Star Craving Mad - Promo & Giveaway

      

Maddy Braverman, thirty and single, has taught first grade at an uber-elite private school in Greenwich Village for the past six years, a hip downtown school lauded as much for its progressive pedagogy as its priveleged progeny̵and its multitude of sex-crazed staff̵including the headmaster, AKA the Head Molester. Angry at herself for not moving on, Maddy gets distracted from her pity party with a new student̵Lola Magdalena, daughter of A-list celebrities Nic and Shelby Seabolt̵a last-minute addition to her class roster. 

When tragedy strikes Lola, Maddy has the chance to meet with Nic in his TriBeCa apartment. Maddy’s sexy celebrity fantasies turn to reality, leaving her breathless and spellbound. But from her front-row vantage point, Maddy learns the hard way that celebrity is not all it seems, and gets dealt a devastating blow that could leave her jobless, loveless and alone. If she could just see things clearly she could save herself from going Star Craving Mad.

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1.  What was your biggest inspiration while writing your book?

Working at an elite private school in NYC AND suffering a way-too-long celebrity obsession. You could say that writing this book was an exorcism of really masochistic tendencies.

2.  Which character in your book is most like yourself?

So far I am always my protagonist. In Star Craving Mad, it’s Maddy Braverman. (Narcissm. Check. Self-investigation. Check. Desire to be a superstar. Checkarooney).

3.  What do you think is your lead character’s best trait?

Maddy is full of wonder, always questioning everything around her but most of all herself. She’s what I like to call a cynical optimist. And she’s honest—not full of shit or pretentious like some other characters (Rachel Tepper).

4.  What is your favorite scene in your novel?

One of my favorite scenes was not in the first generation of this novel. It’s toward the end when Maddy has her final wake-up call regarding her chosen false idols. I don’t want to give too much away, but the new scene makes my skin crawl. In the best of ways.

5.  What is your writing process?

Agonize, write something shitty, come up with a great idea, write five pages of it, lose interest, binge-watch House of Cards, take a nap, repeat until two or three personally important issues resonate deeply enough within me that I can stand to be married to them for at least three years, countless rewrites and a personality change that only slightly annoys my family.

6.  Where is your favorite place to write?

I have no special place. I don’t like to make anything into a ritual that becomes so precious it strangles the creative and productive impulse right out of you. I guess where I am right now at the kitchen counter, with my son pestering me, the dog scratching at my ankles and my protein shake sweating on the laminate countertop. It’s as good a place as any.

About the Author:

Elise A. Miller discovered her talent and passion for writing by accident, during a short-lived but rigorous acting pursuit in the late 1990s. She immediately began studying writing in earnest at Gotham Writers’ Workshop in New York City, and hasn’t looked back since. Elise completed courses in advanced fiction, memoir, novel writing, stand-up comedy and screenwriting. In 2000, she published her first piece in The Sun Magazine, and in 2002 she was one of the founding members of Little Red Writing Group in Brooklyn.

Elise lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and two teeny rescue dogs. She blogs about everything and anything here, about her personal fitness journey at bodyenta.com and about creative writing coaching at beechwoodwriters.com.

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Star Craving Mad by Elise A Miller

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Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat - Giveaway

The unstoppable, irreverent mother-daughter team presents a new collection of funny stories and true confessions that every woman can relate to. From identity theft to the hazards of bicycling to college reunions and eating on the beach, Lisa and Francesca tackle the quirks, absurdities, and wonders of everyday life with wit and warmth. As Lisa says, "More and more, especially in the summertime when I'm sitting on the beach, I'm learning not to sweat it. To go back to the child that I used to be. To see myself through the loving eyes of my parents. To eat on the beach. And not to worry about whether every little thing makes me look fat. In fact, not to worry at all."

So put aside your worries and join Lisa and Francesca as they navigate their way through the crazy world we live in, laughing along the way.

Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella have teamed up again to write a fabulous must read for the summer.  Full of fun short stories that will have you laughing out loud one minute and tearing up the next, you are sure to relate to several of these stories as they touch on a wide array of subjects. 

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About the Authors:

Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winning author of 23 novels, including her latest, Every Fifteen Minutes. She also writes a weekly column with her daughter Francesca Serritella for the Philadelphia Inquirer titled "Chick Wit" which is a witty and fun take on life from a woman's perspective. These stories, along with many other never-before-published stories, have been collected in four books including their most recent, Have a Nice Guilt Trip, and the earlier, Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim, Best Friends, Occasional Enemies, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, which has been optioned for TV, and My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space. Lisa reviews popular fiction and non-fiction, and her reviews have appeared in New York Times, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Lisa has served as President of Mystery Writers of America and has taught a course she developed, "Justice and Fiction" at The University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater. Lisa is a regular and much sought after speaker at library and corporate events. Lisa has over 30 million copies of her books in print and is published in over 35 countries. She lives in the Philadelphia area with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Francesca Serritella was born in Philadelphia, and grew up in its suburbs. She went to Harvard, where she majored in English. After a year or two of feeling entirely intimidated by the place, she found her stride and went on to receive the Charles Edmond Horman Prize and the Baron Russell Briggs Prize for creative writing. Her senior thesis, a novella, won the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize, and she graduated with honors.

Her mother is Lisa Scottoline. She's a bestselling author, her best friend, and her hero. Together, they write a weekly humor column in The Philadelphia Inquirer called "Chick Wit." She contribute once a month to offer a younger perspective on their wacky family and life in general, and if you aren't an Inquirer subscriber, you can find a selection of her columns here. The column has been published as a series of collections of essays. The first and the second, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, and My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space, have some of her essays but not her name on it. The third, fourth, and fifth, Best Friends, Occasional Enemies, Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim and Have a Nice Guilt Trip, have her name on the cover!

Currently, she live in New York City with her dog, Pip. When she’s not writing, she’s probably taking cell phone pictures of Pip and marveling at how cute he is, so if you want to see those, he has his very own page here.

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Lisa Facebook * Lisa Twitter * Francesca Facebook * Francesca Twitter

St Martin’s Press is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat

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My Very Best Friend - 12 Things About Cathy & A Giveaway

From a childhood friendship sustained over years and distance, to a journey of discovery, Cathy Lamb’s poignant novel tells of two women whose paths converge with unforeseen results—and reveals the gift of connection, and the challenges that can change everything for the better…
 
Charlotte Mackintosh is an internationally known bestselling romance writer who has no romance, and remains a mystery to her fans. In fact, she has little in her life besides her work, her pampered cats, and her secluded home off the coast of Washington. And then there is her very best friend, Bridget, who lives in Scotland, where Charlotte lived until she was fifteen. Bridget, whom Charlotte hasn’t seen in twenty years, but continues to write to—though the replies have stopped. Hurt by the silence, an opportunity arises to find answers—and maybe much more.
 
Charlotte must finally return to Scotland to sell her late father’s cottage. It was his tragic death when Charlotte was fifteen that began her growing isolation, and the task is fraught with memories. But her plans are slowed when she’s confronted with the beautiful but neglected house, the irresistible garden—and Toran, Bridget’s brother. Capable and kind, Toran has the answers Charlotte seeks. And as she is drawn deeper into the community she thought she’d left behind, Charlotte learns not only more about her dear friend, but about herself—and discovers a new and unexpected path. 

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“12 Things About Cathy Lamb”

1)      I have a high school reunion coming up. I have to lose twenty five pounds in 37 days.  I think I’ll bake some brownies and think about how I’m going to complete the impossible.

2)      I’ve been married for 22 years.  I met my husband on a blind date. The man who set us up was an undercover vice cop. I’d known the cop since I was about eleven years old. He busted people bringing drugs up the I -  5 freeway and was one tough dude.  My husband tells people he was being arrested when he met the undercover vice cop and the cop suggested a date with me. Don’t believe him. My husband has an odd sense of humor.

