Glynis Astie is an independent woman...plus a special giveaway

Today we welcome Glynis Astie back to CLC to celebrate the publication of her latest novel, Girls' Night Out. The title may sound familiar because of a book that came out this summer. However, Glynis' version is not a thriller. It's more like the classic chick lit that inspired our blog to begin with. Glynis is here to help us close out Disney and Fairy Tale month and she has an e-book and a set of cocktail glasses to give away!

Glynis Astie never expected in her wildest dreams to be a writer. After thirteen years in the Human Resources Industry, she decided to stay at home with her two amazing sons. Ever in search of a project, she was inspired to write the story of how, in only six short months, she met and married her wonderfully romantic French husband, Sebastien. The end result became her first novel, French Twist.

As this was just the beginning of their epic love story, Glynis continued to chronicle their adventures in the sequel, French Toast, and the final installment in the series, French Fry. After she finished milking her life story for all it was worth, she decided to write straight-up fiction with Gamer Girl, which infused her beloved chick lit with a hint of fantasy. She then realized there were a few ounces left in her real-life French fairy tale, and added French Roast to the mix. She is currently considering writing a prequel to the series, and is therefore questioning her definition of “final installment.”

When Glynis is not writing, she is trying to keep the peace amongst the three men and two cats in her life, finding missing body parts (Lego pieces are small!), supervising a myriad of homework assignments and keeping a tenuous hold on her sanity by consuming whatever chocolate is in the vicinity. (Bio courtesy of Glynis' website.)

Visit Glynis online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest

Synopsis:
Jayne, Amanda and Holly have been through everything together. From triumph and heartache to panic and pure bliss, these girls have lived, learned and always had each other’s backs. With the arrival of adulthood, their daily gossip gatherings have dwindled to monthly margarita mixers, making girls’ night out absolutely integral to their survival. Problems with work, men and anything else under the sun now have to be broken down in a few inebriated hours.

Jayne is determined to become a respected news anchor or die trying. After enduring grueling schedules, humiliating assignments like the Great Herring Shortage of 2018 and her snobby mother’s continued insistence that life as a socialite is a much better option for a woman of her “age and abilities,” she is this close to reaching her goal. If only she weren’t so distracted by her insufferable new boss’ smoldering eyes…

Amanda thinks she has it all. She earns the big bucks, has an amazing fiancé and an attitude that just won’t quit. But when an unexpected event throws her life off course, she feels shaken to the red soles of her designer stilettos. Will her battle to regain her former equilibrium be too much for the girls and Countess Cherry Bomb, Amanda’s drag queen bestie, to handle?

Holly is lost. She’s tried every career from animal taming to human resources, but nothing seems to fit. After her latest round of bad decisions, she returns to her small hometown in Connecticut to try to figure out what to do next. If she could just stop pining over the boy next door—and keep her pushy friends out of her love life—she would have a real chance of getting her act together.

With a new year ahead of them, these girls are determined to conquer the world. Will they rise to the occasion or crumble in defeat? One thing’s for sure, their girls’ nights are going to be full of surprises!

When I first considered the question of which Disney character is most like me, I wondered if I would find a suitable answer because I am, quite frankly, a total dork. When I think of Disney characters, my mind immediately goes to the princesses—their beauty, their grace, their intelligence…you see where I’m going with this. But as I perused the pages of a friend’s princess book, the answer came to me. Merida!

Picture from Disney Wiki

Granted, I look NOTHING like her and I have no archery skills to speak of, but I felt an immediate kinship with her. Why, you ask? Well, Merida is impetuous, independent, wicked smart, passionate, Brave (hee!) and, let’s face it, pretty darn awkward. Many times my impetuous nature has gotten me into situations where my passion and bravery have needed to take over—with a small assist from their sidekicks, intelligence and humor. Did I make it through the situations unscathed? Yes. Did I come through without embarrassing myself? Absolutely not. But you can’t have everything! You know what they say—that which does not kill you (as in death by embarrassment) makes you stronger.

Also, Merida and I spent the early portions of our lives without companions, with our interests engaged elsewhere. I was a bit of a wallflower when I was younger, so I didn’t really start dating until after I had graduated college. By then I had a lot of catching up to do, which wasn’t helped by the aforementioned awkward personality. I did get some really good stories for my first book though! As the years went by, most of my girlfriends got married while I focused on my career. (It may have taken me a little while to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.) I wasn’t thrilled to be alone, but it didn’t mean the end of my world either. I had things to do! And then, one day, this amazing Frenchman walked into my life. I knew immediately that I wanted to get to know him better, so I approached him and started a conversation which lasted the whole night. We had our first date the next day and five weeks later, I asked him to marry me! That crazy impetuous nature of mine struck again! I’m happy to report that sixteen years later, we are still happily married.

