As writers, we do a lot of reading! (And we’re not just talking about Us Weekly!)  We’ve devoured everything from Patricia Cornwell to Candy Spelling.  From memoirs to mysteries…bestsellers to bombs.  And our favorite thing to do after reading the words, The End, is to dish about it with each other. It’s our book club for two (*cue sappy music*) where we discuss how a book made us feel.  Did we discard it after the third chapter or savor it like a delicious meal?

And was it so yummy that we might have even developed a little crush on its author too?…

For us, when we read something we REALLY LOVE, we don’t just fall in love with the book, we fall a little bit in love with the person who wrote it. We can start crushin’ pretty hard on that author who put fingers to keyboard, who created the plot and the characters and then mixed it all together to make a story that each time we read it, just keeps getting better…

And that’s exactly what happened when Lisa discovered Laura Dave.

It was love at first read when she found LONDON IS THE BEST CITY IN AMERICA on a New Fiction table at Barnes & Noble a few years back. She inhaled three chapters while sitting in the bookstore and finished it just a few hours later. And after Liz borrowed and read it, it’s not surprising that she fell for her too. (BTW–Lisa never told Liz, but she knew there would be a girl fight before she’d ever really share Laura Dave with her!)

So fast forward to this past May when Lisa was again back in Barnes & Noble. But this time, she wasn’t just shopping for books.

She sat there. Palms sweaty, heart racing, cheeks flushed.

She was about to meet someone she was really crushing on. No, it wasn’t a first date with a man or a chance encounter with Justin Timberlake. It was even better!

She was about to come face to face with her #1 writer crush! She was at signing for Laura Dave’s second and equally amazing book, THE DIVORCE PARTY.

But as she sat front and center (literally), 45 minutes early, she began to see the scene as Laura might. Lisa knew she must look like a crazy person as she white-knuckled her tattered copy of the DIVORCE PARTY for dear life, a perma-grin plastered across her face and sweat rings forming under her arm pits. Suddenly, she feared Laura might think she was some kind of book stalker and have security escort her out and promptly unfriend her on Facebook.  She began to beat herself up for not taking a seat in the back and playing a little hard to get.

After the reading (fell in love a little more) and the Q & A (too nervous to ask a question–but had so many!), Lisa waited in line trying to come up with the perfect words that would sound breezy and non stalker-like when she finally got the opportunity to have Laura sign her book.

But the magical words never came to her. And even though Lisa was a hot mess when she reached the front of the line, Laura was absolutely lovely. (No doubt, she’s seen it all!) And she even humored her and accepted a copy of Lisa and Liz’s book, I’LL HAVE WHO SHE’S HAVING!  But the icing on the cake was when she gave Lisa a giant hug and thanked her for giving her the copy of her book. Who does that? It was then that Lisa knew there would never be another author who could win her heart the way Laura Dave had.

So you can imagine our excitement to have Laura at our LA book signing as our special guest!

So come down and join us on this Saturday the 25th at Metropolis Books in downtown LA from 4-8pm. Bring your favorite bottle of wine to share with your girlfriends in the comfy sitting area!

In addition, the fabulous folks over at DXG USA have loaded each of our beach bag giveaways with the MOST fashionable and trendy high definition video camcorder you have ever seen. DXG’s new Luxe Collection (retail value $149.99) merges fashion (Chick Lit fans love fashion!) with technology. Designed with patterns and bling, and with matching cases, they look and feel like your favorite fashion accessory.  And each bag is filled with books from your favorite chick lit authors!  A big thank you to eBags for donating the SUPER CUTE bags by Saltbox and Make Love Not Trash!

Each person who has their book signed will be entered in a drawing to win these awesome bags! The drawing will take place at 6pm, and you must be present to win! Good luck!

So grab your girlfriends (blondes, brunettes, and cougars!) — and boyfriends (we love men who dig Chick Lit!) — and head over to Metropolis Books in downtown L.A. (440 S. Main St. L.A. 90013) for a fun night out. And join us for drinks after to continue the Chick Lit Fan Night Out. Details at the event.

See you there!

Xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

©2010 Chick Lit Is Not Dead. All Rights Reserved.

Our first book signing tour was this past weekend in the Midwest. First, we’d like to give a big thank you to all of the WONDERFUL ladies who hosted us. Laurie and  Jacki; Kristin and the women of Serendipity; And Jamie and Cathy. And we’d also like to give a shout out to all of the AWESOME Chick Lit loving women we met–and instantly friended–on our mobile Facebooks. (Hey, we’re whores, we don’t waste any time!)

Well now that we’re home, we decided that after you embark on a journey that mixes poorly caffeinated airport travel, the uncanny ability to sit next to multiple non-hint taking Chatty Cathys in every terminal, drunken public speaking and the inability to remember the name of a person who has your own name, that we should establish some rules of the road for next time.

NEVER, EVER, EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A VENTI AMERICANO

There are certain times you should probably never talk to me.

Before coffee. Before coffee. And, um, Before coffee.

This is one of the many “lovely” things Liz and I have in common. So you’d think that knowing this…that understanding if ONE of us can be a bee-yotch face before Starbucks that the TWO of us together could, well, be f***ing bee-yotch faces…that we’d NEVER, EVER, under any circumstances skip our Venti Americanos….especially before a four-hour flight.

Not so much last week.

The morning of our trip to Chicago, Liz was frantically trying to get everyone what they needed before she left for the weekend (A husband, two kids, two dogs and some prima donna guinea pigs!). And I was at Ride-Aid buying her every shape and size of the 3-ounce size travel containers and a box of the FAA approved quart-sized Ziplocs for her moose, perfume, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, toothpaste, two moisturizers and four different lip glosses. (I had to bribe her to carry-on because there was no way in HELL I was stepping foot in that O’Hare baggage claim! ) So I didn’t see her desperate Facebook message on my wall.

Rough morning! Please stop at Starbucks and tell me I look like I’ve lost weight the minute you see me.   Thank you!

Because the thing is, if you properly caffeinate us, we can handle anything… A ridonckulously long security line, a pervy TSA agent with a foot fetish and even a loud talking Boston accented seat-mate with body odor.

IF you properly caffeinate us.

So there we were at the Long Beach airport that we usually heart so much because it’s so small that they board the passengers old-school by leading them out to the tarmac and rolling out a makeshift staircase. Usually so easy. But it’s amazing how an airport experience can change when you realize your only option to turn your day around is a pot of coffee that was probably brewed eight hours earlier by a woman in a hair net. Let’s just say even after I dumped six bags of sugar in mine and Liz filled hers to the rim with cream, it still tasted like ass in a cup.

DON’T BE A FLAT STANLEY
You know how celebrities talk about their “good side” and their “bad side” when they pose for photo shoots? Well, I always thought that was a complete load of bulls**t. I mean, how different could someone really look if they faced the camera from the left v. the right?

Turns out, pretty damn different.

My photographic light bulb moment happened before our first book signing while Liz and I were posing for pictures. We were ready to roll, wearing our sassy dresses and Liz sporting her curly hair. I stood on the left and Liz on the right. Behind the camera, Matt was snapping away with a concerned expression as he checked the LED screen after each shot.

WTF? I asked.  Then I grabbed the camera and gasped.

“OMG. I’m a f***ing Flat Stanley!”

Liz and Matt pulled the camera away from me and evaluated the pictures. And through maniacal laughter, they agreed. “You look like you, but one off. You are a cardboard cut out of yourself!”

So, after much practice, we discovered that my left side is really pretty damn bad. If I angle it toward the camera, I look like a Flat Stanley. And if I open my eyes a little too wide, I look like Flat Stanley, The Runaway Bride. Apparently if I want any chance at a good photo, I have to be on the right side, tilt my head to the left and my chin downward. And then, as if that’s not enough, I still have to angle the right side of my face toward the camera. (WTF?)

The anti-Stanley solution seemed simple—I’d just switch sides with Liz.

Not so fast, she said.

Because just like our major in college, our choice of sorority and even our affinity for Midwestern men, we also have the same f***ing good side!

And so began what we like to call The Fight for the Right! Stay tuned for more pictures to see who won…

KNOW YOUR LIQUID COURAGE COCKTAIL OF CHOICE
I was pretty nervous about talking in front of the groups at our book signings. To put it mildly, my past public speaking attempts had been disastrous-all involving a red face, huge sweat rings and the inability to form a sentence. I was pretty sure if I attempted to utter a word about our book, It would go something like this:

Buy our book. It’s real good. Thanks for coming. Bye!

When I confessed my fears to Liz, she gave me her crooked smile. “You don’t think we’re going to do this sober, do you?”

“Er, I’m on the wagon, remember?” (A story I’ll save for another post–but I had been alcohol free for 29 days.)

She knowingly pointed her finger at me. “Blondie, I’m going to let you in on my secret recipe for public speaking success. Cocktails plus no food equals great entertainment!”

I was off the wagon faster than you can say dirty martini.

And let’s just say that after two, er, three and a half of them, I was very comfortable in front of a group. Maybe even a little too comfortable…Turns out, as a buzzed public speaker, I’ll tell you which characters in our book are incredibly thinly veiled and how much of the book is autobiographical!

Liz’s secret recipe also had another side effect…You run the risk of being unable to remember a name–even if it’s the same as your own. So Liz and I would like to take this opportunity to give an extra special shout out to the other LIZ…whose name our own Liz could not remember…

Even after talking to her for twenty minutes.

But at least when Liz puts her foot in her mouth, she’s wearing a really sassy shoe!

PRACTICE HIDING YOUR WTF FACE

We’ve been friends for so long that we pretty much have the same brain and we think a lot of the same thoughts. We actually have mental telepathy…and it really comes in handy in social situations. Like when you can’t exactly say what’s on your mind because you might, well, offend-EVERYONE.

We can talk serious shit with a simple eyebrow raise, the ever so slight narrowing of an eye or a partial smirk. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, this superpower can be incredibly helpful when we want to scream to each other that the chatty Carl sitting next to us in the terminal is a DOUCHE BAG who needs to shut the f**k up! Or when we want to scream that the guy in the skinny jeans with a male version of a camel toe SUCKS for blocking the aisle as he tries to stuff his over-sized suitcase in the overhead bin.  And when you meet two stuffy women at one of your book signings.

Usually when people ask us what  I’ll Have Who She’s Having is about and we tell them it’s the story of two sisters who fall for the same man—and one of those sisters just happens to be married, the response is usually along the lines of  That sounds juicy! or What a fun read!  Or if it’s not their cup o’ tea (which we totally understand!) they politely move on from our table.

Well here’s how it went down when two ladies (let’s call them “Mrs. Stick Up My Ass” and “Mrs. Even Bigger Stick Up My Ass”) approached us at one of the signings.

Mrs. Stick up my ass: “What’s your book about?”

Liz: “It’s about two sisters who fall for the same man. And one of those sisters is married!”

*cue crickets*

Mrs. Even Bigger Stick up my ass with scowled expression finally speaks: “Married. Really. Hmm.”

Liz: “Yes, but she just had her first baby and she’s lost and she doesn’t feel connected to her husband…”

Mrs. Stick up my ass: “Hmm…”

Lisa: “We also have a blog. Why don’t you take one of our cards and you can read more about us and our book…”

Mrs. Even bigger Stick up my ass picks up the card and holds it between her pointer finger and thumb as if it’s covered in swine flu germs.

*cue more crickets*

Liz and I look at each other and smile our, we’ll definitely blog about this smile.

*cue mental telepathy moment*

Liz: WTF?

Lisa: They both need to get f***ing laid by Tim Fortune.

xoxo, Liz & Lisa

©2010 Chick Lit Is Not Dead. All Rights Reserved.

Liz doing her best impression of a distinguished alumni author.

Who says you can’t go back?

Lisa and I were honored to be recognized last week by our Alma Mater, Cal Poly Pomona as part of the Golden Leaves library program. We were proud to be included with many other distinguished alumni authors!

We were told to prepare a little something to say, but with Lisa was out of town,   my limited public speaking skills and I were left to fend for ourselves. So I put on my naughty librarian suit and dragged my husband along to take pictures.  And as we walked through the newly remodeled Library, I tried in vain to remember spending time in there as a coed.  But besides recalling one all-night study session with someone I was crushing on and an odd Lexis-Nexis flashback , I couldn’t even remember checking out a book!  My husband was very perplexed by this.  How did I graduate?  And I told him that I did what I always do.

I winged it!

That’s right, people.  I don’t like to over-prepare.  Outline, schmoutline!  Test?  Let’s skim the material and see what sticks.  Giving a speech at the library for published alumni authors?  Just get up there and see what comes to mind!

And so that’s what I did.  I told myself not to be intimidated that I’ll Have Who She’s Having was sitting on a table next to In Sputnick’s Shadow: The President’s Science Advisory Committee and Cold War America.   Or that the lady before me was reading about Chaucer.  Or the fact that the Dean of the Library kept talking about pedagogy and I had no idea what that was.

When my name was called, I took a deep breath and made sure I had appropriate cleavage showing. Don’t judge, I was just playing to my strengths.  And what I may be lacking in vocabulary, I make up for in boobs!

Then I sauntered up to the podium and told them about our journey to publication.  How every agent out there, said, Like this manuscript a lot but sorry, Chick lit is dead, maybe take out some pop culture references and call it Women’s fiction?...That Lisa and I looked around at all our educated women friends that were DYING for a good book with a happy ending and said SCREW THAT!  CHICK LIT IS ALIVE AND WELL!  That’s right, I told them.  Get ready people, because women want to read GOOD books about other women.  And we want movies made from these books!  And no, we won’t call it Women’s fiction so you can feel better about reading it!  IT’S CHICK LIT, DAMNIT!

Okay, so maybe I didn’t say it quite like that.  But I did say screw.  And crap.  But not f*ck. I didn’t think it would be cool to drop an F bomb when the President of the University was sitting five feet in front of me.

And then, because I hadn’t really um, *cough*, prepared, I just starting saying stuff.  I  told them that sometimes my brain likes to go on vacation. And when my brain packs up and heads out on vacation, it doesn’t want to read about someone’s kid dying or molecular biology. My brain wants to have a margarita, a happy ending and some chips with guacamole.  In that order.

And after that, I proudly held up I’ll Have Who She’s Having and said they should pick up a copy if their brain wants a vacation too!

blah, blah, blah, Chick lit rules, blah, blah

And while I’m sure that some in that room just dismissed me as a dumb blonde with a fluffy book, there were others who came up to me after and told me they agreed.  And in that moment, I knew that I made the right choice to take a stand for Chick lit. To show them who I really am…

A thirty-something girl with too much shit going on that sometimes just wants a good book and a glass of wine.  Oh, and liposuction.  But that can wait.  For now I’ll take the wine and book.

xoxo

©2010 Chick Lit Is Not Dead. All Rights Reserved.

Thank you so much to everyone that came out to support us last night at The Main Street Wine Cellar in Seal Beach.  There was a tremendous turnout!

We had such a great time that we ended up closing down the place!  Everyone loved the venue and raved about the food and service.  It has a great vibe and I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the area.  Tell them Lisa and Liz sent you!  Thanks again to owners Danny And Chris for hosting the event.

Liz and Lisa celebrating their first book signing!

I think the look on Melissa's face says it all...

Lisa and Liz hanging out with Chris and Danny, the owners of Main Street Wine Cellar.

Lisa getting busy with her sharpie!

If you were not able to make it last night, don’t worry!  We will be having another one very soon…stay tuned for details!

©2010 Chick Lit Is Not Dead. All Rights Reserved.

If you live locally or feel like traveling to Seal Beach (not a half-bad place to visit!), please join us this Friday, February 13th @ Main Street Wine Cellar for our first book signing soiree!

Moms & dads–call your sitters–you need a night out!

“Singles”, “in relationships”, whatever your story is–we’d love you to join us!

We’ll have copies of our book and the backdrop will be a hip wine bar. What better combination than books & wine is all we have to say!

Friday February 13th 6-7:30pm

Main Street Wine Cellar
302 Main Street
Seal Beach

Main Street Wine Cellar

Hope to see you there!

©2010 Chick Lit Is Not Dead. All Rights Reserved.