24 Hours: A lesson in thankfulness and a giveaway by Liz

Life is busy.  So busy, in fact, that I often find my self rushing from task to task, never stopping to stop and smell those freakin' roses everyone is always talking about, never stopping to even BREATHE.  I often worry, am I racing through life so fast that I'm not enjoying any of the things in it? Do I work my ass off to achieve things,  not taking a hot minute to bask in the satisfaction?  Do I ever take a minute to be THANKFUL? This past Saturday, I had to work. (Remember, when I told you about my day job?) The forecast predicted 80 degrees and my close-to-mid-life crisis convertible purchase was going to sit in the garage, unused, as I sped off at 5:30am to work a booth at a conference in downtown San Diego, missing my son's first baseball game.  I was NOT feeling thankful.  But as sped down the freeway, I had a thought.  What if I WAS?  What if I found something to be thankful for in every situation for 24 hours?  And not just the obvious stuff, like losing two pounds for no reason or when someone tells me my shoes are cute.  What if I spent the day turning every negative into a positive?

So, that's what I did, yo!

Waking up at 4:45 on a Saturday?  Finally!  No line in the Starbucks drive thru!  And were you aware that calories consumed before 6am don't count? #hellocrumbcake

No one is stopping by the booth that I'm giving up my Saturday for?  That's okay--I'm thankful they have free wi-fi.  I now know more about Channing Tatum than I ever thought possible. (Don't judge! #buddingcougar)

My suit feeling snug from those extra 8 pounds that just won't come off? I'm thankful most of the fat seems to have gone to my boobs. #majorcleavage

Missing the kid's softball and baseball games? I'm thankful the hubs is blowing up my phone with a play by play of the action, even detailing their snack bar purchases. #snackbarTMI

Not outside soaking up the rays on the warmest day in months? I'm thankful that I won't get hat hair from shielding my face from all that gorgeous sunlight. Plus, isn't ghost white skin the new tan? #letsstartatrend

Stressed about all the writing I need to get done? But, I get to write!  And I get to do it with my best friend. These are problems to have! So STFU and be thankful.

You see? It's not that hard if you put your mind to it. They say being thankful brings positive energy your way--and who couldn't use a dose of that?  Even if you are having what you think is the worst day EVEH, try not to wallow in the negativity--find little ways to find happiness. Like maybe you're having a horrendously shitty day at work, but hey, you're thankful that job pays your bills.  Or if all the crazy political people on Facebook are driving you crazy with their tirades, try to be thankful that we live in a country where everyone gets an opinion without getting thrown in jail.

Sometimes, I have so many balls in the air that I forget how hard I worked to get all the balls up there in the first place.  And I never want to look back at my life and realize that I never took the time to be thankful for the things in it.  As I get older, I'm finally understanding that things don't have to be perfect--that it's in those moments where it's most important to find the good.  To put down our phones, log off our computers and take a deep breath.  Ahhhhh.  Now, didn't that feel good?

And you know what? My 24 hours of thankfulness turned out pretty good-the conference got out earlier than expected and I was able to race home and enjoy a slice of the sunlight-I even had time to test out my mom's new chi machine(long story!) and watch a movie with my husband that didn't star an animated character or a animal or Selena Gomez.  That was easy to be thankful for.

Tell me one thing you are thankful for and I'll enter you to win a MYSTERY stack of  15 books!  (And you don't end up liking all of them, you'll just have to be thankful you won, okay? lol)  Leave a comment here and you'll be entered to win.  I'll choose the winners on Monday, March 11th after 8am.

Allie Larkin's 5 Best Evers

Our guest today: Allie Larkin Why we love her: Her novels are a PERFECT escape after a long week.

Her latest: Why Can't I Be You

The scoop: At one time or another, everyone has wished they could be someone else. Exploring this universal longing, Allie Larkin follows up the success of her debut novel, Stay, with a moving portrait of friendship and identity.

When Jenny Shaw hears someone shout “Jessie!” across a hotel lobby, she impulsively answers. All her life, Jenny has toed the line, but something propels her to seize the opportunity to become Jessie Morgan, a woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. Lonely in her own life, Jenny is embraced by Jessie’s warm circle of friends—and finds unexpected romance. But when she delves into Jessie’s past, Jenny discovers a secret that spurs her to take another leap into the unknown.

Our thoughts: We couldn't put this sparkling novel down!  Make sure to grab yourself a copy.

Giveaway: FIVE copies!  Leave a comment and we'll choose winners after Noon PST on March 3rd.

Fun Fact: Allie's beautiful dog, Argo, graced the cover on her debut novel, Stay.

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

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...ALLIE LARKIN'S 5 BEST EVERS

BEST SONG– Hannah & Gabi by The Lemonheads. Short, sweet, and simple.  An all-purpose song.  It’s had different meanings to me over the years and because of that, it’s the only song that ends up on nearly all of my project playlists. If I skip over the bar chords, I can almost play it on the guitar. Almost.

BEST BOOK– Song of the Lark by Willa Cather.  One of the books I read over and over again in high school (when I should have been reading assigned books for English class).  I re-read it as an adult and found it even more compelling. She’s my favorite author and it’s said to be her most personal work. It’s a complex (and somewhat sad) statement on artistic life and sacrifice.

BEST MOVIE – Doc Hollywood.  I adore old movies and would love to tell you that my favorite is something classic and classy like Charade or Arsenic and Old Lace, but the truth is when I’m having a cruddy day and I need to crawl in bed with ice cream and a movie, the movie is always Doc Hollywood.  It makes me feel better.

BEST LIFE MOMENT – Meeting my husband. I’d gotten roped into going to a picnic. In the course of mingling, I kept seeing the same guy over and over again.  He said “hi” and I thought immediately, ‘he’s important.’ It was a very specific thought, even though I didn’t know what it meant yet. And, of course, he turned out to be the most important.

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE – Just make icing. Years ago I read a brilliant blog post (and I wish I could remember where and who wrote it). The basic gist was: why bother making cupcakes if you really just want to eat the icing. It changed my life. I try to give myself permission to think about the core of what I need or what makes me happy and cut straight to it.

Thanks, Allie!

Samantha Wilde's 5 Best Evers

Our guest today: Samantha Wilde Why we love her: Her writing is witty and fun!

Her latest: I'll Take What She Has

The scoop: Nora and Annie have been best friends since kindergarten. Nora, a shy English teacher at a quaint New England boarding school, longs to have a baby. Annie, an outspoken stay-at-home mother of two, longs for one day of peace and quiet (not to mention more money and some free time). Despite their very different lives, nothing can come between them—until Cynthia Cypress arrives on campus.

Cynthia has it all: brains, beauty, impeccable style, and a gorgeous husband (who happens to be Nora’s ex). When Cynthia eagerly befriends Nora, Annie’s oldest friendship is tested. Now, each woman must wrestle the green-eyed demon of envy and, in the process, confront imperfect, mixed-up family histories they don’t want to repeat. Amid the hilarious and harried straits of friendship, marriage, and parenthood, the women may discover that the greenest grass is right beneath their feet.

Our thoughts: We were delighted by this fun novel!

Giveaway: FIVE copies! Leave a comment here and you'll be entered to win.  We'll choose the winners on March 3rd after Noon PST.

Fun Fact: Check out the book trailer for I'll Take What She Has here.

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

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...SAMANTHA WILDE'S 5 BEST EVERS

1. BEST SONG: My favorite song! Can I say the ABC song? Have I heard a piece music written in the new millenium? Having young children is like having your head stuck in the sand only it's not sand, it's really bad music played by plastic toys over and over until you are forced to throw the things into the basement forever. I dance with my children to old 0ss music. "Safety Dance," has to get my vote for the all-time best rockin' out-in-your-house-in-an-embarassing-way song. They also love my disco collection. Can anything top Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive?" I put on Cheryl Wheeler for them ("Sylvia Hotel" so poignant) and old Ani Difranco and Indigo Girls because back when I listened to music I loved folk music. December you could hear nothing save Tchaikovsky in our house ("can you kids please turn down the Nutcraker music?). You know what I'm realizing? Right. This. Instant. I'm not a favorite song kind a girl. It's like a box of gourmet chocolate. I simply cannot pick just one.

2. BEST BOOK: Okay. We're back to the chocolate box issue here. I can't choose a favorite book. Don't make me! I'm a book addict. It would feel disloyal. How about a favorite author? I adore Oscar Wilde. He's yet to have an equal in wit and clever plotting. He managed to write with both brilliant humor and scathing social criticism, with charging humor and profound insight. It is not easy to be funny. And funny writers never get taken seriously. Wilde certainly did not. (Also, for the record, I'm not related to him and I don't only like him for his last name.) Even though he wrote a hundred and twenty years ago, his work reads fresh and original--probably why they keep making movies from his plays.

3. BEST MOVIE: For most of my life, I considered Terms of Endearment my favorite film. It occured to me, but not until my third decade on the planet, that this is a depressing movie about a mean mother and dying mother and three kids who end up without a mother and once I became a mother? It had to go. I have a rule with movies (and books). No dead mothers. My personal writing motto: Don't kill the mother. Even if it will make a book a bestseller. I am the mother, after all. I can barely think of my children motherless. My new fav: Joan Rivers' A Piece of Work. I find her drive and determination fascinating. I also think American films show a deplorable disregard to our older performers. Rivers, for whatever you think of her plastic surgery, proves that age has nothing to do with it. An Ideal Husband, based on Oscar Wilde's play, is also a favorite of mine.

