Why I watch...The Bachelor Pad by Lisa

What's not to love about bad TV? Especially bad reality TV. It's entertaining, mind numbing (oh so mind numbing!) and becoming a spectator sport that could rival any ancient Roman gladiator fight. (Have you seen Jersey Shore?) And with so much bad TV out there, we though we'd start defending why we choose to use what little time we have to watch something so ridiculously shitty. So, of course, Bachelor Pad was first on my list!

For those of you not familiar (c'mon you can't just say no to this show) Bachelor Pad is a mansion full of former Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants who didn't get enough the first time and have returned to manipulate, back stab and even make out with each other in an attempt to win a grand prize of 250,000. It's kind of a Survivor meets Big Brother with some rose ceremonies thrown in.

Still need more convincing before you tune in?

Well lucky you! Because here's not one but five reasons why I watch (and think you should too):

1. The Dramz. This season, the Pad is full of tears, confrontations and lots of ex-fiances. There was Jake (the former Bachelor) vs. Vienna (his ex-fiance). (Boo hoo. Poor Jake was just voted off). Then there's Vienna's new main squeeze, Kasey, a.k.a. Mr. Guard and Protect Your Heart (he tatooed a crest on his wrist for Bachelorette, Ali and shockingly didn't get picked.) who thinks he's the Godfather of the group. And don't forget Holly who has the hots for Blake even though her former fiance' Michael is in the other room crying because she broke his heart. And of course there's gorgeous but crazy Michelle (who competed for Bachelor Brad's affection) who doesn't seem so crazy anymore when you compare her to crazy ass Melissa (just voted off). Mix in a few other crazies, a mansion, a lot of alcohol and a hot tub (you just don't have a good, solid reality show without one!) and you've got a recipe for a delicious guilty pleasure.

2. The Power Couples. Why tune in to Cspan when you can watch these guys strategize like they're planning a covert military operation. Never mind that they've got the collective brainpower of a family of fleas.

3. The Hot Bods. Hey call me a cougar, but there are some hotties running around. Male and female! In my defense, I don't get out much these days....

4. Chris Harrison. The host. He has the best job in television. He earns a paycheck for occasionally reeling off some rules, reminding everyone when it's the final rose (because they can't see it sitting there on the table) and of course whenever he sees the most dramatic moment in Bachelor Pad history.

5. You'll feel better (about yourself) after. 'Nuff said.

xoxo,

Lisa

Claire LaZebnik's 5 Loves and a Dud

It's a new month. A new season. And before we know it, it will be a new year (WTF?).  So as much as we (and you!) loved our feature 5 Do's and a Do-Over, we've decided it's time for something else new. So-Beyonce style-let's get up on stage, shake our asses and reveal our newest feature...

5 Loves and a Dud!

Your favorite authors will be dishing about the things they can't live without and the one thing they can do without-- forevuh.

And we couldn't be more thrilled that Claire LaZebnik is the first author to take the plunge and share her list (a must-read. We especially love the bit about sleeping with a dog!). Claire has written several fabulous books including Knitting Under the Influence, If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now and the just released Families and Other Nonreturnable Gifts - a hilarious novel about a quirky family...

Keats Sedlak is the sanest member of her nutty nuclear family, but that isn’t saying much. Even though she’s in her twenties, she’s still constantly being summoned back home to help out her brilliant and eccentric parents.  Her two genius siblings are useless: her older sister’s long gone, and her younger brother hasn’t left the house in years.  The one constant in her life is her devoted long-term boyfriend, Tom, who provides a safe port during every familial storm.

Keats always knew that her parents’ marriage wasn’t ideal, but they’d managed to coexist in misery for so long that she assumed they’d stay together forever, so she’s pretty stunned to find out her mother’s filing for divorce and putting their beloved old house on the market.  Even more of a shock is the discovery that her mother has already plunged headfirst into the midlife dating pool, with three different men in her rotation and an unnerving tendency to stay out until the wee hours of the morning.

As her family falls apart, Keats has to reevaluate everything she’s ever assumed about her parents, her siblings, the life she’s made apart from them all, and, most importantly, the kind of love she wants for herself

Sound like a book you'd love? Well, lucky you! Because we have five copies to give away. Just leave a comment and be entered to win. We'll randomly select the 5 winners on Tuesday, September 6th after 6pm EST.  And now on to Claire's loves and a dud...

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...CLAIRE LAZEBNIK'S 5 LOVES AND A DUD

LOVES:

1. PRETZEL M&Ms.  You've got your salt, you've got your sugar, you've got your chocolate--all of life's essentials in one round, crunchy package.  I buy them in bulk, which is thrifty, and then I eat them in bulk, which is probably a mistake.  But if loving them is wrong, I don't want to be right.

2.  PANDORA: I'm still amazed at how the little people in my computer can read my mind once I load Pandora.  All I give them is one little song--one tiny clue to my taste--and then they play hour after hour of music I like.  The rare clunker only makes me appreciate how often they get it right.

3. THRIFT STORES.  Going to a thrift store is like going on a treasure hunt:  you hunt through racks and racks of stuff and suddenly stumble on something valuable.  Nothing costs more than a few dollars, even the good stuff, and what little money you spend goes to a good cause.  My all-time favorite is the OUT OF THE CLOSET chain.

4.  REREADING A FAVORITE OLD NOVEL.   I can't tell you how often I'll start a new book with high hopes only to give up halfway through.  When I start to wonder whether it's me--whether I just don't like to read anymore--I head to my bookshelves and pluck out an old favorite, something romantic and engrossing and inspiring.  And then I lose myself in it and remember that reading can be a pure joy.

5.  SLEEPING WITH A DOG.  And, no, I'm not talking about my husband.  I have two very sweet pups, a big gentle labrador and an energetic little poodle mix.  The big one's a good companion when my husband's out of town and I need someone of (almost) comparable size to take his place next to me, but the little one sleeps with me every night.  He curls up with his back against mine and that cozy warmth helps me drift off to sleep.

AND A DUD:

L.A. TRAFFIC.  Such a bummer.  The traffic on the West Side is like this BEAST in our lives.  It's like the troll who lives under the bridge--you know you're going to encounter him and you know that when you do, it's going to go badly for you, but sometimes you have no choice: you just have to cross that freakin' bridge and pay the freakin' toll.

To find out more about the funny and talented Claire LaZebnik, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. And if you're a YA fan, definitely check out her debut YA novel, Epic Fail.

Thanks, Claire!

xoxo, Liz & Lisa

Mary Kay Andrews' 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We're beyond excited to have the fabulous New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews on CLIND today! *cue bells, whistles and music*

Her latest novel (this is her eighth!), Summer Rental is the perfect beach read that we suggest you snap up immediately before summer ends. Because we don't know about you, but we're clinging to summer as long as possible! Just read the description of Summer Rental and you'll be wanting more...

Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction….

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she’s made over the past decade of her life. Julia—whose caustic wit covers up her wounds–has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can’t hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life.  And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina’s Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he’s hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he’s ever cared about.

Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity.  Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?

Five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them.

We told you it's a great novel! Just leave a comment for a chance to win one of five copies! We'll randomly select the winner after 6pm EST on Sunday, August 28th.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS... MARY KAY ANDREWS' 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER:

1. Dream big. Your reach should always exceed your grasp. Don’t hang around waiting for your ship to come in. Swim out and drag that sucker back to the dock!

2. Invest in your dream. Whether your dream is to start your own business, leave your day job, become a painter, or write the great American novel, you’ll need the proper tools. I didn’t have a computer at home when I started writing my first book, and I had to sneak back to the newspaper I worked for to use their computer, until I talked my husband into buying me my first home computer. Now, I don’t hesitate to budget money that will further my career, whether it’s buying a decent digital camera to use for blogging, or hiring a marketing professional to help spread the word about my books. Mama always said you have to spend money to make money.

3. Follow your passion, and figure out a way to make a living doing that. When I started college, my father wanted me to get a teaching degree, so I’d “have something to fall back on.” I stubbornly insisted on getting a journalism degree. I never expected to make any money at writing, but I knew I’d at least enjoy the work. And when journalism became drudgery, I made the jump to fiction, again, following my passion. I’ve never regretted any day I spent writing.

4. Be flexible. If you bump up against a brick wall in your career, back up and find a new path. I was heart-broken when I finally figured out my 14-year journalism career was going nowhere. It wasn’t until I sold my first book that I discovered I hadn’t failed at journalism at all---I’d just had a really long internship as a novelist. Now, I wouldn’t take anything for the lessons I learned as a big city newspaper reporter.

5. Be nice! You’ll always catch more flies with honey than vinegar. So say pretty please. Admit when you’re wrong, and keep it quiet when it turns out you were right. It’s just as easy as it is to make a friend as it is to make an enemy, so why not make a friend? And always, always, write thank you notes.

DO-OVER

I wish I’d had more time with my parents. My mom has been gone almost seven years, my dad died five years ago. In what turned out to be the last years of their lives, I was so focused on my children and my career, I didn’t get to spend quality time with them. Now I so wish that I’d asked them more questions, listened more closely to their answers, and let them know how much I appreciated all the sacrifices they made for me and my siblings.

To learn more about Mary Kay Andrews, visit her website, stop by her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter. (Or all of the above!)

Thanks, Mary Kay!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

Susan Schneider's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

Doesn't everyone love a good wedding?  Beautiful wedding dresses, not so beautiful bridesmaids dresses, plenty of alcohol and the chicken dance.  What's not to like? And no one knows weddings like author Susan Schneider.  She's the former executive editor of Modern Bride and Elegant Bride and has spent the last ten years getting engaged women ready for their big day. So when we saw she had written a book about, what else, the bridal industry, we knew it would be a lot of fun!

Here's the scoop on The Wedding Writer:

Lucky Quinn writes up weddings for one of the hottest bridal magazines. And it wasn’t easy to get there. From humble beginnings, she outsmarted her way into the center of New York’s glamorous magazine industry – making up for her background with a sharp mind, whip-thin physique, and ceaseless ambition.

