Chick Lit Central

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

At the movies with Cindy and Kathryn

Since June is movie month this year, we are asking authors about their favorite movies, but we also want to share our favorite movies and answer some other movie themed questions. This week, it's Cindy and Kathryn's turn.

Cindy:

Favorite:
Movie of all time: The Godfather 2
Independent film: Garden State
Action movie: The Bourne Trilogy...Looking forward to Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy
90's movie: The Wedding Singer...anything with Adam AND Drew...NOT the newer stuff!
Movie snack: PLAIN M&M's

Movie you know all the lines to: The Godfather 2
Best memory of an experience at the movie theater: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Midnight showings in high school)
Movie that made you cry the most: Kramer vs. Kramer

Kathryn:

Favorite:
80's movie: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (but let's face it, John Hughes ruled the 80s!)
Disney movie: Cinderella, but I also love the ones that came out in the 90's (The Lion King, Aladdin)
Chick flick: The Notebook
Fantasy movie: Lord of the Rings

First movie you ever saw as a kid: First movie I remember was Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Last movie you saw in the theater: Titanic 3D
Movie that should have won an Oscar but didn't: Dead Man Walking
Movie you know all the lines to: Circle of Friends

The Hughes of chick lit, plus a book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

The last name Hughes is legendary when it comes to the movie industry. Thanks to Anita Hughes, this last name will now become legendary when it comes to the genre of chick lit. Anita has splashed onto the literary scene with her decadent escapist beach read and debut novel, "Monarch Beach" (reviewed here). She has two more books awaiting publication in the next year or so, and if they're anything like "Monarch Beach," readers will be in for a treat!

A wonder from down under, Anita was born in Sydney 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 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. She currently lives in Dana Point, California with her family, where she interrupts her writing to watch the glorious sunsets. You can find her at her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Anita is here to talk about what made the other Hughes famous, even though she doesn't mention any of his movies here. (We still love her anyway!) Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have THREE copies of "Monarch Beach" for some lucky readers anywhere in the world!

Favorite movie about friendship:
THELMA AND LOUISE is still one of the best movies about female friendship. They are two such strong women sharing a wild and emotional ride. (And of course it doesn't hurt that Brad Pitt is featured without his shirt on.)

Favorite foreign film:
LES RIPOUX. I am a huge French film buff. Les Ripoux (My New Partner) featured a young Thierry Lhermitte. I admit I developed a huge crush on him that never waned - plus the script was very funny.

Favorite movie about time travel:
THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE. This was one of my favorite novels and the movie did it justice in every way: a pure romantic delight.

Favorite movie based on a chick lit novel:
SOMETHING BORROWED. I have read and loved every Emily Giffin novel. Kate Hudson was perfect in SOMETHING BORROWED and the whole cast made you feel like you were hanging out with old friends. I loved it!

Movie you've seen the most times in a theater:
LOVE, ACTUALLY. There is not an actor or part of this movie I don't love. I have seen it so many times, I could probably recite the lines, but it still gets better and better.

Movie that made you cry the most:
RUNAWAY BRIDE. I'm a sucker for romance. I cry in any movie when the steadicam shot follows the guy and girl reuniting at last. Even though I know Julia Roberts and Richard Gere will get together, when that steadicam shot zooms in on them outside the church I always burst into tears.

Chick lit novel that you wish were a movie:
I just finished reading WIFE 22 and I cannot wait for it to be made into a movie! It is absolutely fabulous and made for the screen.

Who would you cast in the lead roles if "Monarch Beach" were made into a movie:
Anne Hathaway as Amanda, Oliver Martinez as Andre and Richard Gere or Tom Cruise as Edward. (Tom Cruise should be cast in every movie). Someone really fun like Kate Hudson as Stephanie.

Special thanks to Anita for chatting with us today and to St. Martin's Press for sharing "Monarch Beach" with our readers.

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

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: Which movie made you cry the most?
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.

Giveaway ends July 2nd at midnight EST.

Book Review: The Great Escape

By Becky Gulc

"The Great Escape" is the sixth novel by author and journalist Fiona Gibson. With a delightfully colourful and fun looking cover, the book was immediately enticing and I looked forward to getting started on my first Fiona Gibson novel. This was one of the books I took on my recent holiday and my expectations were heightened when my Mum (who read the book before me) was giggling away on her sunbed. If it’s good enough for my Mum...

