Patti Callahan Henry gives off a great vibe...plus a book giveaway

Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers

**Giveaway is now closed**

At the end of a workshop I attended in mid-February, we were asked to write down on an index card three words that described the energy that each person in our group gave off.

When I look at a picture of Patti Callahan Henry, I pick up a strong vibe from her.  If I had to pick three words to describe her just by looking at her picture, I'd pick - relaxed, laid back, confident. (Yes, I picked up all that from a picture!)

The daughter of an Irish minister, Patti grew up in Philadelphia and moved south when she was 12 years old.  Though she dreamed of becoming a novelist, she took a more "realistic" path and got her degree in nursing from Auburn University and a Master's degree in Child Health from Georgia State University.  After having her third child, she finally decided to put down on paper the stories that had been in her head. Fast forward to the present, and she's now celebrating the publication of her NINTH novel, And Then I Found You (reviewed here).

Today, we welcome Patti to Chick Lit Central where she tells us more about her experiences with writing and give us a greater insight to what makes her....her.

Thanks to Wunderkind PR, we have a copy of Patti's newest novel, And Then I Found You for a lucky reader located in the US!

You can visit Patti at her website, Facebook and Twitter. You can also purchase (for 99 cents) Friend Request, the short, non-fiction story that inspired And Then I Found You.


Name the top three life experiences that have had a great influence on your writing:
This is a great question as I’ve never once thought about it, and it seems important to know about myself! I think the first thing that happened is that I grew up in a house where books were everywhere: on shelves, at bedsides, on the floor and the coffee table. My dad is a preacher and he was an avid reader with a large library. I think I read The Screwtape Letters before I was into double-digit age. The second thing that happened is that when I was twelve years old, we moved from Pennsylvania to South Florida. Can you say culture shock? I disappeared into novels, books, libraries and letters. I joined the Latin Club and became enthralled with mythology and story. And the third significant thing that happened was that after I had three kids, my then five-year-old daughter told me she wanted to write a book. Her very wish reminded me of my own and I took off on a brand new journey I’d always meant to do.

Which of your novels would you most like to see turned into a movie?
It’s a tie between Losing the Moon (because I love Nick Lowry and want to see him come alive on screen) and this new book, And Then I Found You. This new novel was inspired by a true story and I think that it would translate beautifully to the screen!

What does writing do for you that no other art form or profession could do?
Writing is possibly the only thing I can do and not think about doing anything else. Writing is the one thing I do that takes me to the places I can’t go any other time. Mostly I don’t even know exactly what I think or believe until I write it down.

At what point did you realize that you could turn writing into a full-time career?
When I acquired my agent, Kim Whalen, I knew that writing would be a career. I didn’t of course know the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the wonder and agony, but I did know that it was a career.

Dancing With The Stars calls to see if you'd like to be on their upcoming season, do you participate or not?
I want to say “yes” because I want to say “yes” to every adventure in life, but I’d hesitate for sure. I’m a terrible dancer, an uncoordinated bookworm and I have stage fright. I’m agonizingly self-conscious and I think it would be torture for me. And yet – I’d say “yes” for the adventure of it all.

Do you believe in miracles? If so, tell us about the greatest miracle you've experienced in your life.
I completely believe in miracles, the unseen and the synchronicities in life that make it magical. If I chose a miracle, it would be the morning that my then ten-month-old son was standing behind the tire of a minivan driven by a woman picking up my daughter for carpool. She ran over him and the tire miraculously ran over the exact right area of his hip so as not to crush his stomach or his legs, but his flexible hips. It was the scariest moment of my life. The ER didn’t believe he’d been “run over” until they saw the tire marks.

What words would others use to describe you?
This is incredibly difficult to answer. I want to choose all the lovely things one would say about another and yet how would I know? I just turned and asked my fourteen-year-old son and he rolled his eyes without an answer. So I texted my twenty year old daughter and asked her. She said “Electric” and “Wordy”, which I love, although I’m not sure exactly what she means. She then added “funny and all things good”, which I’ll take. But friends would probably say energetic or fun. I’d like to think I’m thoughtful and kind, but you’d have to ask them!

What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear would involve something terrible happening to my children, something that couldn’t be undone. I try very hard not to think about it….

A huge thanks for Patti for such a fantastic interview and to Wunderkind PR for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win And Then I Found You:
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: Do you believe in miracles, and why?
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. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US only. Giveaway ends April 15th at midnight EST.