Then, in one day, her life is utterly transformed; two of the magazine’s major competitors fold, and Lucky is named Editor-in-Chief, replacing the formidable, but aging Grace Ralston, who had been at the magazine’s helm from day one. Grace taught Lucky everything she knows, but now it seems that she taught her too well…

As the ripples of Lucky’s promotion spread, the intricate lives of four women begin to unfold. Felice, Your Wedding’s elegant and unshakeable Art Director is now being shaken for the first time by troubles at home. Sara, the Fashion Director, is famed for her eagle eye for fashion trends and exquisite hair. But, for all her know-how, “the Angel of Bridal” has never come close to starring in a wedding herself – she’s picked the dress, but where’s the groom? Grace, recovering in the wake of her sudden, humiliating fall from power, must learn to accept herself – and love – after a life dedicated to fulfilling other women’s dreams. And, through it all, Lucky begins to discover just how lonely the top really is.

Sound good to you?  Then leave a comment and you'll be entered to win one of FIVE copies!  We'll choose the winners on Sunday August 21 after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...SUSAN SCHNEIDER'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Do be cranky. For a while I was almost afraid to say I hated Facebook. Voicing this opinion made me sound so uncool--not to mention, old. Quel horreur! But honestly,it is a great, big, fat waste of time. I know that other people find it enthralling. Sadly, I've found I can be just as enthralled as anyone else. I can sit and mindlessly click around Facebook for hours on end. So I tell myself--and everyone--how much I hate it. This is simple but effective behavior modification because it breaks the spell, making it easier for me to write, read, talk to my daughter, take a walk, shoe shop, and whatever else is good, clean fun.

2. Do be brave. I tend to be shy. Low self-esteem? Absolutely. So when it came to promoting The Wedding Writer, I was utterly mortified. However, publishers expect you to put on your PR hat and get out there wearing a sandwich board. Stand in line for a movie and while you're at it, hand out business cards. Hit people over the head until they swear they'll buy your book, read it all in one sitting and LOVE it. These things are difficult for shy people. What to do? Well, in the words of my daughter and her boyfriend, "The hard sell is so uncool. Be subtle. Don't turn people off." OK! Out of the mouths of babes. Subtle, I can be. (At the same time, avoid putting a paper bag over your head--be proud!)

3. Do allow your personality to widen, broaden, and deepen. Most of us women are so much more than we let on. To be very honest, I had to get older before I could appreciate myself. I was so caught up in what I looked like, sounded like, felt like, and who was looking at me and what they were thinking, and why some guy didn't call me back when he said he would, and why someone else was thinner or more successful...all of this is just as much a waste of time as Facebook.

4. Do be kind. The Dalai Lama said, "Kindness is my religion." I love that! I am one of those New Yorkers who always gives change to street musicians. I'm a softie in a tough town. I feel that most people try really, really hard, and life knocks us down a lot.  I've been through a divorce and raised a child by myself. My sister had cancer. I know people my age who've died. So let's be kind to each other. We aren't here for all that long.

5. Do take yourself seriously (but not always). If you have something you really want to do--write? paint? travel? read War and Peace? sew your own wedding dress?--then do it. Ignore people who try to undermine you. At the same time laugh at yourself and how hard you strive. A yoga teacher once pointed out to me that I'm a "striver." I'm always "efforting" (not a real word, but we know what she means). I've found that life should be part striving and part letting go. Not easy, but worth thinking about.

DO-OVER I'd like to take back all the time I've spent being critical of myself and others. It probably amounts to about a third of my life. I could have written at least three more novels by now. But you can't do it over, you can only use what you know right now. This very moment. I vow never to be self-critical again!

Thanks Susan! xo, L&L

To read more about Susan, head on over to her The Wedding Writer or find her on Twitter.

My Secret Love Affair with Big Brother by Liz

I have a secret. It's shameful and embarrassing.  And I do it three times a week. All. Summer. Long. I watch Big Brother.

Each year I tell myself I'm NOT going to watch it.  With so little time to watch TV in the first place, why in the HELL would I choose a show that's on, count 'em, THREE times a week?  And if I were going to watch a show that often, should it really be about self-absorbed drama mongers trapped in a house together for three months?

Why yes it should.

You see, there's something addicting about BB.  I find myself constantly checking out the Twitter feed of the dude who watches the live feed 24/7 (oh yes, there is one!) to get up to the minute updates on the house.  What is Rachel crying about now?  Who is Brendon bullying?  Are Jeff and Jordan really that freakin' likeable ALL THE TIME? (I think the answer may be yes...)

And I *may* have even considered subscribing to Showtime to get Big Brother After Dark.  Although I'm sure it would just be more of the same.  Fight, make-up, repeat.  But where else will you find contestants who lie about being a "VIP cocktail waitress" because they think others will be jealous or contestants that are so bored they steal the chess pieces and try to set someone up to take the fall?

But really, who can blame them?  If I was trapped in a house for that long with no TV, internet or even a freakin' BOOK to read, I would want to kick someone's ass all the time too.  Not to mention the fact that there are cameras EVERYWHERE. (Yes, even in the bathroom!)  Oh, the things people will do to win $500,000.....

I've been trying in vain the past six weeks to find other people who watch BB.  But either the hubs and I are the only one tuning in each week or people are ashamed to admit that, they too, enjoy watching Jeff pick his nose hairs. (OF COURSE they have a camera in the bathroom mirror!)

But don't worry my dear friends, it's not too late for you to join the fun.  And I'm going to give you five reasons to set your TiVO for this hot mess ASAP.

1. The girls you love to hate I can't decide which girl in the house makes me crazier.  Kalia's inflated sense of her own awesomeness, Danielle's devious game play, Shelly's incessant smoking (a poster child of why you shouldn't if there ever was one!) or Rachel's horrible ear-piercing laugh.  But I just can't get enough of those crazy bitches.

2. SLOP Each week some of the houseguests have to survive on this disgusting colored oatmeal and sleep on boards masquerading as beds with fluorescent lights on 24/7.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, not eating or sleeping for a week doesn't make people CRAZY at all.

3. Shirtless men  They may be annoying, but if you turn down the sound you can enjoy them shirtless each episode.  I guess that's what happens when you're stuck in a house all summer with nothing else to do but work out. They may not be allowed to eat, but there are plenty of free weights available!

4. Host Julie Chen I am fascinated by this woman.  She dresses like my grandmother (the suits! The hair!) and reads each cue card like she's a robot.  They don't call her the Chen-bot for nothing, y'all.

5. Jeff and Jordan  Okay, so maybe I'm in love with them.  Brought back this season as a "twist" (The Chen-bot LOVES twists!), they are the most likeable reality TV couple that I've seen (and I've seen a lot, people).  It may be the fact that they are on BB with the most UNLIKABLE couple EVEH (Brendon + Rachel=gagfest) that makes them look so good.  Either way, I want to double-date them.  Jeff and Jordan, are you reading this?  Call me!

So there you have it.  Tune in with me on Wednesday, Thursday and Sundays!  Are you in? And what are you watching this summer?  Tell me!

xo, Liz

Susan McCorkindales's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We're city girls.  No doubt about it.  That doesn't mean that we don't love a nice vacay out in the sticks every once in a while.  But if we're more than five miles away from a Starbucks for more than a few days it can get ugly. So when we saw Susan McCorkindale's 500 Acres and No Place to Hide, we had a feeling it would be hilarious.  She's a city girl and former Family Circle marketing director who picked up and moved to a beef cattle farm in the middle of Virginia!  500 acres is the follow up to her first memoir, Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl.  And we can happily tell you that both are hilarious-a fun read for sure!

Here's the scoop:  It's been four years since Susan's husband dragged her kicking and screaming from their comfortable, big city East Coast life to a farm in Virginia cattle country. Susan's adjusting as best she can, which isn't easy considering she's been known to wear Manolos in manure. She'll never be a real farm girl, but as readers will see from her side- splitting confessions, she's faking it just fine.

Sound up your alley?  Great-we have FIVE copies to give away!  Just leave a comment here and we'll enter you to win. We'll choose the winner Sunday, August 14th after 6pm PST.  Note:  This contest is open to US residents only.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...SUSAN McCORKINDALE'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Laugh. If you can't fix it, kill it, cure it, or eradicate it from the face of the earth, you can laugh at it. And you should. It helps. It heals. It makes the whole "life's a bitch" thing more bearable. Trust me on this.

2. Love. Never miss the chance to tell someone you love them. Your mom, your kids, your spouse, the hair stylist who fixed the dye job you did yourself, the friend who de-skunked your dog so you wouldn't come home to it after a long day at the hospital. Life is short. If you love someone, tell them.

3. Listen. The little voice telling you to buy the shoes and the bag, get the Goth black manicure, and learn to ride a horse? That's the one to listen to. You can always take the shoes and the bag back, the polish will last ten days tops, and as long as the little voice isn't suggesting your ride bareback (and if it is, I suggest you stop putting Bailey's in your breakfast coffee), go for it.

4. Leap. Maybe you've always wanted to see the Amalfi coast or try stand-up comedy. Maybe you're itching to ditch your corporate gig to run a tiki bar or write the great American novel. It doesn't matter what you want to do, just that you do it. Don't wait for the time to be right, for someone else to give you permission, or for all the pieces to be in place. The stars will never be a hundred percent aligned so leap, as the saying goes, and build your wings on the way down.

5. Let go. Anger, guilt, resentment, perfectionism, and shame are all crippling, soul-sucking emotions. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. And for Pete's sake, stop trying to be perfect. Flaws are the new black. Pass it on.

DO-OVER:

Not laughing, loving, listening, leaping, and letting go sooner. It took my husband's illness and subsequent death to make me realize how little time we really have, and how crucial it is to be present and thankful for each moment. I don't regret not getting to this point sooner (particularly since regret is one of those aforementioned soul-sucking, crippling emotions I urge all of us to kiss off). I'm just happy to be here now.

Thanks Susan! xo, L&L

To read more about Susan, head on over to her website or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Mommy Monday: Maui Wowie by Liz & Lisa

It's been a crazy year. And we're not gonna lie, we've been feeling a bit burnt out.  So what do we do when we can't type another word?

