Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process? About 1/3 of the way through a novel, I finally hit my stride and the writing begins to really flow. Up until then, I tend to go back and rewrite the early chapters over and over again, filling in the blanks, moving text, fleshing out characters, etc. Once it starts flowing, the writing takes on a life of its own and I can’t wait to get to my keyboard every morning! Q: Did you always know you wanted to write? Yes, I’ve known since third grade that I wanted to become an author one day. I was fortunate to have been encouraged by my teacher and my parents, who believed in me and supported me every step of the way. Q: Where do you find the inspiration for your novels? The spark of an idea for quite a few of my chick lit plot elements and characters come from my own life. I also write suspense novels (under my own name, Wendy Corsi Staub), but usually turn to other sources of inspiration for those—newspapers, true crime stories, Dateline and 48 Hours. But no matter what I’m writing, my novels all start with a musing “what if…?” Q: You write for more than one genre, do you find anything difficult about that? Not at all, probably because I only work on one book at a time. I tend to live in my fictional world while I’m on a deadline, and I think it would be difficult to jump back and forth from happy-shoe-shopping-land to corpse-in-the-woods-land. Writing in different genres keeps things fresh and interesting for me. Q: You worked for bookstores while you were in college, what kind of knowledge did you take away from those jobs? I learned how the publishing business works behind the scenes—about relationships between booksellers and their customers, between booksellers and sales reps, booksellers and authors…really, the most important person in an author’s life is the person responsible for getting the book into a reader’s hands. As an author, I have tremendous respect for booksellers, and try to let them know as often as possible how much I appreciate their efforts on my behalf. Q: I absolutely love the ‘Slightly’ series! How did you come up with the characters and their scenarios? Thank you! Tracey is very loosely based on me, and the people in her life are based—again, very loosely—on people I knew when I was a young, single woman in New York City. Certain characters—Raphael, for example—are composites of people I knew. Others are purely fictional—her parents are nothing like my parents, her mother-in-law, Wilma, came out of left field. But others—Jack, Yvonne, and Will come to mind—are rooted in real people I encountered along the way to being married and settled down. Q: Did you have a favorite writer while you were growing up? I I was—and still am—obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder. In fact, this past summer, I dragged my family out to the Prairie. We visited “Little House” sites in Kansas, Missouri, and South Dakota, and this coming summer, I’m going to be a featured speaker at “Laurapalooza,” the first-ever conference for Laura fans. Q: You are always keeping busy, but when do get free time how do you spend it? With my family! I’m a happily married mom with two boys who are growing up too fast, and we live our lives surrounded by hundreds of family members, friends, and neighbors. I like nothing better than to have a crowd around my dining room table eating homemade food. That, or traveling! I’ve embarked on a fifty-state book tour with my husband and sons in tow, and we complete a new leg every summer when school is out. Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Do your homework! If you want to become a published author, remember that this is a business as well as an art. Learn how the industry works, network with other writers online and at conferences and chapter meetins, and read as much as you can about how to prepare and submit a manuscript. It’s a slippery uphill slope to publication for most writers, so be prepared to work hard. I promise there is nothing more rewarding than reaching the top! Q: What would be or is your favorite place to travel? Travel is my passion, and I’ve been to 47 states, all over Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. I cherish our yearly trips to the Caribbean most of all, because it’s a week spent just with my family—I belong only to them, and I don’t bring makeup or bookmarks or shoes other than flip flops. Pure heaven!
Women’s Health Magazine has a great article on tips for a healthier heart. At my work (a hospital) we recently celebrated ‘Wear Red for Women’s Health’ this past Friday, so I thought this article would be good to print out and hang up in my office, and share with all of you! Here are the five tips you can do to avoid heart problems: 1. Eat More Plants and Fish. Colorful foods (think berries and spinach) are filled with heart healthy antioxidants that can reduce the risk of heart disease. The antioxidants work to keep plaque from building up on the arteries, keeping the vessels clear and healthy. Fruits and vegetables also give the body plenty of potassium, helping to regulate the blood pressure. Fatty fish such as salmon or sardines is a great way to get the omega-3 fatty acids, which also reduce the risk of heart disease by decreasing your blood pressure and triglycerides. 2. Cut the Fat. Butter, meat, and whole dairy products often contain high levels of saturated fats, which is bad for the heart. You want to keep your saturated fat level to about 7 percent of your daily calories and try to eliminate trans fats from your diet. Trans fats can do a double whammy- increasing the level of bad cholesterol and lowering the level of good cholesterol. WHM recommends keeping trans fats in your diet down to 1 percent of your daily calories- and the common foods that these are found in is margarine, oils, fried foods, and pastries. 3. Know Your Risk. We all know that prevention is key, and this relates to all aspects of your health. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor to run some tests on you to check out your levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, and other tests that could reveal potential health problems. Be especially aware if there is history of health problems in your family, such as diabetes or heart attacks. 4. Move Your Feet. Working out and utilizing cardio routines is a great way to protect your heart. Even just walking 30 minutes a day can improve heart strength and lower bad cholesterol levels. 5. Stop Smoking. We are all aware that smoking can introduce many health problems in the system, so it’s time to quit! WHM reports that smokers are up to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than those who don’t smoke. Tobacco can narrow arteries, raise blood pressure, and thicken blood- all which can lead to clogged arteries and heart attacks. And- it reeks! All these tips can be life-savers, so be sure to start implementing them into your daily routine. Be sure to check out Women’s Health Magazine online for the full article and other great heart healthy ideas!