Guest Book Review: And Then I Found You

By Marlene Engel

To 13 year-old Katie Vaughn, March 20th was not only the first day of spring, it was the start of what would become many firsts in her life. Jack Adams had told her that a promise made on the first day of spring was a promise that you could never break. Katie realized that today had been the day of a lot of firsts for her. Firsts that she did not realize would affect her forever.

Through the years Katie and Jack dated but things hit a rough patch when Katie took a job across the country. While home visiting, Katie discovered that Jack was dating someone new. All it took was one kiss for their emotions to take over and their bodies to react. Little did they know that this one act, something that they had shared many times in the past, would be the thing that would bind their lives forever.

It was March 20, 1997, the first day of spring. Katie just gave birth to her and Jack’s daughter, Luna. What would normally be a joyous day was filled with sadness. Jack was married and Katie couldn’t bear the thought of raising their daughter alone. Holding Luna in her arms, Katie gave her daughter one last kiss and handed her over to the social worker. She was now someone else’s child.

Like most adopted children, 13 year-old Emily Jackson had unanswered questions about her birth family. Reluctantly, her adoptive mother agreed to go online with her and see what they could find. In this day and age, with social media and the advancement of technology, it didn’t take long for them to get a lead. A lead that would eventually bring Emily to the answers that she has longed for … or did she?

And Then I Found You is a very powerful and moving book. It touches on the very delicate subject of adoption and the emotions both birth and adoptive families face during the process. The author did a great job showcasing the struggles both families endure when giving up and adopting a child. The book was very well written and the story was told to perfection. I really enjoyed each of the characters and their own unique ways that they handled this difficult situation. As a mother of an adopted daughter, this book really hit home. I could relate to the concerns and emotions that the adopted family felt. I, too, wonder what kind of questions my daughter will ask? What kinds of emotions will she go through? Will she feel like she wasn’t wanted? Will she know how much we wanted and love her? The author did a fantastic job addressing all of these questions and more. I absolutely loved reading this book and didn’t want it to end. I give this book a FIVE out of FIVE star rating. If it were possible to give it a higher rating, I would. I can honestly say that this is the best book I’ve ever read! I would absolutely recommend it to others.

Thanks to Wunderkind PR for the book in exchange for an honest review. They're giving away a copy along with Patti's interview.

Marlene Engel is a stay at home mom who runs a home daycare. She lives in Clifton Park, New York with her husband and (almost) three year-old daughter. She also has three older boys who live away from home while attending college. She is an adoptive/foster parent and an advocate for the special needs population. In her spare time she enjoys reading and getting together with her book club. 

More by Patti Callahan Henry:

Books of the Week - April 8th

Thanks for checking out Books of the Week! There are nine of us and we can't keep up with the many review requests we receive, even though we'd love to read everything sent our way. Therefore, we have decided to give some books their time in the spotlight and introduce you to them through this new blog feature. We will be featuring two books a week. We hope you will take the time to check these books out. (Click the titles to find them on Amazon.) If you read them and want to write a guest blogger review for us, please e-mail us and we'll be glad to work with you!

Authors: Please see our current review policy for more information about the Books of the Week feature. A few months ago, we decided to phase-out Books of the Week and replace it with a new page that we call our Book Shelf. Today is the last time we will feature Books of the Week on Chick Lit Central. The Book Shelf page is updated every Monday. We encourage you to take stop by and check out what we are currently featuring on that page!

Thank you.

The Seeds of a Daisy
By Alison Caiola

Popular actress Lily Lockwood has it all. She shares her life and gorgeous beachfront Malibu home with her even more gorgeous actor boyfriend. Perfect, right? Not so much! Within a matter of a few days, it all falls apart! She finds out that her boyfriend,on location shooting a Western, is riding horses all day and his curvy co-star all night. Before Lily can catch her breath, she gets word her mother is in intensive care following a near-fatal accident.

Lily flies across the country to be by her side. While rifling through Daisy’s papers, she comes across shocking information about her mother that threatens to shake her very foundation. Lily embarks
on a journey of self-discovery and closure as she seeks to unlock the mysteries of her mother’s past

Alison Caiola can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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12 Lessons
By Kate Spencer

It's chick lit with a twist and the story is about Stephanie Slater, a girl who is trapped in the materialistic side of life, her marriage is a façade and she will do anything to keep up with the Joneses. After an accidental psychic reading at a house party, the cracks in her life are exposed and things unravel very quickly. Her life hits rock bottom and she has no choice but to look seriously at the 12 Lessons that the psychic gives her in order to reclaim herself and the life that she wants.

