Monday, April 22, 2013

Stephanie Elliot puts her book to music...plus a giveaway!

Introduction by Melissa Amster

***Giveaway is now closed***

Stephanie Elliot is back and this time she has a full-length novel to share with us! It's her debut, as well. You may remember that she wrote a novella called The Cell Phone Lot last year. (Only 99 cents for Kindle...hint, hint.)

We're very proud of Stephanie because we know that becoming published is no easy feat in this day and age. As Stephanie's blog was one of the inspirations for this blog (especially in terms of giveaway bonus questions), maybe her novel will inspire me to write a novel! One can only dream...

If you haven't visited Stephanie's blog, Booking with Manic, you definitely should go over there right now and get to know her better. She features a lot of the latest and greatest in chick lit, as well as some other treats. That's why Chick Lit is Not Dead chose it for their current Blog of the Month! She currently has a HUGE giveaway going on until April 29th (US/Canada only), so don't forget to enter for a chance to win lots of books! In the meantime, she's sharing an e-book (Kindle only) of What She Left Us with one lucky reader anywhere in the world...RIGHT HERE!

You can also find Stephanie at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

As a fun preview of what we have in store for International Chick Lit Month (in a week or so from now), Stephanie is sharing the soundtrack of her novel!

WHAT SHE LEFT US
By Stephanie Elliot

When Melissa asked me to contribute a Five Bests to Chick Lit Central we talked about maybe the Five Songs of my life and then I thought that would be major boring snore fest.
There are a bunch of songs that surround the characters in What She Left Us so I thought it would be interesting to take you on a tour of what songs took place during some of the scenes in the book.

1. "Gravity" by John Mayer: When Courtney meets Mitch for the first time she hears him playing this song on his guitar. She is the RA and has to tell him to quit playing his guitar because it's after hours and other students are trying to sleep. But she can't seem to bring herself to knock on his door because she loves the song and he's playing so good. So she waits until the final riffs of the tune until she gently knocks on his door and when he opens the door she is greeted by… well, you'll have to read what happens next. Let's just say she does not leave his room until 3 a.m.!

2. Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over": When Jenna goes to Klippy's Bar for the first time and settles into the swiveling bar stool, this song is playing. She meets Clay and states that she wishes her 'Dog Days were over.' This is the start of a very unusual friendship.

3. "Your Body is a Wonderland" by John Mayer: In another scene at Klippy's, this time Jenna and Clay are having a fairly close-talking conversation that's not sexual in any way, yet Clay's hands are on Jenna's knees, and she can feel the heat rising through her body. Finally, the music changes to something "less take-me-to-bed." Jenna's not sure if she feels relieved or not.

4. "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison: I don't even know if any of the girls in the book have brown eyes because I like to leave a lot of the description up to the imagination of my readers. I DO know that Mitch, who is playing this song on his guitar at the lake for Courtney, has the MOST AMAZING eye lashes that she has ever seen on a guy EVER.

5. "Stay" by Rihanna: Well, I guess there are a lot of bar scenes because this song is being played at Klippy's and I just realized that the song that played before this one was Sugar Hill's Rap, which means this is a very eclectic bar, and one that I would TOTALLY want to hang out in — which is probably why I created it. Anyway, of course, this is another scene at Klippy's with Jenna and Clay. But listen up! THEY work there! They are friends! Because Jenna is engaged to Darren! Sort of. OK, not really, because Jenna broke off the engagement after her mother died. See, it's sort of screwed up really. You might just have to read the book to find out what it's all about.

Here's the synopsis of What She Left Us:
Jenna and Courtney are dealing with the unexpected death of their mother in different ways. Jenna broke off her engagement to the man she thought she'd love forever, while Courtney headed back to college to take charge of a dorm-floor full of college students as a resident assistant.

Six months later, Jenna is fueled by panic over the news that the sisters may have the same disease that caused their mother's death and she makes an irrational decision - she packs it up and heads to college to be with Courtney. The timing couldn't be worse for Courtney, who's discovering love for the first time with Mitch, a sexy guitar player who may just be off limits.

Emotionally unstable, Jenna wonders if she made the worst mistake of her life by breaking off her engagement with Darren, and when he shows up to make amends, she can't help but second-guess her decision. But then there's Clay, the compassionate bartender at Klippy's who seems to understand everything Jenna's going through. And those hazel eyes just seem to see right through to Jenna's soul…

As the girls maneuver through their unpredictable futures, trying to manage their new health risks as well as tumultuous love lives, Courtney finds a disturbing photograph that indicates there may be more to their family than she ever imagined.

