Ask Liz & Lisa: Which Came First, The Blog or the Book?

Our inbox has been fillin' up with tons of questions from y'all. THANK YOU! (Our email address is asklizandlisa@chicklitisnotdead.com) This week, we selected a question from Erin who will be winning a copy of Uncharted TerriTori by Tori Spelling! And if YOU leave a comment today, YOU'LL be entered to win a copy of The Baby Planner by Josie Brown. We'll select the winner after 6pm EST on Thursday, May 5th.

Now here's Erin's question...

Dear Liz and Lisa,

Your blog is a must read for me...though since I started following you I have this INSANE list of must-read books I fear I will never conquer! Q: what came first? this blog or your first book? how did this blog come about?

Well, Erin, first of all- you will conquer the TBR list, don't worry! (If it makes you feel any better- you should see our bookshelves!)  And unlike the whole chicken and the egg thing, your question has a very simple answer.

Our first book.

Because wayyy back when we first decided to write a novel, there were no such things as blogs because that little thing called the internet didn't even exist yet.

Yup, we're officially old.

We were still wearing boxy sorority t-shirts and high-waisted jeans (not the chic kind- the reall, really bad mom-jeans kind). And thinking about keg parties and midterm exams.

And even though we talked about writing a novel, seeing that actual book come to life was many a year in the making. It was like one of those projects that you keep putting off. And off and off. Until suddenly it's been ten years.

Yup, it took us a decade to start writing.

And finally, one of us- in this case- Lisa- said so eloquently, either we sh*t or get off the pot! And the concept of I'll Have Who She's Having was born. Although it was originally called Single Minded and had some characters that later hit the cutting room floor including a hilarious Brit named Mack.

And after we finished our labor of love, it was Liz who said we should create a website and blog.  And we won't even get into the part about how Liz had to explain to Lisa what a blog was! Oy vey! But alas, Chick Lit Is Not Dead was born. (Check out our inaugural post here. Let's just say we've come a long way!)

And two years later, another book later (The D Word- exciting announcement coming soon!) we haven't looked back! It's been more fun than we could have imagined as we've flown by the seat of our pants with really no plan other than to provide good, solid (and hopefully funny) content. And all of y'all who support us have made this all worth it. We couldn't do it without you! *cue sappy soundtrack* maybe something like That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick- and we'll try not to think about her horrible diva behavior on Celebrity Apprentice as we listen!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

Jen Lancaster's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

There's a reason why the fabulous Jen Lancaster has a bazillon-million Facebook fans.  She. Rocks!  And we're as giddy as little schoolgirls at a Justin Bieber concert about the fact that she's sharing her Do's and a Do-Over today here at CLIND! Jen's bestselling memoirs are freakin' hilarious.  Now, with If You Were Here, she makes her fiction debut and we couldn't be happier about it.  In fact, when we discovered that If You Were Herehad more John Hughes's references than a VH1 special-we were SOLD.  Because nothing makes us happier than waxing nostalgic over the movies we grew up with.  And we gotta love anyone that, like us, drooled over Jake and that damn Porsche in the movie Sixteen Candles.  Too bad our "Jake Complex" led us to make some very unfortunate dating choices growing up!  But hey, we don't know about you, but there's still a spot for him and his Porsche on our short list. *wink wink*

And we loved If You Were Here-it's a fun read that will have you LOLing in every chapter!  A perfect pick-me-up after a long week!

If You Were Here follows Amish-zombie-teen- romance author Mia and her husband Mac (and their pets) through the alternately frustrating, exciting, terrifying-but always funny-process of buying and renovating their first home in the Chicago suburbs that John Hughes's movies made famous. Along their harrowing renovation journey, Mia and Mac get caught up in various wars with the homeowners' association, meet some less-than-friendly neighbors, and are joined by a hilarious cast of supporting characters, including a celebutard ex- landlady. As they struggle to adapt to their new surroundings- with Mac taking on the renovations himself- Mia and Mac will discover if their marriage is strong enough to survive months of DIY renovations.

Sounds fun, right?  We have FIVE copies to give away!  Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win.  Doesn't get much easier than that, people.  We'll choose the winners on Friday May 6th after 6pm PST.  Good Luck!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...JEN LANCASTER'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Be prepared. No one will fight harder for what you want than you.  Doing your homework gives you the confidence to fight.  Take job hunting, for example.  When people are asked to come interview, most applicants read the employer’s website and can parrot back the company’s mission statement if asked.  But if you want this job, dig deeper.  Work harder than your competition.  Research the organization in-depth.  Read trade journals.  Gain some perspective on how this employer has the competitive advantage, or what they might need to improve it.  Become well-versed in how legislation/lobbyists are changing the corporate landscape.  Take inventory of your personal strengths and practice explaining how these skills dovetail into the organization’s very specific needs.  Yes, it’s a lot of extra effort.  But if you’re properly prepared, the employer will snap you up if for no reason other than to keep their competitors from hiring you.

2.  Be charming. The above only works if you can do it all with a genuine smile on your face.  Life is a lot like one of my favorite reality shows - Survivor.  Yeah, it’s important to excel at challenges and carry your own weight around camp, but ultimately positive social interactions win the game.  Boston Rob always goes far because he’s smart and he’s strong, but being funny and cute has been of equal importance.  (Maybe he hasn’t won the million yet, but his charm is what keeps CBS asking him back.)

3.  Embrace failure. Despite your best efforts to be both prepared and charming, bad things still happen.  Learn that failure doesn’t define you; recovering from failure does.  When I was laid off from my executive job, I thought my life was over.  Yet during my jobless tenure, I discovered that I didn’t actually like working a boring corporate desk job.  If I hadn’t failed at being an executive, I’d never have had the opportunity to pursue a more creative line of work.  To pass the long, empty days home alone, I wrote scathing blog posts about being unemployed, only to discover that the act of writing fueled me.  Documenting the story of my failure turned into writing Bitter Is the New Black and the rest is history.

4.  More Ferris, Less Cameron.  Ferris Bueller said it best – sometimes you need to take the day off.  Life does move pretty fast sometimes, and if you don’t, say, steal your dad’s vintage Ferrari to cruise around the city on occasion, you might miss it.  Goof off once in a while.  Spend a long, leisurely afternoon with Real Housewives on the TiVo and some Ben & Jerry’s.  You might be surprised at how productive you’ll be if you allow yourself a minute to recharge your batteries.

5.  Charlie Sheen is not #winning.  Ever. Despite Sheen’s deplorable behavior, there are still women out there – clever, confident, capable women – who honestly believe they can change him.  And yet his string of unhappy ex-wives and girlfriends begs to differ.  Sure, it’s always exhilarating to date the Charlies of the world, but ultimately the stress of loving a bad boy is going to break your heart and make you wrinkle prematurely.  A nice guy will give you a happily ever after whereas a bad boy will make a few unhappy months feel like an eternity.  Choose wisely – there’s only so much Botox can fix.

THE DO-OVER

Do not do it yourself. You know how your hairdresser makes a simple bang-trim look effortless?  Like, so easy that anyone could do it?  Including yourself?  And so you tried?  And had to wear a hat for a month?  You see, your stylist is a trained professional and she cuts bangs all day, every day, for fifty-plus weeks a year.  You cannot replicate this.  Do not try.  A while ago, my husband and I took this lesson to heart, only instead of cutting our own hair, we wanted to rehab a house after watching HGTV.  We rationalized, “Hey!  That’s not so hard!  We could rehab a house!  And I could write a memoir about it!”  And then I remembered the last time I cut my own bangs and those were the longest eight weeks of my life, so we didn’t buy the fixer-upper.  Instead, I let my character Mia give home renovations a whirl in my novel If You Were Here.  And when the first toilet came crashing through the ceiling in her office, I bet Mia wished she’d heeded my advice.  Leave it to the professionals.  You’ll thank me later.

To read more about the hilarious Jen Lancaster, head on over to her website or find her on Twitter and Facebook!

Thanks Jen!  xoxo, Liz & Lisa

Lit IT Girl: Debut Author Kaira Rouda

Happy Launch to the amazingly talented, Kaira Rouda! Her debut novel, Here, Home, Hope is a must-read for any woman who's ever thought about changing her life. Which, let's admit it, is pretty much all of us!  We'll admit that we've each had a "mid-life" crisis meltdown (or five!). So when we read, Here, Home, Hope, we were seriously LOL'ing  (and you know it takes a lot to get a real LOL out of us!) as we thought about our own lives.

So Liz was beyond honored to be asked by Kaira to blurb for her book.

And here it is... (so official!)

“A must read for anyone who's had their own mid-life crisis, Here, Home, Hope reminds us that it's never too late to reinvent ourselves.” – Liz Fenton, author of I'll Have Who She's Having, The D Word and creator of Chick Lit is not Dead

Synopsis of Here, Home, Hope: Kelly Mills Johnson is a 39-year-old mother and wife stuck in the rut of her middle-American suburban life.  A routine relationship with her lawyer husband, two uber-successful businesswomen for best friends to envy and an all-around predictable existence motivate Kelly to reinvent herself.

In an often-times humorous manner, Kelly begins diving into new projects (armed with Post-it notes and a Things to Change list), revisiting old memories and rediscovering passions.  Whether she is taking care of the anorexic teenager dumped on her doorstep, making up with an old high school friend or avoiding the boozy advances of her divorced neighbor, Kelly’s insistence on moving her life in a new direction and finding the perfect blend of home and career is inspiring and entertaining.