Kate Spencer can be found on Twitter.

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School Ties
By Emma Lee-Potter

Downthorpe Hall. A posh public school in the Home Counties. Will Hughes has been installed as the new headmaster - fresh from working in an inner-city Comprehensive. Will knows there will be challenges ahead. Difficult parents, rebellious teenagers, and jealous teachers who will fight his attempts to reform the school. What he didn't expect was a battle for his heart.

But when he meets the fiercely ambitious deputy head Grace Foley, and the brilliantly smart science teacher Henry Mead, Will realises that the ties at Downthorpe are not just the kind you wear around your neck. What follows is a tangle of competing ambitions and desires that will leave Will bemused - and may force him to choose between the job he has always wanted and the woman of his dreams.

'School Ties' is a sparkling romantic comedy that takes the reader inside the cloistered, elite world of a top public school. It introduces a brilliant cast of characters that will entrance and entertain the reader.

School Ties is $2.99 on Kindle.

Emma Lee-Potter can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Review and Giveaway: The Best of Us

**Giveaway is now closed**

Tina is a frazzled stay-at-home mother of four young children. Allie has been leading a charmed life, until she receives some unsettling news. Savannah is trying to make a fresh start with her life after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Pauline is hiding some huge secrets from her husband, causing a distance within their marriage. Pauline's husband is turning 35 and she has invited Tina, Allie and Savannah, (along with their husbands, although Savannah shows up by herself) to Jamaica for an all-expenses-paid week of paradise, since they were all friends in college. When a hurricane threatens the safety of everyone on the island, there's a heavier storm of turmoil going on at the beach house, leading the women to re-evaluate what is most important in their lives.

Amy Bromberg:
Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorite authors. I knew she would be when I found out that Jennifer Weiner endorsed and raved about her before The Opposite of Me, Sarah’s debut novel, was released. I get giddy like a kid gets when he walks into a candy store when I receive in the mail the latest from Sarah. She really "gets" chick lit...writing about relatable characters and real life issues. Talking about giddy, I can’t tell you how excited I was when I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah last year at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ.

The Best of Us is a captivating read about four couples who are reuniting for a vacation of a lifetime in Jamaica. The four women however are all dealing with emotional burdens. Sarah takes the time to delve deeply into these women’s relationships and the struggles that they are dealing with. As with Sarah’s previous books, she has this incredible ability to bring her characters to life and make them extremely realistic. First there’s Pauline who, many a time, I wanted to slap in the face. In the beginning she has a big stick up her ass, but as we see later, there’s more to her than what meets the eye. Allie appears to be a goody two shoes, always a smile on her face, bright eyed and bushy tailed…but no one knows the secret she’s been hiding from her husband, Ryan and her best friend Tina. Tina feels she’s losing it from being a full time mom to four kids. And last, but not least, we have Savannah who looks like her separation from her husband is not taking a toll on her at all. But again, no one is ever what he or she appears to be.

If you’re like me you will want to hop on a plane to Jamaica the minute you get a taste of this gorgeous Caribbean beach setting. Sarah has an amazing eye for detail and many of her sensory descriptions draw the reader in. At certain times it was as if I felt the sand under my feet and saw the turquoise waters through my living room window. Okay, so this is a bit of wishful thinking, but you know what I mean.

While as times it was difficult to follow the lives of all of the characters, I still HIGHLY recommend it!

The Best of Us is a light, entertaining, cute and sexy read. Even though it’s not summer yet, it’s definitely a favorite 2013 beach read of mine. I can also see this being made into a movie. Picture Sex and the City 2, but with the men. I can see this being wonderful to devour while lounging on the beach with a strawberry daiquiri or a margarita.

Melissa Amster:

The Best of Us was the novel I took along during my recent vacation. It was rather fitting, since it was also about a vacation. However, we took our kids along with us, so it was hard not to envy the couples in this story at times. (Then again, going to Disney World without our kids would have felt so strange!) In any case, I enjoyed the escape afforded to me while reading this novel. I could live vicariously through the women lounging on the beach all day and getting massages or drinking cold, fruity alcoholic beverages. It made me think of my honeymoon.

Sarah Pekkanen's novels have spanned a variety of topics and don't seem to fall into a particular pattern. She tends to surprise me in this way. Her writing style is definitely consistent though. She has a way of creating characters who feel so real that I forget I'm reading a work of fiction. Even after I put down the novel before going to bed or when I was completely finished, the characters stayed with me. She had more to work with this time around, but she still gave a good amount of attention to each woman, developing a strong story line for them throughout the novel. There wasn't just the action in the present, but also a back story for each woman, along with the birthday boy. We got to learn about how they all met in college and the different ways they connected with each other back then, as well as stuff that happened in their lives between college and the vacation, such as how they met their spouses.

