Sara and Melissa Talk About...Seasons

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are currently in our fifth year!

This month, we are talking about seasons. The four seasons provide a nice backdrop to novels, whether they're in the heat of summer, a blustery autumn with the leaves falling everywhere (and pumpkin spice, of course), a cozy warm home after being outside on a freezing winter's day, or all the flowers blooming in the spring. To accompany this post, here are some songs that talk about seasons:

"Girl for All Seasons" from Grease 2
"Seasons of Love" from Rent
"The Time of the Season" by The Zombies
"Seasons" by Maroon 5

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Melissa Amster:

I grew up in the midwest, where we got all four seasons to the extreme. Sometimes, we'd get snow in the middle of spring! After moving out east, I noticed that some seasons are more mild than others. Here are my thoughts on each of the seasons:

Summer: Summer used to be my favorite, when I was a kid and got to go swimming almost every day. I also enjoyed having breaks from school or college and would live it up during the summer months. Nowadays, the only thing I like about summer is my birthday. I work year-round, so summer is just like any other time of the year, except really, really hot. I hate being hot. I just feel so disgusting after being outside for a while. I'm also not as much of a Fourth of July person as I used to be. It just feels like any other day to me. 

Autumn: I've always been an autumn person, for as long as I can remember. I don't even care about pumpkin spice. I just love the smell of the air, the leaves changing color, the temperature cooling down a bit, etc. I don't know that I've talked about Sukkot much here, but it takes place during the autumn and the later in the season, the better. (Trust me, it's no fun being in a sukkah when it still feels like 100 degrees out!) This year, it will be in late October, so I'm looking forward to that. I also still enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving. My older son was born in September, so that's another reason for me to like this time of year!

A glimpse inside our sukkah

Winter: When we first moved to Maryland, we were told that it barely ever snows here. That winter, we had Snowmageddon and could barely even leave our house. I'm not a huge fan of snow, except when I don't have to be outside dealing with it. It's a pain to shovel and it's scary to drive on. I also don't like being extremely cold either. In the midwest, it was so cold that it was actually painful. I enjoy the winter holiday season, but that's about it. I found out that this year, Hanukkah and Christmas are together! At the end of winter, I look forward to my daughter's birthday.

Snowmageddon 2010

Spring: I used to be ambivalent about spring. It was just nice enough out, but it felt like a boring season to me when I was growing up. After moving to Maryland, I now look forward to seeing the cherry blossoms every spring. They're so beautiful! My anniversary and my younger son's birthday are both in March, so that's something fun to celebrate. And while I don't like cleaning for Passover, I do enjoy the holiday once it's actually happening.

Sara Steven:

When I think of seasons, I immediately think of the song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds. To everything there is a season, right? It’s fitting. Just this morning, I reflected on the fact that next year, I’ll have lived in Arizona ten years, when it feels like I just moved here not too long ago. Before moving to Arizona, I lived in Nebraska for fourteen years, and soon, Arizona will contend with that length of time. My boys are young adults and teenagers now, but when we moved here, my youngest wasn’t in school yet, and the oldest son was starting fifth grade. If anything shows you a turn of seasons, it’s realizing how much older your children are. 

The one year my boys attended school together;
6th grade and kindergarten respectively

When it comes to my favorite season, it’s always been the summer. I love the heat. I love the sun. I love the ability to spend as much time as possible outdoors, enjoying fully bloomed plants, nature, and wildlife that you might not see in colder weather. I know for someone who now contends with intense heat in Arizona, I sound a little crazy. Most of the time, residents here hide out during those 115 degree days, and yes, I’m one of them. Even I have my limits. But I enjoyed my early morning walk today, reveling in a cloudless blue sky and neverending sunshine, because I’ll work around the super hot summers in Arizona, not letting it dampen my favorite time of year. 

It’s not limited to where I currently live. No matter where I’ve lived–Oregon, Texas, Nebraska, Arizona–I’ve loved the summertime. I feel more in tune with myself and with my environment. I tread through those cold winter months, prepare through the spring, in order to arrive at June-July-August. One of my earliest memories in my childhood consists of time spent outdoors in the summery sunshine, lifting my face up towards the bright horizon, eyes closed, listening to the sounds of other kids like me playing and enjoying their day. My birthday is in July, too, so that might have something to do with it. I’m a summer baby by birth, and by choice.