We head to Maui. Together.

But before you get too jealous, we should probably mention that we were outnumbered by children on this trip.  Because nothing says relaxation like having 4 kids and a baby on a five-hour flight and in close quarters for seven days.

So how did we find a way to get our aloha on?  Read on to find out....

Thank Gawd for iPads

We may have been traveling with five children under the age of seven, but the flight was- dare we say... peaceful?! Thanks to, count 'em four iPads and three iTouches. Thank you, Steve Jobs, and the brilliant people of Apple for this invention. And yes, even the baby played Angry Birds. Lisa officially sold her soul to the devil in exchange for five minutes of uninterrupted time reading about Nick Lachey's wedding.

Pool Seat Wars

There's nothing like going on vacation only to set your alarm to get up at the crack o' freakin' dawn so you can, what else? Get pool chairs! Because as much as we loved our resort, there were only two chairs with umbrellas that overlooked the kids' pool. So each morning, one of us dragged our tired ass body to the pool with all of our crap pool toys (side note: if this whole writing thing doesn't work out, we can become sherpas!) to claim our spot that we wouldn't return to for, um, a while. (Er, sorry to the folks who had to move our stuff. Liz and Lisa+no shade=burnt unhappy campers.)

The love affairs

For Liz it was a middle-aged concierge with a bright smile and a serious gift of gab. For Lisa it was a far too young, boy-toyish paddle surfing instructor who bragged about how much money he made but made up for it by exposing his amazing set of abs. But hey, the pickins were slim at our resort so we were excited to get our flirt on with some decent looking men. Or for one of us, a boy.

Hi, I'm Julie McCoy, and I'll be your cruise director.

We should've given Liz a clipboard, a perm and a really short pair of shorts because the second we landed in Maui, she became our cruise director. Our really anal, really controlling cruise director. The upside? She and her boyfriend, the concierge, set us up with a lot of really great activities like surf lessons and reservations at Maui's finest restaurants. The downside? Let's just say only our time spent in the bathroom wasn't choreographed. Things got a bit tense when Lisa, in a moment of desperation, had to put the kabosh on the Luau. Where was Issac and a round of cocktails when we needed him?

Liz the lobster

Maybe it was the fact that she thought she had to be on her A-game because she was our cruise director, but Liz barely even glanced at a cocktail until the last day. And then, well, let's just say she had a LOT of fun. But she forgot to put on sunscreen. Oops. Liz+vodka pogs+forgetting sunscreen= drunken lobster. But a really, really fun drunken lobster that let us all stay at the beach an hour longer than scheduled!

Liz's hidden talent

Lisa's six-month-old daughter was awesome. She slept poolside, beachside and just about everywhere we needed her to crash out. So we had to deal with poopy diapers in all kinds of places. And Lisa is still somewhat of a rookie when it comes to all of this. So when there was only one wipe left, (in a serious situation that required a lot more than one wipe!) Liz took that wipe smugly and said, you have no idea the things I can accomplish with just one of these. Twenty seconds later, one clean booty and one highly impressed BFF!

The Booze Cruise

Desperate for some alone adult time, a sunset and some "free" drinks, we set sail on a sunset cruise (a.k.a. booze cruise). Things we learned:

1. There's a fun game to be played called "Is she his daughter or his girlfriend?"

2. Even when it's drowning in a sh*t load of pineapple juice, Smirnoff is not and will never be a proper substitute for Grey Goose.

3. We're the only selfish parents who didn't bring our kids!?

4. After a few really bad well drinks, everyone on the cruise seemed to morph into a character from an 80's sitcom. (We thought we rubbed elbows with Eric Estrada "The Ponch" and Michael Keaton- not that Michael Keaton. We're talking that dude from Family Ties!)

Nanny 911

Of course we love our kids. And, yes, we know we already went on a booze cruise without them. But let's just say after six days and the reality hitting that we were about to go home, one of the adults-who shall remain nameless- begged for another nanny service our last night in Maui. And we have to say it was worth every penny of the million dollar price tag (um, why didn't we become nannies in Maui again?) to be able to sit at a restaurant table for longer than two minutes without someone asking for a freakin' SMOOTHIE!

Tell us about your summer vacays and be entered to win a copy of one of our favorite beach reads of the summer, The First Husband by Laura Dave. We'll randomly select the winner after 6pm PST on Sunday, August 14th!

Aloha!  xoxo, L&L

Lit It Girl: Debut Author: Meg Mitchell Moore

Congratulations to Meg Mitchell Moore on writing such an engaging and relatable DEBUT novel about the power of family. We can't say enough good things about The Arrrivals...or its author and that's why we chose her as our latest Lit: It Girl. So, forgive us, but we demand that you to buy it- and then start reading it-stat! And then start reading her list of answers to our Q's about how she made it in the publishing biz. It's an inspiring story for all of you aspiring authors out there or those just curious about the literary world. It can happen! But first, here's a taste of what The Arrivals is about... It's early summer when Ginny and William's peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt.

First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood - only this time around, their children are facing adult problems.

By summer's end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family - and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true

And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies of The Arrivals. We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm EST on Sunday, August 7th.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LIT IT GIRL: DEBUT AUTHOR: MEG MITCHELL MOORE

How many agents did you query before you found "the one"?

I don't know the exact answer to this question. Just for fun, I took a peek at my old "query" folder on my desktop and I quickly found 25 rejections. I know there were more that came through the mail, but don't know how many, and there may have been emails I deleted. So I'm guessing somewhere between 30 and 40. I'm sure there were some I sent out that never answered at all. I got every kind of rejection possible: the polite form rejection, the personalized but immediate rejection, the "I'd love to see the first chapter" followed by rejection, the "I'd love to see the whole manuscript" followed by rejection. Now that I understand how much agents do each day for their clients I am amazed anyone is able to write a personal response at all.

What was your rock bottom moment during the process? There was a time, about two months before I found my fabulous agent, when I had a few "almosts" in a row--each time, I thought I was going to get an agent, and each time it didn't work out. At that point I thought maybe this was not the right book to try to start off with. I remember going for a walk with my husband and telling him I was thinking of giving up the querying. He encouraged me to keep going.

How long did it take to write your book? First draft: about six months. Time to find an agent: another six months. Revising with agent after: six months. Time to sell once it went out to publishers: a little over a week.

What did you do to celebrate your book deal? I bought a beautiful Nespresso machine I'd had my eye on for some time. When I sold the book my husband was doing a program at Harvard Business School where he lived on the campus six out of seven days a week for two months. I was home with the three kids, and teetering on the edge of sanity. (Did I mention the littlest one was going through toilet training?) The book sale (and the Nespresso machine) helped my outlook tremendously.

Knowing what you know now about publishing your first novel, what would you have done differently? Let's see. I think I would have started earlier (I mean years earlier) making sure I had a manuscript that was ready to find an agent. I worked for a long time as a freelance writer and while I always had confidence in my writing ability it took me a while to gain confidence in my fiction writing ability.

Who is your writer crush? This doesn't have to be a male, right? I love Elin Hilderbrand. I was lucky enough to have her blurb THE ARRIVALS and have had some communication with her since then. I would love to have a drink with her at one of those glamorous Nantucket locations she's always writing about and pick her brain. I have a list of questions ready to go in case that ever happens.

What's your biggest distraction or vice while writing? This is so lame and boring, but it's hard for me to write when there's a mess around me (and with three kids, there is always a little bit of a mess). I have to stop putting things away and make myself sit down. An unorganized drawer is like a siren call to me--if I know it's there, I'm drawn to it.

GNO drink of choice? Winter: cabernet sauvignon Summer: gin & ginger

Favorite trashy TV show? I have occasionally been known to tune into Real Housewives.

What celeb would you love to have a Twitter war with? I would not like to have a Twitter war. I am a pretty private person and I'd feel embarrassed. Not saying that's normal, but there you are!

To find out more about the fabulous Meg Mitchell Moore, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, The Arrivals was just announced as the latest SheKnows book club pick! Click here for details!

Thanks, Meg!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

The Little Black Book of Big Red Flags authors' 5 Do's and a Do-Over

The second we started reading The Little Black Book of Big Red Flags: Relationship Warning Signs You Totally Spotted...But Chose to Ignore by Natasha Burton, Julie Fishman, and Meagan McCrary, we screamed, where has this book been all our lives?? To say we dated our share of men with HUGE red flags is an understatement. Lisa's problem was that they always looked so damn good on paper that she overlooked huge ass red flags like the fact that they had oedipus complexes or suffered from gaming addictions. And Liz's problem was that she liked those damn bad boys who were always so damn good looking...Why is that? So ladies, how many of you can relate to this...

You've done it before. Saw something wrong with him—whether it was suspect grooming habits or ridiculously childish behavior—but let it slide. It's not that big of a deal. Except it totally was. You wanted to fall in love, but ended up going insane. You swore you'd never do it again. But did.

Don't beat yourself up. In the search for love, we've all either blatantly ignored or completely missed red flags. Instead, smarten up. It's time to figure out what you missed and learn how to avoid similar flagtastic fiascos in the future. If you raise your red flag awareness now, you'll be able to greenlight a real relationship down the road

And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win a copy of The Little Black Book of Big Red Flags. We'll randomly select the winner after 6pm EST on July 31st. Good luck!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF BIG RED FLAGS AUTHORS' 5 DATING DO'S AND A DATING DO-OVER

By Julie Fishman, co-author

DATING DO'S

1. Do learn from the past -- Reflect on past relationships, not to determine how much of an asshole you ex-boyfriend was, but to help clarify exactly what worked for you and what didn't, as well as what was missing. If you notice no-so-great trends, like you always date controlling men or flock to deadbeats, give a guy outside your "type" a chance -- he may just surprise you.