I could relate the most to Allie and Tina. I know how Allie felt about waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like the fact that things were going so well for her meant that only disaster was ahead. What people don't understand about living a "charmed life" is that it is anxiety provoking. We're constantly worrying about something bad befalling ourselves, spouses and children. When Allie received her unsettling news and worried about the potential outcome, I knew exactly how she felt. In regards to Tina, I know what it's like to juggle the demands of young children, worry that you're going to let someone down, and feel guilty about taking time for yourself to recharge. I saw a little of myself in Pauline, in terms of wanting to make sure everyone's needs are met and that things will go smoothly. I had a hard time relating to Savannah, but she was definitely interesting to read about.

As some of the women were carrying some heavy secrets around, I know some elephants in the room did not get addressed. I actually found this frustrating. I just wanted to yell at them "Tell your husband already!" I also would have liked to see an epilogue, where the women could be back in their daily lives a few months later, so that we could find out how the events that took place on the vacation truly affected their lives.

Overall, The Best of Us was an entertaining "escape read" that had a bit of a Desperate Housewives feel to it at times, but with less intensity. (Which I didn't mind at all, since I miss that show!) I became invested in the lives of each of the women and wanted to know what was going to happen for them going forward.

Thanks to Atria for the book in exchange for an honest review. You can find The Best of Us at Indie Bound.

Thanks to Engelman and Co, we have THREE copies of The Best of Us for some lucky US readers!

How to win:
Please tell us the first thing you'd do if you went on a week-long all-expenses-paid vacation to a Caribbean island.

One entry per person.

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

US only. Giveaway ends April 14th at midnight EST.

More by Sarah Pekkanen:

Guest Book Review: This Thirtysomething Life

By Sara Steven

Meet Harry Spencer. Drinker. Slacker. Deadbeat teacher. Overeater. Suffers from Peter Pan Syndrome.

And he’s soon to be someone’s father?!?

In Jon Rance’s debut novel, This Thirtysomething Life, we get a glimpse into the psyche of man. Harry Spencer is sublimely the classic type B personality (laid back, casual) while his wife Emily is an all out Type A (time urgent) causing comedic, yet gritty fights and drama. Harry chronicles these moments and other perspectives of life through his journal, and all hell breaks loose when he finds out that Emily is pregnant. What’s a guy to do?

I was waiting for this novel to read like a male version of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, but discovered that nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, you quickly learn that Harry is the prototype for how most men would react
and feel to the imminent changes that lie ahead when it comes to marriage, parenthood, relationships, and life in general. He can’t seem to ever catch a break. I was laughing out loud to terminology like “man-tention span”, teary-eyed during moments of contemplation, and yet there were times I found myself rather annoyed with him. I fully expected to hate Harry when he became entangled in a situation regarding an ex-girlfriend, yet I found myself feeling sorry for the poor chap, caught in the middle between an old love and his beloved wife.

Be prepared for a very candid, honest, hilarious read, and if you are looking to get inside the male brain (and get a taste reminiscent to movies Mr. Mom or Nine Months), you came to the right place.

If you like the book and are ready for more? Well, Jon Rance is currently working on his second novel, Happy Endings, so no need to fret. Take a cue from Harry here, and work on your Type B personality skills. In the meantime, you can read a sort-of prequel about how it all began in This Twentysomething Life, which is currently free for Kindle.

Sara Steven is a wife and stay-at-home mother of two rambunctious boys in Bellevue, NE. When she’s not running marathons, getting certified in group fitness instruction, or working on her novel, she takes a break and opens up a good book (or turns on her Nook). Find her at her blog, Momarock.

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What's in the mail...plus a giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

Melissa A:

Elizabeth the First Wife by/from Lian Dolan

The Banks of Certain Rivers by Jon Harrison from Catherine McKenzie (e-book)

Peace, Love and Lemonade by/from Nancy Stampahar

The Empty Glass by J. I. Baker from Penguin Group (Plume)


Amy:

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult from Chick Lit Is Not Dead

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand from Regan Arthur Books

Forever Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid from Goldberg McDuffie. This can be pre-ordered through Indie Bound, as well.





Tracey:


Love in Translation by/from Sara Palacios

Cupcakes, Sales, and Cocktails (An Annie Graceland Mystery) by/from Pamela DuMond

Cupcakes, Pies, and Hot Guys (An Annie Graceland Mystery) by/from Pamela DuMond

Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys: (An Annie Graceland Mystery) by/from Pamela DuMond


Becky:

Good Husband Material by Trisha Ashley from Avon

Losing It by Cara Cormack from Ebury Publishing

Lessons in French by/from Hilary Reyl
 
This Thirtysomething Life by/from Jon Rance

The Foster Husband by Pippa Wright
from Macmillan
 

Come Home by Lisa Scottoline from Ebury Publishing

Rising Darkness by Thea Harrison from Little Brown Publishing 

Dare by Tracey Cox from Hodder & Stoughton 

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt from
Little Brown Publishing

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorenson from Sphere

The French House by Nick Alexander from Atlantic Books


What could be in YOUR mail?

Anywhere but Here by Jenny Gardiner! She has FIVE e-books for some lucky readers anywhere in the world!

Mary Kate Dupree has been spinning her wheels for too long. Trapped in an abusive marriage to an overbearing good ol’ boy, she finally decides break the cycle when she heads out to pick up her husband's dry cleaning and instead picks up a handsome hitchhiker. They impulsively set off on a road trip of self-discovery, peeling away layers of their dark pasts en route to Niagara Falls, but once there will they take the leap? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)


How to win: 
Please tell us where you would like to be right now.

One entry per person.

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

Giveaway ends April 10th at midnight EST

Guest Book Review: Spy in a Little Black Dress

By Allie Smith

I consider myself somewhat of a Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis expert. I’ve counted the books on my shelf that are biographies of the former First Lady, or the Kennedy Family, or memoirs of people who had some sort of relationship with her – there are eighteen (and those are just the books that I own). Since I have what some may justifiably call an obsession with Jackie, I was intrigued by the premise of this book – a young Jacqueline Bouvier working for the CIA as a spy.

Spy in a Little Black Dress by Maxine Kenneth is the second book in a series of “Jackie Spy Books.” I didn’t read the first one, but that didn’t interfere with my enjoying this book. In this story, Jackie is sent on a secret mission to Cuba in 1952. During this period of history, Batista has overthrown the Cuban government and is ruling in an oppressive manner, while Fidel Castro is living in the mountains plotting his rebellion to free the Cuban people (if they only knew). Jackie is sent there to find and meet with Castro in order to determine his intentions regarding the US, should he be successful. Then she’s to report back to Allen Dulles, the head of the CIA (who her future husband will fire in a decade’s time, ironically, over the Bay of Pigs fiasco).

While researching her mission, Jackie stumbles upon some ancient Cuban history that leads her on the hunt for a lost treasure, all the while executing her covert mission. There’s a lot of Latin American history from the 1800’s that honestly didn’t interest me, but the treasure hunt was amusing. This is a spy novel, but it’s still chick lit with talk of fashion and gorgeous men vying for Jackie’s attention. The book is full of 1950’s pop culture references, which are fun. Although a bit farfetched, she has a number of chance encounters with popular figures of the era including Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemmingway and JFK himself, he on the arm of a show girl no less. Oh girl, you shoulda run!

Being a Jackie-phile, I struggled at times with envisioning her in this role. It’s so far removed from what I’ve perceived her to be, based on years of research. She was in no way a girl who would run through the jungle, carry sticks of dynamite or stare down a crocodile who was about to eat her! I also felt uncomfortable with some of the sexual overtures Miss Bouvier made to her Latin partner in spying, which actually made me squirm a little bit. It’s just not what I’d ever imagined from my Jackie "Oh!"   That noted, I will say the plot and the Cuban angle are very clever.

If you love thrills and adventure, this book is for you. It’s smart, sassy and well-written and the era will make you long for simpler times. There are some scenes that involve the early meetings of Jack and Jackie which are fun to read, as well. Just be forewarned, this is not the Jackie that we’ve all been fascinated with for decades. Perhaps to some readers, this fictional version will make her even more fascinating. I’m very curious to see how future books (I’m assuming there will be more) will handle Jackie explaining to JFK that she has, in fact, met Fidel Castro before - in the jungles of Cuba! That’ll be amusing.

Allie Smith, a former CPA who five years into her career decided that she hated working with numbers and willingly gave it all up to be a stay-at-home mom, lives in suburban Atlanta with her husband and four children. In between carpool, play dates and refereeing the kids, she loves to read and write. The mother of a child with autism, she is currently working on a memoir of their journey. She can be found at her blog.

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