4. BEST LIFE MOMENT: I have three favorite life moments. The birth of each of my children. That sounds like the worst kind of cliche. I promise, I wouldn't say it if it weren't the truth for me. From the time I was a little girl, I longed so much to become a mother. I hankered for a large family. Walking down the baby aisle made me swoon! The fantasy of a child is one thing. In reality, motherhood is harder than I could ever have imagined at eight years old, pushing one of my six dollies in a carriage. On the other hand, birth (as opposed to labor)? That moment when a new person comes into the world, takes her first breath? What can possibly compare? I had a hard labor with my first son, thirty-two hours without any intervention. My daughter came in less than four hours. My second son icame out swimming into a birthing tub. These actual moments in time have no comparison in my life, though obviously the totality of my days with them count for much more. Still, sometimes I dream about being back in the hospital. Being waited on. Not having to cook. Lying in bed all day and all night. No cleaning. The birthing center is the best spa vacation I've had in years.

5. BEST PIECE OF ADVICE: The spiritual teacher Bo Lozoff says, "Don't take your life so personally." Great advice if you can take it! My mother, novelist Nancy Thayer, says, "Put it in your work." I use that advice whenever I write. My brother says, "There are few arguments that can't be solved by eating a sandwich." One of my favorite yoga teachers, Maureen McGuire, used to repeat like a mantra during class, "Life is a gift, not a guarantee." My husband's advice, "If the diaper needs changing, go to work." And finally from Mark Twain, "I'd lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." (The advice is implied!)

Thanks, Samantha!

Interview & Giveaway with Melissa Francis

Today's guest: Melissa Francis Her book: Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter

The scoop on it: The Glass Castle meets The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in this dazzlingly honest and provocative family memoir by former child actress and current Fox Business Network anchor Melissa Francis.

When Melissa Francis was eight years old, she won the role of lifetime: playing Cassandra Cooper Ingalls, the little girl who was adopted with her brother (played by young Jason Bateman) by the Ingalls family on the world’s most famous primetime soap opera, Little House on the Prairie. Despite her age, she was already a veteran actress, living a charmed life, moving from one Hollywood set to the next. But behind the scenes, her success was fueled by the pride, pressure, and sometimes grinding cruelty of her stage mother, as fame and a mother’s ambition pushed her older sister deeper into the shadows.

Diary of a Stage Mother’s Daughter is a fascinating account of life as a child star in the 1980’s, and also a startling tale of a family under the care of a highly neurotic, dangerously competitive “tiger mother.” But perhaps most importantly, now that Melissa has two sons of her own, it’s a meditation on motherhood, and the value of pushing your children: how hard should you push a child to succeed, and at what point does your help turn into harm?

Our thoughts: Completely. Riveted.

Giveaway: 5 copies! Just leave a comment and be entered to win. We'll select the winners on Sunday, February 24th after 12pm PST.

Where you can read more about Melissa: Her website, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...AN INTERVIEW WITH MELISSA FRANCIS

1. Liz & Lisa: Why did you decide to write this memoir?

Melissa Francis: I started writing Diary of A Stage Mother's Daughter when the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother reached critical mass. The idea of parents emulating that model really terrified me. It actually brought me to tears. It was hard for me to get the book and read through it in its entirety because I am the product of an extreme version of a tiger mom. In writing my memoir, I wanted to warn parents that that unrelenting form of parenting may make some children disciplined, focused achievers. As the author herself says, if you ride children hard early, you don't have to come down on them later. But with some kids, as you learn with my story, it can be wildly destructive and truly rob them of them of their confidence, sending them into a spiral of despair. There is no formula about how to be a parent, and when you see this exemplified as in Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, it doesn't necessarily work. Because all kids are unique individuals, it can be extremely dangerous.

2. L&L: What do you want people to learn from your book?

MF: I'd love for anyone who reads the book to feel that they can learn from a challenged past and whatever has happened to them, and then choose to have a joyous future. I hope that readers realize that a troubled past or a difficult childhood are experiences to draw and grow from later. You know what not to do when you grow up, or you know how you want to live differently. As long as you grab hold of it and take the right lessons out of it, you can decide how to control your own life and your own destiny. You can choose to be happy -- you can choose to have a new life. It is never too late, no matter how old you are. This is the point I make make in the very last scene of the book, where I see a woman I work with crumple into tears -- this incredible, gorgeous, successful woman with a family of her own -- and her mother just reduced her to tears. I said to her, as delicately as I could, "You can be free of that. You're an adult, and it's your choice now." You can choose to be happy and to be joyful and to have a different life. It's not easy, but it's better than the alternative, and within our control.

3. L&L: Do you have a favorite line or passage from your book?

MF: "The texture and color of my love for all three of them has proven to me that I can love, even though I was not ultimately loved myself. It doesn't matter what's come before if I can let go and try to do better. That truth was awakening. My own family is a new beginning."This passage comes at the very end of the book. I cried when I wrote it, and I still cry every time I read the words. I was afraid to have children for so long, because I wasn't sure I could be a better mother. My husband gave me the courage to hope. My family is my joy. And when people ask me why I would show my warts to the world (and they ask all the time), I say that I've broken the cycle and found real happiness, I sincerely want to help anyone else do the same. It is worth it.

4. L&L: As a mom, what have you learned from this experience that helps you be a better parent? (Tell us more about avoiding the "one size fits all, pressure-packed approach that you write about.)

MF: It took me a long time to process and figure out how to parent differently, but the number one lesson was, just because you were parented in a way that didn't work out doesn't mean you have to repeat the same behavior. You also don't have to be afraid to be a parent yourself, which I certainly was for a very long time. I would never tell someone how to parent, but I would suggest that every child is born unique and needs a different approach. Tiger Mothering is extremely dangerous as my story demonstrates. I have two young sons, two and five years old, who respond completely differently to the same type of praise or discipline. They are just hardwired differently. As I have watched them from day one, before I even had a chance to have any impact on them, they were different kids. You can't change that. I think my mom wanted to make both my sister and me into performers and achievers, and my sister wasn't built for that. She had her own fantastic qualities, and, if someone had taken the time to get to know her, could have fleshed out what she would be special and successful at. You have to help children bring out what's best about them and help them manage what's difficult about their own personalities and the way that they were born. Every child has a different path to happiness, and as parents it is our job to help them find their own way.

L&L: What memoir(s) are you reading now?

MF: Not surprisingly, my favorite memoir of all time is the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I've read it so many times for courage and inspiration. We have so much in common: reporting on others as a way to shift the focus from our own lives, a past that is painful but has so much value. Hota Kotb has been a wonderful supporter and I just bought her new book, Ten Years Later. I'm heading on vacation next week and can't wait to start that.

Thanks, Melissa!

Blog of the Month: Chick Lit Central

Welcome to our latest feature, Blog of the Month!  Each month we'll be showcasing one of our favorite sites so you can get to know them better.  Kicking it off?  Chick Lit Central, which was launched in May of 2010!

The 411:

Melissa Amster first started Chick Lit Central as a Facebook group to discuss chick lit novels with women all over the world. She saw book blogs doing reviews and interviews, so she decided to add that aspect. As soon as she did, Sarah Pekkanen offered her debut novel, The Opposite of Me, for review. Soon, she was meeting authors (Allie Larkin’s interview was the first one ever) and running giveaways. Since then, the group has expanded to include two partners (Amy and Melissa P.), five associate reviewers and a promotional associate. We’ve reached over 940 followers at the blog and are still growing!

Why do people love CLC?

It’s very friendly. We love books, authors, readers, etc. We don’t compete with other chick lit blogs and try to share the love whenever possible. It’s truly a place to celebrate chick lit!

What is unique about CLC?

We give shout outs to books, even when we don’t have the time to review each and every novel or feature each and every author. We have Books of the Week, which we’re starting to phase out and just added a BookShelf page. We also do theme months and share information about ourselves from time to time, in relation to the theme.

Where to read more about CLC:

Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Goodreads

What inspires you?

Amy: Wow, now this is a tough question because many many things do.  One that comes to mind right off the bat is seeing female business women make it to the top, especially successful women entrepreneurs. For example, Jennifer Gilbert, the author of I NEVER PROMISED YOU A GOODIE BAG, besides having to deal with a life shattering struggle, made it all the way to the top, and has her own event planning company, Save The Date. Another example is Alli Webb, founder of The Dry Bar. If you live near one of these salons, you have to book yourself an appointment. They specialize in blow drys. You will look fantastic after your service. There are many salons across the country and more keep coming. Alli was on The Katie Show in an episode featuring successful women entrepreneurs.

Melissa A: I agree with Amy about seeing women who have achieved their dreams/goals. I love reading stories about entrepreneurial women.

Melissa P: Many things inspire me from day to day. I would have to say though that the main sources of inspiration for me are music, dance, nature, and travel. There have been many times while writing that I hear a song and it inspires an entire scene and drives the feeling and emotion behind it.

If you were stranded on an island, what celebrity would you want to be with you?

Amy: Really? Just one???? Sorry, but I have three: Of course the gorgeous and sexy Rob Lowe. Steve Martin. If you're stranded on an island you need some laughter right? Last, but not least, Meryl Streep...she doesn't need any particular reason.