But wait, there’s more! I, like Merida, am very outgoing, rather stubborn and um, as my boys frequently tell me, LOUD. I often start conversations with strangers, stop to talk to anyone I know while we’re running around town, have very definite opinions on everything—which I readily share—and will always yell my head off when my sons are playing sports or, you know, performing in band concerts. I’m just so excited to see them having fun! What can I say? I’m spreading the joy.

While I’m thrilled to share many admirable qualities with Merida, there are a few things which have escaped my grasp. I really wish I had her athletic nature and her awesome curly red hair. I guess I’ll just have to make do with my two left feet and my shiny brown hair. Life goes on!

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. 

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Giveaway ends December 2nd at midnight EST.

Go-to-Gay AND Chick Lit Cheerleader: A Disney-fied District

Thought you saw the last of Jen and Keith in October? Think again! They're back today to participate in our Disney and Fairy Tales theme. Their topic is current and very clever. We'll let them take it from here....

If We Could Elect the Heroes We Want

Jen: This month the election cycle dominated our lives, and now that it is over, Keith and I would like to add our two cents worth. Inevitably, some of your candidates won and some lost, but we are on the ticket here at CLC, and bringing you our wish list of DISNEY characters we’d love to see in office. I know many of you wish the election cycle was over...that was so silly of you because when you wish upon a star… (NOTE: Be prepared to break into random song throughout the entire read).

I named my pick for POTUS, Veep and thought I’d throw in a couple of other Washington D.C. jobs too. Keith picked out some prime characters for some other cabinet positions. If this goes well, Melissa might let me pick my dream Love Boat crew! And they’d all whistle while they worked. But I digress… If Keith and I were to fill every political position available, we’d be here all day like a hanging chad wishing for someone to put us out of our dangling misery. Why? Because we like you…and you have holiday things nipping at your heels to attend to so let’s get on with the show!

Picture from Disney Wiki

J: For President, I have to go with Mufasa from The Lion King. Friends, we’d hear James Earl Jones’ voice all the time. All. The. Time! I could listen to him command a room and make proclamations from the rising to the setting of the sun in my circle of life. That booming baritone. The powerful tenor and spot on diction. Just saying the name “Mufasa” should be enough to earn this character 100% of the popular vote. James Earl Jones was meant to voice the leader of the free world.

Picture from Disney Wiki

J: My pick for Vice President is none other than Genie. We need him to balance out Mufasa as President. The serious and the satirical. Can you imagine the Laurel and Hardy comedy routine? Genie makes things happen. He gets down to the business of decision making by simply following directions. Three wishes? You’ve got it! If you’re nodding off in one of Vice President Genie’s meetings or while attending one of his public appearances, then that’s your own fault! You’d have to be on your toes because you’d never know if John Wayne or Jack Nicholson were about to make a sudden impressionable appearance. Genie on the ticket in 2020!

Picture from Disney Wiki

J: As long as we’re pretending Disney characters are running the government, this next choice seems logical if not superior. Maximus, the glinty-eyed steed from Tangled is my pick to head the Department of Defense. This is the horse you want on your side in dark alleys! Maximus is all that and a bag of oats—he follows orders better than any four-legged creature I’ve ever owned and can track down a fugitive like Walker, Texas Ranger. My golden retrievers can’t find their own tennis balls in daylight, but this horse has mad skills. He also knows when it’s time to be reasonable, shake hooves, and play nice. Yes, he sucker-punched Flynn right in the kidney when Rapunzel wasn’t looking but you and I both know Flynn is not Mr. Innocent either. And this horse can sword fight! I mean, c’mon people! Mr. Ed could learn a thing or two about diplomacy and swashbuckling from this horse.

Picture from Disney Wiki

J: Secretary of Education. Maleficent. No kid would skip school ever. EVER!
K: But, NEVER accept an apple from her.

Picture from Disney Wiki

K: Attorney General. Woody. Come on. Who else would be 100% honest and after nothing but the truth all the time? Woody would never let us down, and would always fight for equality for all. Plus, he could start all his meetings by saying, “There is a new sheriff in town.”

Picture from Disney Wiki

K: Secretary of State. Ursula, the Sea Witch. Oh sure, she is a “villain,” but she is my all-time favorite villain, so she must be on the list. Plus, the Secretary of State negotiates lots of diplomatic deals, and Ursula negotiated for Ariel’s VOICE, people. She gave up her VOICE to the woman. Ursula has skills that need to be used with Russia and Iran.

Picture from Disney.com

K: Supreme Court Justice. Elsa. OK, a spot isn’t exactly open on the Court right now, but eventually one will be available. Who better than a young, independent woman to lead us in to the next decade?

