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In My Mailbox: Week of February 10
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of February 10

In Samantha’s Mailbox:

stagedTitle: Staged

Author: Ruby Preston

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: Aspiring Broadway producer Scarlett Savoy has almost everything she needs to make her first musical a huge success- millions in financial backing, a talented (not to mention handsome) young director, and a big-name Hollywood starlet as her female lead. But with none of the theater owners in town willing to back a novice, she’s missing one final piece of the puzzle: a Broadway theater. Just when Scarlett thinks her show might never see the footlights of day, an unexpected meeting with the young, eligible son in the Stewart theatrical empire changes Scarlett’s Broadway prospects forever.

Staged is the much anticipated follow up to Ruby Preston’s juicy Broadway novel, Showbiz.

somedayTitle: Someday, Someday, Maybe

Author: Lauren Graham

Received: NetGalley

Synopsis: From Lauren Graham, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, comes a witty, charming, and hilariously relatable debut novel about a struggling young actress trying to get ahead―and keep it together―in New York City.

It’s January 1995, and Franny Banks has just six months left of the three-year deadline she set for herself when she came to New York, dreaming of Broadway and doing “important” work. But all she has to show for her efforts so far is a part in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters, and a gig waiting tables at a comedy club. Her roommates―her best friend Jane, and Dan, an aspiring sci-fi writer―are supportive, yet Franny knows a two-person fan club doesn’t exactly count as success. Everyone tells her she needs a backup plan, and though she can almost picture moving back home and settling down with her perfectly nice ex-boyfriend, she’s not ready to give up on her goal of having a career like her idols Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. Not just yet. But while she dreams of filling their shoes, in the meantime, she’d happily settle for a speaking part in almost anything—and finding a hair product combination that works.

Everything is riding on the upcoming showcase for her acting class, where she’ll finally have a chance to perform for people who could actually hire her. And she can’t let herself be distracted by James Franklin, a notorious flirt and the most successful actor in her class, even though he’s suddenly started paying attention. Meanwhile, her bank account is rapidly dwindling, her father wants her to come home, and her agent doesn’t return her calls. But for some reason, she keeps believing that she just might get what she came for.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a story about hopes and dreams, being young in a city, and wanting something deeply, madly, desperately. It’s about finding love, finding yourself, and perhaps most difficult of all in New York City, finding an acting job.

strawberryTitle: Strawberry Wine

Author: Lee Adams

Received: From Lee Adams

Synopsis: Ten years have passed since Tanya Smith’s last summer at Laurel Lake-the summer of Marie. Today Tanya is a confident, successful music promoter-a far cry from the naïve seventeen-year-old who showed up at the lake full of rosy notions of first love, lifelong friendships, and evenings spent sipping strawberry wine on the shore. That September changed everything, and as far as Tanya is concerned, there’s no going back. That is, until a mysterious phone call from Marie’s lawyer brings Tanya face to face with the past. Suddenly she finds herself returning to Laurel Lake and to everything she left behind there. Will the dark secret that haunts the lake break her heart all over again? Or will Marie’s legacy be the key that unlocks the future Tanya gave up on ten long years ago?

TempingTitle: Temping is Hell

Author: Cathy Yardley

Received: From Cathy Yardley

Synopsis: WORST. JOB. EVER.

Kate O’Hara can’t wait until this temp assignment is over. The woman who hired her is a psychotic pageant queen, her coworkers are convicts-turned-clerks, and it’s so boringly corporate it makes her skin crawl. Even her sexy-as-sin boss, famed billionaire Thomas Kestrel, isn’t enticement enough to keep her there. Once she makes enough to pay off her bills, she’s out. Or so she thinks…

WHAT THE HELL?

Next thing she knows, she’s accidentally signed over her soul. Literally. And she’s discovered Thomas’s real mission: to kill thirteen bad guys in one year, in order to get his—now his and Kate’s—souls back.

IT’S NOT JUST A JOB. IT’S A MISADVENTURE.

From learning to boost the morale of some paper-pushing demons to navigating her way through blood-red tape, Kate has to work closely with her super-hot supervisor and get her flaky act together, before somebody clocks her out—p permanently!

publicistTitle: The Publicist

Author: Christina George

Received: From Christina George

Synopsis: Can one woman change an age-old institution like publishing? Probably not, but Kate Mitchell sure wants to try. As a publicist with a large, respected New York publishing house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken publishing system, books that don’t sell, and author egos that are often, well, as big as the island of Manhattan.