Melissa A: I’m a big fan of How I Met Your Mother and I adore Jason Segel (Marshall). However, I don’t think my husband would be too happy with an arrangement involving me being alone with him. Therefore, I think Cobie Smulders (Robin) and I would have a blast and instantly become friends. I also don’t think Neil Patrick Harris (Barney) would be much of a threat. We could sing show tunes and he’d make me laugh.

Melissa P: Easy. Derek Jeter. Need I say more?

What's one inanimate object you can't live without?

Amy: Have to pick two again: books and lip balm.

Melissa A: My laptop. It has my PC Kindle, photos, videos, etc. Basically, it’s my life. I go ballistic when it’s not working!

Melissa P: This is a tie between my iPhone and my laptop. They both do essentially the same things just on a different scale. As long as I can listen to music, write, and FaceTime with my loved ones, I don't need anything else.

What books are you adding to your bookshelf this year?

Amy: You ready for a huge list?  The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers, The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio, Market Street by Anita Hughes, Why Can't I Be You by Allie Larkin, Family Pictures by Jane Green, The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen, J'Adore Paris by Isabelle LaFleche, A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams, All The Summer Girls by Meg Donohue, Looking For Me by Beth Hoffman, and of course Jennifer Weiner's next book.

Melissa A: Too many!!! I am so excited to already have Family Pictures by Jane Green, The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen and The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio. I ordered Jodi Picoult’s latest novel and will get that later this month. I’m also looking forward to purchasing Khaled Hosseini’s next novel as I loved his previous two. Also, most of the books on Amy’s list.

Melissa P: Anything by Jane Green, Elin Hilderbrand, Sophie Kinsella, or Marian Keyes to name a few...the list is endless!!!

Thanks Ladies!  xoxo, L&L

Cari Kamm's 5 Best Evers

Today's guest: Cari Kamm Her latest: For Internal Use Only

The scoop on it: Chloe Kassidy has just been accepted into one of Manhattan's most exclusive art exhibits, Love Through Light. However, with her singular dedication to her career, she soon realizes that in sacrificing her personal life, she has never been in love. A hopeless romantic who is terrified of heartbreak, Chloe begins to enlist the help of her circle of friends to learn about love through their very different stories and experiences.

In Chloe's emotional rollercoaster to having the greatest love story ever told, she'll learn that like her photography she must use the negatives in life to develop and prove that she's a strong woman who found her way to love through light.

Inspired by the notion that women grow up with ideas of true love and destiny, For Internal Use Only approaches those ideas with a decidedly twenty-first century viewpoint. A humorous love story with an edgy and dramatic twist, For Internal Use Only is a vastly entertaining novel that gives each of us a new fairy tale to look forward to: our own.

Our thoughts: We love books with a love story! You'll be hooked immediately as you follow along with Chloe on her funny and emotional journey to understand love.

Giveaway: 2 e-copies. Just leave a comment to be entered to win. We'll select the winners after 12pm PST on Sunday, February 24th.

Where you can read more about Cari: Twitter, Facebook and her Website.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...CARI KAMM'S 5 BEST EVERS

BEST SONG: This is a tough one. The only way for me to decide was to check my iTunes account and view my ‘top 25 most played’ list. These are my top four:

Gravity – Sara Bareilles

Cocoon – Jack Johnson

She left on a Monday – Bic Runga

By Your Side – Sade

These songs are often played on repeat for hours!

BEST BOOK: Sophie Kinsella Can you Keep a Secret? inspired me to write. Mark Nepo The book of Awakening. Nepo calls it, "a book to help people meet their days and inhabit their lives.” I’ve read this book for the past three years. Each day has a designated read. This book keeps my perspective in check. It’s definitely a life changer!

BEST MOVIE: I’m a huge fan of romantic comedies. Pretty Woman, Serendipity, When Harry Met Sally and Love Actually are on the top of that list. But, I’m going to go with Big Fish. The main theme in Big Fish is reconciliation. The film is full of color. It inspired me. It reminded me what it’s like to be a child again and to believe in fairytales. A great reminder that our imagination has endless possibilities!

Some of my favorites quotes from Big Fish:

Young Ed Bloom: Now I may not have much, but I have more determination then any man you’re ever likely to meet.

Karl: I don’t want to eat you. I just get so hungry. I’m just too big.

Young Ed Bloom: Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you’re not too big? That maybe this place is just too small?

Will Bloom: A man tells his stories so many times that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal.

Young Ed Bloom: You don’t know me, but my name’s Edward Bloom… And I love you.

Will Bloom: [to Ed] You’re like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny combined – just as charming, and just as fake.

BEST LIFE MOMENT: Saying Yes. I moved to New York City twelve years ago and immediately connected to a special area in Central Park called Literary Walk. It’s the only straight line in the park, lined with American elm trees and decorated with statues of prominent writers such as Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. I had no idea I would be a writer one day and that this landmark would mean more to me today than it did twelve years ago. It’s now a meaningful spot that I will never forget for the rest of my days. On January 27, 2013, I walked there proudly with my new novel in hand, ‘For Internal Use Only,’ and my boyfriend to take a picture with my book. I walked into the park as a proud author and walked out as his fiancé. It was a sparkling moment with all things love.

BEST ADVICE: “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Thanks, Cari!

Books & Bites

Confession:  We love books.  And you know what else we love?  FOOD.  Combine the two?  HEAVEN.

So when our fave authors Sarah Jio and Camille Noe Pagan created the Facebook page Books & Bites, we just knew it would become one of favorite guilty pleasures. They take incredible books and pair them with fantastic recipes--complete awesomeness, right? RIGHT.

We're thrilled that Sarah and Camille are sharing one of their pairings with us today.  Read on to see why we're so in love!

Sarah & Camille's Books & Bites

I had the privilege of reading Helene Gremillion's THE CONFIDANT months before it was published here in the U.S. Already a bestseller in France, with rights sold to other countries, her editor at Penguin reached out to my editor to see if I'd be interested in reading it. When I read about the book's plot, I said absolutely yes. First of all, it's set in France (have I mentioned that I'm a bit of a francophile?), and it's a love story rooted in history, with a plot that flips between the 1970s and 1940s.

And the romance, oh the romance. While the stories I write and tend to gravitate toward are more of the PG variety (sorry, no Fifty Shades sizzle-factor!), this book does get a little steamy (warning for anyone who's shy about love scenes!). Yes, I blushed a little, but I also found myself so engrossed with the characters and their often tragic storylines. Funnily enough, I picked up the book to read on a family trip to Disneyland, and ended up skipping the rides one afternoon so I could order room service at our hotel and finish (while my husband took the boys out to the park!).

I'm pairing this book with a classic French dessert called a clafoutis. Don't be intimidated, because it's so easy to make! I've been making clafoutis for years, and I love making them with whatever fruit is in season (I've used pears, strawberries, blueberries, apricots and plums over the years). For Valentine's Day, I thought this raspberry clafoutis from Food & Wine looked delicious (frozen raspberries can be subbed for fresh).  Click here for the recipe.

Enjoy and happy reading!

Sarah Jio is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Blackberry Winter, The Bungalow, and The Violets of March, which was a Library Journal Best Book of 2011. Her fourth novel, The Last Camellia, will be out in May, and her fifth, set on a houseboat in Seattle, will be published in November. Her books have been sold for translation in 19 countries. To learn more about Sarah, visit www.sarahjio.com or find her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahjioauthor.

Camille Noe Pagán is the author of the novel THE ART OF FORGETTING (Penguin) and a journalist whose work has appeared in Allure, Forbes.com, O: The Oprah Magazine, PARADE, SELF and many others. She lives in Ann Arbor.

Jackie Collins' 5 Best Evers

Our guest today: Jackie Collins Why we love her: She is sexy and SASSY!

Her latest: The Power Trip

The scoop: A luxurious yacht in the Sea of Cortez, a birthday cruise for one of the world’s most beautiful women and an invitation no one can refuse.   The Power Trip—take it if you dare.

From Hollywood icon and mega-seller Jackie Collins comes a thrilling new novel, The Power Trip, set on a state of the art luxury yacht off the coast of Cabo San Lucas.  A tropical getaway with a cast of global power-hungry elites turns sour when they find out maybe they don't control as much of the world as they thought . . .

In The Power Trip you will meet Aleksandr Kasianenko, a billionaire Russian oligarch, as he sets sail on The Bianca. You’ll meet his sexy supermodel girlfriend, whom The Bianca is named after, and five dynamic, powerful, and famous couples invited on the yacht’s maiden voyage: Hammond Patterson, a driven Senator, and his lovely but unhappy wife, Sierra; Cliff Baxter, a charming, never-married movie star, and his ex-waitress girlfriend, Lori; Taye Sherwin, a famous black UK footballer and his interior designer wife, Ashley; Luca Perez, a male Latin singing sensation with his older decadent English boyfriend, Jeromy; and Flynn, a maverick journalist with his Asian renegade female friend, Xuan.

You will also meet Russian mobster, Sergei Zukov, a man with a grudge against Aleksandr. And Sergei’s Mexican beauty queen girlfriend, Ina, whose brother, Cruz, is a master pirate with orders to hold The Bianca and its illustrious rota of guests for ransom.

Our thoughts: We can never resist Jackie's books, and The Power Trip is no exception!

Giveaway: FIVE copies!  Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!  We'll choose the winners after Noon PST on Sunday, February 17th.

Fun Fact: Want to discover Jackie's favorite recipes?  Click here!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...JACKIE COLLINS 5 BEST EVERS

BEST SONG: What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. What a voice! What a man!

