Thursday, March 1, 2012

Making friends with Ashley Ream, plus a book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

This March is "Friendship Month" at Chick Lit Central. To kick it off on the very first day of the month, we have Ashley Ream, debut author of "Losing Clementine," here to talk about friendship with us. Ashley Ream's first job was working for a newspaper when she was 16 years old. After working in newsrooms across Missouri, Florida and Texas, she decided to pursue fiction. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she works at a nonprofit and is finishing her next novel. "Losing Clementine" is about a woman who has resolved to kill herself in 30 days. Her "To Do" list is long but manageable. She must secure the means to end her life and tie up any loose ends she’s been avoiding. She begins by throwing her teapot out the window, and a countdown to her final days ensues.

Thanks to HarperCollins, we have a copy of "Losing Clementine" for one lucky reader in the US.

You can find Ashley at her website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. Time to make a new friend!


Chick lit main character you'd want to be best friends with:
Lily Ivory from Juliet Blackwell's witchcraft series. (HEXES AND HEMLINES is the most recent title.) Lily owns a vintage clothing store (which I love) in San Francisco (which I also love) and reminds me a lot of Juliet (who is a friend of mine.) What more could you ask for?

How did you meet your best friend?
My friend Janice and I were assigned to be roommates our freshman year of college. Of all the nonsmokers who requested that particularly dorm, our names fell alphabetically to one another. More than a decade later, she's still assigned to me.

Favorite memory shared with your best friend:
We're still making memories. I don't think my favorite has happened yet, but there was a trip to Key West back in our college days.

Favorite destination for a girls weekend/trip:
There's a particular beach house in Ventura, California that my girlfriend rented for her 40th birthday. It has a wrap-around porch, windows that open to the sound of the surf and an oyster shack just a short walk down the sand. The oyster seller is also the oyster farmer, and we brought home a fresh sack to eat with glasses of champagne.

Was there ever a time where you thought you knew a friend but it turned out you didn't know them at all?
Yes, but in really wonderful ways. I have friends who are artists, writers, geneticists, television directors, nonprofit leaders, professors. Incredible, amazing, inspiring women. Frequently, one of them will do something that knocks my socks off, and I have to re-learn just what powerful, brilliant women they are because it's even better than I thought.

What do you enjoy doing with friends the most?
Laughing and opening bottles of wine.

The nicest thing your best friend has ever done for you:
The thing my girlfriends and I all do for each other is clap the loudest and break one another's falls. Again and again. It's the best support system.

Favorite movie about friendship:
Mystic Pizza (I can't help myself.)

Three words to describe your best friend:
There's a whole group of us. I'd say: smart, talented, independent.

Favorite place to hang out with your friends:
On the couch with our shoes off.

Special thanks to Ashley for her friendly answers and to HarperCollins for sharing "Losing Clementine" with our readers.

How to win "Losing Clementine":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: How did you meet your best friend?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US only. Giveaway ends March 6th at midnight EST.



21 comments:

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

This book sounds really good!

1. I met my best friend at college! My childhood best friend and I met in elementary school

2. I'm a follower!

3. I'm a fan on FB

amber_johnson2004 at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

My best friend is my twin sister, so I met here before I was born!

I am a follower.

cat123hen(at)aol(dot)com

Marthalynn said...

I met my best friend through another friend!

I'm a follwer :)

marthalynn16 [at] gmail [dot] com

Nina said...

Mystic Pizza, good choice! And I actually met all of my best friends in High School or earlier! Crazy, right?
nina565(at)aol(dot)com

Linda Kish said...

I met her when she was putting her newborn into her car and I was taking my baby on a walk in his stroller. We were neighbors.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Lilian said...

1. Please tell us: How did you meet your best friend?

In middle school, we didn't really become "best friends" until a few years later though. (or am I just having delusions and it's all wishful thinking)

2. I'm a follower.

3. tweeted: https://twitter.com/lilboxism/status/175333042548768769

4. Joined Chick Lit Central on


lilianxchengATgmailDOTcom

Anonymous said...

I really like the dress the cover model is wearing. It's so feminine. The shoes are nice, too! Cindy

sneakerdoodle said...

1. I met my 2 best friends on myspace of all things. We all enjoyed the same movie and had joined a "group" back when that was popular. We've been together 6 years now.

2. I follow with GFC!

3. Also a fb fan.

Paula
mrspaulafranco@gmail.com

Thank you for another great giveaway!

Cher B said...

Can't wait to read this- thanks for the chance to win!

- I follow this blog
- FB fan, too

Cher
cherbason(at)gmail(dot)com

bn100 said...

Great interview! The book sounds very good.

I met my best friend in college.

I follow the blog.

Thanks for the giveaway.

bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

Tiffany Drew said...

I met my best friend in the fourth grade :)

GFC follower Tiffany Drew

Facebook member Tiffany Drew

Tweet https://twitter.com/#!/enterthedrew/status/175695732618166274

jaidahsmommy(at)comcast(dot)net

karenk said...

i met my best friend at work.

thanks for the chance to read this novel :)

i'm a follower, too.

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

Amy said...

This book sounds so good! I met my best friend, Emily, at an ice breaker at a youth convention at the beginning of 10th grade in high school. We all dipped into a hat and got a piece of paper. Mine was "gun" and I had to find my "rose." Well Emily was my rose and the rest is what we call history!
I'm a GFC follower, an email follower and a fan of FB!

Jeryl M. said...

I would like to read this book.

jeryl.marcus@gmail.com

Jeryl M. said...

I met my best friend when my former best friend introduced us.

I am a Facebook fan.

I am a subscriber.

jeryl.marcus@gmail.com

rubynreba said...

I met my best friend when I was a Senior in High School. We had a lot of classes together and hit it off immediately! We're still very good friends.

I am a follower.

Joined you on facebook.

pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

Margie said...

Sounds good! Thanks for the giveaway.
-I met my best friend in elementary school.
-Facebook fan
-blog follower
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Krista said...

I met my best friend in an online chat room when i lived in Florida and he in Michigan. It went so well that I married him and we have 4 kids :)

I'm a follower and i've liked, weeted and FB'd.

kristakames@gmail.com

Nancye said...

Sounds like another great book! Thanks for the giveaway!

I met my best friend WAAAAAY back in 2nd grade (1977---you can do the math!! :) We are still best friends today!

GFC Follower

I Like you on Facebook

I Tweeted!
@NancyeDavis
https://twitter.com/#!/NancyeDavis/status/176895310713470976

FB Post/ID Nancye Epperson Davis
http://www.facebook.com/nancyecdavis/posts/3191517598749

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Sheena said...

I met my Bff in Middle school My first day in a new school in 7th grade, she was the other new girl we ended up having lunch together and the rest is history!

I follow the blog and am a member on facebook:)
wapneski@yahoo.com

Maureen said...

I met my best friend in school.
I am a follower
Tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/MaureenCE/status/177211870434963457
mce1011 AT aol DOT com