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Author Profile: Jandy Nelson
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Jandy Nelson

Author Name: Jandy Nelson

Website: http://www.jandynelson.com/

Bio: Jandy received a BA from Cornell, an MFA from Brown in poetry, and another MFA from Vermont College in writing for children and young adults. It was at Vermont College, under the tutelage of amazing mentors, where the whole marvelous world of children’s literature opened up for her. That was her inspiration to work around the clock on a first novel after previously being devoted solely to writing poetry. For the past twelve years Jandy has been a literary agent with Manus & Associates Literary Agency. Before agenting, she worked in theater, doing everything from making palm trees out of styrofoam to stage managing to dramaturgy. She loves teaching, and plans to do more in the near future. She has taught creative writing at Brown and other places, and gives lectures and workshops on various subjects at writer’s conferences all over the country throughout the year.

Titles: The Sky is Everywhere
Author Name: Jandy Nelson

Website: http://www.jandynelson.com/

Bio: Jandy received a BA from Cornell, an MFA from Brown in poetry, and another MFA from Vermont College in writing for children and young adults. It was at Vermont College, under the tutelage of amazing mentors, where the whole marvelous world of children’s literature opened up for her. That was her inspiration to work around the clock on a first novel after previously being devoted solely to writing poetry. For the past twelve years Jandy has been a literary agent with Manus & Associates Literary Agency. Before agenting, she worked in theater, doing everything from making palm trees out of styrofoam to stage managing to dramaturgy. She loves teaching, and plans to do more in the near future. She has taught creative writing at Brown and other places, and gives lectures and workshops on various subjects at writer’s conferences all over the country throughout the year.

Titles: The Sky is Everywhere

June 29, 2010
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The Journey Home by Michael Baron
Chick Lit Review

The Journey Home by Michael Baron

The Journey Home by Michael Baron is a beautiful story that intertwines the lives of four very different individuals. Joseph, a man in his late thirties, is awoken one day with no recollection of who is, where he is, or why he has no memory of his life. All he knows is that his wife is waiting for him, needs him, and it is up to him to find her. Will, a young boy, becomes his traveling companion, and is wanting to get away from his foster parents. Antoinette is an elderly woman living in assisted care, still grieving the death of her husband who passed six years earlier. Her son, Warren, visits her frequently but is going through his share of struggles. He is in the process of a divorce and has lost his job, so he begins to spend more time with his mother, often cooking her meals that she was once cooked for him. Each character is struggling to find happiness and home, and Baron does an excellent job at transitioning between each of their respective lives and journeys. I didn’t get pulled it right away, it took me a few chapters of getting to know the characters and differentiate between the situations, but once I was able to get past the multiple points of view, I was all in. A definite recommendation.
Rating: 4/5

June 29, 2010
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GIVEAWAY: One Signed Copy of I Scream, You Scream
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GIVEAWAY: One Signed Copy of I Scream, You Scream

Tallulah Jones, proprietor of Dalliance, Texas’s old-fashioned ice-cream parlor, dishes up luscious ice cream that is simply to die for….
Unfortunately, Remember the A-la-mode’s profits are melting faster than a snow cone in July–and Tally’s stuck scooping sundaes for her two-timing ex-husband and his bodacious new girlfriend, Brittanie, at his company luau. To make matters worse, twenty years after she dumped him in the Tasty-Swirl parking lot, Tally’s high school beau, Finn Harper, comes back to town–looking every bit as delicious as a double-dip raspberry mascarpone waffle cone.
The cherry on top? Brittanie drops dead, and Tally’s suddenly the prime suspect in her murder investigation. To catch a killer, Tally will have to churn up Dalliance’s darkest secrets and dip deep into the past. But can Tally freeze out the real culprit before a murder charge puts her dreams on ice for good?

I have one SIGNED copy to giveaway! Post a comment here, on Facebook, or on Twitter to be entered. The winner will be announced Saturday July 3rd. Good luck!

June 28, 2010
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I Have a Bone To Pick With….
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I Have a Bone To Pick With….

Reality TV “stars.” What is the deal with all these people thinking they are God’s gift to Earth when they possess no talent? I am tired of seeing the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ thinking that they need more money and more privilege. We know you got on the show because of you’re ridiculous home videos, cosmetically enhanced bodies, and being stupid enough to repeatedly embarrass yourself on national television. Also, Heidi Montag. What is your deal woman?? How can you tell girls that they should feel beautiful in their own bodies when nothing on your body is real anymore? We know that you can’t act, that you definitely cannot sing, so now the only way you can be famous is to destroy your body and start over again? Creepy. And oh Kate Gosselin. Stop crying to the cameras about how much you miss your children. That you have to do stints like Dancing With the Stars to be able to support them. Maybe if you didn’t live in a $1.1 million dollar house and get hair extensions every other day, your children would be okay. There are countless mothers out there that don’t feel the need to be a fame whore in order to get their children by. They get jobs, they work hard, to get their kids a good education and a roof over their head. Maybe Kate should think back to the days when she and Jon were happy and thankful for the little miracles in their lives, before money and fame got to their heads. Now your children are growing up in a divorced family and only seeing their mom when cameras are rolling. Makes me ill. Kate, you honestly can’t tell me that the only way you can make a living is by being a reality star. Give me a break.
I just have to wonder, do these people really think they’re all that and a bag of chips? You exploit your own lives, your children’s and parents and friends lives just to make good TV. You will never win a Grammy or an Oscar. You will continually be the butt of people’s jokes. And the worst part is? We see people with real talent act with more grace that these reality folks. Look at Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, Angelina and Brad, George Clooney, countless celebrities who use their money and platform to help others. While Kate spends her money on hair extensions, Heidi on EE breasts, and Snookie on spray tans. I’m scratching my head.