BEST MOVIE: ARGO. A brilliant edge-of-your-seat movie.

BEST BOOK:  The Godfather by Mario Puzo. Strong, sexy and gritty.

BEST LIFE MOMENT:  The birth of my three daughters. Magical!

BEST ADVICE: If you want to be a writer stop talking about it and just do it!

Diary of a Debut: What happened to IHWSH and The D Word? And 5 Self Pub Do's and Don'ts.

As you may have noticed, we are pretty much still jumping up and down about selling The Toast to Atria late last year-We can't WAIT until early 2014 when it comes out.  But, for those of you that have been with us since the beginning, you may be wondering, what the hell happened to our first two books,  I’ll Have Who She’s Having and The D Word?

The answer is complicated.

While we love our first two novels, we made the decision to shelve them.  Many of you that have followed our VERY LONG writing journey know that traditional publishing was always the goal for us. (Thank you, btw, for listening to us bitch about it for the past four years!)

We queried both IHWSH and The D Word long and hard, enduring more rejection letters than we care to admit.  Like so many manuscripts, they just weren’t the right book at the right time that made in front of the right person. And let’s face it, there’s always a fair amount of luck involved too!

So we grudgingly made the choice to self publish them after trying in vain to get an agent. And the books did….okay.  Mostly well reviewed but not as much traction as we would like for the financial investment we had put into them. (We’ll get to what we think we did wrong later so you can learn from our mistakes…) It was then we decided to write another manuscript and we made an agreement it was traditional publishing or BUST, damnit!

We aren't dogging self publishing at all.  It takes incredible drive and talent to be successful when self pubbing your novel and there are some AWESOME authors out there. (Dina Silver and Dee Detarsio come to mind.) Many have done so well both critically and financially that they've been picked up by traditional houses, like Jamie McGuire, Jessica Park, and of course, EL James.  But for us, we wanted it old school.

So, for now, IHWSH and The D Word are resting comfortably on Liz’s hard drive.  We hope one day they’ll see the light of day again(especially IHWSH—it’s campy and fun and inappropriate and we love it!)  But we’re honest enough with ourselves to know that they would both probably need some TLC to be traditionally published—our writing had definitely grown with each book and we’ve had to learn from the many writing mistakes (so much overwriting! Too many super long flashbacks!  Telling, not showing!) we made in the first two to get where we are today.

We hope y’all understand. From our experience, neither the self or traditional publication paths are perfect, but you just have the make the best choices for yourself and hope they work out. xo

Are you thinking about self pubbing?  We’ve put together a list of Do and Don’ts.  And we’d love to hear what you think too!

Liz & Lisa's top 5 Self Pub Do's and Don'ts (aka all the ways we effed up when we did it.)

1. DON’T forget to edit, and then edit some more, and then hire someone to edit your manuscript.

From both an author and book blogger viewpoint, this is the BIGGEST problem we see.  We had both IHWSH and The D Word manuscripts professionally edited but there were STILL embarrassing typos.  It doesn't mean the editor didn't do a great job, but we're dealing with humans and it's nearly impossible to make it perfect.  But typos are distracting to the reader and make you look unprofessional, so just edit the shit out your ms and then go back and edit some more. And then hire someone to edit it before you hit the publish button on Amazon.

For those of you querying agents and publishers: Consider sending the ms out for a grammar and developmental edit before hitting the query circuit.  Not only will your manuscript look great, they can help you fix plot holes or inconsistencies in the story.  We hired Emily Heckman to edit The Toast, and her notes were INCREDIBLY helpful--worth every penny!

2. Choose your early readers wisely

Make sure to choose people that will give thoughtful, honest feedback.  It's really great to have your girlfriends read your manuscript, but if all they're going to say is "I LOVE it!!!" without any specific notes, it really doesn't do much except inflate your ego. Choose people that are hugely supportive(no haters please!) that will take the time to think through your plot points and have the balls to tell you that your heroine is actually a heinous, unlikable bitch. (Happened to us with IHWSH! And they were right!)

It may sting a bit, but good, honest feedback can make or break your book.  We let everyone in the world read our first two and then had to decide which feedback to incorporate--it ended up pulling us into a lot of different directions.  While writing The Toast, we chose only three people who we felt would provide fantastic, critical notes.  And you know what?  Those notes SAVED the book.  True story.

3. Write an AWESOME pitch

Okay, let us put our book blogger hats on for a minute: PLEASE write a great pitch.  PLEASE include all the links.  PLEASE research the sites before you send a personalized pitch to them. PLEASE check out this post. Your book is never going to get off the ground with great word of mouth, so make sure to get it in from of the right people.

Having trouble writing something short but sweet??  Your story might be too complicated.  We've started writing the pitch before the book, just to make sure we've got a concept we could pitch it in thirty seconds in a elevator, if need be. (You never know when that might come in handy!)

4. Become a social media whore.

Get your mind out of the gutter!  We don't mean you should write back those strange foreign men that send Facebook messages asking if they can make friendship with you.  We're just saying you need to devote some time each day to promoting yourself online and building a following. And don't forget--it's not just about Facebook and Twitter anymore.  Now you've got to give Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads and many other sites some lovin' too.

5. Don't get discouraged!

Not gonna lie-we got discouraged and wallowed in some really good wine over the fact that we didn't become eBook millionaires overnight.  And it probably affected the effort we put into promoting our books and the end results we saw.  So remember to be realistic when making goals and don't give up--it takes time for the word to spread!  Just keep the faith in your book, and yourself.  And hey-when you become the next EL James, just don't forget about us!

Randy Susan Meyers' 5 Best Evers

Today's guest: Randy Susan Meyers

Why we love her: She's a thoughtful and talented author and we're already anxious for her next novel.

Her latest: The Comfort of Lies (February 12th)

The scoop on it: Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.

Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.

Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.

But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he’s kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.

Riveting and arresting, The Comfort of Lies explores the collateral damage of infidelity and the dark, private struggles many of us experience but rarely reveal.

Our thoughts: A captivating novel. A complicated story. Complex characters. We were engaged from the moment we cracked open the book.

Giveaway: TWO copies. Just leave a comment & be entered to win. We'll select the winners after 3pm PST on Sunday, February 10th.

Fun fact: There's an inspirational page on Randy's website for aspiring writers.

Where you can read more about Randy: Her website, Facebook,Pinterest and Twitter.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...RANDY SUSAN MEYERS' 5 BEST EVERS

BEST SONG: The more relationships in my rear view, the more I organize my exes according to the sad-song scale: heartbreak song men . . . liar-song men . . . didn’t-mean- to-hurt you-but-oops-I-did song men. Maybe it’s a litmus test of my personality, but though I now know the wisdom of loving a happy-love-song man, I sure do love a great love-gone-wrong song.

In The Comfort of Lies, pile-ups in the intersections of infidelity, adoption, marriage, parenthood and careers create perfect storms for desolate love music.  I gathered a playlist eponymous of the particular sadness or strength of each character, and, of course, each rang in a past love nightmare of my own—thus creating a personal blues loop, allowing me to fall down the rabbit hole of melancholia, making me ever more grateful that I ultimately smartened up and married a non-sad song man. In the course, I found perhaps the most gut-wrenching sad-song I ever heard.  Perhaps I listened to Ayo’s “Down On My Knees” fifty times during one particular revision. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the triangulation of love quite so plaintive and naked as in this, now favorite, song.

On the other end of the scale, from the perfect-love-moment songs, nothing beats “Come Rain or Come Shine” sung by the great Ray Charles. It’s ‘our song’ and it’s the one I listened to in a loop of stunned-new-love when I met my husband.

BEST BOOK: As reading is close to breathing for me, this is a tough category--but there are two books by a single author that come to mind, so let’s call them twins and include them both. Before and After by Rosellen Brown asks what if your love of your child collides with your moral code—which side will you fall on? And what if this internal battle is also a battle with your husband—the father of your son. Brown does a brilliant job turning the prism of the family to catch the light bending with each character. Tender Mercies breaks your heart, and it breaks it without adornment or fancy footwork. The story of a man who severely injures his wife through an accident of bravado, told from his point of view, explores with the brightest of lights the inside of a marriage after tragedy.

BEST MOVIE: Examining the top four from which I chose (Terms of Endearment, Slap Shot, Schindler’s List, and The Princess Bride) I see how I flip from genre to genre: where is the connective tissue here?) Picking one, I’ll say Schindler’s List.

I was asked by a Holocaust survivor to attend the Boston premiere of this movie. The invitation-only audience was largely made up of survivors and their family. When the curtain closed on this powerful film, the audience was silent but for the sobs. No one stood for at least fifteen minutes. The ability of a filmmaker to use the medium to completely capture an audience, while also bearing witness to history, has no better example than Steven Spielberg.

BEST MOMENT: In the movie of my life, watching kids dance the ‘Electric Slide’ to “Electric Boogie” at Thompson’s Island, a small island off Boston’s shore, was a moment of unmitigated joy. For three years I co-ran an event that brought over 1,000 children together (by bus and boat,) from every neighborhood in Boston—an extraordinarily diverse event for a sometimes over-boundaried city. At the time, the song and dance was gaining traction and when it came up on the loudspeaker (at this huge meadow) kids ranging from ages 7-17 came from everywhere on the field and slipped into lines. There had been no instructions, no exhortations to come dance—it simply happened. The adults followed the Pied Piper children. As though we were part of some spectacular version of West Side Story everyone came together in a magical dance, and unlike the movie, it was only followed by love and laughter.

