Archive for April 3rd, 2010

Chloe and I don’t get many requests from the American publishers, however we do get the odd one or two requests so we decided last week-end to look for an American contributor who could review any American chick lit we get offered as well as other American authors that don’t reach our shores in the UK. Danielle has written us a biography about herself & she’ll begin her reviewing next Saturday! So lets give a warm welcome to the newest member of the Chick Lit Reviews team, Danielle!

I’m a mother of two wonderful children, The Turkeybird and Littlebug, just under two years apart in age. I’m also married to a fantastic man (who loves to read) who has just finished law school and is now a practicing attorney. I love to read, write, watch movies, play the flute, listen to music and just enjoy life. Since the time I was very little I loved to read and I still do. Because of that love and now the love my children have for reading I created my site, There’s A Book. I wanted a place created for the purpose of sharing a child’s love of books as they grow up and also somewhere to help others find great books for their own children. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always afford me the opportunity to talk about some of the more “chick” related books I love to read from time to time. So, Chloe and Leah were gracious enough to indulge me by asking for some reviews. Thanks!

So, where did I get my start with “Chick Lit”? I suppose, like most of us reading, it came when I was much younger watching it through the movies and then slowly moved to books. My mom and sisters were definitely influential when it comes to my interest, with their (and my own) love of movies like Love Actually, Four Weddings and A Funeral, The Devil Wears Prada and Pretty Woman. I grew up wanting to be swept off my feet and continue to indulge in these fabulous movies and books I ‘d stumbled upon.

I’d be missing a huge part of my introduction if I failed to mention how my own “guy” swept me off my feet. We dated for over a year and I can still remember falling on the bed telling my roommates, “I love him, I love him, I love him”! I was sure from the beginning he was the one. During our time dating he once got all dressed up (in a suit no less), but completely covered it up in “normal” clothes; he then came to pick me up from work, blind folded me and drove me out to a canyon with a running stream beside it. I sat in the car while he set up a candle light picnic and “took off” his normal clothes so that when he took the blind-fold off he was wearing a suit and had flowers. Incredible! We were married after dating for a year and being separated for two years while he served a mission for our church (all the while we were only able to write letters, very romantic though) and have been married for six years now.

I’m definitely spoiled, but I’m definitely a romantic at heart hoping that every girl will find that one special person to make them truly happy.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy what I have to offer in the future. As I know I will love getting to know all of the fabulous readers here at Chick Lit Reviews! Below are a few of my favorites and a few that are in my current To-Be Read pile. If you have a request from the pile let me know and I’ll be happy to review it as soon as possible! Thanks again to Chloe and Leah for this wonderful opportunity!

Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin
Sookie Stackhouse Books by Charlaine Harris
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Just Like Me, Only Better by Carol Snow
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
Good Things by Mia King

The start of another month means one thing: Fiona Cassidy’s next installment about what it takes to become a published author. If you’ve missed Fiona’s previous entries you can read them here: Where It All Began and What’s The Story? and Agent Provocauthor. We now present to you the fourth article of twelve… enjoy! Our thanks, as ever, go to Fionnuala for writing this series for us!

I am sure that anyone waiting for news will tell you that it is usually the nervous anticipation that nearly kills you. It’s that gut wrenching yearning for a reply and the knowledge that a ‘yes’ could be life changing whilst a ‘no’ can and inevitably will be life and confidence shattering. Would-be authors are no different to anyone else in this predicament. In fact I think they suffer more than most in their quest for a positive response as they put their heart and soul into putting a sample manuscript together before lovingly sending it out into the big bad world on a wing and a prayer (or in my case a novena or three.)

If you’re wondering what you’re required to send check out the Writer’s and Artist’s Yearbook or the agent’s or publisher’s websites for guidelines on what genre they accept, how many chapters to submit, whether or not they need a synopsis or overview of the storyline and how they like it to be presented. Presentation is extremely important and I would tend to adhere meticulously to their specified instructions…font 12, double spacing etc and whether or not they need it to be sent in hard copy by mail or alternatively can accept electronic format or submissions on disc. Every company has their own preferences and likes and dislikes. REMEMBER these people will be doing everything in their power to try and find a reason not to offer you a contract (not because they don’t want to but because they are extremely busy and need to weed out the time wasters or those who don’t follow instructions!) So do yourself a favour and don’t annoy them by presenting your work in an inappropriate way in a fancy font they don’t like whilst using the wrong spacing. I would also always enclose a covering letter out of courtesy, with a short explanation on what you have sent whilst thanking them for their time.

(more…)