Interview with Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Q: Why did you decide to do a dual narrative book?
We feel readers (like us!) enjoy getting inside the head of more than one key player in a story. And there’s also the fact that we can barely compose a joint email without debating each word, (don’t even get us started on the play we tried to co-write back in college!) so we thought it would make things a wee bit easier if we each wrote our own character. But luckily, we have a very collaborative editing process and we each take feedback from the other about our character, plot points, etc…(Our motto: once the book is written, anything is fair game!)
Q: Do either of you want to write a novel on your own?
Right now, we’re having so much fun collaborating that it would feel like we were missing a limb if we tried to do it on our own.
Q: Where did you get the idea for I’ll Have Who She’s Having?
We had talked about writing a book for TEN years, but we hadn’t decided on the plot. It wasn’t until Lisa went on vacation to Maui and brought home a chapter about a girl named Kate that we decided it was now or never and we developed the storyline and wrote our book.
Q: Can you give any details about your second novel in works?
Anther dual narrative, it’s about two women who never expected to find themselves in the complicated world of divorce.
Q: I am such a fan of your website. How do you keep up with all the posts and get the ideas for each piece?
Thanks so much! We have a lot of fun with Chick Lit Is Not Dead. And honestly, we find the best material comes from the simplest things in our lives, like painting the house with your spouse (major no no!) or watching and wanting to try out for The Amazing Race (Liz says, “Yes”. Lisa says, “No!”). The only downside? Our friends now begin sentences with, “This better not end up on your blog!”
Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies (besides reading and writing!)
Liz likes to play tennis or shop in all her (non-existent!) spare time. And Lisa is a workout and reality TV junkie (not necessarily in that order).
Q: Who are some of your favorite authors that you have been able to interview?
We loved our series “25 Things Liz and Lisa want to know about….” And now we’re equally excited about our latest feature, “5 things Liz and Lisa didn’t know about…” because our favorite authors give us juicy nuggets about themselves that we wouldn’t otherwise know. They share their favorite coffee order, what they’d be doing if they weren’t a writer, who they crush on…And we feel lucky that so many of our favorite authors like Jennifer Weiner and Allison Winn Scotch have played along. And we nearly died when our writing partner role models, the authors of THE NANNY DIARIES, not only gave us an interview but also interviewed us! We’re still coming down from that high!

Q: And what authors have you yet to interview that you are most excited about?
Because of her obsession with The Hills, Liz is pretty pumped about Lauren Conrad. And Lisa is very excited about Wendy Wax. Wendy’s novel, “The Accidental Bestseller” is one of her all-time fav’s. Lisa just finished her soon to be released novel, “Magnolia Wednesdays” which was also fantastic!
Q: What advice can you give to others like me, wanting to get published and be so involved with the chick lit world?
Write the book you want to write. Always stay true to the person you are because publishing trends come and go. (We can’t tell you how many times agents we queried told us that Chick Lit was dead!) There will always be an audience that wants to read good books about engaging characters. And most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!
Q: Have you been on any great trips, together or separately? What would be your favorite?
We had a blast on our writer’s retreat to Palm Springs last fall. Let’s just say that warm weather + Hot Latin cabana boys= low word count.