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Interview with Anne McAneny

Q: Why is writing a passion for you?

It’s one of the few things I can do for 8 hours straight without reaching for M&M’s every 20 minutes.

Q: Where do you find inspiration for your stories and characters?

I read everything from cereal boxes to political editorials, from off-kilter magazines to other people’s personal notes (if I can catch a glimpse). It all gets churned through a warped WHAT IF gear in my head. No different than other people’s minds. It’s just that my wacky conclusions get written down.

Many ideas come to me while exercising. For example, thinking about how I would act as a hostage during a bank robbery led to wondering about who would make an ideal hostage, which led to pondering if a blind person would be a good hostage, which led to musing about a blind hostage who merely pretends to be blind… but who would do that? An actress, of course! And all of that resulted in a screenplay I wrote that’s been very well-received — and is available for any producers out there reading this… wink-wink.

Q: Can you describe your latest novel, Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe in twenty words or less?

No way! Wait, do those count? Fourteen left… What happens after someone places a cheesy personal ad… or refuses to?

Q: Besides writing books, you have also written screenplays. How does your writing process differ for these, or how is it the same?

Screenplays and novels both have to be well-constructed stories with heart and plot, but screenplays do it with far fewer words. In a screenplay, each description or set-up is limited to 4 lines or less so each word must be treated like gold.

Novels intimidated me at first because writing descriptive prose is like smashing my head against a cinder block: do it hard enough and long enough, and something worthwhile might fall onto the page – from either my head or the cinder block. You might notice my books are plot-driven with plenty of dialogue and relatively short scenes. That comes from having learned to write efficient, visual screenplays. And even though novels can stretch to 100,000 words or more, I try to value each word.

Q: What are your thoughts on the surge of eBooks? Do you own an eReader?

Ebooks are the iTunes of the publishing industry. They’re shaking it up and they’re here to stay so we might as well embrace them. Besides, what’s not to love? I used to lug around expensive, hard-cover books and now I can carry 50 e-books on my iTouch and even read them in the dark! It’s like the week I spent in the hospital at age five, all x-rays and needles. Guess what I remember about it? The TV remote. At home, we had a 12” black and white television with three channels and a manual dial. The remote control seemed light years ahead. I was living the high life! To me, e-book technology is the great game-changer. It’s that amazing, needle-filled week we all remember so fondly from childhood.

Ebooks also allowed me to find a real, live, reading audience for which I am grateful every minute of every day. My readers are even better than a remote!

Q: Who are a few authors that you would love to work with?

Helen Fielding, Nicholas Hornby, Jennifer Weiner, the late Erma Bombeck. And John Irving – but I wouldn’t speak to him – I’d just gape in awe.

Q: How important do you think social media is for authors?

I’m a bit of a social media Newbie but I think it’s going to play a huge role once everybody cracks the code. John Locke used Twitter and blogs to sell over a million e-books. Others have followed suit. We’re going to see rapid, mind-blowing changes as entire new industries blossom around e-books and social media. I love seeing the entrepreneurial spirit of individuals, i.e., Blog Tour Sites (go ChickLitPlus!), e-book cover design companies, e-book trailer producers, promotional websites, etc.

Q: What are you currently reading?

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon; THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak; and just finished BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett. All excellent.

Q: Where would be your dream vacation?

Belgium. Belgian chocolate and Belgian beer. ‘Nuff said.

Q: What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Know your story before you begin and write towards its wonderful conclusion. If you change your story midstream (which you probably will), go back and edit, edit, edit. And of course, read Anne McAneny’s books – not for any great writing lessons, but because it will help me get to Belgium. Thanks!

Jessica Simpson Confirms Pregnancy

Well, hallelujah. Jessica Simpson has finally confirmed that her large baby bump is indeed a baby bump. I was getting worried there. The singer and fashion designer, 31, tweeted a photo of herself on Monday wrapped up as a mummy––holding her baby bump a la Beyonce at the VMA’s. The caption? “It’s true – I’m going to be a mummy!” Haha. Oh, dear. This will be the first child for Simpson and fiancé Eric Johnson, a former NFL athlete. The couple were engaged in November.