What do you think? How did we do? Who else would you like to see working in Washington, instead of at Disney Studios?

Keith Stewart is the author of Bernadette Peters Hates Me – True Tales of a Delusional Man. A native of Appalachia, he splits his time between his hometown of Hyden and nearby Lexington, Kentucky. His blog is www.astrongmanscupoftea.com. You can find him on Twitter at @Shiglyogly and Facebook at @AMSCOT (A Strong Man’s Cup of Tea). He is a regular contributor to HumorOutcasts.com and the GoodMenProject.com. He lives with his husband, Andy, and their two dogs, Duke and Dudley.

Jen Tucker is the author of the funny and true stories, The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out and The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt. In September 2012, she had her children's book, Little Pumpkin published as an e-book. She also blogs monthly for Survival for Blondes. She currently lives in Indiana with her husband, three kids and two dogs. You can find her at Twitter, Facebook, her blog and on her website. And in case you missed them. check out her previous Chick Lit Cheerleader posts here.

With a dreamy far off look, and her nose stuck in a book....

By Melissa Amster

I am sharing this post that I wrote a long time ago for my personal blog. I felt it worked well for this theme month and I was thinking about it after taking my kids to a production of Beauty and the Beast this past week.

I kept this month's theme open to all Disney and fairy tale characters because I didn’t want to limit it to just the “princesses.” However, there is no one I can relate to more than Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Picture from Look Magazine

The first reason is really obvious. She loves books!!! That was the first thing that I loved about her, aside from her beautiful singing voice. Her passion for books is so strong that she’ll read the same book twice and she’ll walk through the streets while focused intently on the story in her hand. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when the Beast gives her his library. Such a romantic gesture! It reminds me of how my husband supports my love for books and built bigger shelves so I could display more of them. (And I still keep running out of room!) He is also supportive of my blog and everything surrounding it, such as going to meet authors. The gesture also reminds me of the first time I went to the used book store at the library. There must be millions of books there! I felt like the Beast had given me his library by showing me this store.

Another reason I’m like Belle is that I look for inner beauty. Sure, I can recognize if someone is physically attractive. However, if they are ugly on the inside, I want nothing to do with them. (It’s the same way that Belle felt about Gaston.) A person’s true beauty reflects through when they are kind and loving. Looks will fade over time but treating others as you would want to be treated is an eternal value.

Everyone in the town thought Belle was a bit peculiar and that she didn’t fit in with the people in the town, despite her inner and outer beauty. (It seems like they had a problem with her desire to read all the time. If that makes her odd, then that makes a lot of people in this world odd!) I believe that I don’t completely fit in to any one group in particular. I have friends and I get along well with people individually. When it comes to social situations, I tend to stand on the sidelines or on the outskirts of a group. Either I have nothing to say about the topic or I just look like I’m trying to blend in. I have always marched to the beat of my own drum. I didn’t cave into peer pressure when I was younger and wasn’t much of a wild party girl in college. (I even waited till I was 21 to drink alcohol.) I still do other odd things like reading during social situations (such as at baseball games, during my lunch break at work or even when people come over to visit and play games), singing out loud at random times, spacing out (going off into my own little world), etc.

Belle seems to talk about wanting more than a provincial life. She lives in a small town where the routines are the same every day. I live in a suburban area, but in a small town within that area. I love where I live, but I also feel like there's a sense of routine in my life. I try to rise above just going through the motions. While I'm extremely happy with my husband and kids, I also seek out things that make me an individual, as I don't like to lose myself by just being a wife and mother. (I am not one of those moms from 1950's television shows!) A while back, I read a book called "Here, Home, Hope," by Kaira Rouda, that voices aloud the things I'm usually thinking. I feel like I have done that with my book blog, while fostering my love for books at the same time. I'm sure Belle would have a book blog if she were a real person living in the 21st century. :)

There are a few other ways I am like Belle, such as being loyal to and protecting my family, having a stubborn streak, and talking to inanimate objects (just kidding about that last part). Overall, she is my favorite Disney character of all time and I’m proud to have so much in common with her!

"For once it might be grand, to have someone understand...I want so much more than they've got planned."

Picture from Revelist.com

Lauren Clark knows how to be brave...plus a book giveaway

We welcome Lauren Clark back to CLC today. The last time she was here was in 2016, as Laura McNeill. No matter which name she goes by, she's a sweetheart and we're glad to reconnect with her. Lauren is here to talk about the Disney character she is most like, going along with our theme of Disney and Fairy Tales. She has TWO copies of her latest novel, The World Breaks Everyone, to give away (one print, one e-book).