Me, enjoying the great summer outdoors

What is your favorite season? Least favorite?

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Sara and Melissa Talk About...Birthdays

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. This month, since we're both July babies, we're talking about birthdays!

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.

Sara Steven:                                                                                                                                  Melissa made a particular comment recently, after I told her about the power outage I experienced out here in Arizona just a couple of days ago. We’re smack dab in the middle of monsoon season, and while scrambling around in a dark house barely lit by cell phone lights, I remembered the tealight candles she sent my way, as part of my special birthday box. She’s always sending the neatest things for my birthday. 

I’d already packed up nearly all of my candles--we’re moving soon, so I didn’t think I needed candles. I have just the one that I leave as a decorative piece within a white shiny bird cage, and a tiny orange tealight in an orange vase that reads: “Shine a Light.” When I relayed all of that to her, she said, “It’s beshert.”

I’ve heard the phrase before, but I looked it up again, just to be sure. Beshert means, “destiny.” And I believe it was destiny. In fact, the day before I’d contemplated packing the box up and adding it to our ever-growing pile meant for storage, before we make the big move. Yet, I didn’t. My birthday candles really came in handy. 

via GIFER

I played a few card games by candlelight with my husband and son while we waited out the monsoon. At one point, we needed a set of dice, and my son ran off to retrieve the dice he’d received from another friend of mine when she went to Vegas recently. Somehow, they’d eluded the packing surge and were tucked away in a desk drawer. Another beshert moment. Then later in the evening, while we were winding down and counting the hours before we were promised power again, the kid was up for reading one of his Dog Man books, but there wasn’t enough light to make that happen. Is it crazy that Melissa had also packed a clip-on book reading light in the birthday box, too?

The older I get, birthdays begin to feel like just another day. My fortieth was pretty spectacular, with friends and family living it up into the early morning hours before we all crashed and burned with massive hangovers the next morning. But that was three years ago. It feels like the digits between the big 4-0 and 5-0 are just that--digits. And I’m fine with that. I’m happy with cake. Maybe dinner out. I appreciate the gifts I receive, but I don’t focus on them. I nearly forgot my own birthday this year, because there’s so much going on right now and it hasn’t been a priority for me. 

Yet, it’s hard to ignore the “beshert” moments, like this one. Even when I’m not focused on my own needs, my friends have my back. Even when they might not realize it. It all lined up to make a scary, unpleasant night a lot more bearable for all of us, which shows that the people who come into our lives can be our own beshert experiences.   

Melissa Amster:                                                                                       My birthday is coming up in less than a week. I always look forward to it, even if it's a simple celebration. It's an affirmation of life. This year's birthday puts me halfway to another milestone, which is hard to believe sometimes. In any case, I always enjoy all the Facebook messages from friends and family. I definitely feel the birthday love from near and far. I also give away books every year, either on my personal blog or on social media. I think I will be doing it through my bookstagram this year.

Over the past few years, I've usually taken a "me day" on my birthday. I don't do any work and just relax and do something for myself. I also like having date nights with my husband on or around my birthday. There have been years that I've had a party, usually on Shabbat, with friends from my community. Every year, it varies, just based on what I want to do. Some of them have been a blur over the years. One year, my son got strep, which ended up derailing my "me day," but watched The Karate Kid together and then my in-laws babysat while my husband and I saw Evita at night. That was five years ago. I did end up getting a manicure and pedicure the next day though. 

Last year, thanks to Covid, I didn't do that much, but I watched A Mighty Wind, which is a movie I enjoy. Had I known two days later that I would be laid off from my full-time job (which I am okay with because it has led me to a different path), I might not have taken the day off as it wouldn't have mattered soon anyway. The best part of my birthday was a video card my husband made, where he dubbed his own voice into scenes from Schitt's Creek, trying to do impressions of each character. He totally nailed David's voice and we still laugh about that. He did the same thing with a Randy Rainbow Cameo afterward. While  it wasn't a real Cameo video from Randy, it still made me laugh a lot. Speaking of Cameos, my BFF and her husband got me one from 90 Day Fiance's Loren last year, which was really sweet. While Sara enjoys my gifts, I equally love hers. She got me this Sodastream flavor that I had trouble finding at the store, as well as a David Rose mug. 