Enter the star editor, MacDermott Ellis: Tall, handsome, charismatic, married, and ready to save the day. Then there’s Allan Lavigne, once a revered author—now as forgotten as last year’s bestsellers and his nephew Nick: Tall, gorgeous, sweet, single, and ready to sweep Kate off her feet. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be driving her decisions.

As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, over-the-top author expectations, and the careful dance of “I’m sorry, your book isn’t on the bestseller list this week,” she also finds authors who are painfully overlooked by a publisher wanting more sex, more celebrities, and more scandal.

Welcome to the world of publishing. The ego has landed.

fashionistaTitle: Confessions of a Fashionista

Author: Angela Clarke

Received: Unsolicited

Synopsis: The incredibly popular Daily Mail column, ‘Confessions of a Fashionista’, feeds its hungry readers snippets of a life in the glittering yet deranged world of fashion. Now its anonymous author reveals both her identity and the true story of her giddyingly glamorous time in the style industry, with insider gossip on the people who populate it.

Propelled by a painful end to a relationship and determined to prove her ex wrong for breaking up with her, our Fashionista lands a place on the Harrods Graduate Scheme. A complete outsider to the fashion world, she sets out on a wing and a pair of Guccis, and finds herself in a whirlwind of couture and craziness. Along the way she learns how to stay sane in a world where hairdressers have egos as big as their clients’ bouffants, where dogs fly business class, and if you’re eating carbs it can only be because you’re pregnant.

Confessions of a Fashionista is a book for anyone who’s ever been an outsider, for anyone who’s ever had a relationship end badly and thought they’d never find true love, and for anyone who thinks that cakes were made to be eaten, not sniffed. By turns hilarious, sad, thrilling, romantic and fun, it is the It book for fashionistas everywhere.

In Sara’s Mailbox:

crooked branchTitle: The Crooked Branch

Author: Jeanine Cummins

Received: Unsolicited

Synopsis: From the national bestselling and highly acclaimed author of The Outside Boy comes the deeply moving story of two mothers—witty, self-deprecating Majella, who is shocked by her entry into motherhood in modern-day New York, and her ancestor, tough and terrified Ginny Doyle, whose battles are more fundamental: she must keep her young family alive during Ireland’s Great Famine.

After the birth of her daughter Emma, the usually resilient Majella finds herself feeling isolated and exhausted. Then, at her childhood home in Queens, Majella discovers the diary of her maternal ancestor Ginny—and is shocked to read a story of murder in her family history.
With the famine upon her, Ginny Doyle fled from Ireland to America, but not all of her family made it. What happened during those harrowing years, and why does Ginny call herself a killer? Is Majella genetically fated to be a bad mother, despite the fierce tenderness she feels for her baby? Determined to uncover the truth of her heritage and her own identity, Majella sets out to explore Ginny’s past—and discovers surprising truths about her family and ultimately, herself.

wandererTitle: The Wanderer

Author: Robyn Carr

Received: Sarah @ Little Bird

Synopsis: Nestled on the Oregon Coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land’s unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he’s been left an old friend’s entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community’s destiny in his hands.

Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful.

With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home.

February 10, 2013
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CLP Blog Tours Interview & Excerpt: Becoming Mrs. Walsh by Jessica Gordon
Chick Lit Authors

CLP Blog Tours Interview & Excerpt: Becoming Mrs. Walsh by Jessica …

Thanks to Jessica Gordon for stopping by with a Q&A and guest post for her Becoming Mrs. Walsh tour for CLP Blog Tours! Please visit…

February 9, 2013
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Author Profile: Addison Towne
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Addison Towne

Author Name: Addison Towne Website: http://addisontowne.com/ Bio: Addison Towne is a lover of fashion, foes and fun!  She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.…

February 9, 2013
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Safe Haven Giveaway!
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Safe Haven Giveaway!

Thank you to Relativity Media for letting CLP host this giveaway! SAFE HAVEN In Theaters February 14, 2013 An affirming and suspenseful story about a…

February 8, 2013
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Book Excerpt: Goodnight, Brian by Steven Manchester
Chick Lit Authors

Book Excerpt: Goodnight, Brian by Steven Manchester

Goodnight, Brian by Steven Manchester

brianBrian was eleven months old when Doctor Alexander summoned the Mauretti family into his office to deliver the final verdict. Mama insisted that she be there. No one objected.