Lauren Clark is the author of several award-winning novels, including Dancing Naked in Dixie, Stardust Summer, and Stay Tuned. She also writes suspense under the name Laura McNeill. Center of Gravity and Sister Dear have been published by HarperCollins. Visit Lauren at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Synopsis:
Every day, I wake up certain of only three things:

I am responsible for my mother’s death.
My father has vanished.
Someone wants me dead.

I’m on the run. It’s me against the world.

I cannot let it break me.

When sixteen-year-old Olivia Jacobs and her celebrity chef father are brutally attacked after his French Quarter restaurant opening, the shell-shocked Olivia finds herself on the run on the streets of New Orleans.

Who wants her dead? And why? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Be Brave! Merida: The Disney/Pixar Character Most Like Me

From the first moment feisty, headstrong Merida appeared in Brave, I loved the 16-year old Scottish princess. She is anything but a stereotypical royal—athletic, bold, brave, and daring—never a damsel in distress.

Much like me, Merida holds much curiosity about the world around her. She is a bit of a dreamer and often thinks about the legends and myths of her kingdom. I always loved to discover new places as a child, similar to Merida, who enjoys the outdoors. In the movie, you can tell that she loves spending time exploring the forests that surround her home. I probably would not have scaled Crone's Tooth and tried to drink from the fire falls, but I definitely cheered her on as she attempted what only the bravest kings have done.

One of my favorite games as a child was playing hide and seek, which we see Merida enjoying in the movie. She is very fond and protective of her younger triplet brothers, Harris, Hubert, and Hamish. Like Merida, I also had younger brothers (not triplets, thank goodness!). She also shows her softer side with her horse, Angus, preferring to care for him herself.

Photo credit: Disney Wiki

Merida is devoted to her archery skills and though I have never found a loophole in an archery competition to “shoot for my own hand,” I do love playing sports and the challenge of friendly competition. I played soccer, field hockey, and softball in high school, and still enjoy swimming, though at a more leisurely pace!

Merida showed part of her tenacious personality when her cake spell went awry. When her mother turned into a bear, Merida didn't rely on anyone other than herself to fix it. I prefer to solve my own problems, as well, and tend to be stubborn and don’t want to ask anyone for help!

I could relate to Merida being often irritated with her mother; seeing her instructions on how to be a "proper" princess tedious and boring. Rather than following social etiquette and good manners, Merida takes control of her own destiny, despite her mother’s warning that her actions could harm the kingdom. I definitely saw my teenage self in Merida’s behaviors. While I was (overall) a well-behaved daughter, I did have some moments I look back on and wonder what in the world I was thinking!

Merida stands apart from many other Disney/Pixar heroines, as she made clear she wasn't interested in suitors. She even says, "I may never be ready for this." The final scenes of the movie, rather than centering on a love story, focus on her relationship with her mother—exemplifying that families can be repaired and strengthened through patience, bravery, and love.

I had such fun watching Merida grow and change throughout the movie. She begins the film, Brave, as a rebellious and impulsive girl but soon learns to become more understanding and open-minded. I definitely see my younger self in Merida—and I also see 16-year old Olivia Jacobs, the heroine of my new novel, The World Breaks Everyone. Both Olivia and Merida stay true to their core values and temperament throughout, remaining brave and loyal to those they love most.

Thanks to Lauren for visiting with us and sharing her book with our readers.

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. 


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Giveaway ends November 18th at midnight EST.

Kathy Cooperman shows her pride...plus a book giveaway

We're thrilled to have Kathy Cooperman at CLC today. Her sophomore novel, The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield, published last month and we're excited to read it soon. Thanks to Lake Union, we have THREE copies to give away! 

Kathy Cooperman wrote Amazon bestseller CRIMES AGAINST A BOOK CLUB (one of Melissa A's 2017 favorites, reviewed here). She is an ex-improv comic, a recovering attorney (Yale Law), and a mom to four challenging children. Kathy lives in Del Mar, California. Visit her on Twitter.

Synopsis:
Maggie Mayfield, an elementary school principal in the upscale suburbs of San Diego, likes to do the right thing—for her students and, after her marriage takes a hit, for herself as well. What’s wrong with that?

To keep her cash-strapped school afloat, Maggie says yes to a sweet deal from Silicon Valley’s hottest for-profit education company. They’ll provide enough funding so that Maggie can keep her science, art, and PE teachers in exchange for some dopey beta-test program backed by handsome CEO Danny Z. No layoffs! Happy kids!

Professionally, everything’s flourishing. Personally, the right things are tingling—Maggie can’t resist Danny Z’s magnetism. But as the school year continues, Maggie senses that she might have been duped. As things take a turn for the worse, Maggie and her BFF assistant, Diane, must keep things good—by going a little bad.

Smart, funny, and unpredictable, The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield is a comedy of friendship, class warfare, good intentions, and occasionally necessary unprincipled behavior. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

“YOU ARE MORE THAN YOU HAVE BECOME” – NOW CLEAN YOUR ROOM!

