Blogs of the week

Our recent feature is "Blogs of the Week." Each week, we feature a reader blog (which has to be sent to us) and an author blog (which can either be sent to us, or we'll pick one at random). Please check out the blogs we are sharing. We're sure the bloggers would love some friendly comments on their posts or a follow.

To have your blog featured for a future shout out, please e-mail us. The blogs can be anything: personal, book themed or something else you're interested in that you write about (movies, fashion, pets, career, etc.)

Reader:

Women's Lit Book Club

Steven Watson (a.k.a. The Chick Lit Guy) is a student teacher, writer, avid reader and a happily married man who likes to read and write about women's fiction. He is a self-identified feminist, and his critical approach is a combination of feminist and psychological criticism. If you are an "authoress" and are interested in having him review your book, please contact him through his blog. For 2012, he started a book club with the writer Michelle Haimoff. Contact him if you want to join the club.

Author:

Gemma Burgess

Gemma Burgess is the author of two fiction novels, THE DATING DETOX(2010) and A GIRL LIKE YOU (2011), both published by HarperCollins UK and both acclaimed as 'edgy anti-romantic comedy.' She's currently writing the first of a New Adult fiction series called UNION STREET, about five girls sharing a house in Brooklyn after graduating college. She has written a pilot, THE CHANCES, and has several other screenwriting projects currently being tweaked and finished.

Prior to writing novels and screenplays, Gemma was a creative copywriter in advertising in London for ten years, working with Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy, among others. She has a triple degree in English Literature, History and Theatre, and a post-graduate degree in Journalism. Gemma grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong and is currently in the process of acquiring a US visa. She recently became a mother for the first time, to an adorable baby boy.

Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Review: The Whole Package

By Amy Bromberg

Ever since high school Jackie, Doris and Cheryl have been the closest of friends. Now, 40 years later, they reunite, and life has not turned out the way they planned. After Jackie’s husband dies, she takes off to Paris to restart her artist career. When she gets a call from George, her husband’s lawyer, saying all of her husband’s money has been depleted, she returns home, broke and has no idea what to do with her life. Ever since Doris’ mother passed away, she has turned into a prude and unhappy wife, watching her husband leave to go “find himself” and dealing with an ungrateful daughter. Instead of taking care of herself, and going after her dreams, she suffers from panic attacks and heads for the chocolates. One would think Cheryl has the life. She is one of the top executives at her marketing firm, that she has helped build from the bottom up. She is also usually “on top” of her game in the bedroom. But after a wrongful termination, where is she to go?

After Jackie, Cheryl and Doris reunite, they end up going for a girl’s night out at a strip club. Next thing you know they come up with a great idea – why not open a “Hooter” themed restaurant but for women, and call it The Whole Package? Who says only men get to have fun? The ladies end up putting their heads together, doing some research, and before you knew it was opening night…but to say things didn’t go so well is an understatement.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Whole Package." It makes you realize how important the power of friendship is. Having close friends, even if it’s one or two, makes your world that much more special. When I think of qualities that explain my closest friends, they are being there for me, telling me like it is (even if I don’t want to hear it), supportive, and last but not least, they are genuine. And these traits illustrate the bond between these three women. Even with the ups and downs, that all friends go through, in the end they always stick by each other. Despite these women dealing with some tough issues, such as teenage drama, financial difficulties, job loss and marital separation, Cynthia’s words are not all gloom and doom. However they do make you think, which is what most people want out of a book right?

This story reminds me SO much of the movie “The First Wives Club.” If you have not seen it, and you are a chick lit fan, I’m not sure what you are waiting for. Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton reunite twenty plus years after college. They have been screwed over by their husbands. They want them to pay for their mistakes, and they come up with a plan. For a short while their new business venture seems to be going well, and things start to look up. However, after some bitter fighting, and only thinking about themselves, they realize they were going about it all wrong, just as the three women in this book realize.