2. Do know what you want -- Start noting the qualities you really want in a man, as well as those you won't stand for. Maybe even make a list to help you remember your standards when your dating circumstances get a tad dismal. Don't include superficial stuff like "must look like a young Paul Newman" or "can't be under six feet" but real issues like "can't be best friends with his ex" or "actually needs to refer to me as his girlfriend." We all deserve a bodacious beau, but we'll never get one if we don't stick to our guns.

3. Do make sure you're on the same page -- While the notion of a soul mate is appealing, a ton of factors come into play when determining the trajectory of any given relationship. Being compatible as a couple is not just about having similar likes and values; it's about wanting the same things out of life, as well as wanting those things to happen on roughly the same schedule. If you're anticipating a white wedding and your man in question is only looking as far into the future as Sunday's football game, you're likely operating on different life clocks.

4. Do be honest with yourself -- Many women hesitate to express their true feelings when they're unhappy in a relationship. We often feel like we "should" be with a person or that we're stuck with them because our parents want us to be with them, we imagined the romance working out, whatever. Fact is, if it's not right, it's not right -- why waste your precious time on a dude you know isn't a match? Don't focus on what other people think, impose crazy expectations on yourself, or follow some outdated idea that you need to work things out because it's "meant to be." After all, what about being happy?

5. Do have fun -- Don't let yourself get caught up in the "must find a man now" hype. This anxiety often prevents you from evaluating a suitor fairly and may cause you to miss out on a really great guy. Try to plan outside-the-box dates, like a ballroom dancing class or a wildflower hike: seeing a guy in action offers more insight into his personality than a dinner date anyway. Plus, active options ensure you have something to talk about, help you go with the flow and make the date enjoyable even if the dude's a dud.

DATING DO-OVER

Do Over: Excess drinking on dates -- While a drink or two is a great way to calm the nerves, six or seven will likely land you on an imaginary stage singing something by Journey. Even if you don't go that far, verbal diarrhea may lead you to reveal details about your felony-filled past, your ex's bedroom habits or that one time in band camp. Plus, there's nothing cute about puking out the car window on the way home. In short: have fun, but don't funnel beers like a frat boy.

To find out more about the ladies behind The Little Black Book of Big Red Flags, visit their website.

Thanks, Natasha, Julie & Meagan!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

Deborah Cloyed's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

So y'all know that we're all about our girlfriends.  We consider many of them like family and cherish the friendships we've had for years.  And that's probably why we're a sucker for any book about besties! So when we came across Deborah Cloyed's novel, The Summer We Came to Life, we knew we just had to read it.  It's about a group of lifelong friends who come together after a tragedy. It's a thought-provoking read about friendship, life, and death that we think you'll love.

Every summer, Samantha Wheland joins her childhood friends—Isabel, Kendra and Mina—on a vacation, somewhere exotic and fabulous. Together with their mixed bag of parents, they've created a lifetime of memories. This year it's a beach house in Honduras. But for the first time, their clan is not complete. Mina lost her battle against cancer six months ago, and the friends she left behind are still struggling to find their way forward without her.

For Samantha, the vacation just feels wrong without Mina. Despite being surrounded by her friends—the closest thing she has to family—Mina's death has left Sam a little lost. Unsure what direction her life should take. Fearful that whatever decision she makes about her wealthy French boyfriend's surprise proposal, it'll be the wrong one.

The answers aren't in the journal Mina gave Sam before she died. Or in the messages Sam believes Mina is sending as guideposts. Before the trip ends, the bonds of friendship with her living friends, the older generation's stories of love and loss, and Sam's glimpse into a world far removed from the one in which she belongs will convince her to trust her heart. And follow it.

Is it up your alley?  Then leave a comment and you'll be entered to win one of FIVE copies!  We'll choose the winners randomly Sunday July 24th after 6pm PST.

And we're super stoked that she's sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-Over with us today!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...DEBORAH CLOYED'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Do Ignore ‘It can’t be Done’s”. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “You can’t move to Thailand.  You can’t go to Barcelona without a place to stay.”  “It isn’t safe for a woman to travel alone in Africa.”  “Writing is a great skill for when you become a lawyer, honey.”  You get the idea.  If you want a life just like everybody else’s, by all means listen to the peanut gallery.  If you want your own life, listen to your heart, to the dream that won’t go away, to the image of a place that makes your heart soar like a kite on a breeze.  Cross your fingers and jump.

2. Do It Before You’re Ready. Our dreams are precious to us.  And therefore scary.  We want to ensure we don’t fail or, worse yet, make complete idiots out of ourselves.  Why do we get so paralyzed at the thought of goofing up?  Guess what – you will.  And everybody that went before you that wasn’t taking over the family business or the kid of a celebrity or on a clear path like becoming a dentist – didn’t know what the hell they were doing either.  Mostly people will think it’s endearing.  Some people will make fun of you.  Do you really care?  When mean people are mean, it very rarely has anything to do with you.  Take a deep breath and learn to laugh at yourself and your gaffes, before it’s too late.

3. Do Good in the World. Ironically, we spend our whole lives trying to figure out what will make ourselves truly happy and you know what’s the only surefire route?  Helping others in need.  And I don’t necessarily mean shipping off to Africa.  It can also mean smiling at the checkout lady, over tipping your cab driver, making a child laugh, cheering up a coworker.

4. Do Ask Questions. Curiosity is the number one thing that keeps you alive.  It may be the definition of being alive.  You can be sitting in the DMV, riding on a chicken bus through Central America, or eating French fries at McDonald’s.  Asking questions about the world around you is what makes you grow.  I asked my Methodist preacher what he thought about Buddha.  I asked my parents about racism in the 60’s in Virginia.  I asked a deaf friend what he ‘hears’ while he’s talking/signing.  I asked a Kenyan woman living in the hut next door why she was okay with polygamy.  I have gotten myself into more trouble than you can imagine asking questions, but everything I think I know about the human heart and spirit, I know by asking.

5. Do Give Yourself A Break. Ideally, you want to always do the best you can, nothing more nothing less, just your best - which is not in the same vicinity of being perfect.  You will never be the perfect friend, girlfriend, chef, caretaker, writer, boss, employee, and political pundit all at the same time all the time.  But if you do your best, which is obviously crappy when you’re sick or got the blues, then you should be able to give yourself a break, not be so darn hard on yourself all the time.  If you figure out how to do this, please let me know.

DO-OVER

Do over’s are tough, because I’m not big on chalking things up as regrettable.  I prefer the term “learning experience.”  The lead singer everyone told me not to touch with a ten-foot pole?  Learning experience.  The snarky, know it all memoir you write in your twenties that thank god will never be published?  Very valuable learning experience.  Going over a waterfall in a de-regulation raft with a 15-year old guide and nearly dying?  Idiotic, very, very valuable life learning experience.

As a self-assured sixteen-year-old reading Kafka and dressing like Jack Kerouac, I grandiosely proclaimed that where you are now can only be as a result of all the people and experiences leading up to it, and therefore regretting where you’ve been is akin to regretting who you are.

Turns out I got one thing right when I was sixteen.

I do believe that our consciousness draws things to us good or bad, so we should strive for positivity and right action, but there are no do over’s.  There is choice and there is destiny and there is the incredible power of the human spirit that let’s us label what others might mistake for a mistake a brilliant gift, a.k.a. the ‘learning experience.’

Unless of course, you’re a character in my novel The Summer We Came to Life . . . ;-)

Thanks Deborah! xoxo, L&L

To read more about Deborah, find her on Facebook or Twitter or head on over to her website.

Beth Harbison's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

Tomorrow's the big day! It's the pub date for Beth Harbison's latest (and possibly greatest!) novel, Always Something There To Remind Me. You know we love us some Beth Harbison. She's one of our faves because her stories (like this one) take us back in time (in a good way!). Her novels remind us of the fun and funny times from our past (hello- the 80's provide unlimited fodder!) and resonate because they always center around issues that we dealt with ourselves- like first loves... Can you ever really know if love is true? And if it is, should you stop at anything to get it?

Two decades ago, Erin Edwards was sure she’d already found the love of her life: Nate Lawson. Her first love. The one with whom she shared everything--dreams of the future, of children, plans for forever. The one she thought she would spend the rest of her life with. Until one terrible night when Erin made a mistake Nate could not forgive and left her to mourn the relationship she could never forget or get over.

Today, Erin is contentedly involved with a phenomenal guy, maneuvering a successful and exciting career, and raising a great daughter all on her own. So why would the name “Nate Lawson” be the first thing to enter her mind when her boyfriend asks her to marry him?

In the wake of the proposal, Erin finds herself coming unraveled over the past, and the love she never forgot. The more she tries to ignore it and move on, the more it haunts her.

Always Something There to Remind Me is a story that will resonate with any woman who has ever thought of that one first love and wondered, “Where is he?” and “What if…?” Filled with Beth Harbison’s trademark nostalgia humor and heart, it will transport you, and inspire you to believe in the power of first love

And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies of Always Something There To Remind Me. We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm on Sunday, July 24th. (We'll be on vacay 'til then, yo!)

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...BETH HARBISON'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER...

But before we do, we just have to say, Beth, we're so with ya on #5! And thankful that email and texting didn't exist back in the day-like in college when we were serious dumb-asses- because we would have really been in trouble!

DO'S

1. Do: Be Patient. I am not patient. It makes me crazy for 10-90% of every day, meaning my life would be 10-90% easier every day if I were patient. So, don’t do as I do, do as I say. Be patient. And let me know how that goes. Hurry up!

2. Do: Be kind. You should ALWAYS treat your friends and loved ones and, especially, your children with AT LEAST the same respect you’d give a stranger. It’s amazing how many people forget this golden rule.

3. Do: Your Best. Do your best. It doesn’t matter then how it measures up to what you consider someone else’s best. My best looks a bit shabby next to, say, Mother Teresa’s, but it’s pretty damn good compared to Charles Manson’s. If you’re content with what you’re doing, and you’re kind to people and productive in some small measure, count yourself lucky and don’t worry about being a world-burner. Not everyone’s flash is on the outside. Doesn’t matter. I’m thinking of one person in particular here, but it applies to everyone.