Kathy Cooperman, here. I’m too klutzy to see myself as of the Disney princesses and too earnest/disorganized for its villains. So these days, I identify with Disney’s bumbling, but well-intentioned parents.

Disney has soooo many sweet, but lousy, parents (especially dads – it’s forgivable for dads to be lousy—sorry, but them’s the rules). Belle’s sweet, eccentric dad—“crazy, old Maurice”—constantly puts her in terrible situations. Seriously, Maurice’s “wackiness” works perfectly as a metaphor for the way parents’ addiction traps children – it’s as if Disney wrote a musical version of Shameless. Then, there’s the loving, but uber-controlling watery papa from The Little Mermaid—Triton is obsessed with preventing his daughter Ariel’s assimilation and intermarriage (like a watery version of Fiddler on the Roof).

Photo courtesy of Fanpop

But the bumbler I identify with most is—drumroll, please—Mufasa from The Lion King. To be clear, I do not have delusions of grandeur. I do not identify with Mufasa’s grander characteristics: his James Earl Jones’ voice coming out of a cloud, his flowing mane, the way he rules “everything the light touches.” I’m not organized or ambitious enough to rule everything the light touches. I can’t even keep my car clean.

No, what I identify with is Mufasa’s fierce—and ultimately ineffective—protectiveness for his child. Mufasa does great when something—a pack of hyenas—threatens Simba directly. Mufasa is not afraid to charge at any problem and muscle it to the ground. I have that quality. Though I’m a nebbishy, Jewish lady in my forties, I am formidable when my babies are threatened (by bullies, by a disability, by their own sadness, by ANYTHING!). You just have to point me the right way, and I. WILL. ATTACK.

But the problem for me – as it was for Mufasa – is that I don’t always know what the right way to attack is. Mufasa ran to protect his kid, and—in his eagerness to protect—he met his doom. Before I had kids, when I saw The Lion King in theaters and they got to the scene where Mufasa was dangling from a cliff and his eyes widen as he realizes Scar is going to shove him to his death, I thought Mufasa was thinking: “Oh, woe unto the Heavens, I have been betrayed. Noooooooo!” Years later, watching it again on a food-stained couch next to my toddler, I read that look differently. Mufasa was thinking: “Crap, who’s gonna pull my baby outta that furry traffic jam down there?! Who’s going to help him get into college?!”

My greatest fear as a parent is not that I won’t be able to control every force that threatens my children. I know that lightning may strike, tornadoes may scoop them up, etc. No, what makes my skin crawl is that I will be focusing on the WRONG threat and will thus fail to protect them from another TOTALLY AVOIDABLE THREAT. So, yes, Mufasa is my guy.

Thanks to Kathy for visiting with us and to Lake Union for sharing her book with our readers.

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. 

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Giveaway ends November 13th at midnight EST.

We have a friend in Anita Hughes...plus a book giveaway

We're pleased to have Anita Hughes back at CLC to get us into the holiday spirit with her latest novel, Christmas at the Chalet. Doesn't the cover look cozy? Anita is participating in our Disney and Fairy Tales theme month by telling us which Disney character she can relate to the most. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have one copy of Christmas at the Chalet to give away!

Anita Hughes was born in Sydney, Australia and had a charmed childhood that included petting koala bears, riding the waves on Bondi Beach, and putting an occasional shrimp on the barbie. Her writing career began at the age of eight, when she won a national writing contest in THE AUSTRALIAN newspaper, and was named "One of Australia's Next Best Writers." (She still has the newspaper clipping.)

She received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College, and attended UC Berkeley's Masters in Creative Writing program.

Her debut novel MONARCH BEACH was released in June 2012, followed by MARKET STREET and LAKE COMO in 2013. FRENCH COAST and ROME IN LOVE were released in 2015.

ISLAND IN THE SEA: A MAJORCA LOVE STORY and SANTORINI SUNSETS and her first holiday novel, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS, were released in 2016.

WHITE SAND, BLUE SEA: A ST BARTS LOVE STORY, EMERALD COAST and CHRISTMAS IN LONDON were released in 2017.

CALIFORNIA SUMMER was published this past June.

Anita lives in Dana Point, CA with her family, where she interrupts her writing to watch the glorious sunsets. (Courtesy of Anita's website.)

Visit Anita online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
It's the day after Christmas, and Felicity Grant is at a gorgeous ski chalet in St. Moritz for the biggest fashion show of her career. Felicity is a rising star on the bridal design scene, and this is her best collection yet. But when her boyfriend gives her a spa day instead of a diamond ring for Christmas, she has to face the possibility that she may never walk down the aisle in one of her own stunning designs.

