In My Mailbox: Week of December 1

Title: The Chick Lit Cookbook
Author: Alicia de los Reyes
Received: Alicia de los Reyes
Synopsis: You’ve said it a dozen times before: If only you had the chance, you would write a chick lit novel. But between job, boyfriend, kids, school — life — you just can’t find the time.
The Chick Lit Cookbook: A Guide to Writing Your Novel in 30 Minutes a Day is the solution. This fun, cupcake-themed guide will take you from start to finish of your first draft. In 13 chapters, each with a short exercise that will get you writing now, you will learn how to create the perfect main character, her ideal love interest, a world for her to live in and an adventure that will draw in readers. You will outline your entire first draft — and then you will write it.
The Chick Lit Cookbook is a beginner’s guide to writing funny, snappy, sucks-you-into-the-story prose about modern women, life and love. It is full of tips and techniques, prompts and pep talks that will spark your imagination and inspire you to put pen to paper. The exercises can be done while sitting on the bus, waiting at the doctor’s office, or talking on the phone with your mother-in-law. This book will show you that you can and will write a chick lit novel.
Whether you’ve been wishing for years that you could write chick lit or are a brand-new fan of Bridget Jones and Becky Bloomwood, you owe it to yourself to pick up this guide. The Chick Lit Cookbook will prove to you that writing a novel can be fun and easy — it’s just like baking cupcakes!

Title: A Delicate Bond
Author: JoAnn Hornak
Received: JoAnn Hornak
Synopsis: Natalie is just seventeen days away from getting married when Lisa, her maid of honor and best friend of ten years, sends her a cold
e-mail announcing that she will not be able to come to the wedding. When Natalie discovers the reason behind Lisa’s sudden baffling behavior, their friendship quickly unravels. Natalie cannot believe how selfish Lisa is being, while Lisa thinks Natalie’s standards for friendship are too high. Natalie and Lisa are soon faced with major upheavals in their lives. In the process of working through their problems without the support of one another, Natalie and Lisa are forced to face their deepest fears and failings. Each woman sets off on a journey of self-discovery as they examine what went wrong in their friendship and whether it is possible to be “too honest” with a good friend.

Title: Synchronized Breathing
Author: Tara Ellison
Received: Tara Ellison
Synopsis: Nothing announces the failure of one’s life quite as loudly as having to move back in with your mother at the ripe old age of thirty-five. Unfortunately for Scarlett Spencer, her marriage has recently imploded and she’s headed to Beverly Hills—toddler in tow—to move in with her oversexed mother, CeCe. But maneuvering life back at home isn’t the only challenge . . .

After being a stay-at-home mom, Scarlett wades back into the Hollywood employment pool with hilarious results. Even more terrifying is the prospect of reentering the dating world. She soon learns that balancing motherhood with the unique demands of Hollywood men creates a new twist on the dating dilemma. Tired of dating jerk after jerk, Scarlett goes on a self-imposed “man-diet,” which isn’t easy when her mother is perpetually on a manhunt. But in the quiet of this new man-free existence, Scarlett discovers what is really important in her life.

Synchronized Breathing is a cheeky, light-hearted story about moving on and realizing that mother doesn’t always know best.

Title: Love on a Budget
Author: Norma L Jarrett
Received: Norma L Jarrett
Synopsis: Jake Jiles was always handy with tools. Despite his love for all things do-it-yourself, he went to college and majored in business to fulfill his parents’ dream. He finally got the courage to leave his corporate job and start his “Honey-Do-4-Hire” business. Less than a year in, he’s already exhausted his savings and still living at home with his mother, but he’s determined to birth his franchise. Consumed with his business and fresh off a breakup, he wasn’t in the market for Mrs. Right. But after completing a job on Valentine’s Day, his potential dream girl, Sky showed up. After a brief chat over her car dilemma, he ignored the chemistry and left without her number. But cupid and God had other plans. After a divine connection, the only thing that stood between Jake and Sky, were funds. Will Jake pursue “Love on a Budget” or miss out because the price is too high?