3)      I drink a decaf mocha every day. It’s my “Life Treat.” I acknowledge that the mochas aren’t helping me for the reunion.

4)      I have a strong loner streak. I can’t be with people all the time. I have to be ALONE so I can think. My ability to be friendly and social lasts about three hours. After that, I’m toast. 

5)      We have a cat named KC. She meows at me. I meow back. If I don’t  meow back, she keeps meowing.  I’m sure I look ridiculous meowing at my cat, but I do it anyhow so as not to hurt her feelings.

6)      I was in Scotland in October going “research” for my new novel, “My Very Best Friend.” The “research” included eating my way through the village I was in, and Edinburgh. It was delicious research. I am good at eating.

7)      When I was in Scotland I saw men in kilts. Handsome men. I wanted to flip the kilts up, but I refrained.  I showed admirable restraint in that regard.  I still don’t know if they go commando or not. I ponder this now and then.

8)      I have insomnia. I have to read at night until my kindle hits me in the face. No reading, no sleeping.

9)      I have a wild imagination.  I love to spend hours daydreaming.

10)   I love Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.  I also love Back in Black by AC/DC. I don’t hear the similarities between them at all, but there it is.

11)   I would like to spend part of every year in Montana wearing cowgirl boots.

12)   I am a terrible skier. My husband says that I am the only person who can stand still on skis and still make turns.  This is his way of saying that I am scared of speed. He’s right.

About the Author:

Cathy Lamb lives in Oregon. She has noisy children. She likes to read and write.  She does not like to clean the house. Soooo boring. Her husband says she “cooks by fire alarm.” As in, when the fire alarm goes off, that’s when she remembers to take the dinner out of the oven.  Cathy is working on her tenth novel.

   

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My Very Best Friend by Cathy Lamb

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Stepdog - Promo & Giveaway

From NICOLE GALLAND, author of The Fool’s Tale, Godiva and I, Iago comes a disarmingly charming and warm-hearted romantic comedy about a woman, her dog, and the man who risks life and limb to prove he’s good enough for them both.

                                                          

In STEPDOG Sara Renault fires Rory O’Connor from his part-time job at a Boston art museum, and in response, Rory—an Irish actor secretly nursing a crush on his beautiful boss—throws caution to the wind, leans over, and kisses her.  Now Sara and Rory are madly in love.

In a matter of weeks Sara and Rory go from being friendly work colleagues to a live-in couple, and it’s all grand . . . except for Sara’s dog, Cody, who had been a gift from Sara’s sociopath ex-boyfriend. Sara’s over-attachment to her dog is the only thing she and Rory fight about.

When Rory scores both his green card and the lead role in an upcoming TV pilot, he and Sara (and Cody) prepare to move to Los Angeles. But just before their departure, Cody is kidnapped by Sara’s ex—and it is entirely Rory’s fault. Sara is furious and broken-hearted. Desperate to get back into Sara’s good graces, Rory takes off and tracks Cody and the dog-napper to North Carolina. Faced with the unrelenting determination of a true villain who will stop at nothing to keep Sara’s dog, Rory crisscrosses the country on his quest to rescue Cody and convince Sara how much he loves her and her dog. 

In STEPDOG, NICOLE GALLAND shows off her lighter side, in a refreshing and hilarious romantic comedy, full of surprising twists as captivating as any thriller, that beg the question, how far would you go for the one you love?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

NICOLE GALLAND is the author of five previous novels: The Fool’s Tale, Revenge of the Rose, Crossed, I, Iago and Godiva. A native of Martha’s Vineyard, she graduated from Harvard University and studied Dramatic Literature at UC Berkeley, then divided her time between California and New York City for many years, before returning to the Vineyard to stay (except for when she’s somewhere else, like Boston). She is the co-founder of Shakespeare for the Masses at the Vineyard Playhouse, and writes a cheeky etiquette column for the Martha’s Vineyard Times. She is married to actor Billy Meleady and owns Leuco, a dog of splendid qualities. 