And then there's Nell, the top model headlining Felicity's show. Nell is planning her dream wedding to her wonderful fiancé with one catch: her divorced parents can't stand each other and threaten to no-show if the other is there.

Add to that Felicity's race against the clock to create a special gown for a prestigious bridal salon, and what both girls need is a Christmas miracle. What better place to find one than in the Swiss Alps with its dark forests and sparkling vistas?

But for Felicity it's hard to recognize a miracle even when it's right in front of her, and for Nell one miracle might not be enough to fix the past. Can dreams really come true or is that the stuff of Swiss fairy tales? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Which Disney character am I most like?

I thought about this question as I start preparing for the holidays. One of the best parts about the holidays is Christmas with my children and I still remember a Christmas almost twenty-five years ago. My son was about three at the time, and he got a Buzz Lightyear toy in a McDonald's Happy Meal. Of all the Christmas presents (including real presents bought with much anticipation from the toy store) that was his favorite and it resulted in watching Toy Story again and again.

Twenty-five years later, that memory resonates with me because I am beginning to feel a bit like Woody - one of my favorite characters in the movie. Woody is the most loyal toy but he feels that Andy has outgrown him .He worries that he isn't really needed anymore and he'll be assigned to the toy box in the attic.

My children are mostly grown now and it's easy to feel a little like Woody - greatly loved by one's children but not really needed. It's common for mothers with adult children to feel like that - we long for the things that used to drive us crazy: days that revolved around a child's nap, the endless lines at Toys 'R' Us (which of course doesn't exist anymore) rainy afternoons when one tries anything to entertain the gloomy faces glued to TV or computer screens.

But just as I'm feeling a little "Woody" like, I get a text or a call from a child at college or one on the way home from work with some exciting update about their lives. Another daughter wants me to book a plane flight home or asks my advice on picking out a Christmas present. I realize that why I may feel like Woody, I'm still greatly needed after all. And if I happened to have kept that Buzz Lightyear toy (unbeknownst to my son), I'm confident that one day when he marries and has children, it will find a new home with his own son or daughter and my grandchild.

Thanks to Anita for visiting with us and to St. Martin's Press for sharing her book with our readers.

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. 

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Giveaway ends November 11th at midnight EST.

Cathy Lamb's magical pixie dust...plus a book giveaway

We're pleased to have Cathy Lamb here today to celebrate the recent publication of her latest novel, The Man She Married. She's helping us kick off our Disney and Fairy Tales theme month by telling us which Disney or Fairy Tale character is most like her. Cathy also has one print copy of The Man She Married to give away!

Cathy Lamb is the author of No Place I'd Rather Be, My Very Best Friend, The Language of Sisters, Such a Pretty Face, and many more compelling novels. She started her career by freelance writing about 200 articles on homes, home décor, people and fashion for a local newspaper.

Cathy suffers from, "I Would Rather Play Than Work Disease" which prevents her from getting much work done unless she has a threatening deadline. She likes to hang with family and friends, walk, eat chocolate, camp, travel, and is slightly obsessive about the types of books she reads. She also likes to be left alone a lot so she can hear all the odd characters in her head talk to each other and then transfer that oddness to paper. The characters usually don't start to talk until 10:00 at night, however, so she is often up 'til 2:00 in the morning with them. That is her excuse for being cranky.

She adores her children and husband, except when he refuses to take his dirty shoes off and walks on the carpet. She will ski because her children insist, but she secretly doesn't like it at all. Too cold and she falls all the time.

She is currently working on her next book and isn't sleeping much. (Bio adapted from Amazon.)

Visit Cathy online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest

Synopsis:
When Natalie Shelton thinks back to how things were before the car accident, she remembers a great marriage. She and her husband, Zack, seem as strong and dependable together as the houses he builds. They live in Portland, Oregon, and Natalie is co-owner of a successful accounting firm. They’re happy, she’s almost sure of it.

Yet as Natalie lies trapped in a coma, unable to communicate though aware of everything around her, she realizes that her husband is hiding something. Zack has always been reticent about his past, which she attributed to an unhappy childhood. Now the strange calls he’s receiving, the apologies when he thinks she can’t hear him, and her fragmented memories from the morning of the accident suggest a deeper secret.

When she finally awakens, Natalie is determined to find out the truth. Sorting through clues as her brain heals, she realizes she has a rare opportunity—to reexamine the life she’s made and the man she’s made it with. But as answers come to light, she faces surprising, heartrending decisions, as well as a danger that could upend her world once again, as Zack’s past finally catches up with them... (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Image credit: Disney Fairies

The Disney character who most reminds me of myself is…Tinkerbell.

She’s imperfect and never tries to be perfect.

She’s snappish sometimes.

She’s loyal.

She’s a fighter. She’s sometimes annoying.

