A Wickedly Good Book

To my lovely actress friend, Amy--of course I have to recommend a book that was made into a Broadway musical. Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I thought this book was pretty creative. Very different from the original Wizard of Oz movie. I like when people take original stories and tell a new story from the perspective of the villain.

Chicklit and Shopping! 50% off sale on EVERYTHING at Ann Taylor Loft

A friend Kat and I were talking about my blog the other day, and I told her I was worried about making my goal of 1 posting a day for 365 days. The reason is not that I can't write in the blog once a day, but I made a goal for myself to do one book recommendation per day. Thing is...yes, I've read 365 books, but I didn't like all of them. Maybe at most I have 200 books that I would want to recommend. So what would I do with the other posts?

My friend reminded me that I can still post discussions of books, guest recommendations, discussions on topics related to chicklit, etc.

Thus, today's posting is about shopping. Come on, you know that most chicklit books have shopping in there somewhere. (Although, I didn't include any shopping in my novel Girl: Classified....)

I read an article about shopping in one of those airplane magazines over the holidays, and I found it rather upsetting. It talked about ten non-fashion-forward stores that used to be cool but aren't anymore. So the store where I get most of my work clothes was on there, and I was so sad. I thought I was hip and cool getting suits there. Are you ready for the store name? Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft!

The article went on to talk about how the store is trying to change its clothing line to be more fashion-forward. Apparently Ann Taylor is moving away from conservate but cute suits to the "I'm going for a jaunt on a sailboat" look. I have been noticing that their clothes are getting more causual.

Nevertheless...they are having a 50% off sale on EVERYTHING in the store. Don't know how long it lasts, but it was on yesterday. Even if the item is already on sale, you buy one item at regular price, and a second item is 50% off.

I'm speaking at George Washington University March 8th

George Washington University is having a symposium on chicklit-Monday March 8th-for faculty and other employees. The symposium consists of a book swap, a lecture by one of the GWU professors, and a discussion about writing chicklit with me! Erica set it up and asked if I'd speak; thank you, Erica!

I'm planning to talk about this blog www.girlclassified.blogspot.com , my website www.girlclassified.com, how I wrote Girl: Classified, the Golden Heart Awards, and the process of getting published.

As part of the discussion on how I wrote Girl: Classified, I'm going to touch on the advantages of keeping a detailed outline of the novel as you're writing. I never got writer's blog while crafting Girl: Classified because anytime I had an idea about the storyline, I'd add it into my outline. Then anytime I sat down to write, I'd just work off the outline.

I can't wait to speak about this topic. This is the first time that I've been asked to talk as an "authority" on chicklit, and it's pretty exciting!

More Brilliance by Stephanie Meyer

Shannon, you are, of course, next up for a book recommendation. How could I not give a book recommendation to the girl who chose the title for my novel, Girl: Classified? Does everyone know that? Yes, Shannon, my lovely coworker, came up with that nuanced title that references the fact that my novel's main character sells furniture through the classifieds and also worked in a spy/classified environment.

For you, Shannon, I recommend The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I know you love the Twilight series, so you might have already read Stephanie's next book. It's a brilliant story, and I love how Stephanie (look how I write like I know her personally) says that any story should contain the element of love to be great. So this is a sci-fi book, but it's totally chicklit because of its heavy devotion to the theme of love.

Have you already read it? Has anyone else read this one? Do you think it's better or worse than the Twilight books?

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom, since today is your birthday, my posting is dedicated to you. Thank you so much for always having confidence in my writing and for encouraging me to pursue the things I love. Thank you for writing down the strange stories I dictated to you as a little kid and for typing up the stories I wrote in elementary through high school. Thank you for reading me Beatrix Potter when I was young so that I'd develop a vocabulary from the get-go. Thank you for reading me a story each night so that I'd grow up thinking of books, reading, and writing as the most luxurious comfort. And thank you for always being so positive and good-hearted. Your whole attitude is an inspiration.

For you, I wanted to recommend one of my favorite books. I know you liked the Harry Potter series, so I'm recommending another series for you--Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. This series is about a high schooler who falls in love with a vampire who refuses to drink human blood even though he is utterly tempted by it. And wouldn't you know...the main characters live in Washington State. :)

First Love at Its Best - Pure Chicklit Yuminess!

Jen, it's high time I did a book recommendation for you since you usually like the exact same books as me. You're a true chicklit connoisseur. So I'm recommending a pure, true chicklit book for you. I loved this one, and have read/listened to it on audio book multiple times.

The book is Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. They're the same authors who wrote the Nanny Diaries.

So Dedication is about a girl whose first love went on to later become a Justin Timberlake-esque music superstar. All of his songs contain veiled lyrics about their relationship. He abandoned her and his band on prom night, never to be heard from again--until they heard his first song on the radio. The main character vows to take revenge on him, make him regret leaving her, and make him pay royalties to the old band who he left in the lurch and whose songs he stole. This book is about the girl finally facing him after ten years.