My only criticism is the middle was a bit slow, when the characters were planning, and sorting through the details for setting up the restaurant. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a heart-warming story with some added comedy relief. I take away from this book the following. We must learn to love ourselves before others can love us. Bad things will happen in your life, but with loving support from close friends, you can get through almost anything. In the end women always rule, and always have each other’s backs. A big hooray to Cynthia Ellingsen, for an entertaining, enjoyable, and genuine novel. I’m very much looking forward to more of Cynthia’s work.

Check out Cynthia's guest post and enter to win a copy of "The Whole Package." (US/Canada only. Ends 11/20.)

You might also like:

Winners of "The Pig and Me"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry (one entry per person for this one, but thanks for any extra effort) and had random.org pick SIX numbers.

Congrats to:

2-Jel
3-Marthalynn
5-meandmom
7-marybelle
11-meile0706
13-Krystal Lynn

Update (11/23/11): Someone did not claim their book and I have chosen a new winner through random.org. It chose 12. Congrats to Katrin!

Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating. We enjoyed hearing your business ideas and hope this book will inspire you to make them come true!
Thanks to Lindsay Frucci for giving Cindy the chance to review her book and for sharing it with our winners!

Don't miss out on our latest giveaways:

"Pug Hill" by Alison Pace
US/Canada only
Ends 11/22 at midnight EST

"What Came First" by Carol Snow
US/Canada only
Ends 11/21 at midnight EST

"The Whole Package" by Cynthia Ellingsen
US/Canada only
Ends 11/20 at midnight EST

"Fake Perfect Me" by Cari Kamm
US only
Ends 11/20 at midnight EST

Winners of "Wedlocked"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry and had random.org pick three numbers.

For the e-books, it chose 15 and 20.

Congrats to Rachel Krost and Linda Kish!

For the paperback, it chose 9.

Congrats to Stephanie (Skk25)!

Here's a message from Bonnie Trachtenberg:
I just want to thank all the members and staff at Chick Lit Central for their interest in and enthusiasm about my debut book, Wedlocked: A Novel. It means so much to me that so many have taken the time to read it, review it, and pass the word to others. I poured so much of my heart and soul into this book and the best reward, is knowing readers laughed, welled up, fell in love with the characters, and didn’t want the story to end. Thank you to everyone who took the time to post a comment for a chance to win the book and congratulations to the winners—I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear your feedback on my website. All the best!

Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating.
Thanks to Bonnie for her interview and for sharing her book with our winners!

Don't miss out on our latest giveaways:

"Pug Hill" by Alison Pace
US/Canada only
Ends 11/22 at midnight EST


"What Came First" by Carol Snow
US/Canada only
Ends 11/21 at midnight EST

"The Whole Package" by Cynthia Ellingsen
US/Canada only
Ends 11/20 at midnight EST

"Fake Perfect Me" by Cari Kamm
US only
Ends 11/20 at midnight EST

Picking up the pace with Alison Pace, plus a book giveaway!

By Amy Bromberg

**Giveaway is now closed**

We are very excited to have Alison Pace with us today, to celebrate the mass market publication of "Pug Hill." In addition to "Pug Hill," Alison has written the following novels: "If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend," "Through Thick and Thin," "City Dog" and "A Pug's Tale." She has written essays that have been in several anthologies, including "Howl: A Collection of the Best Contemporary Dog Wit," "Everything I Needed to Know About being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume" and "It's a Wonderful Lie: 26 Truths About Life in Your Twenties."
Some of Alison's favorite movies include Best in Show, Manhattan and When Harry Met Sally. She also loves "Wuthering Heights," Willie Nelson and the show Will and Grace. She lives in the New York City and teaches creative writing.

Alison is here to share with us what inspired "Pug Hill," as well as some fun information about herself. She also has ONE copy of "Pug Hill" to give away to a lucky reader anywhere in the US and/or Canada.