Kim Kardashian to File for Divorce

Who saw this one coming? Oh, right––the majority of America! After Kim Kardashian received her 20.5 carat ring from NBA player Kris Humphries, the reality star and fiancée embarked on their engagement journey––all filmed courtesy of the E! network. When preparations for the wedding began, one could easily tell this couple was just not meant to be. The constant fights, Kim’s prissy attitude compared to the laid-back one Kris showed, the family’s angst against their new addition––who really thought this was going to last? Even the days right before the wedding seemed to be a joke. What I wondered––was it for real, or just a show for the cameras? Now the bigger question––was the whole wedding a joke?
Just 72 days after saying “I do” in a lavish ceremony in Montecito, California in front of 440 guests, Kim Kardashian is filing for divorce. Ryan Seacrest tweeted early today, “Yes @kimkardashian is filing for divorce this morning. I touched base with her, getting a statement in just a few minutes.” TMZ is reporting that Kardashian, 31, will not seek an annulment and plans to cite “irreconcilable differences in her filing.”
If you can’t tell, I’m just grossed out by this whole thing. The preparations that went into it, the time, effort, and money that went into making “Kim’s Fairytale Wedding” are all for a naught. Some “sources” are claiming that Kardashian knew before the wedding that she had made a mistake, but got “caught up” in the wedding planning and the fairytale aspect. How selfish. Usually, I am not this opinionated over celebrities, but this just really rubbed me the wrong way. And for how many viewers and followers Kim and the whole Kardashian family has––how does that look? To me, the message is no matter how much is costs or who it will affect, make sure you have your way. When it doesn’t work, marriage isn’t a big deal––just get a divorce! What a great role model. Then again, this is the same woman who to rose to fame off a sex tape.
How do you feel about the divorce? Did you see it coming? Do you care? Would love to get your thoughts!

Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

I am a big fan of chick lit (no, really!) but every once in awhile I like to dip into another genre. When Denise Grover Swank questioned me about CLP Blog Tours being a good fit for her second novel––the paranormal romance Chosen––I immediately jumped at the chance. Denise impressed me on a whole new level when I read her debut Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes for her first blog tour go-round. Not surprisingly, my other bloggers jumped at the chance to host her again––even those who don’t normally go for paranormal reads. So how did Denise do with Chosen?
Stellar! Another page-turner that had me biting my nails and desperately clicking the ‘next’ page on my Kindle. Emma Thompson and her five-year-old son Jake have been on the run from bad men for years. Though Emma isn’t positive what these men want with her son, she knows it has to do with Jake’s ability to see into the future. While on the run, Emma meets Will, who offers to help her escape. Little does Emma know that Will is actually on the job––he is a mercenary who has been given orders to capture Emma. Chosen is full of twists and turns and gasping and heart-breaking and blushing moments. The paranormal/fantasy aspect of Jake seeing in the future and the tattoos that mysteriously appear on Emma and Will are well written and flow with precision. I was on my seat almost the entire time reading this, and the cliff hanger ending will leave you wanting to yell at Denise to hurry up with book number two! Another five star review for a Denise Grover Swank novel, who clearly shows her writing skills and ability to work with multiple genres.
[Rating: 5]

Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe by Anne McAneny

Anne McAneny is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe. The story follows Millie Morris after she endures a bad…

On Tour: Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

Denise will be on tour October 31-November 21 with her novel Chosen Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one roach…

In My Mailbox: Week of October 30

In My Mailbox: Week of October 30

Title: Hot Water
Author: Erin Brockovich with CJ CLyons
Received: From Leyane @ FSB Media
Synopsis: No stranger to balancing an intensely demanding work schedule with the stresses of keeping her family together, AJ Palladino now faces another challenge: she is leaving her young son home with her ailing parents so that she can travel to the site of a new case involving a nuclear power plant in peril. And it will take all her skills to keep her cool while the action and tension build to a fever pitch.
Colleton River, a new, one-of-a-kind nuclear facility designed to create medical isotopes with the potential to save millions of lives, has recently been plagued by a series of unexplained mishaps. The accidents have caused the locals to protest the plant, drawing the attention of an anti-nuclear protest group as well as several home-grown terrorists who sense an opportunity to sow fear and chaos. The plant’s owner, Owen Grandel, has traveled from South Carolina to West Virginia to personally ask AJ for help. AJ knows she’s going to have her hands full investigating the accidents and calming the situation at the plant. What she doesn’t foresee is her simple business trip turning into disaster, with her family coming apart at the seams in her absence—and her young son disappearing. While AJ tries to find her missing child, she also discovers what caused the “accidents.” Soon the plant begins hurtling towards nuclear catastrophe, with AJ stranded at ground zero. But can she save her son, herself, and the community—and prevent a nuclear meltdown before it’s too late?

Title: Too Much Trouble in Paradise
Author: Michelle Betham
Received: From Michelle Bethan
Synopsis: Molly Parker is a DWAG – a darts wife and girlfriend. Or rather, she’s an ex-DWAG after divorcing Paul “Bad Lad” Parker, a professional darts player and the self-pronounced Geordie pantomime villain of the sport, after catching him aiming more than his arrows in the direction of more than a few very willing glamour models.
So, leaving her life – and her ex-husband – behind in their native North East of England, she moves to the Canarian island of Tenerife with her best friend Fran, putting the past behind her, determined to start a whole new life abroad.
Within months of arriving on the island she finds herself engaged to her Spanish boyfriend Antonio – a handsome Canarian bar owner – and with their whirlwind wedding just weeks away she’s the happiest she’s been in a long time with a great job at a Timeshare complex, fantastic friends, and a lovely little home in a country she’s fallen completely in love with.
But what Molly didn’t bank on was her ex-husband turning up out of the blue declaring his undying love for her and begging her to come back to him – and not just because his darts were suffering! His unannounced arrival turns Molly’s new and seemingly perfect life upside down as she suddenly has to face up to feelings she’d thought were long gone, and make decisions she never thought she’d have to make as her whole world is thrown into total confusion. Does she stay in Tenerife and marry her wonderful, romantic, drop-dead-gorgeous Spanish fiancé? Or does she give the man she’d once loved but who’d treated her so badly another chance? Days in the sun or darts – it’s the choice she has to make. Throw in a Bolton-born lounge singer and a Take That tribute act, a famous TV actor with a reputation as a shameless flirt, and a major darts tournament that throws up more than it’s fair share of surprises, and all of a sudden Molly Parker’s life really is ‘Too Much Trouble in Paradise’ – a story of new beginnings, second chances, sun, sea – and darts!

Title: Growing Up Beautiful
Author: Lori Jones
Received: From Lori Jones
Synopsis: In the summer of 1986, three young American models are chosen to join a modeling agency in Europe’s fashion capital of Milan. United as roommates by chance, Star, Joanne and Casey soon find their dreamed-of careers as models taking paths as different as their personalities.
Star, who leaves behind a waitress job along with a handful of crumpled up dollar tips, sees her beauty as a way to move to the top of Milan’s social strata.
Joanne, raised in a privileged lifestyle, is expected to continue an Ivy League education, which doesn’t interest her as much as a young photographer she meets on a casting.
Casey is a naive seventeen year old who is ready for adventure, even the dangerous kind.
Together, these three learn the funny, unexpected and sometimes ugly truth about growing up beautiful.

Take it Like a Mom by Stephanie Stiles

Take It Like a Mom by Stephanie Stiles offers a humorous yet very real look on motherhood, especially that of a stay at home mom. Our heroine is Annie Fingart Foster, a once flashy lawyer who has given up her business suits and power status to become….a stay at home mom. Her three-year-old son Robby is a handful, and Annie is somewhat horrified when she finds out she is expecting baby number two. After the initial shock, she feels everything will be okay- until her world starts to spin out of control. Her husband loses his job, the school Robby attends and some of the parents are nightmares, and now she has go through the hideous transformation of carrying a child once again. Annie does her best to suck it up, take it like a mom, and keep a smile on her face and her family in one piece.
I’ll point out again (like I do in every mom chick lit book) that I am not a mother, but this book is so and funny charming that you can’t help appreciate the writing and the characters. Annie is the perfect heroine- self-deprecating, witty and strong. Even though her family is going through some rough times, the love she has for her husband and son is clear to see and nice to read about. There are a lot of pop culture references scattered about that kept me entertained, and some of the supporting characters- like Lippie the Hippie- are super funny. Overall, I thought this was a really fun book and Stiles has a firm grasp on comedic writing that helps turn serious topics into lighthearted ones. I look forward for more to come!
[Rating: 4]

On Tour: With Just One Click by Amanda Strong

Amanda will be on tour October 31-November 14 with her novel With Just One Click “Reluctance was matched with a pit in my stomach; once…