And if you leave a comment here, you could be one of the five lucky winners of a copy of Here Home Hope! We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm EST on Wednesday, May 4.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LIT IT GIRL: KAIRA ROUDA

1.  How many agents did you query before you found "the one"?

Yes, well that is the question. I looked back at my files and I would guess, since 1997 – the year I first started querying literary agents – that I’ve approached/pitched about 300. That’s funny, actually. And sort of depressing if you let it be.

My first agent very much believed in my manuscript, WARNING. We met at the Antioch Writer’s Workshop and we had it sold, too, to a huge editor at a big house. The famous editor actually called me. I’ll never forget it. She loved the book. The next day, she died in a taxi in Manhattan. I didn’t have a contract.

My second agent was wonderful. I found her because she was in the same literary agency as my nonfiction agent who represented REAL YOU INCORPORATED. My second agent helped me understand what was selling, what the basic structure should be. She helped me draft the very first version of what is now HERE, HOME, HOPE. But she was, as all agents are, extremely busy. When we didn’t get a hit, she needed to move on.

So, the answer is, I haven’t found the one. Would I love to have a partner to guide my career and to help me through the next book, to help place it and make it better? Absolutely. Will that person come along? I don’t know. I guess it all depends on whether HERE, HOME, HOPE resonates with people – whether readers like it and want to read more. I hope that happens. I hope an agent comes into my life. It’s tough going it alone, it really is. But, given the choice of going it alone, or never going for it – I decided to go for it.

I’d love “the one” beside me.

2.  What was your rock bottom moment during the process?

December 13, 2010. I’m not kidding. I realized it is all up to me. I’m publishing my first novel with a small press and I don’t have an agent. I don’t have a big six publisher. For the first time in my life I don’t have a full time job. I have four kids – one in college and one about to go. I had that ….oh my goodness what are you thinking moment. It comes back, quite often. But I’m trying to climb out of the bottom.

I know I’ve written the best novel I can. I’ve done the best I can. I’ve partnered with the best publisher, publicist, event planner and support folks I can. My family is behind me. I have hope.

3.  How long did it take to write your book?

About 2 ½ years.

4.  What did you do to celebrate your book deal?

With a bottle of champagne and a walk on the beach with my husband, my biggest fan.

5.  Knowing what you know now about publishing your first novel, what would you have done differently?

I truly believe things happen when you’re ready; if I had been ready sooner, I would have published the novel sooner. That said, I wish I would have had the confidence to publish the novel sooner.

6.  Who is your writer crush?

Jenna Blum. She’s an adventurer, an author of amazing range and a great supporter of other authors. That said, I’m also enamored with Eleanor Brown, Beth Hoffman and, from a very far distance, Jennifer Weiner and Jodi Picoult who stick up for women writers whenever they can. Love that!

7.  What's your biggest distraction or vice while writing?

My new puppy, Tucker. I cannot stop smiling at him. He is a living, walking Teddy Bear.

8.  GNO drink of choice?

Dirty martini. Stuffed olives. But most of the time, it’s Chardonnay. California, preferably.

9.  Favorite trashy TV show?

Housewives of ______ fill in the blank. I am fascinated, but not usually remembering to tune in. When I do, love it. I do have Bachelor/Bachelorette moments, too.

10.  What celeb would you love to have a Twitter war with?

Whichever celeb happens to be denigrating women at the moment…pick one. There are many. That sounds snarky, but it drives me crazy. We need to stand up for ourselves, for other women. Stick together.

Thanks so much for having me here!

You're welcome, Kaira! xoxo, L&L

For more information about the incredibly talented Kaira Rouda, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter!

Daphne Uviller's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We love a good mystery.  In fact, Lisa's secret nickname is PI Spice!  Don't even try to get one past her-her ability to sniff out when something's fishy is, in the words of Barney Stinson, legendary! (And can be somewhat annoying if you are the fishy-havin' person...) So we're thrilled to have Daphne Uviller sharing her Do's and a Do-Over on the site today!  She burst onto the scene with Super in the City and her heroine from that novel, Zephyr returns in her second sassy mystery,Hotel No Tell. It's a lot of fun! Perfect  to read while you're laying out at the pool and relaxing.

The smart and sassy detective Zephyr Zuckerman is now armed and undercover in a Greenwich Village hotel where mysteries—from garbage-grabbing guests to the reservation system—lurk around every corner. Now working as a junior detective with the New York City Special Investigations Commission, Zephyr’s gone incognito as a concierge to find out who laundered a hundred grand off the hotel books—and why. But the discovery of a prone, flush-faced guest gasping for air in room 502 only hints at the sinister goings-on inside this funky establishment. While the rapid response of the fire department leads to a sweaty date with a smooth-talking, rock-climbing rescue worker, Zephyr finds herself even more hot and bothered by an attempted murder on her watch. Could the smart-mouthed Japanese yenta across the hall know more than she’s telling? How are cryptic phone calls from a mysterious corporation linked to the victim in 502?  Under pressure and overwhelmed, Zephyr soon finds that a concierge cover is no protection in a place where crime, like the city itself, never sleeps.

Sound fun?  Um, YEAH it does!  And there's no "mystery" about how to get your own copy. Just leave a comment and you'll entered to win one of FIVE copies!  We'll choose the winners on Sunday May 1st after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: DAPHNE UVILLER'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

DO'S

1.  Take a break from the books. I took a leave of absence in college, a full year off between sophomore and junior years, and lived in London. I was lonely and depressed and have never before or since turned to art for comfort the way I did that year. Museums, theater – both were cheap for students, and I immersed myself completely. Then I’d return to my cold flat and spew the worst nonsense into one journal after another. But it was the first time in my life I was writing without worrying about being graded or edited. Which is exactly what a writer needs to do to in order to create the essential lousy first draft. Thank you, London!

2.  Follow the fun. When I could swing it financially, I took whatever job sounded interesting, even if it didn’t seem part of an overarching plan. Three years in law enforcement? Really fun, and fifteen years later it turned into fodder for Hotel No Tell. The unpaid internship at The Paris Review? I learned that I wasn’t yet ready to write fiction professionally, and turned to journalism.

3. Sleep around. Okay, that’s a bit of steamy overstatement, but I made the most of the three years between the end of a long-term relationship and meeting my husband. Those dating adventures gave me great stories, taught me loads about adult emotion and relationships – essential for a storyteller – and made it crystal clear to me that there is no other man out there who makes me as happy as my beloved does.

4. Honor the umbilical cord. In my twenties, I was sorely tempted to move to L.A. and pursue television writing, a potential career I was passionate about. I made a difficult and  conscious decision to pass up Hollywood in order to stay east, to be near my parents. Not just near – downstairs. I chose to be a low-paid print writer and remain in the city I love with two of the best people I’ve ever known. And then, whaddya know – the result of that decision became fodder for Super in the City, my first novel. (Nothing and no one is spared.)

5. Pay it forward. I met and befriended Elizabeth Gilbert while I was at The Paris Review (see Follow the Fun, above). I tentatively asked her about a career in writing and by way of answer, she invited me to her upstate home for the day, made a stew, and took me hiking. “There’s plenty of work to go around,” she assured me, and proceeded to share half a dozen professional contacts. Ever since, I have tried my best to be equally kind to aspiring writers.

DO-OVER

Turn up the music. I played the flute for ten years, and I kept at it mainly so that I could continue to return to my summer music camp, a place I adored. But I stopped playing in college and it is one of my few but big regrets. I sorely wish I’d kept it up. Playing a musical instrument makes the world a bigger, more beautiful place.

To read more about Daphne, head on over to her website or find her on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks Daphne!  xoxo, L&L

The Royal Wedding: To watch Or Not To watch?

We've been BFF's for over two decades, so sometimes it seems like we've almost morphed into the same person.  People often comment on our similar speech patterns, our common likes and dislikes and our shared penchant for really, really bad reality TV.(You're Cut Off marathon, anyone?)  But there's one issue that we VIOLENTLY disagree on.  An issue that is threatening to tear our twenty-three year friendship apart. The Royal Wedding.

While Lisa is triple checking that her DVR is set and getting her tissues ready, Liz is rolling her eyes and wondering how Kate Middleton's dress design is making headline news (isn't the fact that a tank of gas now practically costs more than a bottle of really good wine more interesting?!)  And after Lisa publicly called Liz out on Facebook as a Debbie Downer: Royal Wedding edition, we decided to take it to the mat blog to make our cases.  And we'll leave it up to you to decide who's right! (and yes, we take bribes!) 

Leave a comment to tell us what YOU think and we'll choose someone to receive a copy of Poor Little Bitch Girl by Jackie Collins on Sunday night after 6pm PST.

LISA: HELLS YEAH, I'LL BE WATCHING!

Thirty years ago, I watched Princess Di marry Charles. It was live. There were no such things as digital recording devices. I couldn't forward through the boring parts or rewind to catch something again. I just had to watch. And all I remember is loving every minute of it. I remember Diana's dress with its big poofy sleeves and the train that seemed to stretch for days. I remember being wide-eyed with excitement that I was watching history in the making. (Even though I admit I was also pretty darn excited about this new thing I'd heard about called MTV which debuted just a couple of days later.) I didn't know it then, but 750 million people were watching that royal wedding me.  That's a mother truckin' lot of people, people! So, um, yeah I'll be watching this royal wedding too.  And not just because it's history in the making again. But because I care about the really important stuff like what she'll be wearing, how she'll arrive(horse drawn carriage? convertible? what celebs will be there? Becks and Posh? Elton?).  Now don't get me wrong, after a lot of sleepless nights with a new baby, I'm not thrilled about the early wake up call. But yes, I'm going to wake up (the DVR is only a back up) and soak it all in- LIVE. Take that, Liz Fenton!

