Archive for December, 2010

Chick Flick Tuesday highlights the best chick flicks in the movie world as well as bringing you news on upcoming chick flick releases as well as letting you all know about which chick lit books are being made into chick flick movies!

The holidays are my absolute favorite time of year and the thought of spending them somewhere covered in snow sounds so romantic. Maybe that’s why I adore the idea of hoping on a plane to travel to the other side of the world where there are cobble stone lined streets, little shops with window shopping, and of course snow. So, knowing this, if you’ve seen the movie The Holiday, you already know I fell in love! This is a movie I could watch over and over again. Normally I’m not a huge Cameron Diaz fan, but her character in this movie is perfect and the other additions of Jack Black, Kate Winslet and Jude Law are the most wonderful combination for a holiday get together. If you haven’t seen this movie, you definitely need to pick it up soon! You won’t regret it!

Two beautiful women, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) both find themselves at the end of failed relationships just before Christmas. Amanda decides to take a two week vacation and surfs the internet. She meets Iris online, and they agree to swap their homes for the holidays. Amanda lives in Los Angles and Iris lives in the countryside of Surrey, England. Even though they now have a change of scenery and want no contact with men, they are both still depressed and lonely. But things are about to change when Iris’ brother Graham (Jude Law) drops by Iris’ house and meets Amanda. On the other side of the world, Iris meets Miles (Jack Black) a film composer. Romance is in the air and sparks are about to fly.

Juliet is hiding away again. It wasn’t even a year ago that she lost her beloved husband Ben to a young and tragic death, and Juliet just wants to shut the world out and go about her grieving in her own way. However, her mother Diane and sister Louise have different ideas about what Juliet needs, and manages to get her a job as the neighbourhood’s unofficial dog-walker. Reluctantly, Juliet agrees, and finds that the fresh air and dogs are all she needs to finally start coming out of her shell. She’s sure it doesn’t mean she is ready to start talking to people again, let alone about her lovely Ben, but she’s more open to getting out, and even speaking to her mad Irish next door neighbours Emer and Lorcan. Will Juliet find her own way back to happiness or is her life destined to be one long, lonely road?

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After the surprise success of her 2010 release Envy, which Leah and I both really loved, Coleen Nolan is back on 4th February 2011 with the follow-up to that book, Denial. I really love the cover, it certainly is an improvement on her last one, and I know both Leah and I will be looking out for this one! Here’s the synopsis:

“The Girl Talk presenters are out of work and out for revenge on the man who publicly humiliated them and destroyed their careers. So when James Almond, the ruthless controller of Channel 6, is murdered, suspicion falls on all five women. Was it icy Julia Hill, recovering from the car crash that almost killed her and blaming James for her crippling injuries? Naughty diva Lesley Gold, who is famed for holding a grudge? Sweet Karen King, who has finally learned to stand up for herself? Ambitious Cheryl, or weak Faye?

As the girls battle to get back on television, sort out their tangled love lives and avoid arrest, the body count starts to rise. Who is the killer, and will they be able to stop her - or him - in time? Full of glamour, scandal and intrigue, Denial is a funny and fabulous read.”

To get in the mood for the now-upon-us Christmas season, we thought we would bring you something a bit fun from some of our favourite chick lit authors. We asked lots of authors what THEY want for Christmas and here’s what they said…

Milly Johnson -

If you’d have asked me the question ‘what would I like for Christmas’ a couple of months ago, it would have been a very different answer to the one I’m going to give you now.

On my Santa list were 46” legs, a straight nose, Simon-Cowell-white teeth, a night out with George Clooney (or rather a ‘night in’) and a limitless Coutt’s bank account. Obviously those were just for Santa’s eyes, because he’s magic and can deliver. On the list for the family to choose from were some Guerlain perfume, Thortons chocs, Caramel Baileys, a stash of bubble bath and as many handbags as people cared to give me. No one buys bubble bath because its considered ‘too boring a present’ but please – family – it’s really what I want and this girl can never have enough of it. Don’t try and waver from the norm.

And that’s the clue to my list this year – ‘the norm’. Because, a few weeks ago my mum was rushed to hospital with a blood clot on her brain. And we thought we’d lost her. Can you fight back from something like that at 78 years old? Before I stamped on them, unbidden thoughts came to me of struggling through Christmas for the sake of the kids with one empty – and unfillable place – at the dinner table. Christmas would have been something to get over and done with, I wouldn’t have taken any joy in it. But, hey, she did fight back and she’s fit and fab again and gearing up to criticise me for not putting my sprouts on in early July, like she used to.

So, if you’re reading this Santa, just give me a normal bog-standard, no change, no surprises Christmas. Forget George and ultra-violet gnashers, just give me turkey and bubble bath and rubbish crackers and watching ‘A Wonderful Life’ under a big blanket with my boys and no empty spaces at my dinner table. You really couldn’t give me any more of a magical Christmas than that.

Mandy Baggot -

1. An agent - preferably one with Facebook friends containing employees of all the large publishing houses in the UK and/or the US.

2. Simon Baker (Patrick Jane from The Mentalist) naked and gift wrapped.

3. The 60 Minute Makeover team to come and give me a brand new bedroom. We’re talking peeling magnolia paint and rattan units here. Although it would have to involve animal print and not a hint of tartan or teal.