I don't have set birthday plans this year, but there are some things I'd like to do, such as having dinner with my family and going to this cool nighttime outdoor art display. Here's to hoping that actually happens!

Schitts Creek David Rose GIF from Schittscreek GIFs

When is your birthday? What did you do/are you doing to celebrate?

Sara and Melissa....Interview Each Other!

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. This month, we're doing something a little bit different and interviewing each other instead. We hope you will enjoy getting to know us in this way. If there are any questions you'd like to ask us, please share them in the comments and we will answer in a different post. 

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.

Melissa's interview with Sara:

Which book first got you into reading chick lit?
I used to sneak my stepmother’s historical romance novels when I was ten years old. I have always been an avid reader and I remember feeling like the ultra thick, hundreds of pages long books would be a huge challenge for me. When she discovered that I’d dug into her stash of bodice rippers, my stepmother shocked me by sharing them with me. I guess she figured most of the steamy scenes would go over my head, anyway. Or maybe she felt it was a way for us to bond over a similar interest. The romance in the stories paved the way for other genres for me, like chick lit. I appreciated that chick lit focused on a heroine-centered narrative and I’ve yet to pick up a historical romance novel since my teen years.

Which household chore do you like the most and which do you dread the most?
I don’t know if I can say I like any household chore, but if I had to pick one that I tolerate, it would be the laundry responsibilities in my household. I don’t mind washing laundry, folding it, or putting it away. What I dread, though, is having to clean toilets. Can there be any worse chore, particularly when your children are boys?

If you could time travel back to any point in your life, which would you pick and why?
I’m a forty-two year old college student. I’d attempted to get into the college game when most people do, shortly after high school, yet I wasn’t ready for that sort of commitment. I spent several years of my life thinking I wasn’t meant for higher learning. When my youngest started kindergarten, I decided to take one single college course, just to see how I’d feel about it. One class turned into two, which turned into several more. Once I made the decision to go for it, I signed up with my community college to enroll in a program that allowed me to earn my associates degree, then transfer on to a four year university. I now have my associates, and my bachelor’s degree journey begins next month. If I could go back in time, I’d try to better understand the value of an education. Maybe I’d put more effort in, not downplay my intelligence or feel as though “that world” wasn’t meant for me. I had a lot of preconceived notions back in those days, and who knows what could have been had I tried harder. Yet, I don’t think I would have ever had the commitment or motivation to do as well as I have now, in my more mature years.

Since July is our birth month, share a favorite birthday memory or two. :)
The first thing that popped into my head was my fortieth birthday. I had such a great time. I spent it with my husband, my kids, and good friends, with food catered in. It was a nice, relaxing, yet fun experience. A perfect way to ring in a milestone birthday.

Which celebrity would you like to switch with for a day (like in a Freaky Friday way)?
Can I swap with a celebrity’s spouse? As in, Mark Wahlberg’s wife? Ha! No but, in all seriousness, I’ve wondered what it would be like to trade places with Jennifer Lopez. She’s amazing.

What is your go-to comfort food? What do you consider your comfort movie and comfort TV show?
Ooh, comfort food. I’m pretty basic when it comes to comfort food. A bowl of macaroni and cheese with hot dogs always does the trick for me. Or, a big slice of cake, preferably tuxedo cake. As for a comfort movie, something funny, like a Mel Brooks film or something from the 80s, like a John Hughes film. As for TV, anything from this list that Melissa and I had posted for last month’s CLC TV show topic works for me!

Sara's interview with Melissa:

You're a whiz at offering movie casting suggestions for the chick lit novels you read. Are there any particular characters and the potential actors or actresses you've movie cast that stand out the most for you?

Here's my secret: I usually comb through IMDb to find the right casting fits. Honestly, I do get some ideas into my head while watching movies or shows, but the majority of the time it's like doing an IMDb scavenger hunt! Some picks I did come up with that I really liked:

Meghann Fahy as Kyra in In the Swim of Things by Tracie Banister

Haley Lu Richardson and Annie Murphy as sisters Bree and Natasha in She's Faking It by Kristin Rockaway 

Oscar Isaac as Dom in How to Save a Life by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Jane Levy as Annie in Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Sarah Levy as Grace in A Little Bit of Grace by Phoebe Fox

(Can you tell I watch too much Schitt's Creek with some of my casting choices?)

I love when authors tell me that I nailed a casting choice for them. That makes my day!