It was a late winter afternoon, a howling wind knocking on blocks of ice that were once windows. Doctor Alexander sat behind his tidy desk, looking distressed. Joan nearly cried when she saw his demeanor and immediately leaned on Frank for support. Avoiding initial eye contact, the young doctor was clearly having trouble offering his prognosis. He cleared his throat and finally reported, “We’ve discovered that Brian has metabolic alkalosis.”

“He has what?” Frank asked.

“Metabolic alkalosis is a blood disorder that affects an infant’s ability to digest properly and gain weight. It’s caused by a lack of chloride, or sodium, in the diet.”

“So what does that mean for Brian?” Joan asked.

“Several of Brian’s tests have shown some abnormality in the frontal area of his brain.”

Joan, Frank and Mama’s silence begged for the man to embellish. The doctor took another long pause, making Joan feel like her heart was going to explode. She tried to slow down the hyperventilating. It was no use.

“Your son’s development has been severely damaged,” he finally told Joan and Frank directly. “And at this point, I believe it’s irreversible.”

“Irreversible? I don’t understand?” Joan screeched, frightened for her baby boy’s future. She felt so lightheaded that the room began to spin.

Doctor Alexander shook his head. “It means that Brian will never walk.”

“Never walk?” Frank repeated, his face instantly bleached to white.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t believe he will.” He scanned the reports in front of him and took another deep breath. “It’s also doubtful that Brian will ever talk or communicate effectively.”

Joan looked toward her mother again, her terrified eyes begging for help. Mama got to her feet and took a defensive posture.

Without acknowledging the old woman, the doctor went on, “Brian may never be able to do what normal children—or adults—are able to do.” He paused again. “We believe it may have been caused by the Neo Mulsoy formula. The low chloride concentration in his urine is substantial proof that the sodium deficiency within the soy formula has been the primary cause of Brian’s medical problems.”

While the doctor tried to explain further, Joan wailed, “Oh God, what did I do to my boy?”

“You didn’t do anything,” Doctor Alexander and Mama vowed in unison.

The doctor backed off, allowing the old lady to take over. She grabbed her daughter’s panicked face. “This wasn’t you,” Mama promised. “You did nothing wrong!” She shook her head. “And this is only one opinion. There are other doctors…more tests.”

While Joan wept sorrowfully, Frank rested his hand on his wife’s leg and stared helplessly at the doctor. “But Doctor Carvalho prescribed the formula to Brian,” he muttered in a wounded voice, as if it would make some difference.

“There’s no way he could have known at that time that it would have caused your son harm,” the man replied.

“You say he’ll never walk?” Joan cried.

“Sorry, but I really don’t believe he will,” the doctor answered, sadly.

“Or talk?” Joan gasped, trying to breathe.

stevenThe man slowly shook his head. “I have to believe that the damage to your son’s frontal lobe will prohibit any real speech.”

As Joan struggled to continue her panicked line of questioning, Mama shook her gray, curly head. “That’s crap!” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The young doctor turned his attention to her. “I realize that this is…”

“You’re wrong!” Mama insisted, taking a step toward him.

“Excuse me?” he asked. “I know this isn’t easy to hear, but…” The man shot her a kind smile, but Mama wasn’t swayed. “I’m so sorry, but Brian is now mentally disabled,” he concluded.

“No. I don’t think you understand,” Mama replied, staring straight into his sapphire eyes. “Our boy is going to walk. He’s going to talk. He’s going to ride a bike, swim, and learn to do everything that any other kid can do. It might take a little more doing, but I guarantee it!”

Although it was the slightest movement, the doctor shook his head at her foolish hope. “Believe me, I wish that were true, but…”

“Wishing won’t have anything to do with it. No, this’ll take faith and determination, and the love and support of our entire family.”

Unable to do more, Doctor Alexander turned back to Joan and Frank. “I’m here for whatever you need.”

“For what?” Frank barked, his shock turning to rage. “It was a doctor who ruined my son’s life!” By this point, Joan was nearly rolled into the fetal position, her body paralyzed from the devastating news.

Doctor Alexander nodded compassionately and, handing Frank a piece of paper, concluded, “This is a different soy-based formula that you folks can start Brian on, as well as an additional chloride supplement. We’ll talk about solid foods and other alternatives during his next visit.” Patting Joan’s shoulder, he said, “I’m so sorry” and stepped out of the room.

Mama watched the back of him disappear down the long hall and nodded herself into the slightest smirk. In that one moment, she realized her life’s mission had just begun.