To learn more about Alison Pace, visit her on Facebook, Twitter and her website.

Where did your love for Pugs come from? Have you always been a dog lover?
I've always been a dog lover, yes. I grew up in a home where we had at least four dogs at any given time, but never a pug. When I first moved to New York City (many years ago) I started seeing pugs everywhere. Someone told me about Pug Hill, a place in Central Park where pugs used to meet up every weekend. I used to go visit Pug Hill every now and then, and quickly fell in love with the breed.

In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with?
Elinor Lipman. She's been a true mentor to me and is a great friend. I'd love to co-author something with her. Love.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
I do. Sometimes I just let myself go with it and accept the fact that in any creative endeavor there must be a fallow period, in which ideas can percolate. Other times, like those times when I'm on a deadline, I force myself. I won’t let myself get up from my desk until I've written at least 500 words...often that snaps me out of it.

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Oh, yes, lots. Mostly, read all the time. The more you read, the more you'll write and the better that writing will be. Also, always keep your eyes open and always look around for inspiration. You never know when it will hit.

What are your pet peeves? (no pun intended)
Lying. The fact that I say like too often. People who are braggy. Lateness.

If you were deserted on an island, who are three famous people you would want with you?
One of those people who won Survivor to help with the desert island survival aspects. Someone from "Happy Endings," my new favorite TV show. And then...um, someone who's done a lot of good in the world so it wasn't just a TV desert island.

How did you come up with the title for "Pug Hill?"
Titles tend to come to me right away, as soon as I think of an idea for a book. And then, about 50% of the time, my publisher thinks we should change it and then I usually brainstorm with my editor, agent, friends and sometimes facebook in order to find a new fit.


If "Pug Hill" were to be made into a movie,who would you cast in the lead roles?
Oh, wow, this always changes. Right this moment, for Hope, I'd love Bryce Dallas Howard, with her red hair. Elliot would be Topher Grace, I think. But I'm really flexible on casting. :)

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
In the afternoons, after I've gotten all my errands done and have created the illusion for myself that all my ducks are in row. In this chair in my living room with my feet up on an ottoman. Hands down, where I get my best work done. Sometimes I migrate to the couch, but I rarely sit at my desk for writing.

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?Oh, I don't know! Yours were all outstanding. But how about what's next? I have a new book out in December 2012, an essay collection about my life with dogs. I'm really excited about it.

We are thankful to Alison for visiting with us and sharing her book with our readers.

How to win "Pug Hill":
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. Tell us your two biggest pet peeves. (You can also share why, if you wish to.)
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/Canada only. Giveaway ends November 22nd at midnight EST.

Carol Snow comes first for us...and she has a book to give away!

**Giveaway is now closed**

We are fortunate to have Carol Snow here today, as she has been called “an author to watch” by Booklist. She's a Brown University graduate who finds a way to add humor to everything she writes. In 2006, she published her first contemporary women's literature novel, "Been There, Done That" (Berkley/Penguin), which Publisher’s Weekly called “humorous, wise . . . romance with a bit of social commentary.” Since then, she has written four more books for adults, "Getting Warmer" (2007), "Here Today, Gone to Maui" (2009), "Just Like Me, Only Better" (2010) and as of October, 2011, the newly released "What Came First" (reviewed here). She has also written two young adult books for HarperCollins. Foreign rights to her books have sold to publishers in Germany, Norway, and Romania.

Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey and focused her childhood on reading books and avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Prior to getting her first novel published, she held an assortment of odd jobs ranging from being tour guide to working for a T-shirt company and later for a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics, designing pretty campaign brochures with flawless punctuation.

After moving away from her New Jersey roots, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona and Southern California, where she currently shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children. Aside from reading, she also enjoys going to the beach, taking photographs, cooking and dining out.

Carol is here today to talk about "What Came First," and has TWO trade paperback copies to give away to lucky readers in the US or Canada.