Where do you see yourself in five years?

With a child in college. Gasp! Honestly, I don't know. Probably still at my same job. Maybe with an established side gig in the publishing industry. You never know. 

I'd love to hear your favorite birthday memory or two, as well, considering we share a birth month. What are some of your favorite birthday memories?

The sort-of surprise 30th birthday party my husband threw for me. I knew it was happening and handled the invitation list, but I didn't know the theme or where it would be held. I also didn't know what he had planned for the cake decoration. It was a picture of me looking like I was doing a hula dance. (The theme was Hawaii.)

My 33rd birthday, when my friend and I took my older son to see an Ice Age movie (the dinosaur one) and then went bowling and out to dinner (our husbands joined us for the latter two activities). It was just a nice day, enhanced by the embarrassing question my son asked when we were in the bathroom. 

My 22nd birthday, which was celebrated at the Neo-Futurarium (this theater that I was obsessed with at the time) to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.

What are some of the most meaningful bits of advice you've received over the years?

I usually give advice more often than I receive it. I give advice to new moms to tell them not to listen to anyone except for themselves and their pediatrician. I hated getting too many opinions over how to do things when I was a new mom and like giving permission to others to not have to put up with that. Who cares how we feed our babies, as long as they are getting nutrition and the doctor is okay with it?!?

I also give advice to other bloggers about how blogging is not a competition and that we are all in this together. Just make your blog something personal to you and that's all you need. When I was first starting out as a book blogger, I did actually receive some advice from a publicist and that's what helped make this blog as successful as it is! At the time, I was embarrassed about how I had gone about things the wrong way with trying to reach authors to feature at the blog, but after she told me to hang back and let them come to me, things flowed smoothly from there.

What is your biggest fear?

Death. That's all I really need to say.  

What book has impacted you the most?

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I think because I could relate to Dolores in terms of being bullied a lot and then eventually how she came into her own and didn't put up with that anymore. The book actually motivated me to get my first apartment in college. It's been 22 years since I last read it, but I still think about it and always recommend it. 

Can you relate to any of our answers? We'd love to learn more about you too!

Birthdays in December

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

12/1 - Alisa Kwitney

12/1 - Tish Cohen
12/2 - Christa Allan

12/2 - Lisa Dale

12/3 - Holly Robinson

12/3 - Jess Riley
12/4 - Michelle Cox

12/4 - Amy Ferris
12/4 - Hollye Dexter
12/5 - Karen McCullah
12/9 - Laura Kenyon
12/13 - Kathleen Irene Paterka
12/14 - Nancy Thayer
12/17 - Gina Calanni
12/18 - Kathryn R. Biel
12/18 - Nicky Wells
12/19 - Sara Palacios
12/20 - Belinda Jones
12/20 - Phoebe Fox
12/20 - Jenny Gardiner
12/22 - Robert Manni
12/23 - Suzanne Palmieri
12/23 - Meredith Schorr*
12/24 - Jennifer Gilbert
12/27 - Sarah Girrell
12/28 - Kate O'Keeffe
12/29 - Jenny Lawson
12/30 - Sonja Yoerg
12/31 - Renee Rosen

*Melissa A met in person

See birthdays from:

January * February * March

April * May * June
July * August * September
October * November

Birthdays in November

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

11/1 - Caprice Crane
11/1 - Maria Geraci
11/1 - Taryn Leigh
11/2 - Daphne Uviller
11/4 - Kristina Riggle
11/6 - Sally Koslow
11/8 - Lauren Oliver
11/8 - Karyn Gall Hippen
11/9 - Rosy Thornton
11/10 - Hilary Grossman
11/12 - Michelle Richmond
11/12 - Yvette Manessis Corporon
11/12 - Genevieve Gannon
11/12 - Janey Fraser/Sophie King
11/13 - Brea Brown
11/14 - Lisa Verge Higgins
11/15 - Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar
11/15 - Lolly Winston
11/18 - Lacy Camey
11/18 - Ellen Meister
11/18 - Shari Shattuck
11/19 - Linda Francis Lee
11/21 - Kristina McMorris
11/21 - Freya North
11/23 - Alice Eve Cohen
11/25 - Bethany Chase
11/25 - Kirsten Lobe
11/26 - Cooper Lawrence
11/26 - Lindy Dale
11/29 - Sarah Pekkanen*
11/30 - Tracey Meyers (CLC Team)
11/30 - Jerrica Knight-Cattania