While Joan sobbed and convulsed, Frank held his head in his hands, trying to process it all. Mama grabbed her dejected daughter’s face again and forced Joan to look into her eyes. She spoke sternly. “Joan, you listen to me right now. That doctor’s wrong! Brian’s going to write his own story. He’s going to sing his own song and no one’s going to sing it for him. It’s his life and it’s between him and God…not some fool doctor who’s had so much schooling that he’s forgotten the power of faith.”

Joan shook her head. “But, Ma…” she sobbed. “You heard him. Brian’s brain has been damaged.” The final word made her wail out in pain.

“Your Nana said that she had such a difficult time bringing me into the world that she nearly died. And the horse doctor who assisted in the birth told her that I just wouldn’t be right.”

Frank looked up from his spell and began to quietly weep.

Mama nodded again. “Yep,” she said, with burning determination. “Brian’s going to be as right as rain. I guarantee it. Only God knows how…but that’s enough.”

To read more, click below to purchase the book on Amazon.

February 8, 2013
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CLP Blog Tours Guest Post: Rachel Schurig
Chick Lit Authors

CLP Blog Tours Guest Post: Rachel Schurig

Thanks to Rachel Schurig for stopping by with a guest blog today for In Search of a Love Story blog tour with CLP Blog Tours! Please…

February 7, 2013
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Author Profile: Sarra Manning
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Sarra Manning

Author Name: Sarra Manning
Website: http://www.sarramanning.co.uk/index.php
Bio: Sarra Manning has been a fashion, lifestyle and entertainment journalist for over fifteen years. Her writing career started on the music paper, Melody Maker and involved a long stint on the legendary teen mag, Just Seventeen, before she went on to launch and edit Elle Girl and What To Wear, as well as consulting on a number of magazines including The Face, Look and More.
Her first adult novel, Unsticky, was heat magazine’s book of the week and Sarra is also a best-selling teen novelist. Her YA titles include Adorkable, Guitar Girl, the Diary Of A Crush trilogy, Let’s Get Lost, and Nobody’s Girl, which made the shortlist of the BookTrust Teenage Prize in 2010.
Sarra also writes for Grazia, Red, The Guardian, Stylist, Fabulous, Stella, You Magazine, and InStyle.
She lives in North London and prides herself on her unique ability to accessorise.
See my review for Nine Uses For an Ex-Boyfriend!

February 4, 2013
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In My Mailbox: Week of February 3
Chick Lit Plus

In My Mailbox: Week of February 3

In Samantha’s Mailbox:

love-in-translationTitle: Love in Translation

Author: Sara Palacios

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: Still reeling from an unexpected breakup, Emily nurses her broken heart by spending time with her best friends and taking one-too-many vodka shots. After one long night, she takes a hard look inside herself and doesn’t like what she sees. She realizes that she has sacrificed too much in her failed relationships from the past and vows to never settle for anything less than almost-perfect again. As she picks up the pieces and regains her confidence, a sexy Spanish chef moves in across the hall and knocks her off her feet. What ensues is an unexpected and tantalizing affair that opens her eyes – and her heart – to a whole new world and leaves her feeling sexier than she has ever felt. Emily finally sees how easy love is supposed to be. Is happily-ever-after actually possible? Just when she starts to think so, she realizes that sometimes life gets more complicated before it gets easier. And complicated is an understatement when Steven (her best and oldest friend in the world) confesses his love for her. Everything spirals out of control as Emily must make a choice between love and friendship, and in doing so, possibly risk it all.

LOVE IN TRANSLATION is a modern day love story about following your heart to unexpected places and taking chances in life … because sometimes you will find exactly what you are looking for.

swanTitle: Swan Story

Author: Priya Narendran

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: Soon to be married Daniel Macgregor meets mysterious beauty Sarah Mitchell on the day his father gives him a ballet company as a present. Although at first reluctant to take responsibility, he changes his mind when he realizes Sarah dances for the same company. Over the course of the production of “Swan Lake” they fall head over heels in love. Unknown to Daniel, Sarah is cursed to turn into a swan from sunset to sunrise and only true love will break the spell. So it makes Sarah wonder, what will happen when he finds out what she is.

eighty eightTitle: Eighty-Eight Keys

Author: Catherine Lavender

Received: Via CLP Blog Tours

Synopsis: Leah is a young woman who is trying to break free from a strict religious background and pursue her dream as a pianist in the world of show business. While trying to find her independence her heart is held captive by Jason Rowe a local basketball star who established an organization to help troubled youth. When Jason is found murdered in his home, Leah is determined to get answers from a closed investigation. During her state of emotional turmoil, Leah finds comfort not only in the melody of her music, but in the arms of a married man named Calvin. With her dreams at her fingertips, Leah is tangled in a web of lies and deceit. Despite the fear of learning the truth, Leah has to realize that only the truth can set her free.

