On Tour: Next Year I’ll Be Perfect by Laura …
Laura will be on tour February 4-18 with her novel Next Year I’ll Be Perfect Sarah always thought her life was on track, that is…
Q&A (and giveaway) with Polly Williams – Author of Afterwife
Chick Lit Plus is so excited to feature a Q&A with author, Polly Williams. She wrote AFTERWIFE, which got a 5 star review last week. Leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of AFTERWIFE. One winner will be chosen at random on Friday, Feb 1st at 7AM.
When did you know writing was for you?
As far back as I can remember. I wrote stories and poetry from an early age – I still have the books now – which seems very industrious. But I grew up with three noisy brothers and I think writing and reading were what I did to escape into my own quieter girlie world. I studied English literature at university and went on to work as a journalist before writing my first novel. Writing has always been a major part of my life.
How would you describe your book?
I think Afterwife is a love story about a love that just won’t die.
What was the hardest part of the writing process for you?
I always get about a third of the way into a book and have a crisis. It’s rubbish! The characters don’t work! I have no idea what’s going to happen next! But I make myself work through it. So far, all my books have come together in the end. But often it’s not until the very end, so I have to keep the faith.
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you as an author?
That I make a very good apple pie. I love to cook. I love to eat. I feel like cooking is the opposite of writing, it uses a different part of the brain. That’s why it’s relaxing to me.
What does your daily schedule look like?
Kids jump on head in morning. (I have three, aged four, five and nine.) Mad breakfast rush. Dash to school. Strong coffee. Pootle through the papers online. Write until three. Pick up kids. Put Mom hat on again.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Write.
What is your favorite book?
It changes all the time. My recent favourite book is Jeanette Winterson’s brilliant memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
Favorite movie?
A Room With a View starring Helena Bonham Carter.
Who is your favorite literary character?
Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Who is your writing inspiration?
Anne Frank.
What is your must have beauty product?
Sleep.
What advice would you give yourself ten years ago?
Stop doubting yourself, get on with it.
Any words of wisdom?
You can’t write a book when you’re dead!
Future Tour: Fashion Victim by GT Herren
GT Herren will be on tour March 4-11 with Fashion Victim, a chick lit mystery novel To hear her buddy Chanse McLeod tell it, Paige…
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Mad World: Sanctuary by Samaire …
I received a copy of Mad World: Sanctuary by Samaire Provost in exchange for an honest review by CLP BLOG TOURS.
Mad World: Sanctuary begins in the year 2017, and the Black Plague infection has now swept across most of the US, leaving countless deaths and chaos in its wake. Outbreaks continue to crop up .. and more often in areas where they are least expected. Several years after the first installment in this series, the same characters find themselves grown up facing adult realities, while at the same time, dealing with an absolute Mad World. The main characters head north in hopes of finding a sanctuary, but along the way, they face worsening odds and terrible hardships, and they fight to stay alive and protect one another. Will they find the fabled sanctuary and be safe at last? Or will they spend their every moment fighting to stay safe and alive?
Wow! I was so excited to start the second book in this series that I read this one right after I finished the first. This book is definitely gritty and scary most of the time. Yes, I am a huge wimp and I had a few nightmares from reading, but I just couldn’t put it down. There are so many heart racing scenes throughout the book that you can actually see what is happening throughout the book. Once again, Samaire does such a wonderful job at creating such real characters with real feelings as they face the terrible world in 2017. I felt for the characters in Epidemic but found myself really reeled in for them this time. Overall, a fantastic read if you like anything having to do with these types of situation. I highly recommend it and can’t wait to see what Samaire produces next!
Rating: 4.5 stars
Samaire ProvostAuthor Bio:
Born naked. Clothed and fed shortly thereafter by adoring parents who looked on in bemusement as their daughter became a reading, writing, free-spirited, feral, animal loving, bleeding-heart chocolate lover who laughs easily. Samaire Provost is a California writer of Young Adult novels. Her love of paranormal stories, odd plots, and unique tales as well as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, E.A.Poe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Stephen King has deeply influenced her writing.
Connect with Samaire!