This stunning revelation could shatter the sisters to the very core, making them question everything they thought they knew about their family, their faith, their past and, most of all, each other.

Thanks to Stephanie for sharing her novel's soundtrack with us and her book with our readers!

How to win What She Left Us:
Tell us about a decision that you have second-guessed after you made it.

One entry per person.

Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you if you win. Entries without contact information will NOT be counted.

Giveaway ends April 28th at midnight EST.

25 comments:

PoCoKat said...

I second guess myself everytime I want to eat something naughty...something very sugary!

littleone AT shaw DOT ca

Anonymous said...

I try not to second guess my big decisions, but I often get buyer's remorse!

cat123hen(at)aol(dot)com

Nova said...

I second guessed my decision to let my daughter go away to college at 17 instead of waiting until she was 18. Luckily she only went about an hour away, so I was near enough to help her when needed.
sparkle40175@hotmail.com

Pauline Wiles said...

The synopsis is fascinating and I love Brown Eyed Girl!
I second guess most decisions. The biggest, I suppose, was leaving a safe, low-stress, well-paid day job because I wanted to push myself and explore new horizons. My bank account often wonders if perhaps the horizons could have co-existed, instead ;)

Hailey Fish said...

Thanks for the chance to win what sounds like a fantastic read! :)

fishiegirl22@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I wish I hand't gone to law school. Too much debt, I don't enjoy the work, and the market is saturated with unemployed lawyers.

Jessica said...

I always regret it when I eat something heavy before the gym and it makes me sick.

Thanks!
-Jessica M
walkingcorpse11@hotmail.com

DD said...

I second guessed my decision to let my respiratory therapy certification lapse. Now I realize it was a HUGE mistake on my part!

dawndennis66611 at yahoo dot com

ps--Brown Eyed Girl is my anthem. Only not Van Morrison's version. Mine is the cover that Everclear did.

Rhonda said...

I don't second guess myself just keep going lomazowr@gmail.com

Unknown said...

i second guess a lot of little things, but most things in life are best as they are. opesopinions@gmail.com

Cat Lavoie said...

Love the synopsis and the playlist!
I'm a shopaholic so I've regretted a lot of decisions... lol. I once went to the mall for a pair of jeans and came back with a new pink laptop computer! (I only regretted it for a little while because that computer was fabulous!)
Thanks for the giveaway! :)
Cat
catenabi@gmail.com

Linda Kish said...

I second guess most major decisions I make. A big one was when I bought my condo many years ago. I kicked myself for days before I finally decided what's done is done. I ended up living there for about 15 years.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

StereoQueenBee said...

Taking an entire year's maternity leave even though I have it paid from my work. But in the end, I think it is the right thing to do.

queenofcrunk@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I second guessed letting my son drive across the country his freshman yr in college for spring break but it turned out well and he made it home safe.

melinda.garza15@yahoo.com

bn100 said...

I don't second guess myself.

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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

I second guess quitting my job to go back to school for education - but once I find a teaching job I will feel much better! ;)

missamberljohnson at gmail dot com

Stephanie said...

Thanks Melissa for hosting me! I love everyone's answers -- they are so much fun! :)

rubynreba said...

We bought a 90 year old home about 10 years ago. We love it but there is always something to fix! I often wish we had stayed in our newer home.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

My father left when I was 3. I found him a couple of years ago and now am second guessing my decision to find and contact him. It has gone nothing like I thought it might and his new family new nothing about my brother and I. Usually, I think I am just being silly when I second guess what I've done but this time, I think it's spot on and a decision I wish I could take back.

lastnerve2000@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I don't second guess many decisions, but a big one that I still second (and third, and fourth) guess is whether I should have had a double mastectomy instead of a single. I would be much more symmetrical (and would never have to wear a bra), and wouldn't have to worry about getting cancer in my other breast!

bjoneill@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Always the dreaded buyer's remorse.

SuzyQ4PR at aol dot com

faithspage said...

Everytime I leave TJ Maxx or Marshalls with bags!

I probably didn't need anything that I just bought

Jeryl M. said...

Whenever I have a lot of things to do and I decide to do one thing instead of another I second guess myself.

jeryl.marcus@gmail.com

Shelley said...

Second guess myself? On just about everything!