I only wish smartphones were around then—because it would have ended up on Youtube and the kids could have seen themselves.

BEST ADVICE:  If my children follow any advice that I hold close, I hope it is this: Treat others according to the highest standards to which you want to hold yourself, not based on how they treat you.

When my grandmother was 97, I asked her what she would consider the most important piece of advice. “Be nice,” she said. You can’t argue with that, right?

Thanks, Randy!

Welcome to the Brand Spankin' New Chick Lit is Not Dead!

Extreme Makeover: CLIND!

Do you like it? (Please, say you do!)

Happy 4th birthday to Chick Lit Is Not Dead!

It's been a roller coaster ride these past four years, and we've loved every minute of it.  And you know what else we love?  YOU GUYS.  Y'all are the best.  Without you, well, we'd just be two lameass girls talking to ourselves.

And it's not just a new look here at CLIND--we've got all kinds of new features too!  Of course, we'll still be interviewing all of your favorite authors and whoring it up with giveaways, but we'll also be talking some shit and taking you with us on our (still very surreal) road to publication.  In our new feature, On Our Radar, we'll tell you what we're loving at the moment--anything from books to movies to twitter hashtags. We'll also be tackling something outside of our comfort zone for 24 HOURS (think: no nagging or no technology!). Remember Liz vs. Lisa and  On The Soapbox?  They're baccckkkk! And that's not all! We'll be checking in with some of our favorite websites with our new Blog of the Month feature. And, last but not least, we'll keep you in the loop on our writing drama with Diary of a Debut.

Other fun things to check out?  If you scroll down, you'll find some inspirational quotes we love. And we've detailed our L&L history and found some old pics that we've posted over at the About Liz & Lisa page.  We've also streamlined our submissions process--make sure you check out the Contact if you want your book or blog profiled on CLIND.

Thankful....

We'd like to give a HUGE shout out to our web designers, Betsy Cohen and her team at Positive Element.  It's not an understatement to say we were HUGE pains in the asses(Who knew it was so hard to choose a font?) to work with on this redesign and they couldn't have been more patient, understanding or professional.  Thank you!

Also, we want to thank YOU.  Who knew, four years ago, when we didn't even understand how to log onto WordPress properly or what the hell a SEO search was, that we'd be here today? It's all because of YOU.  YOU make this fun for us.

Of course there's a COOL giveaway...duh!

To celebrate our fourth year, we're giving away FOUR books.  But not random books.  FOUR books off YOUR wish list. If you win, you'll send us a list of ANY four you'd like and we'll order them for you.  HOW RAD IS THAT?

But to enter, we need you to do a little somethin' somethin' for us.  See all those social media icons up top?  We'll give you one entry for EACH site where you follow us.  Just leave a comment and let us know where you're giving us the love. Got it?  Follow us at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram--that is FOUR entries! If you already follow us on any of these sites, just tell us that in the comments and you'll still be entered!  Haven't clicked follow yet?  Then get your booty over there! (pretty please!)

We'll choose the lucky winner after February 10th at noon PST.

So, are you ready to raise a toast? *clinks glasses*  Here's to a freakin' awesome 2013! 

Ali McNamara book giveaway!

Hi, y'all. T.G.I.F! We're excited to share a great giveaway with you! Today's featured author: Ali McNamara

Why we love her: Reading her books feels like curling up on the couch and watching your favorite rom-com.

Her latest: From Notting Hill With Love Actually

The scoop: She was a girl, standing in front of a boy...Movie fanatic Scarlett O'Brien dreams of a life as glamorous and romantic as all the big screen flicks she worships. When a chance house-sitting job in iconic Notting Hill comes along, she knows living in one of her favorite movie settings is an opportunity too good to pass up.

Leaving behind her skeptical friends, family, and fiance, Scarlett heads to London and finds herself thrust into the lead role of her very own romantic comedy. But can real life ever be just like the movies? Larger-than-life new friends, a handsome but irksome new neighbor, and a mystery from her past may prove to Scarlett that living her life like a RomCom is more complicated than she thought!

Our thoughts: What's not to love about this entertaining novel that reminds us of all the romantic comedies we love?

Giveaway: 5 copies! Just leave a comment, sharing your favorite romantic comedy, and you'll be entered to win. We'll select the winners after 3pm PST on Sunday, February 3rd.

Where you can read more about Ali: Her website, Twitter and Facebook.

xoxo, Liz & Lisa

Diary of a Debut: 5 reasons to have a writing retreat in Vegas

We're still pinching ourselves that our book is going to be published by Simon & Schuster/Atria Books next year. As Lisa's two-year-old would say, O-M-G. As Lisa and Liz would say O-M-EFFING-G. Did we mention EFFING? So there we were. Sin City. Lisa with her Beats by Dr. Dre hugging her ears and Liz with her shiny new Macbook air polished and ready to go. Lisa with her never-before-listened-to-but-oh-so-perfectly-planned-writing retreat-playlist filled with umpteen songs to inspire her but who would only end up playing Undermine from Nashville(SUCH a great show!) on repeat for thirty-six hours instead. Liz with her gossip magazines scattered about for "research." (Stars without make up can be very motivating!) Both trying not to think about the dinging of the slot machines thirty-seven stories below.

The screams of people winning at the craps table. The multiple bars with cocktails at the ready. You see, we might now have a dream agent. We might now have a dream publishing deal. We might now be living the dream of writing our second novel. But...

We are also moms. Moms who NEVER GET OUT.  Moms who, after seeing multiple bachelor parties streaming through the lobby as they checked into Mandalay Bay, had to exercise MAJUH will power  in order to stay in their room and meet their word count goal. And you know what? Not only did we meet that number (and then some!), but we'd do it all over again (well maybe not the sharing a bed part--more on that in a minute!).

And so begins our Diary of a Debut--the online journal chronicling our road to publication. We'll also be snapping photos along the way and sharing them on Instagram. (Follow us there: LisaandLiz.)

And of course we have a GIVEAWAY. Leave a comment and be entered to win a bundle of 15 *surprise* books! We'll select the winner this Sunday, January 20th after 3pm PST.

5 REASONS TO HAVE A WRITING RETREAT IN LAS VEGAS

1. You could get randomly upgraded to gigantic suite so large that you wonder if Mike Tyson, a tiger--or God willing--Bradley Cooper-- will round the corner at any moment. And while neither of us woke up with a missing tooth or a baby in our safe, we did have quite an adventure. Dedicated to our craft and feeling palpable pressure to perform, we spent the entire time in one small corner of the suite. Why? Because that's where the only desk was located, of course. Apparently, most people don't come to Vegas to write. The 12 flat screen TVs unwatched, the second and third bathroom unused, the minibar *sniffle* untouched, we pecked away at novel number two. (Check out the view from our room in the pic!)

What Lisa learned: JUST SAY NO when you get upgraded to a palatial room with a steamer shower (gotta get me one of those!) and an incredible view of the Vegas strip--only before seen through the eyes of a doe-eyed girl vying for a rose on The Bachelor, when you are told that there is only ONE bed that you're going to have to SHARE.  Lisa, with her ear plugs secured tightly is ready to get her first full-night of uninterrupted sleep in months was awakened every hour by Liz, who was tossing and turning because she couldn't sleep through the noise of the elevator shaft nearby and drunk ass people stumbling back to their rooms. #getLizearplugsforchristmas

2. When you need to take a "break" the people watching alone is enough to inspire the next three books Let's just say being holed up in a room--albeit 2500 square feet large--can get claustrophobic. (Bradley Cooper still hasn't shown up! And this has nothing to do with anything, but did you know he's fluent in French?  ) The walls start to close in when the pressure to write that book your aforementioned dream editor and agent are hopefully going to swoon over, when that pressure is so overwhelming you seriously consider chucking that MacBook Air into the jacuzzi tub, heading down to the casino and ordering a bloody mary (extra spicy, please!) instead. But you don't--mostly because one of you (ahem, Lisa) is a nazi and has imposed a strict rule: we cannot even breathe in the stale smoky air of the casino until we've met our word count goal. But because she's not a totally meanie and, at one point, suffered from a case of writer's block so bad she wondered if she had in fact switched bodies with a qualified author while writing THE TOAST, gives in and allows you to take a break and stroll through the casino. Stroll.