There are more but we’ll stop at three!!

Veronica Henry -

Some really snuggly ‘loungewear’ from hush-uk.com - perfect for writing in but makes you feel less like a slob. And a bicyle as I’ve just discovered the Tarka Trail near us - stunning but flat! And some Laura Mercier creme brulee bubble bath. That’s it!

Talli Roland -

All I want for Christmas this year is a karaoke machine. It would fit perfectly in the corner of my office, nestled up against my desk. I’m not a singer – in fact, my husband not-so-subtly turns up the music when I start to croon – but in the daytime silence of my flat, I’ve no one to scare but me. And quite possibly my neighbours.

Not only could I hone my Bon Jovi repertoire (‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ is my old stand-by), but singing would be a great release for any pent-up frustration when the writing’s not going according to plan. Imagine belting out ‘November Rain’ or anything by Muse when you need to just let out the angst. And when things are going well, what better way to celebrate than to break into song? A little Lionel Ritchie or Kool and the Gang (I grew up in the eighties, can you tell?) and the good times would be rolling.

I’ve been a very good girl this year (wine consumption aside). So Santa, please bring me a karaoke machine. I promise not to sing until you’re safely out of earshot. Deal?

More coming tomorrow, thanks to all who have participated!

As you all know, I’m a huge fan of David Levithan and his writing. His work with Rachel Cohn on Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares was superb and ever since completing that novel I’ve been dying to read anything else by him that I could get my hands on. Well, I recently learned that he has a new adult fiction novel coming out in January, the 4th to be exact, titled The Lover’s Dictionary and I can hardly wait! Not only is it his writing, but the topic I’m really looking forward to diving into. I’m a huge lover of words and the stories behind them, so this is bound to be an excellent read. Let me know what you think…

basis, n.

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you’re in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

If the moment doesn’t pass, that’s it—you’re done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes it’s even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lover’s face.

How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithan’s The Lover’s Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

Theodora is an artist with bright blue eyes and long chaotic hair which is supposed to be brown but gets attacked with colour as frequently as the canvasses she produces. Jonas is half Swedish, tall, with a halo of golden hair and jade green eyes and has channelled his mix of practicality and creativity into his own woodworking business.

They are meant for each other. If only they knew each other. Their paths are tantalisingly close at times, but it will take something dramatic in both their lives to lead them in the right direction…

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Chick Lit Classics is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

As we’re currently in the middle of our Little Black Dress, we wanted to carry it through to our regular weekly features as well, so for this week’s Chick Lit Classic, I’ve picked a 2006 LBD release by Lorelei Mathias, Step On It, Cupid. It was actually one of my first ever LBD reads myself, and definitely sticks in my head because I’ve actually kept my copy on my bookshelf which says a lot considering how many books I read! It’s a fun read about the character Amelie who seems to be the last of the singletons amongst her friends, and she thinks it might be time to change that. It’s a fun, sweet read that I really loved and certainly is a perfect LBD book in my opinion, and if you haven’t yet read it, I certainly recommend you do!

“Amelie’s life is arranged just how she likes it. Brilliant job, great social life, and on-off love-life. So it’s a shock when she realises one day that everyone she knows seem to be happily coupled up – getting married even. Is it time she thought about settling down?

Assigned an awful project in work – writing the ad campaign for Britain’s biggest speed-dating company – she is forced against her will into plenty of market research. And with her best mate Duncan, her annoying boss Joshua and her ex-boyfriend Jack all causing havoc in her life, maybe a speed-dating romance could be her salvation…”

As part of our Little Black Dress week, we’ve been lucky enough to have some wonderful guest posts from some of their authors written just for us. Now comes the turn of A. M. Goldsher whose latest 2010 release No Ordinary Girl was loved by me, so here is the post!

“ME ‘N’ L.B.D by Alan Goldsher.

The whole A.M. Goldsher/Little Black Dress Books thing was an accident. A happy accident, granted, but an accident nonetheless.

The True Naomi Story, my first title for L.B.D., began its life not as a chicklit book, but rather as a dude novel called Jam. Soon after it hit bookstores, a former literary agent of mine suggested I rewrite it from the perspective of a woman. Turned out the protagonist was more interesting as a girl, and L.B.D., out of the kindness of their hearts, offered me a three-book deal, with the proviso that they publish the books under the gender-nonspecific pseudonym of A.M. Goldsher. (No Ordinary Girl, my latest for L.B.D., was released under A.M. rather than Alan, but as you can see, I’ve been outed as a man, possibly because the superhero battles throughout were pretty dude-like, and some intrepid reader would’ve probably figured it out anyhow.)

I’ve now written four books for L.B.D., and look forward to more, in part because my awesome former editor Cat Cobain and my equally awesome current editor Claire Baldwin have been nothing but supportive and sweet. Since book one, they’ve let me be as creative and as weird as I’ve wanted, and I think that’s enabled me to write freely, without ever having to worry that a scene in which, say, my heroine throws her former lover 50 meters in the air, into the middle of Lake Michigan will be questioned. Many editors like to have their fingerprints all over their books, but L.B.D. just wants you to write the best book possible. It’s not about ego, it’s about quality, and that’s not always the case in today’s publishing world. All of which makes me the luckiest dude-chicklit writer on the planet.”

Thanks so much Alan!