LIZ: EFF THE ROYAL WEDDING!

Before you even ask, yes, I watched Diana watch down the aisle so many years ago in her ridiculously long train and loved every minute of it.  Fortunately for me back then, there was no such thing as a 24 news cycle.  My eyes weren't bleeding with hours and hours of coverage on everything from the royal cake to Kate's shoes.  I was able to turn on CNN and catch up on all of the actual events of the world that mattered, like Japan's recovery and the growing conflicts around the world, rather than be force-fed the details of the royal wedding parade route.  It's not that I'm William and Kate hater.  I think Kate seems down to earth and I have no doubt she'll make a beautiful bride.  And even though Harry always been my fave of the brothers(he just seems so naughty-I always love the bad boys...), I'm cool with William. But it's the over-coverage that's sending me screaming in the other direction.  The desperateness of every single organization to make EVERY FREAKIN' DETAIL a major news story and exploit ANY possible comparison of Diana and Kate. That it's a major effort to avoid it because of the infiltration of every aspect of my life-Facebook! Twitter! My favorite morning radio show! So because of that, I must boycott.  Although, even this wedding grinch must admit that I'm pretty damn curious about her dress.  Lisa, you have permission to email me a picture!  And P.S.-stop tagging me in your Facebook posts about it!

Will you be watching?  Tell us!

xoxo, Liz & Lisa

Diana Spechler's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We're giddy with excitement. Our cheeks are flushed with joy. Our hearts are beating faster. Because we've fallen in love- yet again. Diana Spechler is our latest crush. When we read her latest novel, Skinny (out today!) we were beyond impressed. And we're not alone. Some of our favorite authors, Allison Winn Scotch, Laura Dave and Janelle Brown have all given Skinny majuh praise! What especially intrigued us about Skinny is it's loosely based on Diana's real life experiences making it an even juicier read. Synopsis: In the aftermath of her Orthodox Jewish father's death, twenty-six-year-old Gray Lachmann finds herself compulsively eating. Desperate to stop bingeing, she abandons her life in New York City for a job at a southern weight-loss camp. There, caught among the warring egos of her devious co-counselor Sheena, the self-aggrandizing camp director Lewis, his attractive assistant Bennett, and a throng of combative teenage campers, she is confronted by a captivating mystery: her teenage half-sister Eden, whom Gray never knew existed. Now, while unraveling her father's lies, Gray must tackle her own self-deceptions and take control of her body and her life.

Watch the book trailer here.

And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies of Skinny! We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm PST on Thursday, April 28th.

We're thrilled to have Diana on the site today and love her 5 Do's- especially #3. Neither of us ever thought we'd be ever see the inside of a yoga studio but Lisa started yoga when she was pregnant and has fallen in love with it and Liz has recently started getting her downward dog on and isn't lookin' back!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS....DIANA SPECHLER'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER DON'T

DO

1. DO change things up. At 31, I’ve lived in more than ten towns and cities, sometimes just for brief stretches. My mother, who, despite infinite electronic alternatives, still keeps a Roll-A-Dex, has a dozen “Diana’s address” cards.

I’ve loved the adventures—traversing the country, living for days on gas station snacks and Subway veggie six-inchers, learning that one region’s rummage sale is another region’s garage sale is another region’s yard sale, and turning every place into my comfort zone. And then leaving.

Recently, I was shocked to open my mailbox and find a jury duty summons. I pressed a palm to my chest and whispered, “How did they find me?” as if I were a Wild West outlaw on the lam. I wondered if it was time to move again.

2.  DO give yourself permission to do the art you want to do. So many of us, yearning to be creative, take jobs that promise “opportunities for creativity,” when what that really means is that you’ll write memos.

If you want to dance, dance. If you want to do a leaf rubbing, grab a leaf. If you think you have a book in you, take a writing class at night and get started. Everyone’s entitled to create freely. The nicest thing I do for myself is ignore the voices in my head that yell, “You suck! Get a job! No…a real job!”

3.  Do yoga. I used to think that yoga was for wimps, that if I didn’t bench-press, I wasn’t worth my salt. Okay, I never bench-pressed. But I must have fancied myself some kind of jock, running for miles and miles as my bunion grew and whined and protested. Yoga is a sanity-saver. A bunion-saver, too. Also, it’s not for wimps.

4.  DO own red high heels. I just got a pair. Peep-toe. They make life better. (Don’t lecture me about my bunion.)

5.  DO buy books. If you are a voracious reader (yay for voracious readers!), I understand that you might not be able to afford three new books a week, but at least buy one every month or two. Books are my go-to gifts for birthdays and holidays. Even when there’s no occasion, if I love a book, I buy a few copies and give them to friends. If I feel like doing something nice for myself, I buy a guilty-pleasure book—one of those I have no business reading if I still haven’t read Mrs. Dalloway or Crime and Punishment.

Just buy books. We can’t let television win!

DON'T

DON’T go through your twenties without learning how to properly apply makeup. I made this mistake, and now I don’t have the patience to learn. Old dog, new tricks, or something like that. I have no idea what to do with my face, except stare at it in the mirror and wish I were married to a makeup artist.

For more information about the lovely and talented Diana Spechler, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks, Diana!

xoxo,

L&L



Lit IT Girl: Debut Author Sarah Jio

Girl Crush Alert!  We're so excited that our latest Lit IT Girl pub day is finally here!  Because we read an ARC of Sarah Jio's fantastic debut a few months ago and have been crushin' on her bigtime ever since.  And Sarah is also a successful freelance writer-she is the health and fitness blogger at Glamour.com! We're thrilled she's accepted out Lit IT Girl crown, and we have a feeling she's going to rock it better than Kate Middleton! Already in it's THIRD printing before it's release, The Violets of March(out tomorrow, Tuesday April 26th) is women's fiction at it's best: a fun escape with a dash of mystery and a spoonful of romance.  We raced through this enchanting novel and think that you will too!

In The Violets of March, A heartbroken woman stumbled upon a diary and steps into the life of its anonymous author.

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after.  Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily's good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.

Trust us on this one-you will enjoy this book!  And we have FIVE copies to give away!  You know the drill-just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!  We'll choose the winners on Wednesday night after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: SARAH JIO: LIT IT GIRL

1. How many agents did you query before you found "the one"? My agent story is an unusual one. I had been working with a great, established NYC agency, but after my agent left to pursue another career outside of publishing, I decided to take the leap and find a new agent, rather that work with her replacement, who had little experience with women’s fiction. I’m so glad I decided to take that scary risk and look for new representation, because it led me to Elisabeth Weed, my agent extraordinaire, who I believe has a bit of magic in her fingertips. And, I got lucky and didn’t have to do a big search. A magazine writer friend of mine, Allison Winn Scotch, kindly introduced me to Elisabeth, and I knew she was a great fit for me. We worked together to make THE VIOLETS OF MARCH sing, and then she sold it in less than a week at auction. I know writers who are uncertain about and unhappy with their agents, and I just feel so fortunate to work with someone who is so talented, hardworking and genuinely fun and enjoyable to collaborate with.

2. What was your rock bottom moment during the process? Every writer will tell you that editing a book can be painful and grueling. After I began working with my agent, she provided detailed edit notes and suggestions about how to improve my novel. The work I had to do was substantial and required a lot of rethinking of characters, plot and execution. There were a few times that, honestly, I stared at my computer screen and thought ‘how the heck am I going to do this? I better just throw in the towel right now.’ But I kept at it because I believed in the story and in my dream of publishing a book. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on myself!

3. How long did it take to write your book? Initially, I wrote the first draft very quickly—as in a few months. But the editing process took close to a year.

4. What did you do to celebrate your book deal? Nothing special, which sounds really lame, I know. But I had two young children at the time (I have three now), and going out and doing something big wasn’t an option. But, I do have a funny story about my German book deal (VIOLETS will be coming out this fall from Heyne, a division of Random House in Germany). I got an email on my Blackberry from my agent while I was on the cereal aisle at Trader Joes. I had a 3 year old in the back of the shopping cart, and a 1 year old in the front, and I scrolled through the email on my phone frantically to read the details of the deal. I nearly passed out with excitement right in front of the instant oatmeal. I think I threw a bottle of good wine in the cart to take home for that night (but you know Trader Joes—nothing too fancy!).

5. Knowing what you know now about publishing your first novel, what would you have done differently? Yikes, I don’t know. I’m still learning so much, and I feel so fortunate that—so far—things have gone very well. I adore my editor, my agent, my book’s cover, and I’m proud of the story inside the cover. There’s so much about publishing that is out of the author’s control, however, and I’m learning to roll with the punches.

6. What's your biggest distraction or vice while writing? Facebook, Twitter, repeat.

7. Who is your writer crush? Camille Noe Pagan, who, coincidentally, is also a debut author! Her book, The Art of Forgetting, is out in June from Dutton. Funny thing, Camille and I share an agent and an editor. We’re also the same age, write for the same magazines, and were just pregnant at the same time. Clearly, she’s my East Coast twin. And I adore her for encouraging me and supporting me through the pre-publication process. I also happen to think she’s a phenomenal writer.

8. GNO drink of choice? Dirty martini. Extra dirty. Extra olives.

9. Favorite trashy TV show? The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. It’s a shameless Monday night ritual—the one night I do not write.

10. What celeb would you love to have a Twitter war with? Hilarious question. A Twitter war with any celeb would scare my pants off, I’m afraid. I’m a little shy. But I’ll just say that a back-and-forth with Charlie Sheen would sure be interesting, wouldn’t it? I’d stop short of calling myself a rock star from Venus, though.