4. Do: Expect the best. If you expect the worst, it always happens. You look for it. You point yourself in its direction in ways you aren’t even aware of. Better to expect the best, and march thataway. Look for three lucky things every day. You’ll always see them, even if they’re small…

5. Do: Invent a breathalyzer machine of some sort that will lock electronics and prevent emailing and texting whilst tipsy. Please. I will invest much money in your company. This is a HUGE money-maker, if only someone with that kind of brain would come up with it!

DO-OVER

Do over: That’s it – do it over if you need to. Again and again and again. If you fall, get up. Get up. Get up. You don’t fail until you quit. Every single one of us needs to be reminded of this – I need it frequently – it’s ain’t over til it’s over. You can quote me on that.

To find out more about this lovely and incredibly talented New York Times bestselling author, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks, Beth! xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

Adena Halpern's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We're just going to put it out there.  We LOVE Adena Halpern.  Her last novel, 29 was SO MUCH FUN(and is being made into a movie!!!).  We're thrilled that Adena is sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-Over with us too-we're girl crushin' on her pretty hard! So you can imagine our excitement when we got our hands on her latest, Pinch Me.  Like her other novels, it's fun and fresh. We devoured it and think you should add it to your growing list of beach reads.  Or better yet, download it RIGHT NOW and take it to the beach!

Here's the skinny on Pinch Me: Lily married the man of her dreams. Then she woke up. “Never marry a man unless he’s short, bald, fat, stupid, and treats you badly.” That is the advice that twenty-nine-year-old Lily Burns has heard her entire life from her grandmother Dolly and her mother, Selma. Despite this, when she meets Gogo, the handsome, successful pediatrician who treats her like a queen, she has no choice but to let her heart take over.

When she agrees to marry him, Dolly and Selma are inconsolable. They decide it’s time to tell her the truth: their family is cursed. If she marries for love, there will be unimaginable consequences. Nevertheless, Lily and Gogo elope. Unable to believe her good fortune, Lily asks Gogo to pinch her—to make sure all this isn’t just a dream. The moment he does, Lily finds herself transported back to the house she lived in when she was single. Gogo is gone. When Lily tracks him down, she finds that he’s married to someone else and has no memory of her. In this modern fairy tale, Lily must find a way to break the curse and turn her nightmare back into a dream come true.

Sounds FAB, right?  Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win one of FIVE copies. We'll choose the winner randomly after 6pm PST on Sunday July 24th.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...ADENA HALPERN'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1.  Do put yourself first instead of paying for non-essentials. So what if someone writes, “Wash Me” on the back of your hatchback? Your hair looks amazing!  What’s that saying, “To look good is to feel good?”  Too true.  Figure out your own difference between a priority and a non-priority.  Case in point: I bought a fabulous new pair of shoes in lieu of fixing the jammed lock on the back door of my house making it impossible to open, and guess what?  I now go out the front door in style.

2.  Do use the good dishes and silverware every day. Why save your good plates for Christmas and Thanksgiving when you could make a dreary Wednesday that much brighter? Starting the day off with my Special K served in my best bowls makes me feel like I’m in an episode of Downton Abbey.

3. Do listen to your best girlfriends- I know, I know, this isn’t just a DO, it’s a huge DUHHHH. I’ve had the same best girlfriends for the past 20 years.  I don’t have scrapbooks or a diary to remember the lessons I’ve learned in life.  I have them.  They are the first people to piss me off by telling me the truth and the last people who would ever let anyone hurt me.

4. Do Take a moment to enjoy the sights- Lakeside views are very nice, but those aren’t the sights I’m talking about.  A hot fudge sundae dripping with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with rainbow jimmies brings a smile to my face that no picture postcard setting ever could.  I’m not telling you to devour the whole thing.  The after effects are no fun.  Sharing the delight, however, with four other friends (and four spoons) turns everyone at the table into a bunch of five year olds.

5.  Do READ CHICK LIT AT 2am. – If you’re anything like me, all your worries hit you in the middle of the night.  Those little doubts that don’t amount to much at two in the afternoon seem to wreak panic and anxiety when the house is dark and everyone is asleep.  When this happens, there is nothing more soothing to me than going into the bathroom, turning on the light, throwing a towel on the floor, and reading some Becky Bloomwood.  I’m back to bed 45 minutes later and the fears are long forgotten.

DO-OVER When I was in my 20s, I fell in lust with an idiot moron.   To impress him, I was getting my hair professionally blown out and getting my car washed.  One month, I found myself short on cash to pay my car insurance.  “You don’t need car insurance,” the moron informed me as if this was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard me worry about at 2am.  I looked into the eyes of my Obi-Wan Kenobi and said, “Yes.  You’re right! I’m a great driver!  I would never into an accident!” A few months later, the moron dumped me for another girl.  To make matters worse, I had gained five pounds from all the hot fudge sundaes I ate by myself for comfort.  The hot fudge sundaes gave me such a toothache that I needed root canal.  The pain was so debilitating that I got into not ONE, but TWO car accidents on the way to the dentist.  I lost my license for a year, and had to pay for all of the damages I’d caused to the other cars. My best girlfriends, the ones who lent me the money to pay off the people I’d hit, berated me every time they had to chauffeur me around, for not listening to them when they told me the guy was no good.

If I could have a DO OVER pass, I’d erase that whole saga of my life.  Since I can’t, I just take what I learned from the experience. I know now that sweets are even more spectacular to look at than how they feel on my thighs, and even more delectable when they’re served in china bowls.  I know that my teeth and car insurance are much prettier than any pair of shoes, but having HBO or going over my cell phone minutes aren’t half as gorgeous as a monthly mani/pedi. Most importantly, even with my worst problems, I know I’ve got four best girlfriends who help will ease my fears.  And the times they can’t be there?  A little Jane Green in the middle of the night does the trick better any idiot moron ever could.

Thanks Adena!  xo, L&L

To read more about Adena, head over to her website or find her on Twitter.

Gwendolen Gross's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

It's such a treat to find a great book.  We usually can tell there's something special about them on the first page-like love at first site!

That's how we feel about Gwendolen Gross and The Orphan Sister-she had us at page one!  So we're jumping up and down that she agreed to share her 5 Do's and a Do-over with us today.  We think The Orphan Sister should be on your short list to read this summer-it's a fun read that also has some weight to it-a perfect balance! And we HEART the cover too!

Here's what it's about: Clementine Lord is not an orphan. She just feels like one sometimes. One of triplets, a quirk of nature left her the odd one out. Odette and Olivia are identical; Clementine is a singleton. Biologically speaking, she came from her own egg. Practically speaking, she never quite left it. Then Clementine’s father—a pediatric neurologist who is an expert on children’s brains, but clueless when it comes to his own daughters—disappears, and his choices, both past and present, force the family dynamics to change at last. As the three sisters struggle to make sense of it, their mother must emerge from the greenhouse and leave the flowers that have long been the focus of her warmth and nurturing.

For Clementine, the next step means retracing the winding route that led her to this very moment: to understand her father’s betrayal, the tragedy of her first lost love, her family’s divisions, and her best friend Eli’s sudden romantic interest. Most of all, she may finally have found the voice with which to share the inside story of being the odd sister out. . . .

Doesn't that sound great?  Leave a comment here and you'll be entered to win one of FIVE copies of The Orphan Sister!  We'll choose the winners on Friday July 15th after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...GWENDOLEN GROSS'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO's

1 .Do listen-to your children ("what if a dog flew up on a stage and ate a battery and then he farted and then the sky exploded and then..."), to your spouse or love in whatever format, to your friends, your neighbors (who provide so much fascinating material), your parents as much as you can bear, your siblings, the woman at the Trader Joe's checkout, your own needs and desires, the birds.

2. Do become comfortable with silences-they're rare. There's a Tom Lux poem about the voice you hear in your head when you're reading; the brain does so much work all the time, I think it's okay to stop talking and pay attention sometimes. I'm thinking, in particular, about when I was first teaching writing and I'd ask a question and there'd be two seconds of silence and I thought that meant I had to leap in and fill the quiet with more information. Sometimes waiting, instead, gives other people a chance to articulate. Sometimes the best thoughts come from temporary respite-or even temporary discomfort.

3. Do walk the dog. If you don't have a dog, walk your ferret or your goldfish. Maybe not a stuffed animal; that's just weird. I suppose I'm saying both be kind to animals and remember that you have feet. Sometimes it's more important to get rained upon and be out in the world than to catch up with your Twitter feed.

4. Do be as supportive as you can. Of other writers. Of your best friend breaking up with the boyfriend you thought had impaired personal hygiene skills at the get-go. Of your husband's new interest in vintage Mustangs, your daughter's crappy fight with her best friend-and subsequent defense of said best friend when they make up. Of your mother in her bad-hair phase-it's her hair and says nothing about you. Of yourself. Don't beat yourself up over food, or the shirt you thought looked fantastic but is now too tight, or your resume, or your parenting skills. You get a do-over every tomorrow.

5. Do remember you don't always get what you signed up for. Sometimes you end up in the jazzercise class you wanted, but sometimes you tick the box for Art in Contemporary Japan and find yourself in Practical Auto Repair. Stay or go, but don't fight mistakes too bitterly unless you cannot live without a particular resolution. No one in auto repair wants to hear you rant, and maybe you'll learn to change your own oil.

DO-OVER

I wish I'd been a better learner in high school and part of college; I'd know more. I've always loved learning, but I was impatient, and I didn't really know how to study until senior year of college. I think I finally realized the power of cumulative work-that I didn't need to write all my papers in one day, and that studying happened over time. This learned patience works well for novelists-three pages a day and you have a first draft in 100 days. Then you can fall in love with revision. I used to want to put the roof on the house by bedtime.

To read more about the lovely Gwendolen, head on over to her website or find her on Twitter.

Sarah-Kate Lynch's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We think most authors will probably tell you the one of the best things about writing is being able to touch others.  And that's probably why some of our fave authors have extremely loyal fan followings. We discovered the lovely Sarah-Kate Lynch through one of those extremely loyal fans-she contacted us and said such wonderful things about her that we couldn't resist having her on.  If this fan loved her so much, then how could we not?