A dead lover, with a trail of broken hearts…
A married man, with a double-life…
A dream chaser, with a killer at her heels…
A piano, with eighty-eight keys…

katieTitle: A French Affair

Author: Katie Fforde

Received: Randomhouse

Synopsis: Gina and Sally Makepiece have inherited a stall in the French House – an antiques centre nestled in the heart of the English countryside.

Gina is determined to drag the French House and its grumpy owner into the twenty-first century. Bearing all the attributes of a modern-day Mr Rochester, Matthew Ballinger is less than happy with the whirlwind that has arrived on his doorstep.

The last thing either of them want is to fall in love.

But will a trip to France change their minds?

Essex GirlsTitle: Essex Girls

Author: Laura Ziepe

Received: Avon

Synopsis: You can take the girl out of Essex …

You’ll be well jel over the adventures of three good-hearted, strong-willed, fake-baked Essex Girls. Fun, fresh and always ream, this novel Perfect for fans of TOWIE and the novels of Katie Price.

Jade did everything she could to fit in at university – toned down her tan, gave up on her favourite fake lashes, swapped designer dresses for jeans. And it seemed to make her boyfriend Tom happy. But obviously not quite happy enough.
When Jade finds Tom’s been cheating she heads home: to Essex. Reunited with her best mates Kelly and Lisa, even a night out at The Sugar Hut isn’t enough to put a smile back on her face. So they hatch a plan to get away from it all, to a place so ream it’s unreal – Marbella. Sun, sea, men, vajazzles: what could possibly go wrong?

In Sara’s Mailbox:

mooseTitle: The One-Way Bridge

Author: Cathie Pelletier

Received: Source Books

Synopsis: Cathie Pelletier draws readers back to the beloved town of Mattagash, a seemingly quiet New England outpost in Maine. Yet Mattagash is anything but tranquil. While its citizens bicker publicly over small-town theft or their neighbors’ offensive mailboxes, they privately struggle through deeper life issues: scandal, loss, failed ambitions, and the scars of war.

Reaching across the vastness of America and into the jungles of Vietnam, The One-Way Bridge is an unforgettable portrait of loneliness, family, and community—and the kinds of changes we make for love.

white windTitle: A White Wind Blew

Author: James Markert

Received: Source Books

Synopsis: When the body fails, you’ve got two choices. Send a doctor in, or send a prayer up. And if neither works?

You’ll find Dr. Wolfgang Pike at his piano.

Music has always been Wolfgang’s refuge. It’s betraying him now, as he struggles to compose a requiem for his late wife, but surely the right ending will come to him. Certainly it’ll come more quickly than a cure for his patients up at Waverly Hills, the tuberculosis hospital, where nearly a body an hour leaves in a coffin. Wolfgang can’t seem to save anyone these days, least of all himself.

Sometimes we just need to know we’re not the only ones in the fight. A former concert pianist checks in, triggering something deep inside Wolfgang, and spreading from patient to patient. Soon Wolfgang finds himself in the center of an orchestra that won’t give up, with music that won’t stop. A White Wind Blew delivers a sweeping crescendo of hope in a time of despair, raising compelling questions about faith and confession, music and medicine,and the undying force of love.

February 3, 2013
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Author Profile: Tenaya Jayne
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Tenaya Jayne

Author Name: Tenaya Jayne
Website: http://tenayajayne.com/
Bio: Hello. My name’s Tenaya and I’m an addict. I mean author. When I was growing up, writing was just something I played at from time to time. I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I was one of those people who could never finish anything. When my eldest son was diagnosed with Autism, I began to write seriously. Writing became a necessity for me in the midst of my heartbreak. It was either that or take up drinking. I ‘m thankful I chose writing as my escape because I discovered it truly is my thing. I want to be swept away when I read. That’s what I want my books to do for you. The main goal of my writing is to entertain you. I want to help you escape everyday life for a little while. I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoy sharing them with you!

I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful sons. I’m an advocate for Autism awareness, and women trapped in abusive relationships. I try to always look on the bright side and help others do so too. I’ve lived many places but I currently reside in Missouri. I love reading, indie and foreign films, gardening, and moody music.
Visit Tenaya’s tour page!

January 31, 2013
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