June 28, 2010
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In My Mailbox: Week of June 27th
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In My Mailbox: Week of June 27th

In My Mailbox: Week of June 27th

Title: Welcome to My Life
Author: Micheline McAllister
Received: From Micheline McAllister
Synopsis: Lights, camera, action! Samantha Kelly is a thirty something personal assistant working in Hollywood, and still looking for the perfect role as an adored girlfriend with a balanced checkbook, good friends, and all the respect she deserves. But somehow, she’s caught in a world where she working fourteen hour days, her boyfriends are cheating, her bosses are completely crazy, and her friends aren’t quite to be trusted. Even worse, as the glamour quotient in her life goes up, her bank account begins to skyrocket down. As she moves from being a personal assistant to becoming an actress, and from boyfriend to boyfriend, she begins to slowly rescript her life. But can she make a fairytale come true and find the life she’s meant to lead? And will that life have the happy ending Sam’s so desperate for? This is a brash and funny account of Hollywood, told by an author who lived through it. Full of insider information about the entertainment world and its denizens, and peppered with a roster of famous names, this is smart and savvy chick lit with a Hollywood pedigree.

Title: Love You, Love Your Work, Let’s Do Lunch!
Author: Micheline McAllister
Received: From Micheline McAllister
Synopsis: Love You, Love Your Work, Letas Do Lunch! is about a talented teleplay writer, Ashling Donovan, who moves from Des Moines to L.A. to live with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, she doesnat have the proper Hollywood connections to get a writing job on a television show, so reluctantly she takes a position as a production assistant. When, unexpectedly, she splits up with her boyfriend, she finds herself looking for a place to live and having to make her own future as a writer. She comes up with a brilliant idea and tells one lie that changes her entire world. Just like that, she is a head writer, creator of a new show, and her own personal assistant. Can this girl from Iowa make a career for herself living a double life and find happiness again?

Title: Tuesday Tells it Slant
Author: Holly Christine
Received: Amanda Parker- BookSparks PR
Synopsis: Tuesday Morning has always been a little… different. She’s kept a diary since 1989 and while researching for her senior seminar paper on Emily Dickinson’s Transcendental tendencies, reads a poem that will change her life. And not just her future. Tuesday changes her past. We all have secrets and skeletons in our closets, but Tuesday has managed to clean hers out with a pen and a diary. Just how precious is our past? And how much has our past created what we are today? How far would you go to forget your past? Tuesday Tells it Slant is a story about the tension between one’s past and personal dreams with a uniquely purposed presentation.

June 28, 2010
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Author Profile: Diane Chamberlain
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Diane Chamberlain

http://www.dianechamberlain.com/index.htm

June 25, 2010
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Your Workout Cleanser
Chick Lit Plus

Your Workout Cleanser

Should you use different cleansers after your workout? According to an article in the June edition of Fitness magazine, that answer is yes. After a workout, you will want to go beyond the surface and get deeper down in the pores, and Fitness highlights three of the top after-workout cleansers.
Neutrogena Deep Clean Sport Facial Cleanser. This claims to break up the clogged oil with salicylic acid, along with reducing redness with menthol.
Garnier Skin Renew The Brusher Gel-Cleanser. This is the cleanser I am most eager to try out. The rubber bristles wipe away dead cells, and vitam E is able to penetrate deep into the skin, giving it silky smooth touch.
L’Oreal Paris Go 360 Clean Deep Cream Cleanser. This scrub has 500 touch points that spread the suds over the skin, leaving the face feeling smooth and invigorated.

June 24, 2010
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Jake Pavelka & Vienna Girardi Split
Chick Lit Plus

Jake Pavelka & Vienna Girardi Split

Gasp! The Bachelor loses another hopeful couple. People.com has reported that Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi have broken up. Janice Lee, a rep for the reality couple, said in a statement, “Jake and Vienna have split. They appreciate the respect for their privacy at this time.” There was no reason given for the breakup, though the couple was spending time apart. Pavelka is currently in Atlanta filming a guest appearance on the Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva, while Girardi is in Los Angeles. Tell me honestly, who is even the least bit surprised??

June 23, 2010
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Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea
Chick Lit Review

Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea

I have been a fan of Chelsea Handler since the beginning of her popular late night show Chelsea Lately on the E! network. When I learned she had books out, of course I had to scoop them up. I started with Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea. And I loved it! The story speeds through Chelsea’s life, ranging from her as a young girl up until she is an adult, highlighting some of the most bizarre and hilarious events that has taken place. From telling her classmates that she is a major movie star with Goldie Hawn, a girl-on-girl stint in jail, and all her crazy family issues in between, this book kept me laughing until the end. Handler’s uninhibited point of view and sarcastic remarks kept me laughing out loud, and even though at times the story line seemed a bit all over, her narrative kept it all flowing together. If you can appreciate cynical, self-deprecating humor and raunchy situations, be sure to check this one out! If you have seen Chelsea Lately and don’t find her funny, or are sensitive to racy content, I would suggest passing.

June 23, 2010
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