Sarah-Kate's latest, Dolci Di Love sounds like a lot of fun.  And you know how we feel about books about food.  In fact, our stomach is growling as we read the synopsis and we'll be reading it by the pool this summer for sure!

Corporate star Lily Turner abandons the boardrooms of Manhattan for the steep streets of Montevedova when she discovers her "perfect" husband, Daniel, has another family tucked away in the hills of Tuscany. Once there, her plight attracts the attention of the Secret League of Widowed Darners, an all-but-invisible army pulling strings behind the scenes to create happy endings. Soon founding members, Violetta and Luciana, are scheming to mend Lily's broken heart-and to enlist her help for their struggling pasticceria.

With the lush landscape of a sumptuous Tuscan summer in the background, and the tantalizing scent of fresh-baked cantucci in the air, Dolci di Love is the joyful celebration of a modern recipe for life.

Sounds yummy! Good thing we have FIVE copies to give away! We also have 5 packages of handmade artisanal biscotti to give away with each copy of Dolci di Love (biscotti is the “dolci” in question, as readers will find out). Biscotti di Vecchio is made in New York by actress Danielle Di Vecchio, a dedicated devotee of all things biscotti. You can buy her characteristically crunchy (but not hard!) Italian cookies at www.biscottidivecchio.com. And if you don't win but still want to try some, US readers will get 15% off their online order when they use the coupon code CHICKLIT11 at Checkout. Flavours include Pistachio Chocolate Chunk and Whit Chocolate Macadamia Nut!" Just leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on Friday July 15th after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...SARAH-KATE LYNCH'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

1. DO Dress Up. If I looked better in jeans and a T-shirt, I would be a jeans and T-shirt girl, but the way things are I look more like someone’s unemployed pothead brother if I dress that way, so I strive to be a bit more glam; not for anyone else, just for me. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of pulling on a cashmere sweater instead of an old sweatshirt, or wearing a bright red lipstick even though I’m not going any further than the fridge. It’s not vanity so much as a tiny wee early morning confidence vote because in my experience, feeling good about yourself can sometimes start on the outside and work its way in.

2. DO Savour Each Mouthful Food is one of life’s most basic pleasures and it’s a real shame to waste it on crud. I try to make sure every mouthful I take is something I really want to eat. It sounds obvious but, for example, why eat a so-so cookie covered in cheap dairy milk chocolate when your favourite chocolate is dark and you really prefer it straight up? Or why chow down on greasy fries when you can roast much better potatoes in delicious olive oil at home? Same goes for drinking: I’d rather have a single glass of chilled French champagne than a gallon of anything else. I’m not saying I always get the opportunity but when I do I certainly grab it with both hands (not the way to drink French champagne, by the way).

3. DO Spread Your Wings. I was born with itchy feet so give me the slightest opportunity and I’ve grabbed my passport and skedaddled. My usual home life is pretty tame: get up, write, walk dog, write, move those buns, eat, sleep, so what I love about being somewhere else is the joy of the unexpected. Eat what? Move those buns where? Sleep on that – are you kidding me? Even the ordinary details of getting from A to B fed and watered seem exciting when you’re in foreign climes. It expands your horizons, but also makes you appreciate the comforts of home. Oh, and always take your husband. He’s handy when it comes to heavy lifting.

4. DO Follow Your Instinct. I once took a job on a radio breakfast show even though the guy who hired me seemed like a real tool. He messed me around with the interviews, played silly games with the contracts, talked all that business gobbledegook that no normal person can make head nor tail of, then fired me after eight months. He also wore socks with cartoon characters on them. I hate that. But what I learned from him is that if something looks rotten, smells rotten and acts rotten, it’s rotten - and you should leave it alone. No one knows you like you do, so believe in yourself. And beware of men in novelty socks.

5. DO Not Sweat The Small Stuff. You may have heard this one before. So had I, and rolled my eyes every time, but then I had two hugely confronting shocks that kicked me in the derriere so hard that to this day every time I sit down I am reminded of what is really important. It isn’t how much I weigh, or how I’m behind with all my work, or why I’m still getting zits when I am practically 100, or why the lady across the road has a better car than me, or how unfair it is that Jennifer Aniston apparently only works out three times a week and looks like that. All that really counts are the people I love who love me back. My husband, my sisters, my brothers, my mum, my friends, my dog – my family. That’s it.

DO-OVER

All of my do-overs involve my hair. Call me shallow, but I find it hard to regret the serious disasters in my life because they have generally led to better successes. After I was fired from that radio job, for example, I worked as a food writer for a newspaper, but then I was made redundant from that, so I wrote my first novel. When one door closes, another one really does open. Who knew? That pageboy haircut I had when I was 12, though - no good ever came of that. I looked like an actual pageboy. And the “shaggy” with which I replaced it? Three words: The Missing Monkee. Even when I was older I made some pretty bad calls, generally involving taking photos of a top Hollywood actress into the hairdresser and expecting to look just like her when I came out. This never happened. It has taken me decades to come to terms with the fact that I will never look like Meg Ryan. Now I know that my pointy face actually strangely suits my naturally curly dark hair if I keep it short and don’t let it get rained on. It’s sort of about working with what you have, instead of regretting what you don’t, and this is a good thing to figure out as you can manage it.

Thanks Sarah Kate! xoxo, L&L

To read more about Sarah-Kate, head on over to her website or find her on Twitter.

Laura Spinella's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

Have you ever wondered what happened to that bad boy you were madly in love with?  Even after you had moved on with your life and even gotten married to the nicest guy EVEH? That's okay, you don't have to answer.  But we have a feeling it happens more often than you'd think.  And it makes a damn great premise for a book.

We're excited to have Laura Spinella sharing her Do's and Do-Overs on the site today-her list is one of our all-time faves!  And we also think you'll flip for her debut novel, Beautiful Disaster.

Mia Wells's eco-friendly career goals are about to become a reality-but her life-altering moment is interrupted when an unexpected call ushers in her tremulous past. A man who's never left Mia's memory: Flynn, the enigmatic, passionate man whose disappearance broke her heart, has mysteriously resurfaced.

Now back in her life and in the hospital, Flynn is gravely injured. Mia keeps a bedside vigil-terrified that he will die, awestruck at the prospect of his survival. In a story filled with sweetness and suspense, Mia's what-ifs are endless. And Flynn's return ignites an achingly powerful tale about the most enduring love, one that is greater than honor, or friendship, or the passing of time.

Sound good?  Then leave a comment and you'll be entered to win one of FIVE copies.  We'll randomly choose the winners on Wednesday July 13th after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LAURA SPINELLA'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Do something naked! And I don't mean in the usual places or even skinny dipping.  When you step out of the shower, don't reach for your robe, keep going. Make your bed, dry your hair, eat your breakfast, if you dare, in the all together! It's an odd combination of empowerment and humility. Yeah, you'll pass by a mirror or two and see the flaws, but you'll also feel a burst of boldness-or maybe that's just the breeze!

2. Do allow your children to be disappointed. Parenting has swung too sharply toward making Susie's world bright and shiny at all times. While nobody wants to see their child hurt or upset, that's life. Let your kid be on a team where everyone doesn't get a trophy, and if they earn a D on an English paper, tell them to make a better effort next time. If you let them fall down once in a while, they'll work harder and appreciate their achievements all the more.

3. Do turn your favorite TV shows and movies into comfort food. (I think I've lost ten pounds with this method)  Let everyone in the house point and howl, but don't let it stop you from indulging in episodes of Bewitched or watching Apollo 13 for the hundredth time.  It's soothing to know that, in some circles, catastrophe can be solved with the twitch of a nose. It can also make problems seems comparatively small. Whatever it is, take solace in the fact that you're not stuck in outer space on a crippled space ship, leaking oxygen, with walls no thicker than sheet of tin foil.

4. Root for a team! (Unless you're Mike Lupica, it's the ultimate writer's escape) I'm a three-fisted fan: Red Sox, New England Patriots and, of course, my Georgia Bulldogs. You'd be amazed how popular you are at parties, (no one expects that flaky writer chick to know squat about the AL Standings) and it's fun to be part of that rush of enthusiasm-like it really will make a personal difference should the Pats win another Super Bowl!  On the other hand, you get to experience the euphoria of being part of a team, even if it's from the cheering section.

5. Do consider your karma, because what goes around comes around. It's also something I more or less suck at. As a writer, I see myself as ridiculously self-absorbed. I spend most of my waking hours with people who don't exist. I convince myself there's terrific reward in that, namely a book on the shelf.  Actually, nothing could be further from the truth, and I constantly have to remind myself of the bigger picture. So do take care of your karma; it benefits most from what you do outside that solitary circle of writing or whatever it is that commands your time.

DO-OVER

Hmm, I'm not sure I'd share my true do-over-it may adversely affect my karma. I suppose my overall do-over would be to take chances I previously passed on and tempt the unknown.  In other words, if I were to walk down a steamy street in Athens, Georgia, and a stranger tapped me on the shoulder, asking if he could buy me a beer... Well, in hindsight I probably should have said, "Yes." (-;

Thank you so much for having me!!  This was very cool and great fun!!

Thank YOU, Laura! xoxo, L&L

To read more about Laura, head on over to her website or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Lit It Girl: Debut Author Stephanie Stiles

We hope y'all had a great Fourth of July weekend! We did- although we had a good laugh at how much our Fourth of July's have changed now that were older not as young and have kids. But we still managed to squeeze in a cocktail (or more) and read a couple lines of our rag mags in between "mommy will you come in the pool?" (Liz) and "ba da ga ka baaaah" translation: "change my dirty diaper-stat!" (Lisa). And once the dads started a game of Marco Polo with the kids (thanks to the hubs for understanding that chlorine and blow outs don't mix!) we talked about how perfect it was that we were having Stephanie Stiles on the site today. Because her hilarious debut novel, TAKE IT LIKE A MOM (out today) hits on so many funny things about motherhood... One thing sets her apart from other modern-day superheroes: mom genes.