If you just can't get enough of Carol (we definitely can't), check out her website and then visit her at Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

MP: What do you do when you get writer’s block?
CS: I never really get writer’s block; I just go through phases where everything I write is complete crap that I know I will end up deleting. Those are unhappy days. But when I push through with enough bad writing, generally some good stuff starts to flow. Whatever their quality, words rarely come quickly. I feed my creative energy by consuming vast amounts of caffeine as well as salty snacks interspersed with fun-sized candy bars.

MP: What do you do when you’re not writing?
CS: Mom stuff: driving my kids, feeding my kids, talking to my kids, taking my kids to various appointments, watching my kids play sports. I really need to get a hobby, if only so I can say I have a hobby.

MA: What was the inspiration behind "What Came First?"
CS: There are book ideas that come in a flash, and others that come in bits and pieces. WHAT CAME FIRST falls into the second category -- which is too bad, because the “flash” books pretty much always have good stories attached to them. WHAT CAME FIRST came in stages. There were articles I read on sperm donation. There were the experiences I had as a mother in which I saw my husband or myself so clearly in our children. There were the moments when I wondered, “What is it like to choose your children’s father based on surface details?”

AB: Did you learn anything from writing "What Came First?" If so, what?
CS: I learned that it’s okay to take risks in my writing, both in subject and form. I wasn’t sure how people would receive a book that deals with something as physical as infertility and assisted reproduction – plus I didn’t know if I’d be up to the task of talking about it. But I’ve been thrilled with the response, plus I’ve gotten really good – if not exactly comfortable – saying sperm. Sperm, sperm, sperm. (See?) More than the reproduction aspect of the story, the motherhood issues have resonated with readers. One of my characters, Wendy, is a loving yet kind of disastrous mother. Her twins are so wild that she’s overwhelmed and regularly resorts to screaming, bribery, and pretty much every other tactic that parenting books tell you to avoid. I really thought readers would see her as being a terrible mother . . . but it seems that only the childless readers do!
As for form, this is the first book I’ve written from multiple perspectives, and I was committed to making sure that each voice was distinct. At times, I felt like there were way too many people living in my head, but I think the very different perspectives give this book a lot of dimensions.

MA: How did you decide to write chick lit?
CS: I didn’t! I began my first novel (which I never finished) in 1991 – well before Bridget Jones or Sex and The City. My goal was to create humorous, fast-paced, well-written fiction. My role models included ElinorLipman, Cathleen Schine, and Sarah Bird. Years passed before I finished and sold something; Been There, Done That came out in 2006. By then, there was a genre to slot my work into, which has been both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I love that there are so many dedicated chick lit readers who know that the genre is filled with lots of smart books. On the other hand, I could do without the half-naked women on my covers as well as the condescending readers (and authors) who write off the entire genre without taking the time to read any of it.

MA: If "What Came First" were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
CS: I answered this question for “My Book, The Movie” – here’s what I said:
Laura (an attractive, self-contained, slightly chilly lawyer and single mom): Téa Leoni

Ian (Laura’s eight-year-old son): Any random blonde kid from the Disney Channel stable; twins preferred

Vanessa (twenty-nine-year-old dental receptionist, eager to start a family with her commitment-phobic boyfriend): America Ferrera looking like she really does, not like "Ugly Betty"

Eric (Vanessa’s boyfriend; thirty-two-year-old slacker and failed musician): Eric Hutchinson, a successful musician whom I pictured while writing the book

Wendy (fortyish, frazzled, frumpy, overweight mother of wild five-year-old twins; conceived via same sperm donor as Laura): We’d have to go with an unknown actress; no one fitting that description has ever found any screen success!

MA: What theme would you like to see more of in chick lit novels to give them an original flair? (As opposed to the common themes of cooking, divorce, travel, etc.)
CS: I once joked that I was going to write a book called “The Jane Austen Cooking and Knitting Club Goes to the Beach,” and a friend thought that was a good idea. And she wasn’t kidding. There’s no one theme I would like to see less of in chick lit novels; rather, I’d like to see fewer “me too” books centered around well-worn themes.

