to work for it and take the necessary risks.

5. Honey, Boy George is gay. Take the pictures down from your locker.

Thanks, Meg!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa