Check to See if You’re a Winner!
Thank you to everyone who voted for the first annual Chick Lit Plus Awards! I am counting up the votes and can’t wait to announce the final results. Before that, I wanted to list the winners for all of you who voted for your favorites! I had some amazing authors donate their books, and below are the winners. Please check to see if your name or email is listed. If so, please send me an email at Samantha@chicklitplus.com before Friday September 10th to claim your prize. Thanks again everyone!
1 Winner receives three novels by Marla Martenson, Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate is Waiting, Good Date, Bad Date, and Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker – SAMANTHA SANDERS
1 winner receives Vivian Rising by Daniella Brodsky- CASEY (CASEYAMARA@GMAIL.COM)
1 winner receives Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger- SARAH REID
1 winner receives Swallow by Tonya Plank- LISA NELSON
Congratulations to the winners!
Final Votes for Chick Lit Plus Awards
Today is the last day to vote for your favorites to win the Chick Lit Plus Awards! A link is provided below to each category, please use the comment section on those posts to submit your vote. Every single person who enters their vote will be entered in a drawing to receive the following books:
Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate is Waiting by Marla Martenson
Good Date Bad Date by Marla Martenson
Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker by Marla Martenson
Swallow by Tonya Plank
Vivian Rising by Daniella Brodsky
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
If you vote for multiple categories, you are entered multiple times!
Best Novel from a Debut Author
Best Novel written by a Celebrity
Novel that should be turned into a Movie
Best Job Nominees
The nominees for Character with the Best Job:
Sophie Katz Sopie Katz series by Kyra Davis
Lydia Hoffman, The Shop On Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
Becky Bloomwood, Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella
Heather Wells, Heather Wells Series by Meg Cabot
Marla Martenson, Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker by Marla Martenson
Please vote for your favorite by commenting below. Everyone who votes is entered to win!
Chick Lit Plus Awards: Prize Winners Selected!
A big thank you to everyone who nominated their favorites for the Chick Lit Plus Awards! I had a great response and can’t wait to see who the winners turn out to be! I will be tallying up the nominations this week, and starting next Monday, the final voting process will begin. Be sure to vote for all your favorites- more great prizes will be handed out! Speaking of prizes, listed below are the names of all the winners for those who nominated. Thanks again to everyone who voted, I’ll be looking forward to hearing more opinions next week!
**1 Winner of all three Marla Martenson novels, Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate is Waiting, Good Date, Bad Date, and Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker:
Jencey Gortney
**2 Winners to receive both novels by Micheline McAllister: Welcome to My Life and Love You, Love Your Work, Let’s Do Lunch!
Melissa Amster & Michele (HearDoc2B@gmail.com)
**2 Winners each to receive a copy of Swallow by Tonya Plank:
Susan Parham & Sara_Lisa
**2 Winners each receive a copy of Reunion by JL Penn:
Stephanie(christmansl@gmail.com) & Sarah(sarah.barnard@bigpond.com)
**3 Winners to receive a copy of Vivian Rising by Daniella Brodsky:
Stephanie(christmansl@gmail.com), Runner10(csdsksds@gmail.com), & Joanne Elvin
**1 Winner to receive a copy of Hook Line and Sink Him by Jackie Pilossoph:
Susan Parham
**2 Winners to receive a copy of Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger:
Michele(HearDoc2B@gmail.com) & Emily(wolffemily@gmail.com)
All winners- please email me your mailing address at Samantha@chicklitplus.com by Friday August 27th
Chick Lit Plus Awards: Day 5 Nominations
Categories: Novel That Should Be a Movie, Best Novel Made Into a Movie, Character with the Best Job
Prizes: 3 winners will receive a copy of Vivian Rising by Daniella Brodsky
Winners will be announced August 23rd.
Please post below to enter your nominations, or email me directly at Samantha@chicklitplus.com. The top 5 from each category will go on to the final voting process.
Some early nomination votes for these categories include:
Hook Line and Sink Him by Jackie Pilossoph- Novel That Should Be a Movie
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella- Best Novel Made Into a Movie
Marla Martenson- Matchmaker- Diary of Beverly Hills Matchmaker by Marla Martenson- Character with the Best Job
Chick Lit Plus Awards: Day 1 Nominations
Categories: Best Laugh Out Loud Novel, Best Romance Novel, and Best BFF Novel (Best Friends Forever.)
Prizes: Starting off big! One lucky winner will win a copy of all THREE of Marla Martenson’s novels: Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate is Waiting, Good Date, Bad Date, and Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker.
Winners will be announced August 23rd.
Please post below to enter your nominations, or email me directly at Samantha@chicklitplus.com. The top 5 from each category will go on to the final voting process.
Some early nomination votes for these categories include:
Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Hander- Best LOL Novel
Hook, Line, and Sink Him by Jackie Pilossoph- Best LOL Novel
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner- Best BFF Novel
Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker by Marla Martenson
August 13, 2010 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Review, Samantha's Favorites
Matchmaker, author, and life coach Marla Martenson chronicles her adventures of matchmaking in the land of Los Angeles. Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker is just what it sounds like, giving readers an inside peek into the lives and relationships of those single and looking. With the backdrop being LA, the stories, people, and situations are to the extreme. Martenson has a humorous voice, and I loved reading about how she needed to figure out how to hook up an old, nerdy, overweight, and balding man with a supermodel look-alike who has to have an Ivy league education but prefers to be a 1950’s housewife. Or secure a match for the man who found his sole mate- but her areolas were too large. Or the woman who will sleep with any man as long as he will drop thousands of dollars for her to shop designer labels. Each tale provides new laughter, and I absolutely love this book! I really liked that Marla not only let readers know about her matchmaking work, but also wrote about her own struggles of writing a book, maintaining a wonderful marriage, and keeping her self-esteem up in the city of LA. It’s also a quick read, only took me a couple of sittings to complete, so if you are looking for something fast, funny, and even enlightening, be sure to check out Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker.
Rating: 5/5
Author Profile: Marla Martenson
August 11, 2010 by Samantha
Filed under Chick Lit Authors, Updates
Name: Marla Martenson
Website: http://www.marlamartenson.com/
Bio: Marla Martenson was born in Tacoma, Washington, the “City of Destiny.” She has a natural flair for acting and a deep interest in reading and writing poetry and short stories. At the age of sixteen, Marla was living in Iran with her family, learning to speak French and Persian, when the revolution forced their return to Washington State. After a year of college there, the pursuit of an acting career drew her to Hollywood and a stint in television commercials and print modeling.
Restless and eager for new challenges, in the early nineties it was on to Chicago, where she discovered that she could use her personal dating experiences to help others. She subsequently turned this talent into a career as a matchmaker back in Los Angeles, where, since 2001, her skills have led many couples to matrimony. Marla’s work inspires people and gives them hope that they can find their soul mates. She found and married her own, musician and composer Adolfo Jon Alexi, in Mexico City in 2002. A world traveler and culture nut, Marla describes herself as having a French flair, a Persian heart, Italian fire, and Mexican taste buds!
Currently, Marla writes for such online publications as www.naomishow.com, (www.abfabwomen.com) and Examiner (www.examiner.com). She was named the “Over 40 Female of the Week” in February, 2010, for Over40Females.com. She is also a correspondent for World Wide Good News.
Currently: Marla and Adolfo reside in blissful harmony in Los Angeles, where she continues to bring her considerable matchmaking expertise to bear on the single population of star-studded Southern California while her talented husband serenades them with his own songs and music.
Titles: Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate Is Waiting, Good Date, Bad Date, and Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker.
Bio Retrieved from Marlamartenson.com
In My Mailbox: Week of June 13th
In My Mailbox: Week of June 13, 2010
Title: Crossed Wires
Author: Rosy Thornton
Received: From Rosy Thornton
Synopsis: This is the story of Mina, a girl at a Sheffield call centre, whose next customer in the queue is Peter, and Cambridge geography don, who has crashed his car into a tree stump. Despite their differences, they’ve got a lot in common-both single, both parents, both looking for love. Could it be that they’ve just found it? This is a story about the small joys and tribulations of parenthood, about one-ness and two-ness, about symmetry and coincidence, about the things that separate us and the things that bring us together.