Annie Fingardt Forster used to be a lawyer who wore dry-clean only and shaved both legs. But things have changed. Now a stay-at-home mom, she wears cargo pants and ponytails and harbors a nearly pathological hatred towards hipster parents.

With a three-year-old and a baby on the way, Annie knows what to expect...at least, she thought she did. Faced with her husband's job loss, pre-school politics, and a playground throwdown with her arch nemesis, Annie realizes that even with her husband and friends by her side, what she really needs is to learn to suck it up-and take it like a mom.

This is a must-read for anyone- mom or not- who's looking for a fun read this summer. And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies of TAKE IT LIKE A MOM! We'll randomly select the winners on Thursday, July 7th after 6pm EST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LIT IT GIRL STEPHANIE STILES:

1. How many agents did you query before you found “the one”? Is there a way I can answer without looking like a loser?  It’s like asking how many men you dated before finding Mr. Right, isn’t it?  If the number’s really low, I look a desperate cling-on; but if it’s too high, then I look like a dufus who keeps getting dumped.  So, given I can’t win, I suppose I should just be honest and say that it was a lot.  A.  Whole.  Lot.  And we’ve been together since, Greyhaus and I.  For better or for worse.  Til writer’s block do us part.

2. What was your rock bottom moment during the process? I started this story about ten years ago.  Then I had a kid.  Then another one six years later.  And the process just kind of stalled.  Finally, in 2009, when I was on Sabbatical, I resurrected the project, and it’s been a pretty great since.  So, as I think about it, I’d have to say the rock bottom moment during the process was having to deliver my daughter without the benefit of drugs.  ‘Cause, I gotta tell you – that hurt.

3. How long did it take to write your book? The writing part didn’t take too long.  It was all the laundry in between sentences that was the real time-drain.  If I’d been stranded on a deserted island – provided I didn’t have to compete against Ginger in any beauty contests or make a radio out of coconuts – I’d have been done in a couple of months.

4. What did you do to celebrate your book deal? Well, because life is always a party Chez Stiles, I’ll go out on a limb and say that we had frozen food for dinner and watched some reality television.  If it was a really great night, then the t.v. show featured the word “Housewives” somewhere in its name.  Sometime later, I remember a bottle of champagne, but I have a feeling my parents were responsible for that little number.

5. Knowing what you know now about publishing your first novel, what would you have done differently? If I possessed that kind of prescience and wisdom, believe you me: the first thing I’d do is avenge the middle-school years.  Next on the list’d be ex-boyfriends.  Then, I’d probably revisit a few of my old jobs.  After all that was taken care of, I’m thinking that the whole novel-writing thing would start looking pretty well-orchestrated, comparatively.  There are just so many things over the course of my life that I’d have done differently (Matt Shein, I’m looking at you), that the book publishing was a relative high point.

6. What’s your biggest distraction or vice while writing? The fact that no one in my family is addicted to Ambien.  Because I’m fairly certain that would help a lot.  Well, that and the fact that laundry is invisible to everyone in my house except me.

7. Who is your writer crush? I’ve been etching “S.S. + D.S” on my steamy bathroom mirror and shower doors for quite some time now.  What do you think – should I hyphenate when we get married?  Ms. Stephanie Stiles-Sedaris has a pretty nice ring to it.  Of course, the traditional Mrs. David Sedaris – or even just plain old Stephanie Sedaris – sounds alright, too, don’t you think?  In any case, when he knocks on my door (follow Main Street past two lights, turn third left, I’m the second driveway on the right – gray colonial, lovingly tended garden out back), I’ll be ready.

8. GNO drink of choice? On a GNO… seriously?  If I were served the grain-alcohol-Kool-Aid punch I drank from a skanky fraternity house bathtub when I was in college, I would happily sip away.  On a GNO, I ain’t picky.

9. Favorite trashy TV show? I prefer my television denuded of any and all educational value.  The less intellectual and the more times the word “Jersey” appears in the title, the better.

10. What celeb would you love to have a Twitter war with? This is a tough one for me – I really have to stop and give it pause.  Celebrities are so easy to hate, it’s hard to narrow it down.  Some of those Real Housewives would do nicely here though.

To learn more about the hilarious Stephanie Stiles, visit her website.

Thanks, Stephanie!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

Michelle Toth's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

Forget the Summer of Love, this is the summer of great books!  We are struggling to keep up with all the awesome titles out there and are secretly wishing that we could just head out to the beach and curl up with one.  A girl can dream, right? Today we have the lovely Michelle Toth sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-Over.  Her latest, Annie Begins is a fun read that will have you tuning out all that freakin' noise at the pool this summer-and that's a tough thing to do! (PS it's probably one of our kids screaming, sorry about that!)

At almost 29, Annie Thompson is as brilliant in business as she is disastrous in relationships. It's the dawn of the dot-com boom, and Annie is determined to make it big. But her single-minded focus on work is put to the test when the man of her dreams announces that his wife is divorcing him, and designates Annie "the best listener he knows." Suddenly she's juggling his mixed signals and her entrepreneurial ambitions--not to mention a complicated friendship with her new supervixen of a roommate.

Annie's pursuit of Mr. Tall, Dark and Barely Available takes a turn for the unexpected when her young, terminally ill cousin, April, makes it her mission to find Annie a husband. But the fiancé April picks is definitely not the kind of man Annie would have chosen. Now, Annie has to ask herself what exactly she wants and values most deeply in a man--and in herself.

Sound good?  Great-we have FIVE copies for giveaway.  Just leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on Tuesday July 5th after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...MICHELLE TOTH'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Do find your community. When I think about the happiest phases of my life, they almost always involved a vibrant network of friends, with overlaps and interconnections, and a sense of belonging.  My best example is when, almost a decade ago, a writer friend introduced me to Grub Street, a nonprofit writing center in Boston.  I ended up joining the board of directors, which I’ve served on for the past eight years, and in addition to working together for a good cause, I found the most wonderful community of friends and like-minded and creative people I ever could have imagined.  It’s an experience that has added to my life so significantly that I wish it for everyone.

2. Do expand your worldview, whatever it takes. Whether through traveling, reading, education, a varied career, diverse personal relationships, or actually trying to understand your brother whose political views are the precise opposite of yours (such fun at Thanksgiving!), keeping an open mind and heart is such a key to always learning and becoming a wiser, more thoughtful person.

3. Do take care of yourself financially. I grew up without much money, and spent most of my twenties living on next to nothing while in grad school, or while working at a low-paying job, or when I started a company on my credit cards.  I don’t have regrets about the risks I took then, and there was something exhilarating about living on the financial edge, but in my early thirties I got myself a financial advisor who explained that it didn’t matter how much or how little money his clients had, most overextended themselves and caused great stress in their lives. So, as unsexy as it sounds, I sat down to make a budget, plan for the future, and get some financial stability.  For anyone not already there, I highly recommend it!

4. Do embrace adversity. Although none of us consciously seeks out problems or crises, in life some are simply unavoidable.  Yet on the positive side, when faced head on, adversity tends to bring about clarity and a resetting of priorities.  To state the obvious, people who learn and change as a result of adversity have much better lives than people who are crippled by crises or go to unnatural lengths to avoid dealing with them.  This is a theme I touch on with Annie Begins and is the center of my next novel, about a crisis in a marriage. In my own life and those of my friends, we’ve all noticed that the worst things that have happened to us (cancer, divorce, losing a job) actually brought about deep reflection and self awareness and ushered in periods of major personal growth.

5. Do learn from other people’s mistakes. We know experience is the best teacher, but it isn’t necessary to directly experience everything to learn from it.  I’ve always tried to listen to people who’ve lived longer and objectively know more than I do, to absorb their stories about successes and failures, and adopt their life lessons as my own.

DO OVER

Of course I have my share of embarrassing moments and failures, but not too many actual regrets.  But there is a pattern I wish I’d broken long ago. I have historically been the queen of volume and aspirational shopping, especially if things are on sale (I’ll take it in purple, too!) and/or they almost fit (I just have to lose a few pounds and this will be perfect). I almost always regret it, and have come to realize that my favorite clothes are things bought at the last minute for some special event, where I had no choice but to pay what it cost and make sure it fit.  So, I have slowly been transforming myself into one of those principled, decisive shoppers who behaves this way all the time -- buying just a few high-quality pieces per season, sometimes even at full price. But if I’m honest, I still have far too many “bargains” and items that are one size too small that have never or rarely been worn!

Thanks Michelle!  xoxo, L&L

To read more about Michelle, head on over to her website and her blog.

Allison Winn Scotch's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

We love Allison Winn Scotch. Plain and simple. She's definitely our girl. Loves mindless TV. Admits to wearing not just acid washed jeans but high-waisted acid washed jeans. And she writes damn good novels. Her third, The One That I Want, was just released in paperback and it's the perfect summer read. If you haven't yet devoured it (or even if you have) we suggest you immediately treat yourself to a copy (avail everywhere from Amazon to Target to Costco), sit back (preferably poolside with a cocktail in hand) and enjoy. Because you will. The One That I Want is the story of Tilly Farmer, a girl who’s seemingly perfect life begins to fall apart after an old childhood friend gives her the gift to see into the future. Doesn't it sound juicy? Well if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies! We'll randomly select the winner on Friday, July 1 after 6pm EST.

And now just another reason we love Allison. Her Do's and Do-over list...

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...ALLISON WINN SCOTCH'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER.

DO'S

1) DO let yourself feel nostalgic. One of the questions I’m most often asked, when discussing my books, is if I relate to my characters, who often get tangled up in their past memories. And my answer is always the same: of course. I love tugging out old photos, laughing at people’s ridiculous ‘80s (and ‘90s) hair on Facebook, hearing a song on the radio and remembering an old love. I think there’s a lot of value in honoring your past and preserving the good memories that came out of it. But that’s about where it ends. Allowing yourself to feel those twinges, and then taking them and finding a way to make your current life more fulfilled. Stalking your exes on Facebook isn’t going to get you anywhere other than on the road to unhappiness.

