What’s YOUR Craziest Breakup or Wedding Story?

We know you got 'em - stories about breakups and weddings that are so outrageous, so completely off the wall that you refuse to tell people because you know that NO ONE would believe you. Well, ChickLitGurrl and SisterDivas WILL believe you, and not only that, we are going to pick the two craziest stories and give the winners of said stories an autograph copy of Brenda Janowitz's hilarious debut novel, SCOT ON THE ROCKS (ChickLitGurrl's review of SOTR is below).

We will be accepting stories until Friday, September 21, 2007, and we will be announcing our winners and posting their stories (if they give us the okay) on Friday, September 28, 2007!

Submit all stories to us at sdb6812@hotmail.com with the subject CRAZIEST BREAKUP (or WEDDING) STORY!

Release the insanity of your stories, and submit TODAY!

ChickLitGurrl's Review of SCOT ON THE ROCKS - 4.5 out of 5 Rating

I'm a lover of titles, and when I heard of SCOT ON THE ROCKS, the debut novel by Brenda Janowitz, I immediately thought, "Witty, cool title - maybe the book's as witty and cool as it." It was.

The novel follows Manhattan attorney Brooke Miller, a woman who finds her great life gone to pot when her ex-boyfriend announces his engagement to the latest Hollywood IT girl. That in and of itself wouldn't bother her...well, too much, considering she has a hunky, sexy Scottish boyfriend she plans to take to the wedding. But wouldn't you know it, the Scottish hunk breaks up with her, leaving her dateless for her ex's wedding. Unwilling to forgo attending the wedding, zany Brooke concocts a plan to find a replacement date for the wedding and to get the love of her life. With a woman willing to a) attend her ex's wedding and b) instead of telling the truth, find a fake Scottish boyfriend, you know that craziness will ensue in Brooke's journey to happiness.

SCOT ON THE ROCKS was a breezy, funny romp of a story. Our storyteller, Brooke, has a very distinct voice, which I really liked. She had shortcomings - lots of them, but she acknowledged them, made fun of them, encouraged others to do so, too. As I listened to her tale of woe and of triumphant, I felt I was right alongside her. Author Brenda Janowitz does a great job with infusing nice characters, minor and major, and scenes that made me smile and say, I can totally see that, such as when Brooke and Jack are playing with the Magic 8-Ball (you'll have to get the book yourself to know what I mean!). Overall, SCOT ON THE ROCKS is a book that I would definitely recommend; it's a book that fits really well in today's contemporary women's fiction climate. I'm impressed with Janowitz's skills as a writer, especially with this being her first book. I look forward to what she serves us next.

Feel the Heat with ON FIRE Author, Patricia Sargeant -- INTERVIEW!

In 50 words or less, tell the readers something about ON FIRE that will heat them up and make them order the novel.
On Fire is the type of love story I enjoy. One in which the hero and heroine’s love is tested by outside forces as well as each other. Also, their internal and external conflicts are completely entwined. They have to solve one to resolve the other.



On your website, you state that ON FIRE was the first manuscript you completed - but as we know, it's not the first book you published. What moved you to go back to ON FIRE? Were there any major changes to the novel from the original?
Well, I could say I went back to On Fire because I had a two-book contract and I thought it would be easier to revise On Fire than to start a whole new manuscript. But that’s only part of it. And, actually, it wasn’t easier.

I love all of the story’s characters and its theme. The heart – or theme – of Sharon and Matthew’s story is trust. Trust is the foundation of every relationship. Without trust, the relationship will die. That’s a truth I wanted to explore with readers, and it’s the reason I never gave up on that manuscript.

Your question about major changes to the manuscript is an excellent one, Shon. Thank you. On Fire changed a lot. When I returned to the story more than 10 years after completing the manuscript, I was horrified by its condition. I’d learned so much about the craft of writing during those 10-plus years, which allowed me to see just how bad the original manuscript was. The biggest problem with the story was Sharon’s goal, motivation, and conflict. Originally, her goal was to get married and her conflict was finding a man who would understand the demands of her career.

Shon? Wake up. Wake up!

Yeah, pretty boring goal, motivation, and conflict, huh? But by redirecting Sharon’s conflict to Matthew’s trust issues, it strengthened not only the romance but the suspense plot. Eureka! Of course, that meant I had to change pretty much the whole story. But that’s OK. I was able to keep three or four scenes. Of a 400-plus-page manuscript. Oh, the cutting and slashing I had to do. (Does anyone have a tissue?)

There were smaller changes, too. For example, originally Sharon had a brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. I merged all those characters into her mother. Much, much cleaner. And I expanded Matthew’s work environment, which made him more three dimensional.

ON FIRE will be released on September 4th! Get HEATED today and head to AMAZON.COM to be notified on when to purchase YOUR COPY!

What are three of your guilty pleasures?
That’s hard to narrow down, but I’ll try. (smile) For today, I’ll say reading, eating, and sleeping.

I could spend every free moment with a book. One of the hardest things for me to train myself to do was cut back on my reading so that I could work on my own stories. It’s still very hard for me to put down a book and write. I recently finished Gwyneth Bolton’s Sweet Sensation. I’m reading Beverly Jenkins’ Sexy/Dangerous. And J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is whispering to me from the bookshelf. So many books so little time.

Regarding eating, I haven’t met a pastry I haven’t loved. I’m like Cookie Monster, Jr.

As for sleeping, let’s just say, if someone paid me minimum wage to sleep, I would rack up some serious overtime.



Talk to us about your journey to publication - how long did it take you to get an agent? To get published?
I actually was offered my first contract on a Wednesday – March 1, 2006 – and received representation the next day. To make a very long story short, I’d spent months researching agents. The agent who agreed to represent me, Roberta Brown, was on my Dream Agents list. I’m thrilled to have her representation.

I’d been writing for about 15 years when I finally was offered a contract. For about eight of those years, I’d been writing on my own and received numerous rejections on the manuscript that is now On Fire. In 1998 or 1999, I joined the Romance Writers of America. That’s when I realized I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. RWA is a wonderful organization. Its mission is to teach authors – published and aspiring – the craft as well as the business of writing.



Do you have a standard process to your writing? Are you an outliner or a jump-right-in writer?
I’m an outliner. I tried jumping right into the story, but – oh, it was disastrous. I got panic attacks, not knowing what I was going to write next. Where was the story going? Was I hitting my plot points? I started outlining in self defense.

First, I chart my hero, heroine, and villain’s goals, motivations, and conflicts. Then I create my list of 20 Things That Have to Happen. Then I write a scene-by-scene chapter outline. Once I’m comfortable with the outline, I start the manuscript. These lists probably sound like overkill, but I find them very, very helpful.

I write at night before going to bed. Once I’m done with that day’s writing, I review my outline for the next scene so I can mull it over as I’m preparing for bed and throughout the next day.



What are your favorite music genres/artists?
I like a lot of different music genres - pop, R&B, rap, gospel, reggae, calypso, jazz. Some of my favorite artists are Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle, Fergie, and Pink. Actually, I mention several of Patti LaBelle’s songs in On Fire. The heroine, Sharon MacCabe, is a huge Patti LaBelle fan.



What’s your favorite thing about ON FIRE?
I love the trust theme. But as always my absolute favorite thing about my books are the characters. I really connect with my characters, and I hope readers will, too – especially since I’m bringing most of them back in On Fire’s sequel.



What three adjectives best describe ON FIRE?
I may be biased, but: suspenseful, fast-paced, sensual.



How do you spend your time when you’re not writing?
Reading, eating, and sleeping. (smile)

For my day job, I’m a writer in the marketing division of a state agency. I love what I do, which is tracking and analyzing customer feedback in an effort to improve the agency’s policies and procedure. The goal is to make those policies and procedures as customer-friendly as possible.



As a published author, what advice might you offer to writers hoping to get published?
Find and develop your writing voice. A strong, unique writing voice is so important. You may have a great story, but you must make it unique to you, otherwise it won’t resonant with an agent or editor.

Case in point, there are a lot of damsel-in-distress type stories out there. Still, they keep selling. Why? Because the author has told the damsel-in-distress story in a voice that is uniquely her own.

I’ll give you examples. Take L.A. Banks’s Vampire Huntress series and Christine Feehan’s Dark series. When you strip these books down, they’re both vampire series, correct? However, you can’t imagine L.A. Banks writing the Dark series and you can’t imagine Christine Feehan writing the Vampire Huntress series, can you? That’s because both series are unique to their authors. It’s their voices.

Another example, Patti LaBelle and Celine Dion both sang “If You Asked Me To.” Same music. Same verses. Very, very different renditions. Why? It’s their voices, their treatments of the song.

Turn off your inner editor and write your story your way. Worry about polishing your writing later. Reach inside yourself and find your voice.



Dream-on: The movie adaptation of ON FIRE is greenlighted! Who would play the main characters, Sharon MacCabe and Matthew Payton?
Morris Chestnut would play Matthew. Matthew’s character starts out with a similar chip-on-his-shoulder attitude as Morris Chestnut’s character in movie The Brothers. And I think Nia Long would play Sharon.



What three adjectives best describe you?
Oh, another really tough question. Here goes. Introvert. Imaginative. Professional.



What are you currently working on?
On Fire is actually the first of a trilogy. I’ve finished the proposal for the second book. This romantic suspense features Sharon’s friends, Allyson and Andre, who you’ll meet in On Fire. Next up is the proposal for the third and final installment, a romantic suspense featuring characters you’ll meet in the second story.

Shon, thank you so very much for the opportunity to visit with you and your friends. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you.

Want to learn more about Patricia? Check her out at her WEBSITE!

ChickLitGurrl Talks with One of Her Fave Authors: M.J. Rose!

This has been one of my fave interviews for several reasons - the most important being that I've had the pleasure to read M.J. Rose's latest novel - THE REINCARNATIONIST - and it is, by far, my most favorite novel of 2007 thus far. I doubt anyone could top it, actually. I strongly urge everyone to pre-order this novel and take some time to delve into every nook and cranny of the book when it arrives. I will post my review for the novel soon; however, for now, check out the interview with Ms. Rose ~~ a link to PRE-ORDER can be found within the interview (with the book cover image).



If you could only pick five words to describe your latest novel, THE REINCARNATIONIST, what would those words be?

The book of my heart. (I didn’t even have to count. That’s how I’ve been describing the book for a long time now and it turns out to be five words.)

As I read THE REINCARNATIONIST, I couldn't help wonder about the amount of research needed to develop such a novel. How long did you conduct research for this novel?

Literally for years in various ways. I’ve been studying the subject for most of my adult life. I’ve read at least 60 books on the subject, have interviewed dozens of people and spent six months visiting a past life regressionist.Specifically I have 1200 pages of notes for THE REINCARNATIONIST and 1534 page of notes for the next book in the series.

So this is a series? I'm so excited by that. When I finished reading the novel, I was so overwhelmed, I cried and wanted to keep reading about these ideas...these characters. Will these characters be seen in the next novel?

The characters won't continue but the ideas will... In THE REINCARNATIONIST there is mention of a dozen memory tools that were once created over 4000 years ago to help people remember their past lives.In each book in the series one of those tools surfaces. Who finds it, who wants it, how the people involved touch each other's lives, how the past intrudes on the present... it's a different kind of series... stand alone novels all on a theme. I'm very excited and nervous at the same time. I'm pushing an envelope I'm not sure I'm up to it.

What were three of the most amazing, interesting things you learned about reincarnation through your research?

1. The story of Dr. Ian Stevenson, s doctor who spent his life working with children… over 3000 of them… documenting their past lives.

2. The correlation between birthmarks in this life and scars from past lives. There are many people who have marks on their bodies now that when researched prove to be the site of the bullet or knife wound that killed that person in a past life.

3. The sheer number of people who believe in reincarnation. I though I’d picked a odd quirky subject… but more than 26 million people in the US alone believe in the subject.

Why this novel? Having been a fan of your works for years, I couldn't help but feel that this was a different novel for you - a novel that you almost HAD to write. What drove you to writing THE REINCARNATIONIST?

You’re absolutely right. I did feel I had to write it.I’ve been toying with the idea of writing about this subject since I first started writing but I’ve always been wary of the negative attention, of having the “woo-woo” label affixed to me.But despite that, every year on the anniversary of my mom’s death (she died in 1997) the idea of writing about reincarnation would pester me again for a while but still I stayed away from it. Then a few years ago on the anniversary of her death my niece daid some very provocative things to me about my mother – things she really couldn’t have known – and the pestering became an obsession. A few weeks later I presented the idea for this book to my editor, Margaret Marbury, she loved the concept and helped me shape the book. It wouldn’t be what it is without her involvement.