Title: Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker
Author: Marla Martenson
Received: From Marla Martenson
Synopsis: In Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker, Marla takes her readers for a hilarious romp through her days as an L.A. matchmaker and her daily struggles to keep her self-esteem from imploding in a town where looks are everything and money talks. From juggling the demands her out-of-touch clients to trying her best to meet the capricious demands of an insensitive boss to the ups and downs of her own marriage to a Latin husband who doesnt think that she is domestic enough, Marla writes with charm and self-effacement about the universal struggles that all women face in their lives. Readers will laugh, cringe, and cry as they journey with her through outrageous stories about the indignities of dating in Los Angeles, dealing with overblown egos, vicariously hobnobbing with celebrities, and navigating the wannabe-land of Beverly Hills. In a city where perfection is almost a prerequisite, even Marla cant help but run for the Botox every once in a while.
Interview with Marla Martenson
Q: How did you get into writing?
I wanted to be a writer since I was in grade school. I used to write letters to my favorite authors telling them how I wanted to do what they did when I grew up. I used to write a lot of poetry and short stories. Then my interest switched to acting and I did that for twenty years, but writing was always in the back of my mind. I didn’t have the confidence to write and get my stories out there. Once I started working as a matchmaker, I realized that I had a lot to say about what men and women are looking for in a partner and a lot of tips to ensure a successful date, so I went for it and starting writing my first book, Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate Is Waiting in 2006. It was published in 2008.
Q: How did you realize you were good at matchmaking?
I realized it on the job. I am a people person and found that I am very patient and a good listener and also my positive sunny nature helps a lot as well since clients demands can be outrageous on occasion.
Q: How do you pair up potential couples?
I meet with both parties and make a detailed profile on them. After that I look to see which of my clients will match up well based on their criteria and lifestyle. I contact the woman first and tell her all about the man I have in mind for her. If she agrees, then I contact the man and give him her info and number, he calls and asks her for a date. After the date I get feedback from both parties and pass it along if asked.
Q: What is your favorite part of a wedding?
The cake!
Q: How did you meet your husband?
A mutual friend introduced us on May 21st 2001. My husband is an entertainer and was playing the piano and singing at a piano bar in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles. My friend took me there one evening, I walked right up to the piano and introduced myself, and we have been together ever since.
Q: What are your top 3 dating tips?
1. Don’t talk about your ex. Your date does not want to hear about your bad break up or your drama. 2. Keep your phone in your purse, answering calls or texting at the dinner table is just plain rude. Give your date your full attention. 3. Listen more than you talk. Be truly interested in your date. I have heard so many times from both parties, “All my date did all night was talk about themselves.”
Q: Your latest book, Diary of a Beverley Hills Matchmaker, looks to be hilarious. How much fun did you have writing this?
I had a blast writing this book. It is a true story and people keep telling me that they can’t believe it is all true! I have a lot of fun reading it as well since my friends and family are the stars!
Q: Do you have any new projects in the works?
Yes, I am writing the sequel to Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker now, it will be published in the fall of 2011.
Q: What is some love advice you can give to readers?
I would say not to give up on love, there is a top for every pot. But the most important thing is to work on yourself before you look for someone to get into a relationship with. Make sure you have worked through your issues, are open and ready for a relationship. If you need to get healthy, or lose a few pounds to feel great and raise your confidence, do that so that you are your best you and bring something great to the table.
Q; How about your best advice for aspiring writers?
Just go for it. Write and enjoy the process. The publishing industry is a tough one to crack, so make sure that you are writing because you love it. It is not a way to get rich quick. Writers are also readers, so read everything you can get your hands on, all genres. Reading opens your mind and gets your creative juices flowing.
Q: Where is your favorite place to travel?
I love Europe, I have been about 12 times. I speak fluent French, Spanish and get by in Italian. Paris is my all time favorite, and Prague was a dream. I also go to Mexico every year. My husband is from Mexico City so we go visit family. We recently went to Guanajuato which was a 5 hour bus ride from Mexico City. It was so amazing. I felt like I was in Spain. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I would love to spend a few months living there writing a new masterpiece.
Click Here to Visit Marla’s Website!