Want to read more about the fabulous Sarah Jio?  Head on over to her website or find her on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks Sarah! xoxo, L&L

Beth Orsoff's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

It's Earth Day! Woo hoo! You don't have to be a Leonardo Dicaprio-esque die-hard environmentalist, but we do hope you're doing your part to give Mother Earth some lovin' today. So c'mon, get your green on and take a shorter shower (we know it's hard because that hot water feels soooo good- but every minute does help) or recycle or reuse something-anything! Anywhoo...we thought today would be perfect to tell you about a book that we absolutely love because it has an environmental theme- How I Learned to Love the Walrus by Beth Orsoff. It's fun, funny (a definite LOL'er) and smartly written. It's one of those books that just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Synopsis: When Los Angeles publicist Sydney Green convinces her boss to let her produce a documentary for the Save the Walrus Foundation, the only one Sydney Green is interested in saving is herself. The walruses are merely a means to improving her career and her love life, and not necessarily in that order. Sydney would’ve killed the project the second she learned she’d be the one having to spend a month in rural Alaska if it had been for any other client. But for rising star and sometimes boyfriend Blake McKinley, no sacrifice is ever too great.

Yet a funny thing happens on the way to the Arctic. A gregarious walrus pup, a cantankerous scientist, an Australian sex goddess, a Star Wars obsessed six-year-old, and friends and nemeses both past and present rock Sydney Green’s well-ordered world. Soon Sydney must choose between doing what’s easy and doing what’s right.

And if you leave a comment, you can be entered to win one of five e-book copies of How I Learned to Love the Walrus. Click here to read chapter one.

We don't know about you, but we are loving on e-books- especially lately! We both have Nooks and the more e-books we download, the more addicted we become. (And don't worry, we're still loving regular books too- we always will. We're just not willing to be monogamous anymore!) And we've already downloaded Beth's other novels, Romantically Challenged and Honeymoon for One and you should too!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...BETH ORSOFF'S FIVE DO'S AND A DO-OVER

DO

1. Do Accept That You’re Not Going to be Good at EVERYTHING. I suck at cooking. There, I’ve said it, and on the internet no less (so now it’s forever and I’ll never be able to take it back)! I tried for years to be a good cook, or at least an okay cook. I bought cook books, studied recipes, watched cooking shows. I even considered signing up for a class once (although I never could get myself to pull the trigger). And everything I tried to bake, broil, or fry turned out terrible. I’ve finally accepted that although I’m good at many things (you should see me organize a closet!), cooking is not one of them and never will be. And I’m okay with that. Between my husband’s grilling skills, those really convenient meal-in-a-bags they sell in the freezer section of the grocery store, frozen pizza, salad in a bag, and several nearby take-out restaurants, no one in my family is going to starve because of my lack of culinary abilities.

2. Do be Persistent. Some people lead a charmed life and everything comes easily to them. Then there are the rest of us. I really do believe if you want it badly enough, and you are persistent, you will find a way to make it happen. Although sometimes you may have to scale back your expectations. Hillary Clinton really wanted to be President of the United States. And whether you love her or hate her, you have to acknowledge that the woman is persistent. But hey, she’s Secretary of State. It’s not the top job, but it’s still a pretty good gig. And if the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate all died, she would be President of the United States.

3. Do Ignore the Haters. You know those people. They’re the ones who bitch about everyone and complain about everything. And they’re everywhere—online, at work, at school, down the block, they may even be in your own family. You can’t always avoid them, but you can choose to ignore them. Doing so will improve the quality of your life immeasurably.

4. Do Travel. I know travel, especially air travel, is a huge hassle these days. Long security lines, embarrassing pat downs, trying to fit all your toiletries into a 1-quart Ziploc bag, and paying extra for everything, including the seat where you can’t move your legs because the passenger in front of you decided to recline. I even almost got arrested in Customs on my last flight home from London (don’t ask!) I realize I’m not making a trip abroad (or anywhere for that matter) sound enticing, but I am telling you to go anyway. Because no matter what disaster (natural or manmade) has befallen me on vacation, I’ve never come home wishing I hadn’t gone. Travel expands your horizons, both literally and figuratively.

5. Do Treat Yourself to a Really Good Massage. Next to an orgasm and a really decadent dessert, nothing beats a good massage. Trust me on this. If you’ve never had a really good one, keep searching.

DO-OVER

I wish I had begun writing when I was younger. Then I could be embarking on my tenth novel now instead of my fifth!

To learn more about the lovely and talented and hilarious Beth Orsoff, check out her website and follow her on Facebook.

Thanks, Beth!

xoxo,

L&L

Megan McCafferty's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

Although we're alike in so many ways(Love Barry Manilow!  Hate tequila!) we're also complete opposites in so many others.  Like reading.  Lisa likes to take her time and savor each books she's reading while Liz likes to devour the book like's she a contestant on Survivor who hasn't eaten in four days.  For Liz, the faster she reads the book, the more she likes it.  Some of her faves have been read in mere hours!  Sure, she may be speed-reading just a tad, but when she finds uninterrupted time to dive into the incredibly growing TBR list, she doesn't have time to F around and stop and smell the roses! So you'll be happy to know that she finished NYT bestselling YA author Megan McCafferty's latest,Bumped(out on April 26th) in less than a day.  Intriguing and thought-provoking, this YA novel proves that it's not just for teenagers. We highly recommend it!

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Sound good?  IT IS!!!  And you have FIVE chances to win a copy!  Just leave a comment here and you'll be entered.  We'll chosse the winner on Sunday April 24th after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: MEGAN McCAFFERTY'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Transfer colleges. I knew before the end of first-year orientation week (I believe I had my epiphany at BYOB--Bring Your Own Banana--Ice Cream Sunday Social) that the small college in Virginia was NOT for me. But I was afraid that if I left, I'd look like a loser to everyone back home. I stuck it out for two tumultuous years before realizing I had so much more to lose by settling. (LIFE LESSON ALERT: That's also true of colleges, jobs, boyfriends...) So I applied--and got into--a bigger, more liberal university in New York City where I didn't know anyone. It was the most transformative decision of my young adult life. Which brings me to #2...

2. Move somewhere no one knows you. True, it's harder to reinvent yourself in the Facebook era. But I found it incredibly liberating to start over in a city where I could be anyone...maybe even myself. And this leads to #3...

3. Embrace your inner dork. Recently I blogged about My Top 40 Songs of All Time. This is not a list carefully crafted to impress music snobs with its coolness. At all. But a close friend pointed out it may the only list of its kind that includes both Captain and Tennille and The Smiths. It's uniquely *me* in its uncoolness, which sort of makes it cool. This seques into #4...

4. Like what you like without guilt. I've worn the same scent (Colors de Benetton) since I was 13. DVF wrap dresses always flatter my figure. I re-watch the entire run of Freaks and Geeks every other year. I order the same spicy chicken in lettuce leaves when we get Chinese take-out. I research vacations all over the world and inevitably end up booking a trip somewhere in the Caribbean. These are things I like and I'm going to keep liking them because they make me happy. I've been cultivating these tastes for 38 years and with so much of life that's out of my control, there's a certain comfort to be found in what's familiar. Then again...

5. Embrace what's new too. It's so easy to get stuck in a life rut. But a negative attitude about newness would have stopped me from transferring to a different college seventeen years ago or dancing my ass off with college students half my age at the LCD Soundsystem show a few weeks ago (a transcendent not-to-be-missed experience). I never want to be one of those cranks who gets stubbornly stuck in a certain mindset and goes around complaining about how much everything else sucks. Because you know what? It's just not true. And it's no way to enjoy the richness of life either.

DO-OVER I don't dwell on regrets. Learning from my mistakes has made me who I am today. That said, I shouldn't have gotten that home perm in eighth grade. No one should get a home perm. Under any circumstances. I mean, have you ever heard a *positive* home perm story? I rest my case.

Thanks Megan!  xoxo, L&L

To read more about Megan, head on over to her website or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Ask Liz & Lisa: Social Media 5 Do's and a Do-over

Wow-we received SO many great Qs from y'all last week- keep em' coming!  Remember, if your question is chosen you'll receive a book.  This week, Our lucky question-asker will be receiving Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkenen. (We love it so much we had to give it away AGAIN!)  And up for grabs for you if YOU leave a comment?  An ARC of Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye? (out May 10th)! Don't forget to send your "hard-hitting" Q to: asklizandlisa@chicklitisnotdead.com!  Blogging, books, social media, mama drama, baby blunders-we're here for you!

Today's awesome Q comes from Melissa:

Hello Liz and Lisa!

I'd first like to say THANK YOU for sharing your story and the stories of other great authors.  May I also commend you on your social networking abilities.  I recently landed my first "Social Media Consulting" side job and I constantly revert back to your Facebook fan page to show my client what a successful page should do!  It is very clear that you have both built quit a name for yourselves doing something that you you love.  As a soon to be marketing grad from Illinois State University I am trying to soak up as much advice as possible!  I was hoping you could share 5 Do's and a Do over specific to fresh grads?  You have created a very loyal fan and I look forward to your reply!

Warm Regards,

Melissa

Melissa,

First off, thank you for your kind words and congratulations on your upcoming graduation!  You go girlfrin'!

Considering the fact that neither of us had one clue what the hell we were doing when we launched CLIND over two years ago, we'd be happy to help others learn from our many mistakes.  Here's our 5 Do's and a Do-Over: Social Media style...

DO'S

1. Have a platform. What are you all about?  Make sure you have a plan before you type your first OMG. Are you the next expert on vampire chick lit or Queen of all things romance? Then own it, baby! The beautiful thing about social media is you can be anything you want to be.  Just make sure you know what that is.