As I was browsing on Shape.com today I found an article titled ‘Speedy Sculpting Secrets.’ Since I work out to look more sculpted, I headed to the page to see just what secrets I needed to learn. Most of them were what I expected, but there were a few surprises that were thrown in there, and a few new moves I am going to try at the gym. Here were some of my favorite secrets: 1. Hit the Hills. The treadmill can be your friend when trying to vary your workouts. Remember, if you continually do the same routine, your body and muscles will eventually get used to your moves and you won’t be helping yourself. Try these three treadmill programs to keep mixing it up. FLAT SPRINTS Set the treadmill at a constant 1 percent grade and run of walk fast (you should be completely out of breath) for 30 seconds. Recover at an easy intensity for 60 seconds. Repeat 9 times. HILL DRILLS Run or walk for 30 seconds at an 8 percent grade followed by 60 seconds at a 1 percent grade. Repeat 9 times. CONSTANT CLIMB Set the treadmill at an 8 percent grade and walk or run for 30 seconds at a moderate pace (you should be out of breath) followed by 60 seconds at a slower pace, still on the 8 percent incline. Repeat 9 times. 2. Don’t Procrastinate. Try not putting off the moves you dread (for me that would be push-ups!) because you are less likely to complete them if you keep them until the end. Get them out of the way first thing, that way you won’t be as tired when trying to complete them near the end of your routine. 3. Water is Your Friend. Pools can be a workout gold mine if you have access to one. Swimming laps is a great way to sculpt the body, but there are other ways you can utilize the pool as well. Shape suggest getting a kickboard and doing flutter kicks across the length of the pool, then getting gout and doing either lunges or squats and repeating the exercise. By alternating between water and land, the body is getting a cardio-sculpting workout. 4. Hold Your Tongue. This tip I found very interesting. When doing moves such as crunches, you should rest your tongue behind the top row of your teeth. This will help prevent neck strain, keeping you in better form and working the abs harder. Check out the full article at Shape.com for all 31 sculpting secrets!
Charlie Sheen was charged on Monday with a felony menacing charge and two misdemeanors after a domestic dispute with wife Brooke Mueller that happened on Christmas Day in Colorado. The judge did ease the restrictions on the restraining order according to People.com, so now the married couple can see each other. Sheen is reportedly returning home to see Mueller and their two young sons. Both the Two in a Half Men actor and Mueller appeared in an Aspen, Colorado court room for the hearing. In order for Sheen to be around Mueller, he needs to refrain from drinking alcohol, possessing guns or harassing his wife. The actor was formally charged with felony menacing and two misdemeanors: third-degree assault and criminal mischief, stemming from the assault, for which he was sent to jail for on Christmas Day.
Carrie Prejean is engaged! The controversial beauty queen- who lost her crown in last year’s Miss USA pageant, became engaged to NFL quarterback Kyle Boller over the weekend. Usmagazine reports that Prejean, 22, and Boller, 28, began dating last July and have not yet set a wedding date.
Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s person physician, was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly giving Jackson lethal levels of an anesthetic while treating the King of Pop at his bedside for insomnia. The charge filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney alleges Murray “did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson,” according to People.com. Murray, 57, surrendered today at a courthouse and was quickly handcuffed upon arrival.
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.
Chantel Simmons, Winnipeg Free Press bestselling author, was born in St. Catherine’s and graduated from Ryerson with a Bachelors Degree in Journalism. After graduation, Simmons went on to be an assistant to a literary agent, and made the decision that she wanted to become a freelance writer. While spending her time writing, she helped pay the bills by assisting photographers at the Toronto Sun, and in 2002 landed a position as editorial assistant at ELLE Canada. While working at ELLE, Simmons was offered a position at TV Guide as assistant editor and after that went on to work as editor to Elevate magazine, where she got her inspiration for her first novel. After getting married in 2005, Simmons’ husband convinced her that she actually needed to write her novel in order to get published, and after writing and securing an agent, Stuck in Downward Dog was published in the US and Canada, and went on to be a Winnipeg Free Press bestseller. Her second novel, Love Struck will be released February 15, 2010. Chantel Simmons now works at Sweetspot.ca as editorial director and works on two blogs: The Cherry on Top and Make-it-Session.
Retired NFL player and former Dancing With the Stars contestant Warren Sapp was arrested Saturday after reportedly attacking his girlfriend at Miami Beach's Shore Club hotel. Usmagazine reports that police were called by Sapp’s girlfriend of two years (not named by authorities) around noon to report the 5 am attack, and was later taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center and treated for a swollen knee and bruising on her neck. According to Miami Beach police, the victim reported that she and Sapp became engaged in an argument about her hanging around other men, and that Sapp choked and pushed her down on the couch while they were arguing. Sapp, 37, was in Miami to appear as an analyst for Super Bowl XLIV on the NFL Network. The network did release a statement saying that Sapp is relieved of his analyst duties for Sunday and will no longer appear on-air.