I don’t try to be perfect, ever. I can get snappy. I am loyal to my beloved family and friends. I’m a fighter when things in life go very badly. I’m sure I can be annoying.

And can I add one more thing? I wish I could fly like Tinkerbell.

If a genie popped out of a bottle and told me I had one wish and it had to be a purely selfish wish, I’d be flying within the hour!

Thanks to Cathy for visiting with us and sharing her book with our readers.

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. 

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Giveaway ends November 6th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Stray Magic

By Jami Deise

Most women I know don’t have unrealistic expectations for a partner. They want someone who’s loyal, who’ll love them unconditionally. Who’s happy to see them at the end of the day. Someone to share a bed with.

Many of them have given up on finding that relationship with a human, and are concentrating on their dogs instead. Yes, dogs require that you pick up their poop, but other than that drawback, they are the perfect partner.

Fido-friendly fiction writer Jackie Bouchard has expanded her repertoire with her latest novel, Stray Magic. While her previous books have all featured women and their hounds in situations ranging from comical to dramatic, Stray Magic is firmly in the fairy-tale genre. And while the dogs provide quite a bit of magic, they aren’t the only source.

Cara Snow, about to be an empty-nester when her daughter Winnie goes off the college, has ten months to find love before her ex-husband Todd’s Valentine’s Day wedding. But the only true love she has so far is with her Corgi, Llewellyn. When she wishes aloud that she could fall for a man as easy as she falls for the rescue dogs whose adoptions she facilitates, her fairy godfather appears. Vincent, a miniature guido from Jersey who’s just the right size to ride Llewellyn (apparently Corgis were specially bred to carry fae), is twenty-five years late, but he’s eager to help Cara find the right man. Too bad his spell is just a little clumsy. Now Cara is left wondering if every man who comes through the door of the pet boutique where she works is The One… and why the pooches are so much more attractive than the men.

Stray Magic is a cute, quick read—it came in at just under two hours on my Kindle. Cara is a bit of a pushover, but she’s easy to root for. And the dogs she falls in love with through the rescue events she coordinates are as well-described as any characters. The story moves naturally to its climax, which merges elements of Cinderella along with Cara’s personal character arc.

Even in a world of smart phones, Netflix, and Uber drivers, we still dream of magic and a fairy god… person to wave a wand and make our wishes come true. And if she brings a dog, that much the better.

Thanks to Jackie Bouchard for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Jackie Bouchard:

Reminiscing with Laura Kenyon...plus a special giveaway

Need a fairy tale fix? Then Laura Kenyon is your woman! She's back at CLC today to talk about our current theme...Nostalgia. She has some awesome prize packages to give away, as well (since they are part of a blog tour, the locations are her choosing, but one is available worldwide).

Laura Kenyon is an award-winning journalist and the author of three novels, Desperately Ever After (reviewed here), Damsels in Distress (reviewed here), and Skipping Midnight (coming November 16th). Her stories and articles have appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines, and online publications. The Boston College graduate does not live in a castle, but has been blessed with a heroic Prince Charming, a beautiful princess, and a noble steed.

To learn more about Laura, visit her website and sign up for exclusive updates. She also loves connecting with readers on her blog, Twitter, and Facebook. And for a peek at how she envisions Marestam, check out her "Desperately Ever After" board on Pinterest. You can also find her at Amazon and Goodreads.

Synopsis of Skipping Midnight (may contain spoilers for the first two books):

One part Sex and the City. Two parts Desperate Housewives. Three parts Brothers Grimm.

For the women of Marestam, “happily ever after" has always come with a grain of salt. Be it infidelity or aging, deferred dreams or lost love, or even the pressures of raising a family, they have always seen each other through life’s trials with laughter, wine, and a brand new take on old-fashioned chivalry. But when rage and treachery take over, everything they hold dear comes under attack.

Suddenly, the monarchies are crumbling, Cinderella is missing, Belle is harboring the secret of all secrets, Rapunzel is facing the one dilemma she spent her whole life trying to avoid, and Dawn could lose everything she’s finally learned to love. In order to save everyone and unmask the wolf in their midst, this iconic group of friends must follow a dogmatic fairy no one trusts, invoke a magic no one understands, and face a past they thought they had buried long ago.

Rapunzel, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and the rest of Marestam’s favorite females return in this third and final novel in Laura Kenyon's Desperately Ever After series, which takes a whimsical look at our most beloved fairy tale princesses several years after true love’s kiss.

At heart, it’s a tale of ordinary women coming to terms with how their lives have turned out. They just happen to live in castles.
---
The final chapter in the Amazon #1 bestselling "Desperately Ever After" series (women’s fiction fantasy, women’s fiction humor, and paranormal fantasy). Says New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Evanovich: "Laura Kenyon makes happily ever after desperately delicious!"