AB: Are you a cat or dog person?
CS: I’m a cat person. No, I’m a cat freak. When it comes to Cecil (age 18) and Cookie (age 6), my entire family has an ancient Egyptian sensibility: they are deities and we exist to serve them. Cecil and Cookie find this arrangement acceptable.

MP: What is the strangest or craziest date you have ever been on?
CS: I’ve been with my husband for twenty-two years, so I guess our strangest/craziest date would have to be . . . childbirth?

MP: What are you most thankful for this year?
CS: That my husband, kids & I are all happy and healthy, at least most of the time. I know that sounds like a stock answer, but it’s true!

We are thankful to Carol for writing a fantastic new novel, telling us about the background of it and sharing copies with our readers!

How to win "What Came First":

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. There's a part in the book that takes place at Hooter's. Have you ever eaten at Hooter's and did it meet or defy your expectations? If you haven't yet, would you?
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/Canada only. Giveaway ends November 21st at midnight EST.

Book Review: The Jewels of Manhattan

By Becky Gulc

Carmen Reid’s latest novel, "The Jewels of Manhattan," had me intrigued from the moment it arrived on my doorstep, arriving in its very own ‘SWAG’ bag which was full of twinkly jewels! Add to this an exciting synopsis for this book that goes along with a very appealing cover and it simply didn’t matter that I’d never read any of Carmen’s popular "Annie Valentine" series beforehand, I couldn’t wait to start this book.

Here is the synopsis:

Like all crazy plans, it was plotted out on a cocktail napkin.

1. Steal fabulous jewels
2. Sell for millions
3. Live happily ever after

Brilliant and oh so simple... when you're a few Cosmopolitans down.

Not quite so easy... if you've never stolen anything before, and you're dating a detective.

The three Jewel sisters, Amber, Sapphire and Em, came to New York in search of the perfect life.

But do they have to steal their dream? Or can they resist the temptation?

A gorgeous, glittering, romantic tale for anyone who has ever dreamed of more sparkle.

I don’t read crime novels, I don’t watch crime programmes on television, so my only hesitation when starting this novel was "would it be too focused on the crime for me to fully enjoy it? Would I like the characters?" I needn’t have worried. What the synopsis doesn’t tell you is that it’s one sister (Em) who instigates the crime, not all three, but inevitably they all become involved in some shape or form with the subsequent events. The characters were likeable and there is enough time dedicated to building up to the ‘event’ to make what happens plausible.

The day of the robbery is when the plot of the book really kicks in; I really found it hard to put down. It was exciting, fast-paced and you didn’t know where the story would go next. Would the sisters end up on the run for the rest of their lives? I really enjoyed this book being about sisters, all very different, but similar in many ways. I was definitely rooting for their freedom! There are some key supporting characters and love-interests who are nicely tied in with the basic plot which makes this a real chick-lit novel with a twist, it’s definitely not just about a robbery and it remains a light fun read throughout. The sisters are all in their twenties and being in my thirties I found it refreshing to read a novel that covers characters who are less focused on settling down and more laid-back about life than found in some other novels. This was definitely an escapist read.

I’ve come across other reviews which say Carmen (who is Scottish) tries too hard to make her characters sound American in this book which results in a lot of clichés. This wasn’t something I came away thinking, but then again I’m British so maybe I wouldn’t notice it as much. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it’s a real page turner. I liked the fact that it offered something different to the ‘chick lit’ market but remains very much true to this genre and retains the balance needed for the target audience. I would definitely pick up any further books written involving the Jewel sisters.

If all this talk of sparkly jewels is too much for you Carmen is running a competition on her website to win a diamond! (UK/Ireland only.)

More by Carmen Reid: