Passing the Torch!

I am such a HUGE fan of the book Girl Unmoored I wrote to the amazing author, Jennifer Gooch Hummer, who WROTE ME BACK! I was not surprised that the creator of such a good book was so cool, but there is a special place in my library for books that shine with the harmony of an author’s words and spirit. I’m honored she is passing the torch to me for this awesome blog hop on the writing process. (You can check Jennifer’s out, here!)

1. What am I working on?

’Tis the season to be . . . worrying about thinking about fitting into bathing suits and deciding that yes, now is the time for all good women to consider shaving their legs. However, I am writing Ginger Krinkles, “a holiday tale of heart-breaking humor” (that’s what it says in the blurb) (that I wrote). Fa la la la la la la la la. It is a novella and will be about 100 pages long, conveniently sized for a holiday movie.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I love to read chick lit because it laughs at the sadness of life. I love to write chick lit, because it can entertain on so many levels, from magical realism, to romance, to philosophy, to using humor to help polish the edges of life. My favorite review I’ve ever received was, “You have to be a little weird and have a sense of humor to enjoy this book.”

3. Why do I write what I do?

See that review right up there? I’m looking for friends in Category: Weird, Niche: Humor, Sub-genre: Fun, to come and read with me. (Why is Garth Brooks’ song, Friends in Low Places, earworming me now?) 

4. How does my writing process work?

Please slap me if I start talking about my “craft” without adding macaroni and cheese! I was a TV writer and producer with daily deadlines which gave me the audacious idea that maybe one day I could write a book. I write every day unless I don’t. Sometimes I take a break to mop the floor for inspiration. (Oh, who am I kidding? I sweep the room with a glance.) Sometimes a writerly friend (I’m looking at you, Jackie Bouchard and Rescue Me, Maybe!) will invite me to practice my craft with her! Mmm cheesier.

Stay tuned! Instead of torch passing, I’m naming names … of groovy authors whose spirits just ooze into their books: Carol K. Carr and India Black, Jess Riley and Mandatory Release and Terry Ambrose and Con Game!

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Eighty-seven percent of us are more likely to read an article that has a quantitative headline, according to IMTU (I Made That Up). From “To Do” to “Top 10” to “Best Of,” lists claim to help us through the clutter to control the chaos of our lives.

Don’t get me wrong, I like lists as much as the next person, but can we really count on those numbered points as a compass to a better life? Or are you that rare reader who is not influenced by lists, at all? Take the simple test below and find out:

 

Which topic would you be more likely to click on?
A. Top 10 Self-Pleasuring Techniques, That Could Save Your Life!
B. Top 10 Holiday Centerpieces Using Pickle Jars, That Could Save Your Celebration!
Ha ha, just a trick question. Who wouldn’t want to burn precious moments, that we will never, ever, see again, checking out both? Especially if there are pictures included! Who doesn’t want to pick up some secret tip? I could make an unbelievable graph showing all the most popular lists out there, just waiting to tantalize us.

Top 3 Reasons I Can’t Make A Graph
1. I’m a writer.
2. I ran out of coffee.
3. It’s time for my Lumosity brain training.

All My Restless Life to Live I’ve been searching for meaning. Chick Lit, which can be loosely defined as books for women, by women, but always with a hopefully-ever-after, is not dead. There’s even a Top 10 Blog devoted to that very subject, ChickLitIsNotDead. (Hey, Liz and Lisa!).

5 Reasons Reading Chick Lit Novels Can Save Your Life!
Reading Chick Lit novels can decrease stress levels by:
• Exercising emotions,
• Providing nutritional doses of Vitamin I (Imagination),
• Triggering serotonin spikes of well-being,
• Improving social skills,
• Enhancing moods (Fat-free, zero calories)!

*Reading Chick Lit Novels not meant to be taken as medical advice, but really, should be considered a part of a healthy, happy lifestyle. Please consult with friends for recommendations before attempting.

With so much competition from Hallmark Holiday movies, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and coordinating projects on Pinterest, (really, give me 3 Good Reasons Why You Want to Learn How to Crochet), Chick Lit novels remain the one true constant. Still don’t believe?

Three-ee eShocking eStatistics!
1. Fewer people may be reading, but the ones who are, are reading more, thanks to mobile
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2. Nearly one-third of all Americans have read an ebook.
3. In China, it’s estimated that 25 million people read books on their cell phones.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . you do the math. ‘Tis the season to be stressed out. ‘Tis also the #1 List-Making Season of The Year. Not only do we make our lists, check them twice, we get stuck in a line where the last thing we feel like being is nice. There is a simple solution.

The #1 Best Gift Idea, Ever!
Chick Lit novels help us laugh at the sadness of life. What more could anyone wish for?

When Love Walked In, Certain Girls who were Good in Bed were shaking like Little Earthquakes.  Anybody Out There? I called. My heart was Skipping a Beat. I’ve Got Your Number. It may have started as Something Borrowed but you’ve taken me from feeling Hopeless to Almost Paradise, keeping me Spellmanbound and now, you Belong to Me, The Girl You Left Behind. Rescue Me, Maybe, and Take A Chance on Me! Spirit me away to The Forgotten Garden where All The Lonely People hang out and read awesome books about Love and Other Subjects!
P.S. I Love You!

Tags, thank yous, and Happy Holidays to goddess chick lit authors who make any season bright, including: Marisa de los Santos, Jennifer Wiener, Marian Keyes, Sarah Pekkanen, Sophie Kinsella, Emily Giffin, Susan Isaacs, Lisa Lutz, Jackie Bouchard, Jill Mansell, Kate Morton, Jess Riley, Cecelia Ahern, Colleen Hoover, Kathleen Shoop, and Jojo Moyes, and all the Chick Lit Goddesses, #ChickLit4Xmas!

Dee DeTarsio is an award-winning indie author living in southern California.

Shut Your “Skoal Hole!”

A book about a smartass guy in a wheelchair who works in a prison isn’t my usual cup of tea, but the smartassedy-ness of author Jess Riley always is.

You don’t have to be from the Midwest to thoroughly enjoy this novel (though it helps!) (and it’s not often we get to flash that badge of honor).

“Had everyone developed brain damage from hearing Urkel’s catchphrase one too many times? Did the mirror industry bottom out between 1990 and 1995? It’s amazing the birth rate didn’t drop completely off the charts back then, because I can’t imagine anyone fucking a guy with Billy Ray Cyrus hair and a tendency to call his friends ‘fartknockers.’ Yet it happened. And often, if Generation Y is to be explained.”

. . . From our man, Graham, so why don’t you just shut your “Skoal hole” and go read this.

Not Enough Midol In The World!

The amazing (and very, very funny) author Jess Riley invited me over, today! For some reason, she wanted to know about my teenage years. (Nothing to write home about.) (Move along.) (Not enough Midol in the world!) In any case, please mark your calendar for July 16th so you can be sure to read her new novel, Mandatory Release! (Thanks, Jess!)

All The Lonely People

Reprinted with permission from the fabulous-always-fascinating Writer Unboxed Newsletter.  Please click HERE right now to join the fun!

Reader Unboxed Book Review:

All The Lonely People — Jess Riley

Where do they all come from? In All The Lonely People, main character Jaime, who has lost her mother to cancer, realizes she and her siblings do not like each other: “We weren’t that family. We didn’t organize rummage sales together, we didn’t send one another birthday cards . . . We carried entire bowls of chips on our shoulders, with dip.”

Even her sweet husband gets the short end of the stick: “There will come a day when the idea of having sex feels like going to the gym—you know you should do it even when you don’t feel like it, you’re usually glad you did afterwards.”

A classic fight at Thanksgiving dinner leads Jaime to take drastic measures. She takes out an ad on Craigslist for a new family for Christmas, creating a list of demands for ideal relatives. Number seven? “Please be funny and don’t take yourself seriously.”

Set in Wisconsin, all the lonely people who answer the ad first meet for Christmas dinner, bringing their own hurts and hearts to the table. Jaime creates a new bond with this ragtag group of outsiders, as she realizes she is not blameless in manufacturing disappointment. As the story plays out over Jaime’s least favorite time of year, “. . .that frozen, dreary long night that lasts from January to March . . .” all the lonely people try to figure out where they all belong.

Author Jess Riley pulls off a refreshing look at the vulnerability of family dynamics, with all the charm and fierceness of a Midwesterner “shut in during a three-day howler piling snowdrifts against the front door.” Underneath the very funny dialogue that reveals the human absurdities of the loneliness and dysfunction hiding in families, Jamie gets a chance to look for tribal connections through her niece Hannah, the superglue of the family. Quirky characters with insights about life and love make me wish for more MidwestLit!

Bonus: Cool author alert! The virtual Jess Riley is as charming as you would suspect by reading her book.

Up next: July 16th, Mandatory Release (mandatory read!).

Summertime . . . and the Reading is Awesome!

Summertime . . . and the reading is awesome!

Fish are jumpin’ and the bookworms are nigh . . .

(Sorry.) Please go check out the Summer Reading Road Trip to see what all the cool kids will be reading!

So hush, little baby, don’t you cry!

For Pete’s Sake!

I don’t really know who Pete is, but anytime my Midwestern roots are showing, you better believe Pete will be there, too.

Meet my BFF, whom I’ve never actually met, for Pete’s sake, author Jess Riley. In Closer Than They Appear, a chance encounter at a stop light begins the quest that had me Midwestern rooting for her charming, quirky characters.

But let me back up, for Pete’s sake. Jess had me at her intro, up through and all the way to the bonus vegetarian recipes at the end, (that I will never, ever make), best served with Tostitos and cabana boys named Gustavo!

Hey Jess, I will see your Festival Bingo (you’ll have to read about it yourself!) and raise you my adult relationship-building coloring book, Men Are From Jupiter, That’s Why They’re Stupider!