Samantha’s Favorite Reads of 2011!
As another year comes to an end, a fun thing we book bloggers like to do is look back and crown our favorites of all favorites when it comes to books we read. Throughout 2011, I read and reviewed 143 books, a twenty-two book increase compared to 2010. Not too shabby considering I also published my own novel and started CLP Blog Tours! I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for me, but for now, let’s reflect on my Favorites of 2011!
I highly enjoyed Canadian author Chantel Simmons’s debut novel Stuck In Downward Facing Dog, so when Chantel contacted me about her second novel, I had to accept! This story follows twenty-seven year old image consultant Poppy Ross. Poppy finds out that her loving husband, Parker, has been having an affair with a co-worker. Poppy is devastated, but unsure how to proceed next. Before she can get her thoughts together, she receives a phone call- from the mistress herself! Parker had been struck by lightening while the two were out together, and was in the hospital. Parker had suffered amnesia, and can’t remember that last three months- including the affair. Poppy finds the mistress in the hospital, and becomes determined to give herself a makeover to be just like her. She figures this is the only way to save her marriage. But as Poppy’s efforts keep proving to be more and more disastrous, she begins to think her marriage is quite possibly over.
I thought Love Struck was comical, humorous, funny…need I go on? The charades that Poppy put herself through to try to transform into Parker’s mistresses were hilarious- from the talon fake nails that kept falling off, the stripper stiletto shoes, and especially the scene in the spray tan booth- I could not help but laugh my way through this book. There was a serious matter beneath all the comedy- that Poppy’s husband had an affair. I didn’t like that instead of just asking Parker straight out, the best option she could think of was transforming herself into someone she wasn’t. But it took that to help Poppy see who she really was, and in the end, help improve her marriage. Though I did kind of see how the affair accusation would work out, I loved the happy ending. Another definite recommendation from Chantel Simmons.
[Rating: 4.5]
Chantel Simmons is going on tour May 16-30 with her second novel Love Struck When twenty-seven-year-old image consultant Poppy Ross discovers that her handsome and…
In My Mailbox: Week of February 13th
Title: Starring in the Movie of My Life
Author: Laurel Osterkamp
Received: From Laurel Osterkamp
Synopsis: STARRING IN THE MOVIE OF MY LIFE, by novelist Laurel Osterkamp, is about
two women who vie for the love of the same man. Thirty-five-year-old
Samantha acts without thinking. Her heart is huge while her sense of purpose is
small; she’s willing to fight for those she loves, but she’s never learned to fight
for herself. Eighteen-year-old Melody is cold and calculating, and she’s driven by
the desire to better herself. As these compelling yet deeply flawed women battle
for the affections of 25-year-old Nathan, he becomes increasingly confused and
torn between them.
Nathan is Melody’s English teacher, and after he saves her from being raped,
she becomes attached to him. Melody longs for the affection she’s never felt, so
she involves her friends and family in her self-invented drama, making sure she
is at once the star and the director. Meanwhile, Samantha is newly married to
Nathan. But Samantha has issues, including hang-ups about motherhood and
lingering feelings for her ex. To make sense of the world, Sam relates her life to
the themes of her favorite movies, while she independently makes a
documentary in order to jump-start her non-existent film career.
Title: The Midwife’s Confession
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Received: From Tricia Carr @ Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc
Synopsis: When Noelle Downie is found dead of an apparent overdose, her best friends Tara and Emerson are left blindsided by her death and struggling with burning questions. Everything they knew about their longtime friend—her natural calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family—portrayed a woman who completely embraced life, not someone suicidal.
Clearing out Noelle’s small home, Tara and Emerson encounter old photos, handwritten birth records, and sincere thank you notes from Noelle’s former patients—no hint that Noelle had been unstable during the years leading to her suicide. But among Noelle’s belongings, an unfinished letter is discovered—a clue to a disturbing past and an unbearable secret. With just one piece to the puzzle, Tara and Emerson commit to digging deeper for clues, slowly peeling back years of hidden deception that had been silently tearing apart their best friend.
Title: Love Struck
Author: Chantel Simmons
Received: From Chantel Simmons
Synopsis: In the vein of her popular debut and bestselling novel, Stuck in Downward Dog, Chantel Simmons brings us a funny, heartfelt story about losing the perfect life—and find a real one. When 27-year-old image consultant Poppy Ross discovers her handsome and seemingly devoted husband Parker is having an affair, she is dumbfounded. Before she can confront him, however, he is struck by lightning. When he regains consciousness, he has lost his short-term memory—including that of the affair. Given this unlikely chance to erase history, Poppy decides to remake herself in the mistress’s image, so that her husband might never be tempted to stray again. Her quest to become the perfect woman has disastrous results, however, and may just turn out to be the worst thing possible for her marriage.