*Melissa A met in person

See birthdays from:

January * February * March

April * May * June
July * August * September
October

Birthdays in October

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

10/2 - Jami Deise (author and review associate)

10/3 - Whitney Dineen

10/3 - Robyn Harding

10/3 - Lindsey Kelk

10/3 - Fern Ronay

10/6 - Dina Silver

10/7 - Lynda Cohen Loigman

10/7 - Rebecca Flowers

10/8 - Melissa Smoot

10/8 - Jenna Blum

10/8 - Gail Ward Olmsted

10/9 - Carolyn Moncel

10/10 - Abby Clements

10/10 - Keith Stewart (Go-to Gay)

10/11 - Cindy Sample

10/11 - Nikki LeClair

10/12 - Nancy Brook

10/14 - Lisa Heidke

10/15 - Chris Manby

10/16 - Susan McBride

10/17 - Laura McNeill/Lauren Clark

10/18 - Samantha Verant

10/18 - Shannon McKelden

10/18 - Glynis Astie

10/19 - Lucie Simone

10/21 - Jennifer Tress

10/22 - Susan Jane Gilman

10/23 - Catherine McKenzie

10/24 - Kim Gruenenfelder

10/25 - Julie Klam

10/25 - Maureen Lipinski 

10/25 - Laura Spinella

10/25 - Julie Kibler

10/27 - Irene Zutell

10/27 - Geralyn Corcillo

10/28 - Sarah Pinneo 

10/28 - Elissa Schappel

10/30 - Cassandra Dunn

See birthdays from:

January * February * March

April * May * June
July * August * September

Birthdays in September

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

9/1 - Gwendolen Gross
9/1 - Kelly Harms

9/3 - Jackie Pilossoph 

9/3 - Ben Stanford (logo designer)

9/5 - Kim Wright

9/7 - Kristin Billerbeck

9/10 - Sasha Wagstaff (a.k.a. Ella Harper)

9/11 - Shasta Nelson*
9/12 - Janelle Brown
9/12 - Robyn Neeley
9/14 - Lori Verni-Forgarsi
9/14 - Jenny Colgan
9/16 - Therese Walsh
9/22 - Laurie Baxter
9/23 - Jennie Shortridge
9/24 - Becky Gulc (reviewer)
9/24 -Jennifer Ammoscato
9/24 - Karyn Bosnak
9/25 - Kristin Hannah
9/26 - Matt Dunn
9/26 - Christina Jones
9/27 - Mia King (a.k.a. Darien Gee)
9/28 - Karma Brown
9/28 - Celia Kennedy
9/29 - Amy Hatvany
9/29 - Jessica Goodwin
9/30 - Liz Fenton*
9/30 - Cecelia Ahern

*Melissa A met in person

See birthdays from:

January * February * March

April * May * June
July * August

Birthdays in August

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

8/1 - Jessica Smock 

8/2 - Kristyn Kusek Lewis

8/2 - Darcie Boleyn

8/3 - Theo Nestor

8/3 - Cathie Beck

8/3 - Ann Garvin

8/5 - Cindy Arora

8/5 - Janet Skeslien Charles

8/6 - Karen Lenfestey

8/7 - Shanna Swendson

8/8 - Lorena Bathey

8/9 - Karin Tanabe

8/12 - Melissa Baldwin

8/12 - Tawna Fenske

8/12 - Marisa de los Santos

8/12 - Susie Schnall

8/13 - Kerry Lonsdale

8/15 - Melissa Senate

8/15 - Emma Bennet 

8/15 - Janis Thomas

8/15 - Wendy Wax

8/17 - Nicola Kraus

8/17 - Barb Valentin

8/18 - Michelle Betham

8/19 - Molly Jong-Fast

8/19 - Charity Shumway

8/20 - Ellie Grossman 

8/21 - Jillian Medoff

8/24 - Monique McDonell

8/27 -Isabelle Laflèche

8/27 - Richard Fifield

8/29 - Deborah Nam-Krane

8/30 - Dee Detarsio
8/30 - Jessica Strawser

See birthdays from:

January

February
March
April
May
June
July

Birthdays in July

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

7/3 - Elyssa Friedland

7/4 - Eileen Goudge

7/4 - Tegan Wren

7/5 - Sara Steven (review associate)