Not stop. Not sit. Not order. And so we head downstairs in our sweat pants (because if you wear something cute who knows what could happen?) but immediately curse ourselves when the first encounter we have  is with two smokin' hot guys who also happen to write for Esquire magazine. And despite the sweats--or maybe in spite of them--we still get our flirt on because maybe they'll write about our book! #flirtinginsweatpantssucks

3. Getting carded can inspire 5,000 words Before you fall into (a shared!) bed after a long day of writing, you might just be inspired by the encounter with the Esquire guys and change into something sassy. And you might just make your way back down to the bar for a nightcap (or two). And when you do, you might nearly fall off your bar stool when you are asked for an ID. Did we even bring them down with us? we bemused, rifling through our purses.  Turns out, getting carded can be quite inspirational! After celebrating plowing through the first day, only breaking for Starbucks, we wrote 5,000 more words. (Who cares that the bartender was probably required to inspect the drivers license of anyone who appeared to be under 50.) #we'lltakeit

4. Room service never tasted so good--not!  In an unexpected twist, the gluten gestapo (a.k.a. Liz) joined us on our writing retreat. Apparently, just before heading to Vegas, she decided that she was no longer going to consume wheat. And neither was anyone around her! Cut to the first time we order room service. Two cobb salads, please. The salads arrive, looking delicious. But so did the bag of warm bread that came with them. Lisa reaches out to grab one, and her hand is instantly batted away. "You can go ahead and take that," Liz says to the server. Lisa watches the bread basket leave, tears in her eyes. They couldn't drink. They couldn't gamble. And now they couldn't even have bread? And don't even get her started on the gluten free waffles that were consumed. Good thing we are in Vegas and the food choices are endless. There may or may not have been a secret hamburger WITH THE BUN consumed when Liz wasn't looking. #wheatbellyisunattractive

5. After you meet your writing goal, dancing like you're 21 again never felt so good.  The reason we were in Vegas was not just for a writing retreat. Liz was also hosting her hubs 40th birthday party there later that week.  So we decided to arrive early, write, then drink our faces off! And party we did. Let's just say we cleared out the dance floor, (and not in a good way) our arms flailing, sipping from our drinks, dancing to remixed versions of songs by MC Hammer and Ace of Base that the horrified twenty-somethings looking on had never heard of. No matter that we were celebrating like we'd finished our second book, not just made a dent in it! #anyreasontohaveacocktail

As far as what happened next? I think the sign proudly displayed on the inside of Lisa's Spirit Airlines plane said it best: Vacuum sealed to hold all Vegas Secrets

THANK YOU for taking this journey with us. We couldn't do it with out you! Here's to the next 55,000 words!

xoxo, Liz & Lisa

2013 Club: Elizabeth LaBan and THE TRAGEDY PAPER

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! *blows horn and gulps champagne* We are so excited to kick off the new year with a brand spankin' new feature! The 2013 Club will showcase all the best and brightest debut authors of the year. Because, we know y'all love discovering great new authors as much as we do! 

Our guest today:Elizabeth LaBan

Why she rocks: Her writing will suck you in from page one!

Her debut: The Tragedy Paper

The scoop on it: It follows the story of Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.

Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their secrets.

Our thoughts: Another great YA novel that's not just for teens.  We love it!

Giveaway: FIVE copies!  Leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on January 13th after 3pm PST.

Fun Fact: Our writer crush Jen Weiner loved The Tragedy Paper too, saying it was a "A beguiling and beautifully written tale of first love and heartbreak."

Where you can read more about Elizabeth: Her website, Facebook and Twitter.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...2013 CLUB: ELIZABETH LABAN

DO'S: 3 things every aspiring novelist should do... Write a lot, read a lot, and go out into the world to find all the great and crazy stories.

DON'TS: 3 things every aspiring novelist shouldn't do... Give up, take rejections personally, or over-edit themselves.

MUST HAVES: On your desk? I work at my dining room table and it is always a mess. The only thing I must have is my laptop computer – which is usually surrounded by piles and piles of junk.

On your Facebook feed? There isn’t really anything I must have here, just my news feed. I like to see what everyone is up to, how their kids are, and what people are cooking for dinner.

App on your phone? I just installed Twitter – I love it!

LASTS: Song you listened to on repeat? I must confess, I listen to my 13-year-old daughter’s iPod. The two songs I have been listening to over and over are Some Nights by Fun. and Home by Phillip Phillips – don’t tell anyone.

Book you read? I am just finishing a book by Jacob Tomsky called Heads in Beds – a memoir about the hotel industry. It promises to let you in on lots of secrets about how hotels are run and how guests can get extra stuff. I love hotels, and I love that sort of thing, so I am really enjoying it.

Time you laughed? Last night my kids and I were laughing really hard. My daughter’s name is Alice and for some reason Alice Cooper came up. I said, very seriously, “Is Alice a boy’s name, too?” My daughter said matter-of-factly, “Shouldn’t you have looked into that already?” We were laughing so hard my husband had to come up and see what was going on.

HOW MANY: Agents did you query before you found "the one?" I’ve never told anybody this (I mean that!) but I queried about 50 agents before I found my wonderful, loyal, never-tiring agent Uwe Stender.

Hours do you write per day? That varies greatly. I am not someone who writes every day for a certain amount of time. Some days I don’t write at all. Lately, for example, I have not written much because I’m trying to help get the word out about The Tragedy Paper and my mother has been in and out of the hospital – so it’s been busy. But there was one weekend in November when I had a burst of excitement over the next novel I hope to write. I wrote for hours. I couldn’t drag myself away from the computer. I drove my family crazy. I’m waiting for another burst like that.

Minutes a day do you waste online when you should be writing? Maybe thirty or forty-five. I probably do what everyone does – turn on my computer, briefly glance at the top news stories, go through my Facebook news feed to see what people are talking about. (That can sometimes spin my day out of control. The other morning, for example, one mom said her kid and lots of others at our school had strep throat but didn’t have many symptoms. My daughter was a little under the weather so I had to call the doctor, whose office was closed, then find an urgent care center we could go to to get tested. By the time we were set to leave she felt much better, so we didn’t go, but we’d wasted a good hour or so). I also glance at Twitter, of course, and sometimes check Amazon to see the rating of my published nonfiction book and my not-yet-published novel. You know what? I want to amend that estimate of time wasted and change it to three to four hours!

BESTS: Way to celebrate a book deal? I had been trying to sell a novel for a long time. The Tragedy Paper is the fourth novel I’ve written, and the first one to be published – so we started talking about going to a particular, wonderful, Thai place when I got an offer a very long time ago. The problem was, by the time I finally got an offer, that restaurant was closed. So we went to a great sushi restaurant instead.

Trick to overcome writer's block? Get up and walk around, talk to your kids if you have any, or just talk to someone, anyone. They might give you a good idea for a next scene.

Way to think of a book idea? Brainstorm with people, and, if that doesn’t work, think about what you would like to read. I find book ideas come to life for me without my even realizing it. Something will click and then EVERYTHING suddenly seems like it will fit in the new book – I am constantly saying, “That would be a good scene in the book,” or “I have to write that down so I can remember it.”

NEXTS: Show you'll DVR? Parenthood – my absolute favorite. And the new season of Girls on HBO.

Book you'll read? Every Day by David Levithan.

Book you'll write? Another young adult book – it’s starting to form, I am starting to think everything my daughter does would be a good scene in the book (that’s how I know it is taking shape!). I’m not ready to talk details yet. I wrote those first few chapters last month, but now I’m waiting to be taken over again with that amazing, all-consuming need to write!

Thanks, Elizabeth!  xoxo, L&L

7 Holiday questions for Samantha March

Ebook week continues with the fabulous Samantha March of Chick Lit Plus. She's here to dish on her new book, THE GREEN TICKET and answer some of our "hard-hitting" holiday questions! Featured eBook: The Green Ticket by Samantha March

Cost:$3.99

Giveaway: TWO copies! Leave a comment and we’ll choose a winner after 3pm on December 23rd.

The scoop: College junior Alex Abrams scores her dream job at the ripe age of twenty – manager to a successful salon and spa. Thrilled to finally have a real adult job, Alex enthusiastically jumps into the world of schedules, conference calls, and getting a massage when interviewing prospective employees. What she doesn’t expect are the very grown-up issues that comes with a demanding boss. Kevin Dohlman quickly becomes Alex’s worse nightmare – covering up his affairs, dealing with his enormous ego, and trying to protect her female staff from him becomes a full-time job in its own right. Alex has also befriended Kevin’s wife and co-owner, Dani, and is trying to keep Kevin’s secrets hidden from her. The situation only worsens when Kevin starts paying Alex off to make sure she keeps her insider knowledge to herself.

While struggling to keep her wits and stay happy with her new grown-up job, Alex is juggling college courses, a new love interest, and keeping up with her close group of girlfriends. When her roommate and best friend Lila gets offered an opportunity to move to Los Angeles and sign with an agent, Alex realizes her life truly is changing, and everyone around her – including herself --is growing up. Knowing she is faced with some hard decisions ahead, Alex struggles with keeping her job at Blissful. But does she really want to throw away what she dreamed of as a career – or will the secret-keeping for Kevin become too much to handle? The Green Ticket is a story about morals versus money, and how one young woman navigates the shaky line between the two.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...7 HOLIDAY QUESTIONS FOR SAMANTHA MARCH

1. Who do you think will most want to receive THE GREEN TICKET as a gift this year?

Hmm, now I’m trying to decide if you mean my book or...money! Since the big Powerball was just drawn the other night, that seems to still be the only thing on everyone’s mind – including my own! Seriously – what would one do with 500 MILLION dollars?! Back to the question – for the book I’d say my mom, for the money – probably Lindsay Lohan. I hear she’s having trouble paying her taxes. Darn shame.

2. What books are you giving as gifts this year?

Quite a few! To name some : THE GREEN TICKET (obvs!) BREAKING THE RULES by Cat Lavoie (fab!) DOGS HAVE ANGELS TOO by Sarah Cavallaro (so sweet!) and DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW by Joanna Trollope (for my mom!).

3. What's the next book you'll curl up by the fire with?

PASS THE HOT STUFF by Dana Page

4. Scrooge or The Grinch?

The Grinch!

5. Peppermint martini or hot cocoa?

Hot cocoa – with plenty of marshmallows!

6. Home Alone or Miracle on 34th Street?

Home Alone!