2) DO find someone who accepts you for you. I wrote an essay recently about an old boyfriend, for whom I tried to change everything about myself. And what struck me most about it was how grateful I am to have found someone for whom I haven’t had to change one iota. I sing as loudly as I want in the car (it indeed annoys him, but he lets me do it), I look like all hell broke loose in the morning and he doesn’t care. More importantly, he’s never made me doubt who I am, what my instincts are, or what I’d like to do with my life. It’s not that our marriage is perfect, but certainly, when it comes to criteria that should top the list of a healthy relationship, I’ve learned that acceptance has to be number one (or at least top three).

3) DO embrace your light side. In other words, if you watch the Bachelorette and other insipid reality shows, raise your hand and be proud! Damn proud! Okay, maybe not that proud. Maybe let’s just whisper it to each other. But still *quiet voice*: I love mindless TV, and I’m not afraid to tweet about it. Here’s the thing: I work really hard, I take care of my family, I read A LOT. And if at the end of the day, I want some escapism, I say, bring it on! And if, even after that, I want to read every single thread on Television Without Pity, analyzing all the ridiculous antics and sure-to-disappoint spoilers, well, bring that on to. Why? Because I’m worth it.

4) DO let yourself screw-up. I bet I’m not the first person to say this here, and I certainly hope I’m not the last. One of the most valuable lessons in my career has come from failure – the first book I wrote (which in hindsight was just totally and completely wretched) never sold, and it forced me to either step up and suck it up and do the work to write a better one, or quit. You know which one I chose. And ditto this for all of my relationships: all of my break-ups lead to where I am now, and sure, those break-ups were fraught with emotion and anxiety and certainly pain, but each was a valuable lesson for who I was becoming and who, eventually, I’d become.

5) DO go with the flow. For those of you who know me as an author, this one might surprise you because I am very, very anal about my job, but when it comes to everything else, I’m actually pretty laid-back. I’ve found that stressing out over things that I can’t control just leaves me...more stressed, and that not being flexible or able to accommodate life’s changes also just leaves me...more stressed. What’s the purpose? There isn’t any. I try to let the little stuff slide. There is, after all, a reason that they call it “the little stuff.” It’s easy to forget that when you’re in the thick of it, but at the end of the day, I promise, none of the smaller (albeit annoying) obstacles matter nearly as much as the big picture. So I’ll end with that one, actually. DO think big. Always.

DO-OVER: Gosh, I’m pretty comfortable with my life choices, even when they were total catastrophes (because, to be clear, there have been plenty of catastrophes), but we do probably need to discuss my fashion choices in my younger years. The 8th grade perm. The ill-advised double-dose of Sun-In that summer at camp. The acid washed jeans that were pulled (and belted!) just under my boob line. Oh dear. With all due respect to Esprit and Benetton and Guess...really? You couldn’t have made me look at least semi-okay during my formative years? I guess not. Oh well. Back to my first DO: I guess the good news is that I can reminisce, but then, I can also log off and try to pretend that (fashion) period never existed in the first place.

To find out more about the fabulous Allison Winn Scotch, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks, Allison!

xoxo,

L&L

Elin Hilderbrand's 5 Do's and a Do-Over

I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that our close friends and family come to us for most of their book recommendations.  Anyone who has stepped foot in either of our houses knows that we read A LOT of books. (And we have the overflowing bookshelves to prove it!)  And we have a few picky readers on our hands that we only recommend the VERY best books.  Liz has someone in particular that she always really want to impress with her awesome book choosing prowess.....her Mom. So after she ate up Elin Hilderbrand's Silver Girl in eight hours flat over Memorial Day weekend, she felt totally comfortable giving it a double thumbs up to her Mom. And she thinks that you'll love it also!

That's why we're totally stoked to have the fabulous Elin sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-Over today.  We're huge fans of all her fantastic books and think that Silver Girl should be on your MUST-READ list this summer.

In Silver Girl, Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing - because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.

Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby - Meredith's high school boyfriend - arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.

Set against the backdrop of a Nantucket summer, Elin Hilderbrand delivers a suspenseful story of the power of friendship, the pull of love, and the beauty of forgiveness.

You're dying to read it now, right?  Well, good thing we have FIVE copies to give away!  Just leave a comment and you'll be entered.  We'll choose the winners after 6pm PST on Sunday June 26th.

And now for Elin's 5 Do's and a Do-Over.  We are lovin' her vices!

CHICK LIT S NOT DEAD PRESENTS...ELIN HILDERBRAND'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

1. Do read the best fiction available. I always say that reading is as much a part of my job as writing.  I am a very "nerdy" reader in that I have a list of books I plan to read and I do not deviate.  I also read from beginning to end and I never give up on a book, no matter how difficult or dull I'm finding it.  I get my book recommendations from magazines, just like everyone else, but I also have a few very close and trusted reader friends who feed me must-read titles.  I go back and read the classics as well.  This spring, I read The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. Do travel. I've traveled on six continents.  Being in another country, and especially a country where the citizens are not thinking about your country, is a very elucidating experience.  My favorite countries are Vietnam and South Africa.  The place I've been where America and American culture is completely irrelevant was Chile.  The Chilenos have their own fabulous thing going on, and it has nothing to do with us.

3. Do have a vice. Mine is sitting in the sun.  It's as bad for me as smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, and I'm sure I look like I'm a hundred years old even though I'm only forty-one, but I love the beach, the ocean, and the sun and I'm not giving it up.

4. Do have two vices. My second vice is French champagne.  I drink Veuve Clicquot.  It's expensive and it gives me a headache, but I wouldn't want to live without it.  Best enjoyed very very cold, preferably with some fresh oysters while wearing very high heels.

5. Do listen. We're only put on this earth once, and for a short time.  The most important thing we can do is to connect with other human beings and to connect in a meaningful way, we have to listen to one another.  This is especially crucial if you're a doctor, a divorce lawyer, or, like me, a writer who is constantly trying to emulate true human interaction on the page.

DO-OVER

If I could do one thing over it would be to learn to say no.  My thirties especially were marked by me saying yes to everything and everyone, and running around like a crazy chicken because I was overcommitted and overextended.  At one point, I was writing novels, raising three children, and sitting on three boards and two committees.  Now when I think someone is going to ask me to do something or join something where I will have to do something, I just offer to donate money, and that usually accomplishes the dual goal of shutting the asker up and saving me time.

Thanks Elin!  xoxo, L&L

To read more about Elin, find her on Facebook and Twitter!

Ask Liz & Lisa: Have we ever had a girlfight?

Ask Liz & Lisa is baaaack! Thanks so much for all of  the great Q's you've sent so far. It's been hard to choose just one to answer! Be sure keep 'em comin'! Ask us anything! (Don't be shy- you know how much we love to TMI with you!) Email your Q to asklizandlisa@chicklitisnotdead.com and if we pick your question, we'll send you a fabulous book! And today we picked a question from Wendy. Because we chose her Q, she'll be receiving a copy of She's Gone Country by Jane Porter.  Feeling left out? Well you can leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a copy of Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax. We'll randomly select the winner after 6pm PST on Friday, June 24.

My question - and I am not sure if this has been asked before... I know you guys have been friends, like.. forever. But... even best friends fight, right? So, have you ever or do you have times when you are not talking to each other? Have you had a difficult time in your friendship. Or has it all seriously been roses?

~Wendy @ wall-to-wall books

Roses. Hmm. Not so much. Yes, we've been friends for evuh and evuh. Since Milli Vanilli and Tiffany were topping the charts. Since Ice Ice Baby was a cool song (well since we thought it was a cool song). And when you've been friends with someone for that long, you're bound to go through your ups and downs. And when you are BFFs, business partners and writing partners, there's almost no avoiding the occasional conflict. Very recently, there were "words" over the word, synopsis. More on that in a minute.

But we will say that for us, it's not the fact that we have conflict that matters. It's how we deal with it. And let's just say that process has evolved over the years.

The Bent thumb

In college, there was an argument over, gawd only knows what (a thumb war gone awry?), but someone's thumb got bent back and someone else charged out of the house and hid out in a movie theater all day watching The Fugitive.  And by some sort of weird foreshadowing, someone wrote a humorous story (complete with pictures!) and taped it on someone's door as a peace offering.

The one-act play

While co-writing a one-act play for our theater class, we had a huge fight. We have no idea what the fight was over but it  involved lots of expletives being thrown at each other and ended with something being actually thrown at Liz's state of the art word processor. (Yes, you read that right-word processor- we are that old!)

The separation

We'd gone to high school together, we'd gone to college together. We were Vice-President and President of our sorority together. Let's just say we'd been a little too close for a little too long. And we felt we'd merged into one person. Liz and Lisa, Lisa and Liz. Sometimes people just called both of us Lisa. So we agreed on the fact that we needed space. And we separated. And we did our own thing for a while. And when we eventually came back together, our friendship was stronger for it.

The door slam heard round' the world

Someone was postpartum and someone had just been dumped and we thought it would be a FABULOUS time to write the query for our first book, I'll Have Who She's Having! Now let's just that writing a query is a painful process even when the rest of your life is perfect. So imagine writing it when things are, well, not so perfect. We don't remember what started it (are you  starting to see a pattern here?), but all of the sudden someone stomped out of the house and SLAMMED the door with all her might, waking up someone's husband and baby. Don't worry, we worked it out and eventually finished that damn letter.

The word synopsis

Very recently, we disagreed about the word synopsis. One of us likes the word, one of us doesn't.  One of us insists on using it in just about EVERY post and one of us thinks it's impersonal.  Then one of us thought that the best way to communicate her problem was to EMAIL the other about it. (I think you can see where this is going...)  Cue four tense emails, a ten minute girlfight over the word synopsis followed by ten minutes of laughing about how freakin' LAME it was to be arguing about it.

So no, it isn't all roses.  But the difference for us is that we are able to let things go.  And it also helps to know the other person better than you know yourself.  But the most important thing to remember is to just take a deep breath and LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF at the silly things that seem so important in the heat of the moment.

xoxo, L&L