7/5 - Kamy Wicoff*

7/5 - Lennie Ross

7/6 - Beth Harbison*

7/6 - Lauren Baratz Logsted

7/7 - Sam Baker

7/8 - Laurie Gwen Shapiro

7/9 - Jenny Nelson

7/12 - Heather Hummel

7/13 - Carol Snow

7/13 - Martha Reynolds

7/14 - Nichole Bernier

7/15 - Lynda Curnyn

7/15 - Caryn Rosenthal

7/16 - Kristy Woodson Harvey*

7/17 - Elin Hilderbrand*

7/17 - Kathy Cooperman

7/17 - Kaya McLaren

7/18 - Laura Dave*

7/18 - Eve Mont

7/19 - Lisa Jewell

7/20 - Abby Beverley

7/20 - Steena Holmes

7/20 - Stephanie Evanovich*

7/20 - Melissa A

7/21 - Courtney Rice Gager

7/23 - Bridget Foley

7/23 - Sue Watson

7/26 - Lucy-Anne Holmes

7/26 - Mary Kay Andrews

7/26 - Sara Gruen

7/26 - Lyndsay Faye*

7/28 - Elizabeth Aloe

7/31 - Seré Prince Halverson

*Melissa A met in person

See birthdays from:

January

February
March
April
May
June

Birthdays in June

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

6/1 - Kate Moretti

6/2 - Melissa Ford

6/3 - Heather McElhatton

6/3 - Laura Lane McNeal

6/3 - Julie Buxbaum

6/3 - Erik Atwell

6/3 - Sarah Maizes

6/4 - Tracy Krimmer

6/4 - Marci Nault

6/5 - Nicole Waggoner

6/5 - Dawn Lerman

6/6 - Anna David

6/6 - Carole Matthews

6/8 - Sibel Hodge

6/9 - Georgina Penney

6/10 - Stacey Wiedower

6/10 - Colleen Oakley

6/10 - Jael McHenry

6/11 - Marla Martenson

6/12 - Pam Jenoff*

6/12 - Allison Winn Scotch

6/14 - Laura Chapman

6/14 - Lily Graham

6/14 - Cara Lockwood

6/15 - Engy Albasel Neville

6/15 - Diana Spechler

6/17 - Ruth Saberton

6/18 - Tess Woods

6/19 - Rachel Lynn Hamm

6/19 - Megan Crane

6/19 - Emma Lee-Potter

6/19 - Eleanor Gwyn-Jones

6/22 - Brenda Janowitz*
6/22 - Hannah McKinnon

6/22 - Marlene Engel*

(Book Mama, our sister blog)
6/25 - Dana Bate*

6/25 - Pippa Franks
6/25 - Liberty Kontranowski
6/25 - Jennifer S. Brown

6/25 - Zanna Mackenzie

6/26 - Shelle Sumners

6/28 - Meredith Goldstein

6/28 - Jennifer Coburn

6/30 - Clodagh Murphy

6/30 - Jennifer Gooch Hummer

*Melissa A met in person

See birthdays from:

January

February
March
April
May

Birthdays in May

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

5/3-Jill Smolinski

5/4-Kristin Harmel*

5/5-Corine Gantz

5/5-Deborah Disney

5/5-Rachel Bertsche*

5/5-Jennifer Farwell

5/10-Poppy Dolan

5/11-L. Alison Heller

5/11-Brooke Moss

5/11-Marilyn Simon Rothstein

5/12-Lisa Lim

5/13-Bonnie Trachtenberg

5/13-Isabel Wolff

5/15-Jenna McCarthy

5/16-Bree Housley

5/17-Leslie Lehr

5/17-Kaira Rouda

5/19-Rich Amooi

5/20-Julie Lawson Timmer

5/22-Linda Yellin

5/24-Eileen Rendahl

5/25-Stacey Ballis

5/26-Samantha Stroh Bailey*

5/26-Jessica Fechtor*

5/27-Sharisse Coulter

5/28-Emily Liebert

5/29-Lindsey J. Palmer

5/31-Laura Barnard

5/31-Jane Green*

*Melissa A has met them in person

See birthdays from:

January

February
March
April

Forty is the new twenty for Liz and Lisa...plus a book giveaway

This is the year I turn the big 4-0, and it started off with a fabulous early birthday gift....seeing my name in the acknowledgements section of Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke's latest novel, The Year We Turned Forty (reviewed here), which publishes on April 26th.