7. What's the #1 thing you're looking forward to in 2013?

My wedding :)

Congrats, Samantha! xoxo, Liz & Lisa

Kaira Rouda's 5 BEST THINGS ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS

Today's guest: Kaira Rouda Why we love her: She writes from the heart! We love that.

Her latest: Here, Home, Hope and All the Difference

The scoop on Here Home Hope: Kelly Johnson becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her middling middle-American existence and her neighbors' seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding. But Kelly's own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan.

From page one, Kelly's witty reflections, self-deprecating humor, and clever tactics in executing that plan--she places Post-it notes all over her house and car--will have readers laughing out loud. The next instant, however, they might rant right along with Kelly as her commitment to a sullen, anorexic teenager left on her doorstep tries her patience or as she deflects the boozy advances of a divorced neighbor. Readers will need to keep the tissue box handy, too, as Kelly repairs the damage she inflicted on a high school friend; realizes how deeply her husband, Patrick, understands and loves her; and ultimately grows into a woman empowered by her own blend of home and career.

Award-winning Here, Home, Hope will surely appeal to readers of chick lit and other women's fiction titles who are ready to transition into something new in their own life.

The scoop on All the Difference: From the bestselling author of HERE, HOME, HOPE, comes a novel of suspense and choices, with a nod to the best of Susan Isaacs's tales of suburban murder. Once again, everything isn't what it seems in the suburb of Grandville. ALL THE DIFFERENCE is the story of three Grandville women whose lives become entangled by the choices they make and how, ultimately, one of them turns to murder to achieve her goals. Roommates Laura and Angie couldn't be more different. Laura is a local celebrity, the television anchor who is motivated to move out of small-time media markets and on to the big time, no matter the cost. Meanwhile, Angie, a luckless waitress, spends her time waiting for Mr. Right to save her from temporary jobs and a life spent making bad choices. On the other side of town, Ellen abandons her life as a successful fundraiser for that of an isolated housewife in the country estate she shares with her husband, whose affairs become increasingly hard to ignore. When the city’s gossip columnist, Maddie, and restaurant reviewer, Dixon, become involved in the story, the unlikely duo stir up more than they intended. With her signature mix of compassion and wit, Kaira Rouda once again takes readers on an entertaining journey into the heart of women’s lives in suburbia, this time with a dose of suspense.

Our thoughts: Both of these highly entertaining books are only .99 from now through December 31st. It's a no-brainer!

Giveaway:Two copies of Here, Home, Hope and two copies of All the Difference. Just leave a comment and be entered to win. We'll randomly select the winners on Sunday, December 16 after 3pm PST.

Fun fact: Another GIVEAWAY ALERT!! Are you feeling Naughty or Nice? Doesn’t matter, with this giveaway, you could win a prize to make both sides happy!

To have a little fun with the holidays, Kaira “asked” a leading lady from each of her two novels what she would pick for a Holiday giveaway prize.  Kelly, the protagonist of HERE, HOME, HOPE, is represented by the “Nice” gifts.  Ellen, one of the stars of ALL THE DIFFERENCE, made the special “Naughty” selections. To win this amazing prize, please visit Kaira’s Facebook author page or her website’s blog and sign up. The giveaway is open to US and Canada residents. Good luck!

Wait, there’s more!

As a special holiday gift for everyone, HERE, HOME, HOPE and ALL THE DIFFERENCE are 99 cents for your eReader now through December 31^st so if you haven’t had a chance to read both of Kaira’s novels, now you can!

Where you can read more about Kaira: Facebook, Twitter and her website

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...KAIRA ROUDA'S 5 BEST THINGS ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS

Thank you so much Liz and Lisa! I was thrilled to be asked to write about my five favorite things about the holidays! I’m a proudly expressive Christmas celebrator, and I look forward to this month with the glee of a child. Why? Well, I’ll try to keep it to five reasons:

1. Cards. I love to receive Christmas/Holiday cards. It fills me with such happiness when the mail arrives and in it I see festive return labels, red ink addresses and funky, fun-sized envelopes. Every year, since my first child was born and continuing to today (actually last weekend), we make it a family tradition to take photos and come up with themes. Now that the kids are 21, 19, 18 and 16, it’s tougher to be original. We’ve pumped out 20 years of fairly clever, heartfelt cards, if I do say so myself. This year I considered doing Six Shades of Gray….but the kids weren’t too sure about that. (Nothing naughty, simply all six of us wearing different shades of gray!) Instead, I’m working on a different theme and hope to have them in the mail soon. I also hope, even though we’ve moved several times in the past few years, that I’ll be blessed by a burgeoning mailbox!

2. Decorations. I counted 27 green and red plastic tubs in our storage unit just before my husband and I began to cart them out to our car to take home. This year, I’m using about a third of our stash to decorate. When we lived in the Midwest, we had a bigger house. That’s just how it is. Ohio house = 27-tubs to decorate. California house = 9 tubs. My favorite element of the decorations is the Christmas tree itself, and of the ornaments adorning it, my favorites are the ones the kids made through the years. I love opening the ornament boxes and pulling out memories. It’s such a magical feeling. I try to get the tree decorated early, so I can bask in the glow of its lights and memories all December.

3. Good cheer. People are happier. Truly. Ok, not people are miserable at hot, overcrowded malls, but aside from that, the holidays make folks merry and bright. There are more toasts, more parties, more sparkles on women’s dresses and in their eyes. Sure, we’re all extra busy and more exhausted, but somehow, that doesn’t negate the smiles and wishes of “Happy Holidays”. What could be better? Remind yourself if you’re in a grumpy mood to fake it until you feel it. And if you see a grump headed your way, give him a smile. My favorite saying: A smile confuses an approaching frown. It works!

4. Lights. We are so lucky to live in Laguna Beach, a resort town that goes all out to celebrate the season. Santa’s Beach House opens in the village the first Friday of December and a big party celebrates his arrival. Stores and restaurants stay open late and the happy energy is tangible. I love the bee lights decorating almost every tree and store front. The entire village looks like a postcard of the perfect Christmas town, minus the snow, thank goodness!

5. Time together with our family’s traditions. The best thing about the holidays is the luxury of time with my family. We have such a blast – playing board games, sharing meals, opening gifts, telling stories, hugging, teasing each other. Well, you know. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

I know you have your own list of favorite things about the holidays! Remember, even with the bustle, to stop and appreciate the moments.  In the end, those special memories are truly the gift of the season.

Thanks, Kaira!

xoxo, Liz & Lisa

Lisa's Favorite books of 2012

Echoing what Liz said yesterday, there have been so many awesome books this year. In fact, let's have a round of applause for the fabulous novels and memoirs we were so lucky to devour! But because there was such a long list of exciting reads, selecting only a handful of my favorites was so not easy. (It made the past two weeks of dealing with my sick toddler waking up at all hours suddenly seem like a cinch).  So here goes...

And hey, we want to hear what books you LOVED in 2012.  Don’t forget to leave a comment and let us know!

1. The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch I instantly fell in love with Nell, who loses her memory after being one of two survivors of a horrific plane crash.  She must then attempt to navigate the stories that her loved ones are telling her about herself and her past--stories that aren't exactly adding up.  Nell not only must figure out who she was, but who she is going to be as she moves forward. The Song Remains The Same (coming out in paperback on December 31 with this fabulous new cover) is my fave from Allison thus far, a sparkling page-turner that I was not able to put down.

2. Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio  This is not only one of my favorite books of the year, but it's also my favorite Sarah Jio book so far (she's written two others). It's a powerful and emotional story of two women who've never met, but are connected in unimaginable ways. In 1933, single mother Vera Ray loses her son the night of late-season snowstorm in Seattle--a cold-weather phenomenon called Blackberry Winter. Almost eighty years later, Seattle Herald reporter, Claire Aldridge, is assigned to cover a similar snowstorm that hits in May and learns of the unsolved abduction of Vera's son. She vows to find out what happened... Warning: Once you pick it up, will not be able to put this New York Times bestseller down. As you turn the pages, it's one unexpected twist after another right up until the shocking ending. (PS: Jio's upcoming novel, The Last Camellia, is out May 28, 2013. I cannot wait to read it!)

3. Jeneration X by Jen Lancaster This is hands down, Lancaster's funniest memoir yet. Not to mention the most hilarious book I read this year. (And yes, I'm more than a little in love with her sense of humor!) From the full title of her book alone,  Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult's Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development; Or, Why It's Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Froot Loops Are Not for Dinner, you know it's going to be a highly-entertaining page-turner. But it's the comedic tales she shares that suck you in for a wild ride as you hungrily devour chapter after chapter of her witty moments. This book appeals to all, but in particular the Gen Xer (ahem, me!), who will laugh and relate as Lancaster explores what it means to finally decide to grow up — sort of. I particularly enjoyed the stories about perimenopause and a home waxing kit. (PS: I've already read Jen's upcoming novel, Here I Go Again, out January 29, 2013, and it's fabulous!)

4. These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen Ah, Sarah Pekkanen. Where do I begin? Her books always top my favorite lists because she is such a brilliant writer. I swear she can give you the full picture of who a character is in just a few words. That's talent! So not surprisingly, what I love most about These Girls are the three main characters, roommates Cate, Renee and Abby. Cate has just been promoted to the editor of a fashion magazine but quickly realizes her new job comes with as many problems as perks. Renee, who is vying for a promotion of her own at the same magazine, turns to a bottle of diet pills after she overhears snide comments about her weight. And Abby is their newest roommate who is tight-lipped about what caused her to flee her nanny job in the suburbs. And as these girls help each other bring their truths to light and overcome their personal battles, I was reminded of the power of female friendships.  (PS: I've just finished Sarah's next book, The Best of Us, coming out April 9, 2013, and she nailed it--uh gain.)