Title: Voices on the Waves
Author: Jess Chambers
Received: From Jess Chambers
Synopsis: When Faye Wakefield runs a competition offering nine lucky winners a two-week stay at her beautiful farmhouse retreat in Cornwall, she promises an experience they will never forget. However, even Faye could not have imagined how bringing these people together would change their lives forever.
Just as she hoped, the competition yields a diverse mix of characters. Among them are Leah Shaw, a shy young woman with troubled eyes; the womanizing business tycoon Marcus Armitage; Karenza Jackson ruled by her deep-rooted need for independence; retired nurse Bronwyn Davis, and Patrick O’Leary, an Irishman with an affiliation for the whisky bottle.
So begins a gently unfolding story of love and illicit affairs, heartache and self-discovery. Yet, as sparks fly and the guests share their long-buried secrets, only Faye knows of her ulterior motive for inviting them all under her roof.
10 Tips for Aspiring Authors
1. Only you can write your book. Writing is a job, and you’re not going to make a living at being a writer unless you treat it like a job. You could watch TV, go to a movie, or go for manicures with your best friend. There’s always going to be something else you could do instead of writing, and while all those other activities are fun, no one’s going to write your book for you while you’re doing them. So while you’re trying to write your book, try to actually sit down and write.
2. Set goals. Set a deadline to finish writing the book, then set mini-goals, such as “Finish Chapter 5 by the end of the month” or “Write 1,000 words a week.” Then comes the fun part: make a list of rewards and whenever you meet a goal, reward yourself. Go to a movie with a friend or get a manicure. You’ll enjoy it that much more knowing you worked hard for it. And you won’t feel guilty that you should be home writing for those few hours.
3. Practice, practice, practice. It takes 10,000 hours to become good at anything, so if you want to write a good book, then get writing. It takes 30 days to make a habit, so try to write every day, even if it’s only for 10 minutes or 10 words. Eventually, it’ll become a habit and those 10 words will turn into 10 pages. And when you miss a day of writing, you’ll feel so guilty you’ll ensure you don’t miss the next day.
4. Don’t believe in writer’s block. If you’re stuck on a scene, skip it and write the next scene. Chances are, if you aren’t excited to write a scene, it probably won’t be a very good one to read, either, so just move on. If you feel certain there are plot points you needed to get across in that troublesome scene, jot them on a Post-it and stick it to your computer scene. You’ll find another place to work them into the story.
5. Schedule in your writing time. Then stick to it. You wouldn’t miss a doctor’s appointment to make cookies or do the laundry, so don’t skip an hour of writing to do it either.
6. Don’t quit your day job. If you sell the proposal for your book for a million dollars, well, then, sure, ignore my advice and quit your day job. But if you’re working on your first novel and you don’t have an agent, let alone a publisher, keep your day job—or at least do something else that gives your day some structure and brings in some money. Being unemployed and poor can be stressful. And stress isn’t usually one of the key qualities that inspire you to write a good novel.
7. Believe in yourself. No one is going to care as much about your book or your career as a writer as you do. You have to be your own biggest cheerleader. Of course, make sure that all your rah-rah cheering is warranted. Keep trying to get your book published for as long as you believe that it’s the best book you can possibly write. When you stop believing your book is your absolute best work ever, move on. Revise it or start writing a new book. Lots of successful, published writers have unpublished manuscripts sitting in drawers. You won’t be alone so don’t worry about it.
8. Have a plan. I like to plot out each chapter before I start writing. It’s just a few points, but this way, if I don’t feel like writing Chapter 2, I can skip ahead to Chapter 6. If that’s too planned out, try jotting down your opening chapter, your source of conflict, the climax and the closing sentence. If you know those key elements, you’re going to be a lot better off than if you just sit down and write random scenes and then hope they all fit together in the end. There’s a very good chance you’ll end up scrapping half your work. (Of course, there’s nothing wrong with just letting the words flow—it all works toward the 10,000 hours—it just means it will take a lot longer to finish that first book).