"The Great Escape" is the story of three friends, Hannah, Sadie and Lou. These three 30-something women were inseparable during their university days in Glasgow, but over a decade later their busy lives mean they rarely ever get chance to meet up, nevertheless the bond between them all remains strong. With each one of the ladies desperate to escape their adult lives with all the responsibilities and trials and tribulations this brings, they soon agree on a last minute hen do, and where better to go than Glasgow, to revisit a place which reminds each one of them of a simpler more straightforward existence. Well, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

Hannah is the ‘hen’ as she’s about to marry her dream man, Ryan; the problem is his two children who seem to despise her. Can she really marry a man when she feels like an unwanted guest in her own home? Then there’s Sadie, happily married, successful, and recently relocated to the countryside following the birth of twins. But, is she starting to forget who she really is? Finally there’s Lou, a quirky lovely character who abandoned her creative dreams for a 9-5 job to pay the bills, whilst her long-term bum of a boyfriend sponges off her and cheats on her behind her back. Each of the characters desperately needs this weekend away, but can they recapture their youth? What spanner will their sexy former neighbour, Johnny, who is still in Glasgow, throw into the works? Will any of them be able or wishing to go back to their same old lives in England after the weekend is over?

There are multiple narratives in this book. Not just the three women, but their partners too, and a couple of additional characters. This took a little getting used to until each couple’s story became familiar but I definitely enjoyed this overall, tapping into the male point of view was very interesting for the three stories, particularly in terms of Spike (Lou’s boyfriend), who as the reader you can’t help but despise, but you wonder if he can somehow redeem himself for his actions even if Lou deserves better. Nevertheless, I didn’t always enjoy the change in viewpoint, for me sometimes it happened too frequently. Although I was happy with the ending of the novel, I was disappointed it wasn’t delivered from the viewpoint of one of the central characters, but instead was from the viewpoint of a character that played a very small part in the book overall. For me this didn’t quite fit or add anything, even though the events were ones I was happy with. But maybe I’m just being fussy!

Overall I thought this was a great escapist read (no pun on the title intended!) and I warmed to each of the central characters. Like my Mum, I found myself laughing out loud many times, particularly in relation to how Sadie’s husband Barney copes in caring for the twins when she’s away. When the characters are on the train up to Glasgow, they were having so much fun I just wanted to be on it with them, and when they arrive, it gets even better. This won’t mean much to many people, but I was pleased to see Lou living in York which is where I live, big up Yorkshire!

I thought the book covered a lot of ground in terms of the range of difficulties that people can face in relationships; everyone will be able to relate to something in here, even if like me you don’t have children or step-children. All in all, it’s a great story about friendship and change and it was refreshing to see the male characters' viewpoints shown throughout, giving a holistic view of a situation. I was impressed with Fiona’s ability to balance real life and heartfelt issues with light hearted fun comedy, to me that makes a great read. I’d recommend that you escape with this book this summer!

More by Fiona Gibson:

Monday, June 25, 2012

Winners of "The Meryl Streep Movie Club"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry (from only those that included contact info) and asked Random.org to pick THREE numbers.

Congrats to:
49-Lilian
71-holdenj
86-Michelle James

Here's a message from Mia March:
Thanks so much to everyone for entering the giveaway for "The Meryl Streep Movie Club." I loved reading your comments and seeing who you'd like to star in your own movie club--such fun and varied answers! If you have a chance to read "The Meryl Streep Movie Club," I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear from you with your thoughts on the book. Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone at Chick Lit Central for inviting me to share my novel with you! :) Mia

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 and telling us the actors and actresses you'd feature in a movie club. Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock seemed to be the most popular choices amongst this group.

Thanks to Mia for chatting with us and to Simon & Schuster for sharing the book with our winners.

Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.

Elin Hilderbrand has a summer blockbuster...plus a book giveaway

Photo by Laurie Richards

**Giveaway is now closed**

Today we welcome back Elin Hilderbrand and her brand new novel "Summerland.". Elin lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her ten previous novels. Elin is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa. This is her second visit to Chick Lit Central, as she was here last summer to answer a few questions.

If you would like to learn more about Elin, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

She's here today to tell us about some of her favorite movies. Thanks to Little, Brown, we have THREE copies of "Summerland" to share with some lucky readers in the US and Canada.