2. Keep it simple. Nothing makes us hit the "back" button faster than a cluttered site.  Yes, we know it's tempting to add that Goodreads or Flickr widget (Lisa!). We've been there, done that.  But you really have to ask yourself if it's adding value or just something you thought was cool for a hot minute.  The most important information on your site should be links to your Facebook and Twitter pages (you have those, right??!) and how people can contact you (don't make them search for your email address!).

3. Clock in Treat blogging like it's the dream job you've always wanted!  Run it professionally and be consistent with your postings and in your dealings with publicists, authors or anyone within your network.  A good site takes a lot of work and pays very little (if at all!) so passion about your project is essential.  If you love what you do, it will show on your website.

4. Give 'til it hurts. Okay, so we're giveaway whores-we know!  But besides having consistent, quality content, giving things away is the very best way to build your network of followers .  And it's FUN!  So try it.  Trust us on this one.

5. Follow the Golden Rule. Tweet with care, people!  We know it's all the rage to get into internet smack downs with other people over this and that, but we think it's better to always treat other people in cyberspace with respect.  It's easy to get carried away when you're hiding behind that keyboard. Believe us, there's going to be times when you are VERY tempted to go there.  But don't do it. Step away from the Macbook and just do what we do-write each other bitchy pre-caffeinated emails instead!

DO-OVER

Wow-this is a tough one because we believe that all blunders are great learning experiences. Or at least that's what we tell ourselves to feel better when we F up. But of course there are things we wish we could take back.  But the key is not to beat yourself up too much about it-Life is too short to worry about all the little things we can't control.

Hope that helps! And remember the most important DO of all-HAVE FUN!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

Ann Packer's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We love short stories. (Maybe it's our ADD-esque personalities?) There's something about reading a great story and knowing that when it comes to the end, you get more! And when we read Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer, a collection of short stories and a novella, we each felt like a kid at her birthday party, excited about the present we were opening but equally excited about what we'd get to unwrap next. Because once you become absorbed in New York Times best seller Ann Packer's writing, you quickly realize you want more and more and more. But even Swim Back to Me eventually had to come to an end. So we definitely plan to check out Packer's other works including her award-winning and best selling novel, The Dive from Clausen's Pier and another collection of short stories, Mendocino and other Stories. Synopsis of Swim Back to Me: There's the story of the wife struggling to make sense of her husband's sudden disappearance. A mother mourning her teenage son through the music collection he left behind. A woman shepherding her estranged parents through her brother's wedding. A  young man coming to grips with the joy- and vulnerability- of impending fatherhood. And, in the opening novella, two teenagers from different families- one a tightly knit foursome, the other a father and son who share little more than having been abandoned by the same woman- forge a sustaining friendship, only to discover the disruptive and unsettling power of sex.

Swim Back to Me was unlike anything we've read in a while- with unique short story after unique short story, it was an exciting departure from the novels we usually love to read. And we reminded ourselves that it's always good to switch things up from time to time. Don't you agree? Read an excerpt of "Walk for Mankind" from Swim Back to Me here.

And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies of Swim Back to Me. We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm on Thursday, April 21st.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...ANN PACKER'S 5 DO'S AND 1 DO-OVER

"This format of 5 Do’s and 1 Do-over struck me as tailor-made for an interview about my new book, since it, too, has a 5 + 1 structure—five short stories and one novella.  So, without further ado, here are my 5 + 1, with a literary twist."- Ann Packer

DO

1. Stay open to beauty. Back in the 90s, when my kids were little, I didn’t listen to much music outside the oeuvre of Raffi, that genius of the children’s song, who wrote such immortal lyrics as

Down by the bay

Where the watermelons grow

Back to my home

I dare not go.

For if I do

My mother will say

“Did you ever see a moose

Kissing a goose?”

Down by the bay

Then one day, when the second baby was old enough to take a bottle and I could be gone for a few hours, I began to teach a writing class.  And one of my students, perhaps sensing a starvation so profound that not even the starved person herself knew about it, began making me mix tapes from his vast collection of rock ‘n’ roll.  Within the space of a few months he’d initiated me into the glories of such eclectic acts as the Velvet Underground and the Violent Femmes, Pavement and the Pixies.  I listened to my tapes constantly, with the volume way loud.  And later, when “Molten,” a story about a grieving mother began to come to me, I knew just what she’d spend her time doing.

2. A fleeting thought may be just that, so write it down. Lately, I find myself going from my kitchen into my study, ready to do something on my computer, whether it’s send an email or Google someone or something else. Then I get there and I have absolutely no idea what I meant to do.  Writing yourself a note on the way from the kitchen to the study may seem extreme, but, hey, whatever works.  I may be in this habit because I sometimes get an idea for a story—something new or something already underway—and I used to play a game of chicken with myself:  something along the lines of, Well, if it’s worthwhile I’ll remember it.  Uh uh.  I take no chances.  And it pays off.  I was the birthday party escort for a group of 14 year-old-boys going out for burgers, and so naturally I sat by myself at a table for one, not at their table. And in one of those rare creative moments, I began to imagine a young woman late at night, in a dark parking lot, her car dead.  And I took out a teeny tiny notebook and, as the boys stuffed French fries into their mouths and debated the Giants’ lineup for the next game, I wrote the first six pages of “Jump.”

3. Explore your surroundings. We’d lived in our house for ten years on the day my son arrived home on his bicycle with a huge grin on his face and told me about the hill at the north edge of town where he and his friend had ridden their bikes that afternoon.  He knew exactly how to describe where they’d been, and the next time we were driving in that area he very carefully pointed out the roads they’d taken, describing which were very steep, which stopped in dead ends.  This was not exactly on my mind when I drove to Auburn, CA, one morning, to explore the town I’d already used as a setting for “Dwell Time.”  But as I went up and down the streets, I thought about how believing you know a place, or can guess what it’s like, will never be the same as knowing it.  The “scouting” trip resulted not only in better descriptions of the places my characters lived; it also delivered me to a river-side spot outside of town that became a key metaphor for the story.

4. Understand that the truth has consequences. When I was pregnant with my first baby, I attended a childbirth class at which the teacher asked everyone to go around the room and describe any previous experience with childbirth—had we been with a woman during labor, had we perhaps even attended a birth?  People gave about the responses you’d expect, until it was the turn of the last woman in the room.  She told us she’d gone through childbirth once herself, when she was married to someone else, and that her baby had died.  The room went silent, and it could have gone either way:  her revelation might have tilted the entire group into a fatal politeness, or it might have begun to dissolve the web of awkwardness inevitable in a dozen couples with nothing in common except their unreadiness for the greatest change life can bring.  Years later, I began to wonder how that same piece of information—intimate, terrifying, immeasurably sad—might play out not within a group, but in a single couple.  I used that question to start writing “Her Firstborn.”

5. Rely on poetry. I spent a long time working on “Things Said or Done,” trying to figure out who the characters were—to each other and also to themselves.  I use a lot of dialogue to create character, because I think it’s in how we talk that we establish who we are.  The middle-aged woman and her elderly father who are at the center of this story are great talkers—they banter and bicker and generally stay engaged with each other through all kinds of emotional fluctuations.  He is a former English professor, so at one point, feeling something was missing, I began looking through a book of poems by WB Yeats, thinking there might be a good line for him to quote to her.  Sure enough, I found some lines that seemed just right.  And as I typed them into my document, knowing they not only fit his character but also reflected some central issues in their relationship, I remembered something I have remembered many times over the decades since I was an English major:  that in poetry there is all of life, expressed in words you’d never have known yourself.

DO-OVER

Start over. How often do you get halfway into a project only to realize there is something terribly wrong with it?  This can be as minor as pouring batter into a cake pan you forgot to butter or as momentous as discovering five years into your career in sales that you should have been a teacher.  Occasionally in my work, I have gotten very far along and realized I’ve made an apparently fatal error.  With my first novel, I was using a third-person narrator when in fact the story needed to be told in the first person, by the character herself.  (And believe me, fixing this was not going to be a matter of doing a find and replace on “she” and “I.”)  Writing “Walk for Mankind,” the novella that opens Swim Back to Me, I had an exciting new family moving into the neighborhood of an unhappy thirteen-year-old. That’s what I still have.  But back when I was doing the first draft, the thirteen-year-old was a girl.  And the novella just wasn’t happening.  Then one day I thought, What if it were a boy to whom all of this was happening?  Within days, I’d written forty or more pages, and while I can’t say it was smooth sailing all the way to the end—it never is—making that one major change made all the difference.

To find out more about the lovely and talented Ann Packer, visit her website and follow her on Facebook.

Thanks, Ann! xoxo, L&L

May is International Chick Lit Month!

May is the inaugural International Chick Lit Month! Chick Lit is Not Dead is teaming up with fabulous international Chick Lit sites Chick Lit Club and Novelicious to bring you a month-filled celebration! Held in May, it celebrates all things chick lit – that amazingly diverse genre that focuses on the issues that women face today. It can be light-hearted, it can be serious. It can be heart-warming or heart-wrenching. It can make you laugh or make you cry. It is usually romantic – sometimes even raunchy. It can inspire, intrigue and educate you. It can be about young women facing their first loves and career choices; right through to older women facing the loss of a life partner and a new direction in life. It can be about a fashionable, hip career girl from NYC, about a mother from England who’s lost her groove,  or a country girl from Australia looking for her Mr. Right. The women who write chick lit - and the women they write about - may be mothers, daughters, sisters; in love or still looking. The characters may remind you of your own friends and enemies; of your own strengths and flaws. Reading chick lit gives you a chance to walk a mile in another woman’s shoes – but it’s about so much more than shoes and sparkly pink covers!!  Because every woman deserves her happy ending. Be sure to bookmark the site now so you don't miss out!