9. Ask friends to read your book. Four eyes are better than two. Twenty opinions are better than none. You don’t have to incorporate everybody’s suggestions, but you never know when someone might make a suggestion that you think is a good one—and that will you’re your book that much stronger. And if 10 people have the same negative criticism about a plot point or a character, chances are an editor, an agent or readers might think the same thing. Isn’t it better to get that opinion free when you can still fix the problem than in a rejection letter or in a published book review?
10. Never give up. If every agent ignores you, follow up. If they all reject your book, compile a new list of agents and send the book out again. If every editor passes on your book, revise it and send to new editors. All you need is one person to say yes, so don’t get discouraged about the ones who don’t. Success is 99% hard work and 1% luck. If this is your dream, it’ll be that much sweeter if you have to work hard to realize it.
Chantel Simmons is the bestselling author of two novels – Stuck in Downward Dog and Love Struck. Read Chantel’s blog at www.chantelsimmons.com or tweet with her on twitter.com@chantelsimmons
Mara Brennan needs to get her life together. She has been dumped by her live in boyfriend, who moved out of their tiny basement apartment and took everything with him, including her bed and her self-confidence. She is working at a dead-end job as a receptionist at a cosmetic clinic, and her overbearing sister has taken up residence with her to try to cheer her up after the break-up. Meanwhile, her best friends, Olivia and Mitz, are living the perfect lives with their boyfriends and husbands and dazzling careers. Mara can’t help but feel she is missing out on being able to host her own dinner parties, get a fabulous career, and perfecting her yoga poses.
Mara makes her OM List (Olivia and Mitz List) to try to become a better person and more like her friends. While trying to check off the items such as hosting the best dinner party and becoming a fabulous chef, Mara realizes a few important details. She has a tiny apartment not suitable for hosting parties, and she hates cooking. She also realizes that Olivia and Mitz’s lives may not be so fabulous after all, once cracks begin to show between the three friends. Through it all, she finds a supportive a family that thinks incredibly highly of her, and figures out how she can help her perfect sister through a personal crisis.
Stuck in Downward Dog, the debut novel from Chantel Simmons was an excellent story of trying to find oneself. The challenges that Mara was facing are completely relatable, and the humorous journey of her identity makeover made me laugh throughout. I do have say the beginning started off a bit slow; the plot didn’t start to excite me until about half way in, but once it hit that point I couldn’t put it down! One aspect I really enjoyed about the novel is that it didn’t end with the heroine finding herself by getting a boyfriend. I thought that was really inspiring and even more motivating to readers, sending a message that women can be powerful with their careers and selves without being married. A favorite book of mine and a define recommendation to all.
Chantel Simmons, Winnipeg Free Press bestselling author, was born in St. Catherine’s and graduated from Ryerson with a Bachelors Degree in Journalism. After graduation, Simmons went on to be an assistant to a literary agent, and made the decision that she wanted to become a freelance writer. While spending her time writing, she helped pay the bills by assisting photographers at the Toronto Sun, and in 2002 landed a position as editorial assistant at ELLE Canada. While working at ELLE, Simmons was offered a position at TV Guide as assistant editor and after that went on to work as editor to Elevate magazine, where she got her inspiration for her first novel.
After getting married in 2005, Simmons’ husband convinced her that she actually needed to write her novel in order to get published, and after writing and securing an agent, Stuck in Downward Dog was published in the US and Canada, and went on to be a Winnipeg Free Press bestseller. Her second novel, Love Struck will be released February 15, 2010. Chantel Simmons now works at Sweetspot.ca as editorial director and works on two blogs: The Cherry on Top and Make-it-Session.
Q: Why did you decide to start writing?
A: Ever since I was old enough to write, I’ve wanted to be an author. Of course, often when you tell your guidance counsellor at high school your dream, they tell you that it’s not a real career, and instead recommend going to university for journalism, which is exactly what my guidance counsellor advised me. Unfortunately, they’re not at all the same thing! One is all about reporting the truth, and the other is all about making things up (And I wanted to do the latter!). Still, off I went to j-school to get my degree. I don’t regret it, but it was definitely a different career path. So a few years ago, while working at ELLE magazine as the beauty editor, I decided that I couldn’t put off writing a novel any longer. I set myself a deadline and every night after work, I’d work on what eventually became Stuck in Downward Dog, my first novel.
Q: I love the concept behind Love Struck! Where did that inspiration come from?