Favorite movie of all time?
Love Story with Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal

Favorite movie musical?
The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Movie that made you laugh so hard that you couldn't hear some of the dialogue?
Best in Show

Favorite foreign film?
Life is Beautiful

Who would you cast if Summerland were made into a movie?
Zoe: Julia Roberts
Jordan: Robert Downey Jr.
Ava: Kate Winslet
Al Castle: William Hurt
Lynne Castle: Kathy Bates

Special thanks to Elin for chatting with us and to Little, Brown for facilitating the interview and sharing "Summerland" with our readers.

How to win "Summerland":
Please tell us your favorite movie of all time. (One entry per person.) Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you if you win.

US/Canada only. (No P.O. Boxes.) Giveaway ends July 1st at midnight EST.

Book Review: Last Summer

By Melissa Amster

Bullying seems to be a prevalent topic these days...and it definitely should be! Earlier this summer, I read "So Far Away" by Meg Mitchell Moore, which involved bullying on an intense level. When I saw that "Last Summer," by Holly Chamberlin, was also about bullying, I was compelled to see how the topic was handled by another women's fiction novelist.

Jane Patterson and Frannie Giroux have been best friends ever since their daughters were born. They live next door to each other in southern Maine and spend idyllic summers together, looking after each other and their kids. Then the unthinkable happens; Jane finds out that Rosie has been bullied and that Frannie's daughter, Meg, is involved in her pain and humiliation. This leads to neighbors no longer speaking to one another and family dynamics shifting course. Will Rosie and Jane be able to forgive Meg and Frannie or will they be spending future summers apart, even while living so close to each other?

"Last Summer" was an interesting and well thought out novel that covered both bullying and the dynamics of friendship. It was interesting to "watch" the interactions between the two adult women as juxtaposed against the interactions of the two teenage girls. I found the chapters that involved either Rosie or Meg's point of views as the most interesting parts of the story. I'm not much of a YA reader, but I found it interesting to see how some of their attitudes and ideas were timeless and others were jaded by the era in which we currently live. The adults were closer to my age, but they seemed a lot older for some reason. Maybe because I haven't raised a teenager yet, I can't completely relate. However, I enjoyed reading the parts involving Frannie because she had a lot of interesting drama and struggles to deal with. Her ex-husband was a deadbeat and she had financial concerns. Her ability to make friends was limited, so it seemed harder on her when Jane cut off their connection.

Having said that, even though Jane also seemed to be short on friends and her daughter was the one being bullied, I had the hardest time relating to her. The chapters involving her point of view just seemed so dry. I wanted her to experience some sort of personal drama, as well. A fight with her husband wasn't enough to satisfy me. Thankfully, the other perspectives balanced hers out and her chapters were relatively short.

I liked the chapters that featured Rosie's diary, as they gave me a lot of insight into what she was going through. I was especially pleased that there was no dialogue in the diary entries. They felt more authentic, as a result. However, having the bullying scenes in diary format took away from the intensity of those scenes. I would have rather seen Rosie in the moment instead of reflecting upon it later. They did paint a good picture of what people go through at the hands of bullies; her depression felt like a lead weight on my shoulders and even if someone had never experienced bullying, they'd be able to sympathize. I think anyone who had been a bully and read Rosie's diary would call their victims and apologize profusely!

The only other concern I had was with character references. Jane would be the featured perspective of a chapter, but then be referred to as Mrs. Patterson. Or Rosie would sometimes refer to Jane as her mother and other times as Jane. The balance of references based on perspective just felt awkward as a result. Meg and Rosie's voices sometimes sounded similar, which also threw me off as to who was narrating a chapter.

Overall, I liked "Last Summer." Aside from the harsh realities of bullying, it had a nice coming of age feel. Ms. Chamberlin's use of detail made me feel like I was at the beach or shopping downtown with the girls. It put me in the mood for summer and there was a peaceful, "comfort food" feel to the story. This is my first experience with reading something by Ms. Chamberlin. I noticed that she has written a bunch of novels, so I'd appreciate recommendations for a must-read by her.

Special thanks to Kensington for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Holly Chamberlin:

Friday, June 22, 2012

What's in the mail today?

Melissa A:

"When Girlfriends Break Hearts" by Savannah Page from Amazon (e-book; free mid-week; now $2.99)
"Creative Chaos" by Kate Lynch from Amazon (e-book; free until midnight; $2.99 otherwise)