What’s happening in 2011:

2011 is the inaugural year for International Chick Lit Month. And we’re kicking off things in a big way – with lots of your favorite authors writing guests posts, offering their tips to aspiring writers, choosing their all-time favorite chick lit books and explaining what chick lit means to them. We’re also  launching our Hall of Fame, where three worthy recipients will be honored for their contribution to chick lit, and introducing a swag of debut authors from the Class of 11. Plus, just like you always find on the Chicklit Club, Chick Lit is Not Dead and Novelicious websites, there will be heaps of book reviews and giveaways. Make sure you check out International Chick Lit Month this May … because every woman deserves her happy ending!

How you can celebrate:

• Check in to the International Chick Lit Month website every day during May for great posts, book reviews and giveaways!
• If you attend a book club, suggest a chick lit title for their May selection.
• Encourage your local library to set up a display of some of their most popular chick lit books.
• If you have friends who love chick lit too, why not organize a book swap night where you all bring along books you have finished reading, and swap them for new ones.
• If you have a lot of books clogging up your bookshelves or stored in boxes in the garage, maybe it’s time to do a clean-up. You could sell them through a garage sale or donate them to your local charity shop, school or care center. You could even band together with friends and run a book stall, with the proceeds going to your favorite charity.
• Invite the girls over for a chick flick night. Pick movies that have been adapted from books, such as PS I Love You, Bridget Jones’s Diary, In Her Shoes and Confessions of a Shopaholic.

We’d love to hear if you have any more suggestions!

Kristin Hannah's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

It's no secret that New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah is one of our absolute faves. Any author that can make not one, but two self-proclaimed robots like us cry is a true talent! (You might recall that Firefly Lane really did us in.) And now this uber-talented author has just released her - wait for it- NINETEENTH novel- Night Road. And we loved (and *cough* may have even cried again) over this powerful, complex and very emotional novel. Synopsis: The central plot revolves around two very different families living in adjacent shorefront towns in Washington State, and the bond that ties them together in the face of horrific tragedy. Jude Farraday is the happily married mother of two bright, happy twin teenagers, Mia and Zach, who devotedly oversees every detail of their near-perfect family life together. Into the Farradays's world arrives Lexi Baill, a former foster child from a neighboring working class town, who immediately befriends Mia and eventually falls in love with Zach during their senior year in high school. Recognizing that Lexi has become inseparable from her own children, Jude welcomes her with open arms into the Farraday household. Everything changes one night when, after a graduation party, the three teens are involved in an accident and fingers of blame are pointed at Lexi- even Jude's.

And here's the part we know y'all are waiting for...If you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies of Night Road. We'll randomly select the winners on Friday, April 15th after 6:00 pm. We know it will feel good to win something on Tax Day!

We're thrilled to have Kristin back again. She first visited us after the release of Winter Garden to share 5 Things We didn't Know about her (we are still in shock that she hand writes her novels on a LEGAL PAD) and now she's revealing her Do's and a Don't (her secret to success in life).

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...KRISTIN HANNAH'S DO'S AND A DO-OVER DON'T.

DO's

1. DO see as much of the world as you can. I am the daughter of a wanderer. As much as I hated this when I was young-and boy, did I hate it; we were always moving, changing schools, being the new kids---I see now the incredible value in seeing different places, experiencing different cultures. You learn profound lessons about the world and yourself when you travel. I was fortunate to study abroad in college, and I truly believe that a year in London changed my life and opened my eyes to the world.

2. DO have a positive outlook. I don't want to sound like some self help guru, but I truly believe that we have the power to shape our reality. We don't choose what we see, perhaps, but we choose what we focus on, what we care about.  I think nothing creates a positive life like a positive outlook. 3. DO make time for yourself. We women do a lot in our lives. WE work, we care for our children and our families, we run households; we are the glue that holds our families together.  Because we have so much to do, we often forget about our own needs. I know that when my son was young, I was often too tired at the end of the day to do much more than plop onto the sofa with a good book- and I was too "busy" in the middle of the day to go out to lunch.  What a mistake.  Make time for your girlfriends! Nothing can keep you afloat and change your outlook like an afternoon with friends.  And believe me, when your kids are teenagers, or when they leave home, you'll need those friends.

4.  DO get your parents and grandparents to tell you their stories. I was young when my mom passed away, and it wasn't until years later--when I became a mother myself that I realized how many questions I'd never asked , how much I didn't know. With the loss of my mother, I lost all the stories of her family, my family. I wish I'd found a way to gather those histories when I had the chance. Hand your parents and/or grandparents a tape recorder and have them talk about what they remember.  Better yet, sit with them and write it all down.

DON'T

5. Don't be afraid of anything. Reach for the stars and dream big. It's a big, beautiful, wonderful world out there, and it's waiting for you.  Too many people are afraid of failing, but failing is really just another way of revealing your path.  Better to jump high and fall than to stand on the ground, afraid. When I first started writing, I never imagined that I would someday be a published author of nineteen novels. I just had a dram and went for it, one word at a time.  No matter how often I failed, I got back up, dusted myself off, and tried again. I honestly think it's the secret to success in life.

To find out more about the amazingly talented Kristin Hannah, visit her website and become one of her THIRTY FOUR THOUSAND (and counting) fans on Facebook.

Thanks, Kristin!

xoxo,

L&L

Juliette Fay's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

 

Juliette Fay is one of those authors that once you discover her, you're hooked for life (or for as long as she'll keep writing!) Some of our favorite authors including the fabulously talented Beth Harbison and Emily Giffin have raved about Fay and her latest novel, Deep Down True.  Harbison calls it engrossing, touching and immensely satisfying and Giffin describes it as sincere, powerful and heartfelt. And we couldn't agree with them more. Plus, we really love on the cover!

Synopsis:

Deep Down True is the story of Dana Stellgarten, a quintessential good girl whose unfailing "niceness" is acquiring a surprising edge. Recently divorced and running low on funds, Dana has her hands full as the shock waves from her husband's departure reverberate through her family. Seven-year-old happy-go-lucky Grady suddenly develops anger management problems, and twelve-year-old Morgan struggles with an eating disorder as she tries to keep her head above the shark-infested waters of middle school. Then Dana's sixteen-year-old niece, Alder, comes crashing into their lives-literally-carrying with her a mysterious sorrow, yet also bringing an unexpected element of maturity and insight to their tightly-knit circle.

As Dana enters the slipstream of post-divorce romance with Grady's handsome football coach and attracts the interest of the town's charismatic queen bee, she will find that the tension between being true to herself and being liked doesn't end in middle school. Yet, where she least expects to find it, she discovers a true friend- someone who reminds Dana that the points of her inner compass are still there to guide her, even when the territory of her life feels like a foreign landscape.

Definitely take a second to read the first chapter and check out the fabulous book trailer.

And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies of Deep Down True! We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm on Thursday, April 14th.

And now if we can have a drumroll please because it's time for her DO's and DO-OVER (check out the Do-over- we can definitely relate!)

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...JULIETTE FAY'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Do something you love even if you’re not good at it. I always admire the folks who sing loud in church even if they couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Belt it out, my friend! We can’t be virtuosos at everything, but that shouldn’t keep us doing things that deliver that inner jolt of joy.

2. Freak out your kids. Mine think I’m utterly predictable. It’s fun to prove them wrong sometimes, and mess with them a little. One of my favorites is every once in a while I call them in to dinner and there’s nothing on the table but ice cream and toppings. They go nuts. I smile smugly. Everyone wins.

3. Know your short suits. We all have them. Know where you tend to go wrong. Ask a trusted friend if you’re not sure, and accept the answers graciously. Thank her for telling you the painful news that you don’t listen as well as you might, or that those shoulder pads make you look like Tom Brady—and not in a good way.

4. Take pride in your jammies. As my teenage daughter will confirm, I’m no clothes horse. But since we spend a third of our lives in bed, our pajamas should feel and look good. I used to be a T-shirt-and-sweats girl, but no more. Soft, pretty sleepwear is worth every penny, and I believe it actually makes you sleep more soundly, content in the knowledge of your excellent jammies.

5. Show up and help out. If, as the saying goes, fifty percent of life is just showing up, the other fifty is making yourself useful once you get there. If everyone did one small helpful thing every day … just imagine.

DO-OVER

Oh, so many to choose from! I wish I had dated all those “boring” nice boys instead of the “interesting” ones who tended to be a little screwed up. “Interesting” gets boring real fast, and “boring” leaves a generous margin for the element of surprise.

To find out more about the lovely and talented Juliette Fay, check out her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks, Juliette!

xoxo,

L&L

Ask Liz & Lisa-How do we book authors?

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Ask Liz & Lisa! Want some blogging advice?  In a twit over a tweet?  Have some mama drama you need to hug out? We're here for you, girlfrin'! Just send us an email and ask us anything!  And because we know y'all love to win things, if we feature your Q, we'll send you a book!  So what are you waiting for? Email asklizandlisa@chicklitisnotdead.com.  Operators are standing by. No, not really.  But Liz keeps glancing down at her Blackberry.  So please put her out-oh-her misery and send an email already!

We've already received some fab Qs from you guys-so thank you!  Our first is from Shannon and we selected it because it's one of the questions we're most frequently asked when we meet new people.  And because we chose Shannon's Q, she'll be receiving Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen- the first author booked EVEH on Chick Lit is Not Dead.  Your question didn't get chosen?  No worries-this will be a regular feature here so look for it next time!

And leave a comment today and we'll enter you to win a book too! How about another copy of Cindy Jones' My Jane Austen Summer:A Season in Mansfield Park?  We'll choose the winners Wednesday April 13th after 6pm PST.

Dear Liz & Lisa,

I want to know how you come up with all these great authors for the blogs? Ask and they volunteer or how does it work? There are just so many great authors and books and I have no idea how any of it works- just love to read the blog!!!

Thanks,

Shannon

*blushes* Thanks so much, Shannon!

There are a few ways we book authors for the site.

1. The publicist or author pitches us via email. We receive pitches daily from authors and/or publicists requesting to be interviewed for the site.  We request the books that pique our interest and put them into our (freakishly huge) TBR pile.  After we read them, we discuss each one and request interviews and giveaways from the ones we think you'll love!  We usually agree-although everyone once in a while we'll have a girlfight lively discussion about which ones to feature.  But we really try to bring you books and authors we think you'll love as much as we do.

2. We stalk contact authors via email and Facebook. We're always looking for the next great author for the site so we are constantly searching online and in bookstores to find that gem that we may have missed.  Or maybe it's someone that we'd pretty much do anything (well, almost anything- we draw the line at anything involving a stripper pole!)  to get our hot little hands on her (or his) 5 Do's and a Do-Over. (Judy Blume-we're talking to you!) Facebook is a great way to connect with our favorite authors and we've booked many of them this way!

3. Crystal Patriarche, publicist extraordinaire and the entire BookSparksPR team. We're incredibly lucky to work with Crystal and she books many of our authors- like the fabulous Lauren Weisberger, Jen Lancaster and Emily Giffin, as well as celebrity-turned-authors like Tori Spelling and Jessica Seinfeld.  She's also incredibly creative and helps us brainstorm our new features and huge giveaways as well as provides PR for the site. We would NOT be where we are without her!

That pretty much sums it up.  And we're appreciative that y'all keep coming to the site to read about authors, books, bucket lists, 5 things you didn't know lists, 5 Do's and a Do-over lists and more! Thanks for continuing to support us with your comments and majuh Facebook page love.  YOU make our job fun!

xoxo, L&L

Liz Tuccillo's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

Okay, so y'all know that we LOVE Sex and The City. In fact, we were so desperate for a Carrie fix that we chose our fave episodes in celebration of the premiere of SATC2 last year!  So when we discovered that Liz Tuccillo, one of SATC's writers, had written a novel, we knew that we just had to get our hands on it. So we're thrilled that Liz is sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-Over with us today. She was a writer on the two final seasons of Sex and the City.  After that she went on to co-author the bestselling book, He's Just Not That into You, which went on to be a major motion picture produced by New Line Cinema.  She created the television show Related for the WB, before traveling the world and writing her first novel, How to Be Single. She has recently finished writing and producing a new webisode for Warner Brothers titled Paul the Male Matchmaker.

And we LOVED How to be Single.  It's smart and funny and will make you want to call up your best girlfriends for happy hour!  Order it today!

After Julie Jenson, single New Yorker turned anthropologist, has a historically bad night out with her friends, she decides to cash it all in and hit the road. From Paris to Brazil to Sydney, Bali, Beijing, Mumbai and Reykjavik, Julie travels the world to find out if anyone has a better idea how to handle this whole “single” thing. Julie falls in love, gets her heart broken, sees the world, and learns more than she ever dreamed possible.

Back in New York, her friends are grappling with their own issues—bad blind dates, loveless engagements, custody battles, and single motherhood. Through their journeys, each woman fights to redefine their vision of love, happiness and a fulfilled life.

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered to win one of FIVE copies!  We'll choose the winners on Sunday, April 10th after 6pm PST.

We think you'll love her 5 Do's and a Do-Over.  In fact, we are going to give #2 a try this week!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: LIZ TUCCILLO'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1.  Try to learn something every day. Rent a documentary instead of seeing that romantic comedy one night.  If you travel, make a point to learn a little about the history of where you're going.  If you read something in the paper you don't understand, go online and research it.

2.  Go one day not saying anything nasty about yourself. See if you can do it.  Go about your day as you normally would, but just when you pass that mirror and are about to comment that you're too old, or too fat, or how much you hate your hair... stop it.  At work, if you make a mistake don't call yourself an idiot.  If you eat too much at lunch, give yourself a break and just decide to enjoy it.  Just for educational purposes, try to remember how many times you wanted to be nasty to yourself.  I'm sure it's a lot more than you'd like it to be!

3.  Make a movie. We all have a little Meryl Streep or Martin Scorcese just trying to get out.  So get your video camera or flip cam (or even cellphone at this point) and be a filmmaker!  Get all your friends to act in it.  Or just interview a family member, like your mother, who'd you'd love to capture for posterity.  Edit it on one of the inexpensive programs they have now.  (Many laptops already have one installed.)  Have your own special film festival!

4.  Have a pot luck. Nothing is more fun than a dinner party with friends, but sometimes the thought of it can be overwhelming.  But with a potluck, you share the work and the fun!  Pick a theme, like "tapas" or "Northern Italian" and invite people to cook a dish from that region, (organizing by appetizer, entree, side dishes and dessert.)  For the non-cooks, invite them to bring alcohol from that region or provide the music from that region -- or just a good appetite.  It gives everyone something totalk about, and you'll come away some great recipes and a great time!

5.  Take a child to their first play. Whether it's Broadway or Community theater, there's nothing more fun than watching a child experience their first live performance.  You come off looking all generous and thoughtful, but in the end, you'll have the most fun of all.

DO-OVER

I've lost loved ones to illness, and I am still haunted by feeling like I didn't do enough for them.  I guess I would like to have that time back.  And also to be better in the future.

Thanks Liz! xoxo, L&L

To read more about Liz, head on over to her website.  And is this where we officially beg her to set up a Facebook or Twitter page?  C'mon Liz!  Your fans are dying to "like" you!

Lit IT girl: Debut Author Cindy Jones

Many people believe that Jane Austen was the original Lit IT girl.  And we've LOVED many of the adaptions of her novels over the years.  (Clueless is our favorite movie EVEH!)  She's also inspired many great books(Jane Austen Book Club comes to mind).  So all of you Jane Austen lovers will be happy to discover we've crowned Cindy Jones, author of My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Parkas our latest Lit IT Girl!  And we think you'll love this delightful book! Lily is caught in a cycle of loss:  her mother died of cancer, her boyfriend left her for an earth mother, and she’s been fired from her job for reading Jane Austen novels when she should have been routing payroll tax deposits.  When the opportunity arises to travel to England to re-enact Mansfield Park, she thinks she may finally realize her dream of living in a novel.  But even in England, where Lily is immersed in a literary festival so rich it seems Jane Austen is present, her problems find her.  Lily must summon her resources and confront painful truths before she is demoted to the role of secondary character in her own life.

And FYI: Cindy worked with Bingley’s Teas Ltd. to create a tea named after her protagonist, and now she's promoting her book through tea parties:  Tea with My Jane Austen Summer.  she believes that tea enhances the reader’s connection with the novel and raises the book from a solitary read to a social event. Book clubs can host their own Tea with My Jane Austen Summer using ideas and recipes offered on her website www.cindysjones.com!

Sound good?  Leave a comment here and you'll be entered to win a copy!  We'll choose the winners on Friday April 8th after 6pm PST. So. Freakin'. EASY!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: LIT IT GIRL CINDY JONES!

1. How many agents did you query before you found "the one"? I knew my agent was “the one” when I heard her speak at a writer’s conference.  Rather than dash off a query, I took her advice to heart and spent two years finishing and polishing my ms until it was ready.  Eight queries resulted in five rejections, three requests to read the entire ms, and two offers of representation.  I signed with “the one”.

I need to point out that my first novel received at least 21 rejections and would have gotten more except I retired it to a bottom drawer where it died a quiet death.  What happened between my two novels?  I surrendered.  Not only did I listen to the advice of writing professionals and published friends, I acted on that advice.  I think pushing beyond my personal blind spots led to success in the marketplace.

2.  What was your rock bottom moment during the process? The day I received eight swift rejections from editors, shortly after the initial submission, I thought I was finished—not only with this novel—but as a writer.  After wallowing in grief for several hours, I discovered I was unwilling to allow my dream to die.  I returned to the rejections and studied the editors’ comments for a pattern.  After finding one, I applied it to my manuscript, cut the middle 150 pages (again) and pushed my imagination two excruciating levels beyond its personal limit.  A year of revisions later, the book sold.

3.  How long did it take to write your book? I spent five years writing My Jane Austen Summer, taking so long because I was on a steep learning curve.  Twice I cut the middle 150 pages and threw them in the recycling bin.  The next book has been much easier to write since I learned hard lessons on the first.

4. What did you do to celebrate your book deal? I had a quiet dinner with my family, lemon shots with my book club, and champagne with my women’s guild.

5. Knowing what you know now about publishing your first novel, what would you have done differently? I would not do anything differently.  Raising four sons, I could not have spent the time it takes to write and promote books when they were younger.  Writing got as much attention as I could give it at each step of my children’s development and, I would have to say, the timing has been good.

6. Who is your writer crush? Peter Cameron, The City of Your Final Destination.

7.  What's your biggest distraction or vice while writing? The internet is a terrible distraction.  Why negotiate thorny plot issues when I can chat with friends on Facebook, check blog stats, and surf my favorite sites?  It often takes more self-discipline than I can muster to ignore the call of the world wide web.

8.  GNO (Girls Night Out) drink of choice? Chardonnay.  I love a freezing cold glass of dry, mellow, nutty, buttery, chardonnay.

9.  Favorite trashy TV show? Gilligan’s Island.  I will never forget the episode when The Skipper and Gilligan produced Hamlet as an opera set to the music of Carmen.  The fragments of great music and literature sent me on a voyage of discovery, seeking original sources.  I now realize episodes like those influenced the childhood plays I wrote using fragmented fairy tales.  Now I fragment Austen.  Next:  Keats.  I will have succeeded if my work sends one person on their own voyage of discovery.

10.  What celeb would you love to have a Twitter war with? I’m a Twitter newbie (@cindysjones) so it would be best to pair me with someone similarly disadvantaged.  Say, Mr. Darcy.

Thanks so much Cindy!  xoxo, L&L

To read more about Cindy, head over to her website or find her on Twitter!

What's on Josie Brown's Bucket List?

We love Josie Brown. Plain and simple. We first fell for her when we read the impossibly delicious,  Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives and now we're falling all over again after consuming her latest fun, funny and  completely satisfying novel, The Baby Planner. (In stores tomorrow- Tuesday, April 5!) about a thirty-seven-year-old baby planner whose own biological clock is ticking off the charts faster than you can say designer stroller. (Lisa could definitely relate- having her first baby, er, a little later in life.) Synopsis:

Katie Johnson may make her living consulting with new moms on the latest greatest baby gadgets no parent should be without, or which mommy meet-ups are the most socially desirable, or whether melon truly is the new black, but the success of her marriage to her husband, Alex, depends on controlling her own urges toward motherhood.

He's adamant that they stay childless. Sure, Katie understands that he's upset over the fact that his out-of-town ex-wife rarely lets him see their ten-year-old son, Peter. But living vicariously through her anxious clients and her twin sisters' precocious children only makes Katie resent his stance more deeply.

While helping a new client—Seth Harris, a high tech entrepreneur who must raise Sadie, his newborn daughter, as a single parent after the tragic death of his wife in childbirth—maneuver the bittersweet journey from mourning husband and reticent father to loving dad, Katie’s own ideals about love, marriage, and motherhood are put to the test as she learns ones very important lesson about family:  How we nurture is the true nature of love.

Want to win one of five copies of The Baby Planner? Just leave a comment here and we'll randomly select the lucky winners after 6:00 PM, EST on Wednesday, April 6.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: JOSIE BROWN'S BUCKET LIST 1. To own pied–à–terre on the northwest tip of the de l'Isle Saint Louis, an island in the Seine, there in the middle of Paris.

2. To circumnavigate the world in my own private plane, stopping wherever and whenever I want, for however long. (In other words, I may never get back home...)

3. To live long enough to witness world peace. Seriously. I'm no beauty queen, believe me. I just mean this from the bottom of my heart. (Must be the flower child in me who still believes it's possible!)

4. Great skin. Always. Despite a daily dose of sunshine!

5.  To see my own musical of Pride and Prejudice make it to both Broadway and the West End.

To find out more about the fabulous Josie Brown, check out her website and follow her on Facebook. And don't forget to pre-order The Baby Planner!

Thanks, Josie!

xoxo,

L&L

Julianna Baggott's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

Every now and again, a book just grabs you and won't let go. You pop open the cover and start to read, getting more excited with each written word. And you can't stop reading. (Not for anything! Not even reality TV-or anyone-even the husbands). Which is exactly what happened when we read The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher (a.k.a. Julianna Baggott). It has the perfect blend of romance, humor and love. Synopsis:

“Every good love story has another love hiding within it.”

Brokenhearted and still mourning the loss of her husband, Heidi travels with Abbott, her obsessive-compulsive seven-year-old son, and Charlotte, her jaded sixteen-year-old niece, to the small village of Puyloubier in the south of France, where a crumbling stone house may be responsible for mending hearts since before World War II.

There, Charlotte confesses a shocking secret, and Heidi learns the truth about her mother’s “lost summer” when Heidi was a child. As three generations collide with one another, with the neighbor who seems to know all of their family skeletons, and with an enigmatic Frenchman, Heidi, Charlotte, and Abbot journey through love, loss, and healing amid the vineyards, warm winds and delicious food of Provence. Can the magic of the house heal Heidi’s heart, too?

We're now huge fans of Julianna Baggott, Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode (also her pen name) who collectively have written seventeen books in the last ten years! She's also an essayist and a poet! Oh and she teaches too. Next time we complain about having too much on our plates, we need to think about her!

And now you can get a chance to fall for her too! Leave a comment and be entered to win one of five copies of The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted. We'll randomly select the winners after 6:00 PM PST on Friday, April 1.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...JULIANNA BAGGOTT'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER:

5 DO'S

1.  Be foreign. Save up all spare change, put it in a jar marked travel, and get your butt somewhere else in the world. Being foreign makes you love where you’re from, makes you see the world with fresh eyes, creates new synapses in your brain, and makes you empathize with foreigners in your own land. To write THE PROVENCE CURE FOR THE BROKENHEARTED, we researched by renting a tiny ancient house in a tiny village on a shoestring budget – with five young kids in tow. I’d blow that money again, in a heartbeat.

2.  If you can’t be foreign, import foreigners. When Dave and I were first married and having kids, we lived WELL below the poverty level. In fact, we aspired to the poverty level. We said, “One day, poverty level, we will meet you!” To make ends meet, we rented out two of the three bedrooms in our rented condo to foreigners, running a B & B of sorts. I served cheap dinners – like frozen fish sticks – proclaiming to represent “American cuisine.” We survived and our world view got broader.

3.  Be alone sometimes. With technology, no one ever really has to be alone much. They’ve got their celly, their smart phone. They can always chat, text, IM. But being alone is hugely important to the creative process and to solving problems – professional, creative, personal. Learn how to be alone in your own head and develop that inner voice. You’ll need it.

4.  Quit. Americans overvalue “sticking it out.” We’re always saying, “Don’t give up! You can’t quit now! Never say die!” But there are a lot of bullshit things that you SHOULD quit. The Art of Quitting is a beautiful and crucial thing to master. Saying no to one stupid thing that you actually kind of hate is saying yes to the possibility of something you love. (I include bad relationships, bad jobs, goals that were forced on you instead of coming up from within.) Sometimes you shouldn’t stick it out. You should give up. You should say die – so some other part of you can come alive.

5.  Practice empathy. The world would be a better place if people would practice lifting their heads up and imagining what it’s like to be someone else. It takes effort to do this kind of imaginative grunt work. It’s easier to live within your own goggles. But it leads to bad decisions that haunt all of us. Take off the self-centric goggles and look at the world through someone else’s eyes. It makes for better art, politics, scientific invention, and personal lives.

DO-OVER

If I could go back and do-over, I’d be bolder. I know we’re going to look back and be scandalized at the inequity that goes on all around us, that we accept – the racial inequity in education; the acceptability of hateful rhetoric against gays, lesbians, the transgendered; the obvious lack of women in certain jobs – and the next generation is going to be sickened by us. We’ll say the things the generation before us said, “That was just the way it was.” I’d go back and try to see more clearly the world that we have set against the world we can make, and I’d push harder for that world. In fact, that’s a do-over that can start – for each of us – now.

To find out more about this talented author, check out her website and blog.

Thanks, Julianna! xoxo, L&L

Sweet Valley High's Francine Pascal's 5 Do's and a Do-over

Are YOU ready to take a trip down memory lane with Sweet Vally Confidential: 10 Years Later?  We've been chomping at the bit to find out what Liz and Jess (and hottie, Porche driving Bruce Patman) have been up to all these years!  Ah, the nostalgia!  It's intoxicating! Well, the waiting is over because Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later is available TODAY. Now you can finally return to the idyllic Sweet Valley, home of the phenomenally successful book series and franchise. Iconic and beloved identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are back and all grown up, dealing with the complicated adult world of love, careers, betrayal, and sisterhood.

But seriously, what have those beyotches been up to???!!!

In lieu of that information, we have SVH creator and author Francine Pascal sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-over with us today.  And GUESS WHAT? We have TWO copies to give away-just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win.  That's as easy as Jessica used to be back in the day...(Sorry couldn't resist-we were always Team Liz!)  We'll choose the winners on Friday night after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: FRANCINE PASCAL'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1.  Best thing I ever did was to have three children. And lucky for me, they were girls. Nothing like having the fun of your own Sex and the City friends. People who love you, understand you, laugh with you and forgive your mistakes. Of course, you have to wait a bit until they outgrow the awfulness of those teenage years. But it's worth the wait.

2.  Second best thing: Pick up and leave the country after my husband died. I went to France where I knew no one and not a word beyond Merci. It saved my life and gave me my favorite book, If Wishes Were Horses (aka La Villa).

3.  Third best thing: Understanding that ideas were my forte. The first good idea was My Mother Was Never a Kid about a girl who can't get along with her mother and through some time warp goes back to her mother's childhood and becomes her mother's best friend. This was 1974 before all those other movies and books using that same idea. And then I came up with Fearless about a girl born without the fear gene. I made that up and it turned out to be sort of true. And of course, Sweet Valley High.

4.  The fourth important DO is not to stop writing. As long as I have ideas and a computer, I will continue.

5.   But the real winner was to not go into acting. I know now that I would have been a terrible actor. I found that out when I recorded the epilogue for Sweet Valley Confidential-Ten Years Later. I was reading my own words and I was awful, totally without talent.

DO-OVER

I wish I wrote for Saturday Night Live.

Thanks Francine!  xoxo, L&L

Want to read more about SVH?  Head on over to their website or find what Liz and Jess are up to on Facebook and Twitter!