A few of my favorite things
(about the ’80s and ’90s)

by Laura Kenyon

When Melissa first invited me to take part in this, I was excited but worried I wouldn’t be able to recall five great things about either decade. After all, I wasn’t even born until the very end of 1982, and everyone likes to roll their eyes at the ’90s. But once I started reminiscing, it was surprisingly difficult to narrow them down! Thanks again for letting me contribute. I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it!

The Eighties

• “The Little Mermaid” (1989): According to my mother, I saw this at least a dozen times in theatres, and I know I spent countless summers flipping through the water with my ankles pinned together, watching my red hair fan out around me as the sunlight filtered through it. To this day, I wonder whether that movie would have had such a lasting impact on me had Ariel been blonde!

• Cabbage Patch Kids: While I was too young to remember or understand what my parents were going through during the “Cabbage Patch craze” of Christmas 1983 (I was only a year old), I do remember growing up with the doll. And now, as a mother myself, I truly appreciate all of the heartache and trouble they went through to do it—even scoring me one with red hair! Now that’s love :)

• Oregon Trail: In a way, this game prepared my entire generation for the dawn of reality television. Plug in the names of your best friends and family members and see who dies of cholera, who falls ill with dysentery, and who makes it across the river!

• Nintendo: Nothing, I repeat, nothing, is better than the original Super Mario Bros. game on the original Nintendo. I’m not ashamed to admit that when my husband found a way to play it on the Wii a few years back, we morphed into eight-year-old boys, glued to the television set and the controllers for five days straight. The only thing missing was the Hi-C and Pop Tarts.

• Life before the Internet: In the 80s, no one had smart phones and “social media” meant hanging out at the library with friends. Families watched shows like “The Wonder Years” together and schoolyard bullies could only reach inside your home if you invited them over for a play date. I’m not saying scary things didn’t exist, but those scary things didn’t bombard you 24/7. And in that way, times were simpler. I miss that.

The Nineties

• AOL Instant Messenger: I realize this is in direct contrast to what I just said about the Internet in the ’80s … but that’s pretty much what technology is these days, isn’t it? We love it and we hate it. We want to get away from it, but we also can’t live without it. When AIM first appeared, it made passing notes in class look like writing with a feather and a pot of ink. But you know what they say about fun and games...

• The Olympics: Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. The 1996 “Magnificent Seven” gymnastics team. Kerri Strug’s ankle and Béla Károlyi. The basketball “Dream Team.” Need I say more?

• TGIF on ABC: Particularly the “Family Matters,” “Boy Meets World,” “Step by Step” years. I think my bedtime must have started at 9:30 because I have no recollection of what brought up the rear! 

• Alternative rock: Maybe everyone thinks this about the decade in which they became a teenager, but IMHO music in the ’90s is second only … maybe … to music in the ‘60s. The ’90s had some killer females like Alanis Morissette, Lisa Loeb, and Gwen Stefani, and a heck of a lot of great bands like Weezer, Pearl Jam, Counting Crows (my one-cd-on-a-desert-island band), Third Eye Blind, Matchbox Twenty, and the Foo Fighters.

• Movies: Yes, the ’90s brought us “Titanic.” And yes, I watched it far more times than I want to admit. But they also brought three amazing things called “Clueless,” “Jurassic Park,” and “Newsies.” Chances are you're more than familiar with the first two, but if you aren't familiar with the third, please see below. It's my duty as a “Newsies” disciple to spread the word ;)
  
  

Pre-order Giveaway!

Pre-order a copy of Skipping Midnight between now and November 15th, and you could win one of two enchanting prize packages inspired by the "Desperately Ever After" series!

Prize Pack 1 (US only):

A signed paperback copy of all three novels in the series: Desperately Ever After (Book One), Damsels in Distress (Book Two), and Skipping Midnight (Book Three)

A stunning “Live like there’s no midnight” charm bracelet, custom made by My Initial Charm and inspired by the Desperately Ever After series

An assortment of treats for your next girls' night in (sorry, rampion not included!)

A snazzy memory box to ship it all in ;)

Prize Pack 2 (Worldwide!):

This fantastic set of six wine charms, handcrafted by Etsy artist Sarah VandenBrink (specifically for this giveaway!) and representing each of the six main characters: Belle, Rapunzel, Dawn, Penelopea, Snow White, and Cinderella

To enter, please e-mail your proof of purchase (a screenshot will do) to laura (at) laurakenyon (dot) com by midnight November 15, 2016. Be sure to include your mailing address so you’re entered into the right contest(s). One winner will be selected via random drawing for each giveaway on November 16. Good luck!

Thanks to Laura for visiting us and for sharing her prizes with our readers.