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/samairep
Twitter – https://twitter.com/samaireherself
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6453849.Samaire_Provost
Amazon author page – http://www.amazon.com/Samaire-Provost/e/B008PVTXMW
Amazon book page-
http://www.amazon.com/Mad-World-SANCTUARY-ebook/dp/B0093RSLUW/
Blog – http://samaireprovost.tumblr.com/
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Book Review: Alberta Clipper by Sheena Lambert
I received a copy of Alberta Clipper by Sheena Lambert in exchange for an honest review. This novel unfolds the love story between Christine Grogan and Mark Harrington. Christine is a highly successful meteorologist at an investment bank with a loving father and sister – and a past that continues to haunt her. Mark thinks he is on top of the world. He has a lucrative career, a woman, a house – but then a flip is switched and his great life is now surrounded by question marks. The two struggle to regain their balance – and find one another.
Alberta Clipper is such a lovely romance story. Readers find out early on that Mark is in love with Christine, but she doesn’t have a clue. She tries dating other guys and even seems to hit the jackpot with one, all while Mark suffers in silence as he holds back his true feelings. There are many fabulous sub-plots in this novel – Christine’s past, her family life, even their co-workers and their issues. One word I keep thinking of while writing this review is smart. This is a smart book that explores a lot of different topics, and I highly enjoyed it. And it’s from an Irish author – not sure why that’s so fascinating to me but it is and I wanted to mention it! One for your shelves.
4 stars
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: The Darling Girls by Emma …
I was provided with a copy of THE DARLING GIRLS by Emma Burstall in exchange for an honest review by CLP BLOG TOURS.
The Darling Girls by Emma Burstall begins as Leo, a world famous conductor, dies and his three lovers meet for the first time at his funeral. The three women realize that they have an abdundant amount of unanswered questions and wonder about the man who was capable of juggling his brilliant career and his secrets all at the same time, whilst none of them ever had a clue.
Victoria, his partner of twenty years and mother of two of his children, relishes the fact that she thinks she knew Leo best, but when secrets start to come forward, she begins to question whether or not she knew him in the first place. Maddy, mother of Phoebe, is a typical career woman who creates trouble of her own when she becomes involved with someone off limits. And then there is Cat, the youngest of the trio. She is dealing with some emotional family issues and seems to be the most wounded of the three. All three of the “Darling Girls” couldn’t be more different … but you soon realize that they couldn’t be more alike as well.
The Darling Girls is a heartbreaking story that touches on loss, heartache, love and friendship and I absolutely adored every second of it. Emma magically orchestrates the tale of the three women in a way that makes them like puppets in the grand scheme of things in Leo’s world, and you wonder if he will forever control their worlds. Luckily for us, and for the trio, everything works out for the best, but we see how connected everything in the story truly is. I found myself putting pieces of the puzzle together until the very end. Beautifully written, heartbreaking and honest – a truly magical tale.
Rating: 5 stars
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Battle-Born Love by Lynda Bailey
Lynda Bailey is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Battle-Born Love. This is a steamy romance novel with a fabulous lead female. Rory Dawson is an owner of a repo shop, a fierce chick whose only soft side appears to be her father. She struggles keeping her shop open between having to repeatedly bail him out of jail. When a prison sentence looms over them, Rory thinks the only hope to save him is by giving up her business. But Kane Williams, handsome, rich, and someone in need of female company, gives her a business proposition she can’t refuse. An unlikely friendship and even unlikelier relationship forms, but Rory understands there is no future with Kane. They are from opposite sides of the tracks, but when a new twist gets thrown their way, big decisions are ahead for them both.
Whew, what a read! The chemistry between Rory and Kane jumps off the pages, but it should come to no surprise that nothing about their relationship is easy. Even up until the very end I wondered what their resolution would consist of, something I highly enjoyed. Kane’s life was quite intriguing, and the sub-plot with Rory’s dad was moving and really added a lot to the story overall. The narrative was quick and kept the book moving along, and I had a good time reading Battle-Born Love. If you enjoy a good romance, check this one out!
4 stars
In My Mailbox: Week of January 27
In Samantha’s Mailbox:
girlfriendsTitle: When Girlfriends Make Choices
Author: Savannah Page
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: A novel about love and support, and learning that with enduring friendships, no woman is ever alone.
Robin Sinclair is young, determined, and has a promising career at a small publishing house in Seattle. Even though she considers herself unlucky in love, Robin still dreams of eventually meeting Mr. Right and having a happily-ever-after kind of life. And at twenty-five, the world of opportunity is wide. But it’s been a difficult year filled with trials…and it’s only just begun.
While long-time friendships are finally on the mend, and things are starting to look up again, Robin is faced with her biggest challenge yet. She’s single and pregnant.
Uncertain now of her future and scared of being alone, Robin must re-examine her life and choices, and summon the courage to step up.
With the love and support of her best girlfriends from college, especially her best friend and roommate, Lara, Robin will learn that when the going gets tough, the best of friends become family. And, perhaps, with their encouragement, Robin can mature and gain the confidence needed to become a single mother. And, who knows about being unlucky in love. Things are suddenly getting interesting with Robin’s attractive co-worker, Bobby.
This is an endearing story about maturity and perseverance. It’s a story about friends coming together as family, about finding the strength within and around, and about writing your own happily-ever-after. About what happens when girlfriends step up.
internal useTitle: For Internal Use Only
Author: Cari Kamm
Received: From Cari Kamm
Synopsis: Chloe Kassidy has just been accepted into one of Manhattan’s most exclusive art exhibits, Love Through Light. However, with her singular dedication to her career, she soon realizes that in sacrificing her personal life, she has never been in love. A hopeless romantic who is terrified of heartbreak, Chloe begins to enlist the help of her circle of friends to learn about love through their very different stories and experiences.
In Chloe’s emotional rollercoaster to having the greatest love story ever told, she’ll learn that like her photography she must use the negatives in life to develop and prove that she’s a strong woman who found her way to love through light.
A humorous love story with an edgy and dramatic twist, For Internal Use Only is a vastly entertaining novel that gives each of us a new fairy tale to look forward too: our own.
truthTitle: The Truth About Love and Lightning
Author: Susan McBride
Received: From William Morrow
Synopsis: As far as Gretchen Brink is concerned, the tornado that just ripped through her land has nothing on the storms of a different sort happening all around her. Her grown daughter, Abby, has returned home with news that she’s pregnant, and no, she’s not sure whether she’s going to marry the father. A man with no memory has been dropped practically on her doorstep. And the not-so-little white lie she’s been telling for years is about to catch up with her.
Abby is sure that the mysterious man is her long-lost father, Sam, who has finally returned just when she needs him most. As Abby, Gretchen, and the Man Who Might Be Sam get closer, the lie Gretchen told all those years ago begins to haunt her. When her secrets come out, and Sam’s past is finally revealed, will it tear down this fragile life they’ve built—or will the truth bring them all closer together?
IngredientsTitle: The Ingredients of Love
Author: Nicolas Barreau
Received: From St. Martin’s Press
Synopsis: A charming restaurant
A book and its mysterious author
A little secret
A romantic meeting
Paris and all its magic . . .
Cyrano de Bergerac meets Chocolat and Amélie in this intelligent, charming, and entertaining publishing sensation from Europe.
While in the midst of a breakup-induced depression, Aurélie Bredin, a beautiful Parisian restaurateur, discovers an astonishing novel in a quaint bookshop on the Ile Saint-Louis. Inexplicably, her restaurant and Aurélie herself are featured in its pages. After reading the whole book in one night, she realizes it has saved her life—and she wishes more than anything to meet its author. Aurélie’s attempts to contact the attractive but shy English author through his French publishers are blocked by the company’s gruff chief editor, André, who only with great reluctance forwards Aurélie’s enthusiastic letter. But Aurélie refuses to give up. One day, a response from the reclusive author actually lands in her mailbox, but the encounter that eventually takes place is completely different from what she had ever imagined. . . . Filled with books, recipes, and characters that leap off the page, The Ingredients of Love by Nicolas Barreau is a tribute to the City of Light.
In Sara’s Mailbox:
skinnytinisTitle: Skinnytinis
Author: Teresa Marie Howes
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: More than 70 ways to enjoy cocktail hour–without worrying about the calories
For people watching their weight, enjoying the occasional cocktail can be a problem, since the average mixed drink contains over 300 calories. Now Teresa Howes comes to the rescue with scores of cocktail recipes that average only 142 calories each–but have the same great flavor and alcohol content as their full-calorie counterparts. From a Skinny Appletini and a Skinny Cosmopolitan to a Skinny Mojito and a Skinny Margarita, these guilt-free drinks feature low-sugar or sugar-free mixers, fresh fruit, and other clever ways to cut the calories. With 39 beautiful color photographs plus a section on diet-friendly drinks people can order at a bar or restaurant, SkinnyTinis is a must-have guide for weight-conscious social drinkers everywhere.
bakeryTitle: The Union Street Bakery
Author: Mary Ellen Taylor
Received: Penguin Group
Synopsis: Life can turn on a dime. It’s a common cliché, and I’d heard it often enough. People die or move away. Investments go south. Affairs end. Loved ones betray us…Stuff happens.
Daisy McCrae’s life is in tatters. She’s lost her job, broken up with her boyfriend, and has been reduced to living in the attic above her family’s store, the Union Street Bakery, while learning the business. Unfortunately, the bakery is in serious hardship. Making things worse is the constant feeling of not being a “real” McCrae since she was adopted as a child and has a less-than-perfect relationship with her two sisters.
Then a long-standing elderly customer passes away, and for some reason bequeaths Daisy a journal dating back to the 1850s, written by a slave girl named Susie. As she reads, Daisy learns more about her family—and her own heritage—than she ever dreamed. Haunted by dreams of the young Susie, who beckons Daisy to “find her,” she is compelled to look further into the past of the town and her family.
What she finds are the answers she has longed for her entire life, and a chance to begin again with the courage and desire she thought she lost for good.
Faith Bass DarlingTitle: Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale
Author: Lynda Rutledge
Received: Jessica @ Penguin Group
Synopsis: On the last day of the millennium, sassy Faith Bass Darling, the richest old lady in Bass, Texas, decides to have a garage sale. With help from a couple of neighborhood boys, Faith lugs her priceless Louis XV elephant clock, countless Tiffany lamps, and everything else from her nineteenth-century mansion out onto her long, sloping lawn. Why is a recluse of twenty years suddenly selling off her dearest possessions? Because God told her to.
As the townspeople grab up five generations of heirlooms, everyone drawn to the sale–including Faith’s lon-lost daughter–finds that the antiques not only hold family secrets but also inspire some of life’s most imponderable questions: Do our possessions possess us? What are we without our memories? Is there life after death or second chances here on earth? And is Faith really selling that Tiffany lamp for $1?
Blog Tour Sign Up: A Good Kind of Knowing by …
Imagine if Maeve Binchy grew up in Texas and wrote an old-school Larry McMurtry novel. Think Hope Floats meets High Fidelity. That’s how critics are describing A Good Kind of Knowing—from the author of the highly acclaimed and Amazon bestseller, Blue Straggler.
A Good Kind of Knowing is a novel about the power of music and friendship, the relationship two-steps that go on in old Texas dancehalls, and the secret to finding just a little bit of common ground in a world full of distrust.
Sera Taylor’s store is the one place in Lakeville, Texas, where individuals from all walks of life share a universal love for music and a respect for the gypsy-like woman behind the antique glass counter. Readers get a taste of the unorthodox connection between Sera and Mack, a young local cowboy and musician, and Sera’s previously untested devotion to her husband Bill. They learn of her relationship with Ruby D., the vibrant but misguided mother of five; with Louie, the shy high school band director; with Beverly, the religious, upper-class socialite; with Antonio, a local bar owner striving to make a life for himself; with Tommy Lee, a rich and directionless gigolo; and with Wes, the only out-of-the closet gay man for miles. As Sera battles a serious illness, the characters must overcome long-held stereotypes to save Sera’s store, and in the end, large parts of themselves.