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William Morrow is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

Stepdog by Nicole Galland

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Shelter Us - Review

Review by KT Sullivan

Sarah Shaw gives up her law career to be a stay at home mom. She has rehearsed her answer to the question “Do you have children?” “I have two children. My daughter died.” Sarah is lost in grief over Ella, her baby girl. She imagines Ella by her side and engaging in the family’s activities. She talks to her every day. When she was a teenager, Sarah’s mother died and her Guatemalan grandmother, Bibi, took her in. Sarah relies on her still to help with her sons. While driving, Sarah notices a homeless woman pushing a stroller. She pulls over and gives her lunch she packed for her son. Sarah becomes obsessed with helping the young mom and tracks her down. Josie and her son, Tyler, live in a shelter. A falling out with her mom and being abandoned by her boyfriend left her on the streets. Josie asks Sarah to drive her to Oakland from LA to help find her missing brother. Josie’s family isn’t happy to see her or Sarah. Sarah has lied about helping Josie to her husband, Robert, and finds herself looking up her old boyfriend. The combination of grief and helplessness take Sarah to the point of losing everything. “Mistakes make us,” Bibi says. In Sarah’s case it forces a sad conversation about how the family hasn’t dealt with Ella’s loss and brings them closer.

This is a sad story. Josie has so many hurdles to clear to make a life for herself and her son. Sarah needs to pick up the broken pieces of her former life and make a life for her sons. Life deals many bad cards and some people get more than their fair share. Healing has begun and both women try to start again. Excellent read.  

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About the Author:

Laura is the Editor of Deliver Me: True Confessions of Motherhood, a collection of true stories by 20 writers. Proceeds from book sales are donated to PATH Beyond Shelter, a non-profit that helps homeless families return to permanent housing.

Laura is a civil rights lawyer, and was the Editor in Chief of L.A. Family Magazine. She writes about family, parenting, and social justice for several publications, and on her blog, Confessions of Motherhood. 

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A Peach of a Pair - Review & Giveaway

Review by KT Sullivan

In March of 1953, Nettie Gilbert is getting ready to graduate from college and become a music teacher. She also plans to marry her long time love, Brooks Carter. She receives a letter from her mother clipped to a wedding invitation. Her sister, Sissy, is pregnant and marrying Brooks and Nettie needs to be there for Sissy. Her own feelings ignored, Nettie is crushed and drops out of school. She sees a job advertised on a bulletin board for live in help for two elderly sisters. She calls and finds out their doctor, Remmy Wilkes, has suggested the two need someone. They don’t agree and one of the sisters, Emily Eldridge, replies, they don’t need any “g. d. help.” The elder sister, Lurleen, is bedridden and very ill. She appreciates Nettie’s company and tells Emily to be nice and not work Nettie so hard. Remmy and Lurleen believe Nettie is pregnant. Why else would she leave school? Nettie realizes the mistake and tells them the truth. Lurleen is angry with Nettie’s family for treating her so badly. Remmy starts to fall in love with Nettie. Emily stays mean to her. Emily decides Remmy is a horrible doctor and wants to take Lurleen to a faith healer in Texas. Nettie, Emily, and Lurleen go on a bus trip and find out more about themselves and each other.

This is a fun story, the barbs between the sisters are priceless. The story continually asks and answers the question, what would you do for your family? How much sacrifice and tragedy are enough before forgiveness is offered and accepted? I enjoyed it very much.

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About the Author:

Kim Boykin was raised in her South Carolina home with two girly sisters and great parents. She had a happy, boring childhood, which sucks if you’re a writer because you have to create your own crazy. PLUS after you’re published and you’re being interviewed, it’s very appealing when the author actually lived in Crazy Town or somewhere in the general vicinity.

As a stay-at-home mom, Kim started writing, grabbing snip-its of time in the car rider line or on the bleachers at swim practice. After her kids left the nest, she started submitting her work, sold her first novel at 53, and has been writing like crazy ever since.

She is the author of A Peach of a Pair, Palmetto Moon and The Wisdom of Hair from Berkley/NAL/Penguin; Flirting with Forever, She’s the One, Just in Time for Christmas, Steal Me, Cowboy and Sweet Home Carolina from Tule. While her heart is always in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, she lives in Charlotte and has a heart for hairstylist, librarians, and book junkies like herself.

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Berkley Trade is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

Palmetto Moon and A Peach of A Pair
Kim Boykin is throwing in a copy of The Wisdom of Hair

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Rome In Love - Review, 12 Things About ... & Giveaway

Review by Marlene Engel

Cast as the lead role of Audrey Hepburn in the remake of Roman Holiday, Amelia Tate will be spending the next two months in Rome.  Although a dream come true, her acting career has put a strain on her relationship. 

Jetlagged and having consumed too much champagne, Amelia is eager to get out of her gown and walk the streets of Rome.  Knowing that the paparazzi will be hot on her heels, she changes out of her fancy clothes and into a maid’s uniform to go incognito. 

While out, she meets an American journalist named Philip.  Withholding her true identity, she allows him to believe that she is a maid.  It’s after their paths continue to cross, and her boyfriend’s surprise visit ends with an ultimatum of her having to choose her career or her relationship, Amelia starts to develop feelings for Philip.  Wanting to reveal her true identity, but never finding the right time, she continues her deceit.  But Philip isn’t without fault.  He too is holding back truths from Amelia. 

Sophie is a princess who has snuck away from her royal family and is spending six weeks living a normal life.  She, too, is actively avoiding any recognition and engrossing herself in her short-lived freedom.  Arranged to be married, she is surprised with the feelings she’s starting to develop for a handsome doctor that she befriends.  Caught between wanting to do right by her family and following her heart, Sophie is at a cross roads. 

With a cast of amazing characters, a storyline that will have you fully enthralled and set in the luxurious city of Rome, Anita Hughes takes you on an amazing voyage.  Destined to be the top summer read, this book is sure to please!

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“12 Things About Anita Hughes”

1) I live at the beach. This is probably one of the things that make me happiest. I love seeing the ocean when I walk.

2) I adore frozen yogurt - my whole family does so it is a daily ritual to get frozen yogurt after dinner.

3) I studied French in college and read all the great nineteenth century French authors.

4) My favorite author of all time is Somerset Maugham. I think you can learn everything you need to know from his books.

5) My second favorite author is probably George Eliot. I remember reading The Mill on The Floss in college and being mesmerized.

6) I love coffee - so I would be happy spending all my time sitting at an outdoor cafe in Rome, drinking espresso and people watching.

7) I wear flip-flops most of the time but I do love a beautiful pair of shoes.

8) I grew up in Sydney, Australia - near Bondi Beach. (another wonderful beach).

9) My favorite actress is Audrey Hepburn. I watched all her movies to research Rome In Love and especially loved Roman Holiday and Two For The Road.

10) My favorite actor is Cary Grant. He has the most amazing voice.

11) I have five children.

12) And of course, I love chocolate. Who doesn't?

About the Author:

Anita Hughes was born in Sydney, Australia and had a charmed childhood that included petting koala bears, riding the waves on Bondi Beach, and putting an occasional shrimp on the barbie. Her writing career began at the age of eight, when she won a national writing contest in THE AUSTRALIAN newspaper, and was named "One of Australia's Next Best Writers." (She still has the newspaper clipping.)

She received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College, and attended UC Berkeley's Masters in Creative Writing program.

She lives in Dana Point, CA with her family, where she interrupts her writing to watch the glorious sunsets.

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St. Martin’s Press is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

Rome In Love by Anita Hughes

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