5. Outside the Lines by Amy Hatvany This is one of the most moving and thought-provoking books I read this year. Hatvany is a beautiful writer and proves her skill, once again, at tackling tough subjects. In Outside the Lines, Eden searches for her father who left her two decades before, when she was just 10 years old.  After a series of failed romances and health scare from her mother, she knows it's time to face the emotions she's had bottled up all this time. Her journey to find her father, who she isn't even sure wants to be found, had me on the edge of my seat as I flipped the pages wondering how the story would end. (PS:My next read will be is Amy's upcoming book, A Heart Like Mine, out on March 19, 2013! The buzz? It's sensational!)

Man Candy bonus pick!

The 500 by Matthew Quirk (Because we read great books by men too!) This book is a complete departure from the novels I usually gravitate toward.  In the vein of John Grisham's The Firm, I was gripped from page one and felt more like I was watching an action movie than reading a story (in a good way). Mike Ford lands his dream job at Washington's most powerful consulting firm which turns out to be a world filled with lies, cheating and stealing. While rubbing shoulders with "the 500," the group of elite men and women who really run Washington, Ford is expected to join in on the fun. But even though he comes from a world of con men, he isn't sure he's cut out for the job. Can't wait to find out what's up next for this debut author.

xoxo, Lisa

Liz's Favorite books of 2012

There were a ton of great books in 2012.  So many, in fact, that Lisa and I had hard time narrowing them down, not to mention the fact we had a good ol' girlfight over who got which ones! (She'll share her 2012 faves tomorrow...) Besides the bestselling authors we already know are wonderful, I also chose three debuts that you may not have heard of.  Because who doesn't love discovering a fab new author?!

The books listed here are the ones that I couldn't put down, that I couldn't wait to get back to, that had characters that I was thinking about(and in some cases dreaming about!) long after I was finished.  These books were my favorite of the year. And girlfrin', I read a lot!

And hey-we want to hear what books you LOVED in 2012.  Don't forget to leave a comment and let us know!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LIZ'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2012

1. Ten Girls to Watch by Charity Shumway Not gonna lie--Shumway had me from page one with her fresh and dynamic narrative.  This could have been just another story about a girl trying to make it in the Big Apple, but she made it an engaging page turner about Dawn. When she's tasked to track down the past winners of Charm Magazine's Ten Girls To Watch, she ends up discovering a few things about herself through the exceptional women she's researching. And don't even get me started on how she got the job in the first place! (her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend gets her the gig...) Do yourself a favor and pick up this lovely debut!

2.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn So, I almost didn't put this one on the list.  Not because it wasn't effing fantastic(because it was!), but because it's already received so much press this year and topped so many "best of" lists.  But, there was just NO WAY I could skip highlighting this haunting tale about two of the most effed up people you will ever meet.  Gone Girl, which is about a woman who goes missing on her five year wedding anniversary, is absolutely brilliant.  I couldn't get the book out of my head for days after finishing(and even had a few nutty dreams about it...) If you haven't read it yet, you need to RUN, not walk to your nearest bookstore and pick up a copy. Seriously.

3. I Have Iraq In My Shoe by Gretchen Berg Attention, my fellow SATC fans.  You are going to love the sh*t out of this memoir! When Gretchen, a shoe-loving fashionista gets a job teaching English in Iraq to pay off her mounting credit card debt, she has no idea what she's in for. Berg had me cheering her on as she navigated a completely new culture that didn't seem to wear deodorant or appreciate her keen sense of style. SO smartly written and freakin' hilarious, I promise that you'll fall in love with Gretchen on page one. Sometimes, memoirs can lose their steam in the middle, but I Have Iraq in My Shoe had me engaged from beginning to end.

4. Point, Click, Love by Molly Shapiro Another fresh debut! I loved the sparkling narrative in this novel about four Midwestern friends who are each trying (and in some cases failing) to navigate the online and social networking world.  Kate's realizing that online dating might not be all it's cracked up to be. Anne is stalking her possible sperm donor. (long story!) Maxine obsesses over celebrity gossip to distract her from the cracks in her marriage. And Claudia resents the hell out of how much time her husband spends on Facebook. What makes this book special? The way Shapiro weaves their stories beautifully with her sharp writing.  I couldn't put it down!

5.  The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner Oh, how I loved this book! When Ruth(who headed to LA six years prior with her sassy grandmother in tow) hits the Hollywood lottery and gets the green light on the show she's written, she can't wait to become the next Shonda Grimes.  But when the reality of how things really get done in Tinseltown sets in, she realizes that she may be in over her head. And did I mention she has a huge freakin' crush on her boss? I loved the insider details Weiner included, having just come off her own Hollywood story. This story leaped off the page and I raced to the end.  For me, this was my favorite of hers since Good in Bed. (Which, for the record is on the short list for my ALL-TIME fave books!)

YA Bonus Pick!

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman  I was on a business trip when I opened this book on my iPad.  THREE hours later, I had the run the battery down devouring this charming tale about Audrey, a witch-in-training who has to get it together when her mother goes missing under mysterious circumstances.  Audrey has her own teenage problems to deal with as she attempts to get her powers up to speed before everything is destroyed by someone from her mother's past.  Fun, light and absolutely addicting, I can't wait for the next book in this series!

xo, Liz

The Giving Challenge

Liz here. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling especially thankful this year. I made a leap of faith and didn't fall on my ass.  My publishing dreams are on the cusp of coming true--with my best friend!  My family is healthy.  And we've got fabulous readers like y'all who swing by and tell us what's on your mind. Really, I couldn't ask for more. I'm a true believer that the more you give, the more you'll get back. Maybe that's why that I can't pass the person holding the sign on the side of the road without offering something--I've probably unknowingly bought more crack than anyone I know, but hey, my intentions are always good.

Each holiday, the adults in my family donate money rather than exchange gifts.  This year, we adopted a family through a fantastic foundation called Megan's Wings.  They help out families who have a child with cancer--gifts for the children, gas cards to drive to the treatments, etc. And as we perused the aisles of Target shopping for this Spiderman-loving four year old who was battling cancer, all the things that I thought I just had to have didn't seem so important anymore.  I would have bought the whole store for that little guy and his mom if I could. That feeling of giving back was better than any gift I could open. (Unless it was that big ass Louis Vuitton bag I've been eying for several years, that would feel really rad too...Mike Fenton, are you listening?!)

But please, don't think I'm getting on my giving high horse.  I can be just as selfish as the next person--I literally had an out-of-body experience the last time I stepped into Anthropologie. (Why does all their stuff have to be so...soft? and quirky? and perfect?!) But I'm trying, really trying, to push myself to give more than I think I can each year. And to push my kids to do the same thing. Because as much as I'd love for them to grow up to be superstar athletes that work part time as rocket scientists(in the off season, of course), the most important thing I want them to learn is to be kind.

Are y'all up for a challenge? Do one good deed this holiday season--maybe it's adopting a family, or maybe something simple like buying Starbucks for the person behind you in line. Maybe you offered to help someone carry groceries to their car or dropped off some toys to your local home for foster children. Do ONE good deed and come back and tell me about it here.

Once you come back and let me know what you've done(and if it's a charity, share that too so others can discover them!), and I'll enter you to win one of FOUR $25 Amazon gift cards. Oh, and tell your friends too! Let's make this a movement.  And if anyone can do that, it's a bunch of Type-A beyotches like us.

I'll choose the winners in a random drawing on January 1st after 10am. That means you have ALL MONTH to get your shit together and do something nice.  I know you can do it.

Ready...Set...GO DO GOOD!

xoxo, Liz

Sarah Pekkanen's Beginning Again

Y'all know how much we love Sarah P, right? And not just because she was the very first author we interviewed on CLIND. We just love her insightful, sweet and heartfelt novels, not to mention the fact that's she's a ridiculously kind and generous person.  And know what else we love?  The fabulous novellas that she gives us in-between--because girlfrin' knows we can't wait until 2013 for The Best of Us! (Which, btw, is her best yet, you are going to L-O-V-E it!)

So obviously, we're totally stoked that her latest novella, Beginning Again is out TOMORROW.

Here's the scoop on it: Things have always gone perfectly for Corrine Brown—until now. She’s separated from her husband of less than three years, and going solo to her baby sister’s wedding in Minnesota. As happy as she is for Ilsa, the weekend is long and lonely, and she’s eager to get back to her life in LA…until she realizes that her life, as she’s known it, is over. Forced to reinvent herself just when she thought was finally settled, Corrine soon learns that sometimes, the most rewarding adventures are the ones that we least expect.

A continuation of the original short e-stories All Is Bright and Love, Accidentally, but told from the point of view of a new character, Beginning Again is a heartfelt take on what happens when one happily ever after fades—and another begins.

Sounds juicy!  And the best part?  IT'S ONLY .99! Yes, you heard that right.  Less than that big ol' bag of popcorn your kids always bug you for while at Target!  So go grab a copy.  Now.  Don't make us beg--we promise you'll be happy you did.

xoxo, L&L