A: I wanted to write a novel that was light and fun, but that had a deeper underlying dilemma, to which female readers could relate. I thought about the dynamics of relationships and the instance of affairs–and how oftentimes, we have these hard and fast rules that we would break up with our boyfriend/spouse instantly if we learned he was cheating. But I think it’s easy to think that it’s black & white, but would it be a harder decision if it actually happened to you? What if you really loved the person who cheated on you? Relationships are something that everyone can relate to, and so I thought that made for an interesting theme. Then, I threw in the lightning and the memory loss, just to complicate things, and make the novel a bit of fun and escapism.
Q: What is your favorite part about being a writer?
A: I recently quit my full-time job as a magazine editor to write–and now, I love the freedom of being able to do what I love every single day, even from the couch!
Q: Do you have a certain area (office, bedroom) where you have to be in order to get writing done?
A: When my agent sold Stuck in Downward Dog, my husband bought me a writing desk, and we turned our spare bedroom into my office. I’m all set up there, but I have a laptop (pink, of course) so I usually alternate from working at my desk, to sitting on the couch, or writing in bed (on the weekends, when I’ve got the entire day to write).
Q: I read that you were an assistant to a literary agent. How was that job, and how much did you learn?
A: I learned so much being an assistant to a literary agent. She was (and still is) quite a successful agent, and it was incredible watching her run her business as a one-woman show. I learned what an agent does for an author (so much, without any pay until she sells the book!) and how passionate most agents are about the work and the clients they’re representing. I ultimately realized though, that I couldn’t bear to file and answer phones while I witnessed–daily–every other author write their novels, get signed by an agent and sell their book. That was my dream, so I had to make it happen for myself.
Q: How did you land your positions at places such as ELLE and TV Guide?
A: After graduating, a friend asked me to cover a few of her shifts at one of the newspapers in Toronto. I did, and ended up sitting next to a woman who, a few months later, was hired to work at ELLE, which was just launching its English Canadian edition. She called me a few days after she started and asked if I wanted to proofread the magazine a few days a month. Two months later, the editor hired me full time, and I worked my way into the beauty department the following year. After two years of writing about self-tanners in July and holiday glam in December, I applied for an open position at TV Guide, which was published in the same building. I loved working there, and getting a sneak peek at new shows before they were on TV. Now, while I’m in Dexter and Glee withdrawal, I wish I was back there so I could get a little preview at the coming season!
Q: Love Struck is due out February 15th. Do you have a third novel in the works?
A: Writing a novel is such a labour of love that for months and months you’re bogged down in the very unglamorous aspects of writing, revising and editing. So now that the book is done and about to come out, I definitely want to just enjoy this time as much as possible, including my launch party and other media appearances. Of course, the reality is that the moment I finish writing a novel and there’s nothing more I can do to it, I start thinking about my next idea. But I’m superstitious, so until I have something set, I don’t like to tell anyone my idea.
Q: Do you have a favorite book or author?
A: I have a few favourite authors, depending on the genre. For commercial women’s fiction, I adore Emily Giffin. Her latest novel, Love the One You’re With, is my favourite book. For YA, I think Sarah Mlynowski (Magic in Manhattan series) is the funniest writer I’ve ever read. And for short stories, I love Stuart McLean. When I was at Ryerson University, Stuart was a professor in another program. For four years I wanted to stop by his office and ask him to sign one of his books for me, but I couldn’t work up the nerve because I was so intimidated. It’s ridiculous, really.
Q: What would be your advice to aspiring authors?
A: Write! You can definitely achieve your dream of being an author, but you have to write. So often, other aspiring authors ask me for the secret, but I really don’t think there is one. If you love writing, you will eventually succeed. I’m no expert, but I try to remember these three things, whenever I get discouraged or need inspiration.
a) It takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at any activity. So the only way to be a good writer is to write as much as you can. Eventually you will become a good writer!
b) Success is only 1% luck. The rest is 99% hard work.
c) There’s no such thing as writer’s block. If you don’t want to sit down and write your novel, then you probably don’t love the story. And if you’re stuck on a scene, cut it. It probably won’t work anyway, if you can’t figure out how to write it.
Q: What is or do you think would be your favorite place to travel?
A: Last fall, once I finished my final edit of Love Struck, my husband and I took three weeks off to travel to South Africa. I loved it. It was such an amazing mix of history, culture, and wildlife. It was the best vacation I’ve ever taken, and I’m a bit worried to take another vacation, since I doubt it will compare!