Today, I'm turning to them for insight on turning forty and they affirmed how I already feel about it. Only three more months to go...

Thanks to Atria, we have one copy of The Year We Turned Forty for a lucky US reader!

To learn more about these wonderful women, visit their website, which also contains their blog. Then visit them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for some more fun!

Synopsis:
If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently?

This heartwarming and hilarious novel from the authors of The Status of All Things and Your Perfect Life features three best friends who get the chance to return to the year they turned forty—the year that altered all of their lives, in ways big and small—and also get the opportunity to change their future.

Jessie loves her son Lucas more than anything, but it tears her up inside that he was conceived in an affair that ended her marriage to a man she still loves, a man who just told her he's getting remarried. This time around, she’s determined to bury the secret of Lucas’ paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time.

Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she’s one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she’s focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires.

Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she's recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she’s being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there’s the man who got away—the man who may have been her one true love.

But it doesn’t take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences—and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all…. (Courtesy of Liz and Lisa's website.)



Forty vs. Twenty

We’d pick forty over twenty any day

If forty and twenty got into a brawl, forty would definitely win. While many people might think twenty would be victorious because it’s younger, we don’t agree.

Forty might be older. But forty is smart. Forty is secure. And forty looks pretty darn good. (If we do say so ourselves.)

The year we turned forty was a good one. (We published our first novel, Your Perfect Life!) We decided to embrace our new age bracket. Because, what was the alternative? To cry into our overpriced anti-aging creams and wax nostalgic over the days when we could survive on two hours of sleep? Not our style. We realized turning forty was inevitable, so we agreed, why not welcome it with a big fat kiss? Or for Liz, with a big ol’ party with friends and family that included a food truck and a band that covered Bon Jovi and Pink. And for Lisa, a trip to Paris where she toasted the big 4-0 with a glass of champagne atop the Eiffel Tower.

The reality is, we couldn’t have done these things at twenty. We could barely afford boxed wine or a meal that we didn’t charge on a credit card. But at forty, we can do special things because we’ve worked hard for the past twenty years. We’ve settled down with our families. And we’ve started to learn what really matters. Hint: It isn’t being wrinkle free. (Although we aren’t averse to it!)

But that being said, it’s not like we have it all figured out. We still consider ourselves works in progress. And know we always will be. And maybe that knowledge is what comes with age—understanding that each mistake or misstep is a learning opportunity, that the soft spots within us that we tried so hard to hide in our twenties and thirties might actually be the best part of ourselves.

Thanks to Liz and Lisa for the motivational "speech" and to Atria for sharing their book with our readers.

~Introduction by Melissa Amster


How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US only. Giveaway ends April 27th at midnight EST.

Birthdays in April

Instead of posting on our Facebook page, we're going to honor all author and CLC team birthdays each month here!

(If we are missing a birthday, please let us know and we'll be glad to add it.)

4/2 - Samantha Hoffman

4/2 - Maryjane Fahey

4/2 - Alicia Long

4/2 - Kathleen Kole

4/3 - Alison Caiola

4/4 - Tracie Banister

4/4 - Harriet Evans

4/8 - Naomi Zener

4/10 - Pamela Redmond Satran

4/10 - Laura Nicole Diamond

4/11 - Heather Grace Stewart

4/13 - Julie Cohen

4/14 - Juliet Madison

4/14 - Stephanie Elliot

4/14 - Rowan Coleman

4/14 - Sarah McCoy

4/14 - Malena Lott

4/15 - Melissa Hill

4/15 - Trisha Ashley

4/17 - Anita Hughes

4/17 - Kirsty Greenwood

4/18 - Mary Carter

4/18 - Ophelia London

4/19 - Francine LaSala

4/20 - Cindy Roesel (author liaison)

4/21 - Becky Monson

4/21 - Wendy Walker

4/23 - Fiona Walker

4/24 - Michele Gorman

4/25 - Amanda Eyre Ward

4/26 - Holly Tierney-Bedord

4/28 - Lisa April Smith

4/29 - Polly Courtney

4/30 - Lori Nelson Spielman

See birthdays from:

January

February
March