The main character, Josh Ryder, is a photojournalist; how does his occupation play a role in the novel?

Josh is a realist. He’s spent his life shooting black and white film and documenting what exists in the here and now and then he comes face to face with a world that is anything but definable. As someone whose job it is to ferret out the truth the reader trusts him, knows he’s not being fooled by tricks of light or mirrors or smoke, his job helps the book that way.

At the end of the day, what's one thing you'd like readers to get from reading THE REINCARNATIONIST?

That it was time well spent.

I read that THE REINCARNATIONIST is in development as a major motion picture with The Pitt Group. And before the publication of the novel no less. CONGRATS. How excited are you about this? Do you think you'll have a hand in the movie process of your novel?

I’ve been around too long to get excited till I see the first ad for the movie in the newspaper. I’ve had quite a few options and development deals but none have come to fruition. If this one does, you’ll have to peel me off the wall. And no, I don’t imagine I’ll have much of a hand in the movie. I cringe at having to cut down the story to turn it into a two-hour film.

All of your novels have a psychological thriller aspect to them. Why do you think you develop your works around this aspect?

I think I write what I made me fall in love with reading, books that have psychological suspense aspects to them: The Secret Garden, Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, Portrait of Jenny.

You're a pretty prolific writer: do you have a standard process to your writing? Are you an outliner or a jump-right-in writer?

I used to be prolific. THE REINCARNATIONIST took three times longer than anything I’ve ever written before and the next book in the series is taking that long too. And I do have a process. I start with a “ What If “ and then I develop a theme. Then I start doing research and pretty much at the same time start a scrapbook for the main character or characters.
I usually spend months documenting as much of his or her life as I can. Collecting piece of a life, building a character. I call it “procrastinating your way into writing a novel”. When the scrapbook is finished I write down a storyline. About ten to twenty scenes. Then I throw them all away and start writing.

What is your favorite thing about THE REINCARNATIONIST?

That I cry when I read it.

Though now it's hard to believe, there was a moment when publishing houses had no idea how to market you and your works. You originally self-published your first novel, LIP SERVICE. How was the self-publishing journey for you?

It was an amazing experience because I somehow wound up being in the right place at the right time… I never expected to be a pioneer, only meant to go online and test some theories I had… it turned out to be so much bigger than that.

Years ago, self-publishing had a huge negative stigma to it. Do you think things have changed for those who wish to self-publish their works and the works of others?

Yes, to a large degree. There are dozens of novels every year that start out self –published and get picked up and go on to do incredibly well. The NYT bestsellers Vince Flynn, Christopher Paolini, Zane… The list goes on and on. It’s very tough to do, though. And I don’t recommend it. But it definitely has lost some of the stigma it had when I did it in 1998.

How do you spend your time when you're not writing or promoting your writing?

I have a marketing business for authors – Authorbuzz.com that takes a lot of time. I’m on the board and one of the founding members of ITW (International Thriller Writers –thrillerwriters.org).I try to go swimming four or five times a week and take a lot of long walks with my dog. I love to read, watch movies, spend too much time on the internt doing who knows what, running my blog. I also love to travel and visit art galleries and museums. And when I’m feeling brave I paint. (I’m extremely bad at it but I love it.)

What three adjectives best describe you?

Determined, stubborn and dogged.

What inspires you to write?

Nothing very noble I’m afraid. I write to give myself something to do other than worry. If I don’t have a story going on in my head to focus on I obsess about things there are nothing I can do about: the health of everyone I love. I had a difficult time when I was a kid and making up stories saved me. They save me still. Every day.

It is said that great writers are also well-read: what authors are on your MUST READ list?

It's such a long long list. And everyone asks this and every time I give different answers which must look like I don’t remember but rather is than I’m trying to give everyone a shot. I read a lot of suspense: Carol O’Connell, Robert Goddard, Ruth Rendell, Daphne DuMauier, Wilke Collins, Jeff Deaver, Doug Preston & Lincoln Child, David Hewson, Lee Child, Steve Berry, Doug Clegg, Laura Lippman, Barry Eisler, Michael Connolly… then non suspense: Lisa Tucker, Sally Vickers, Paul Auster, Tracy Chevalier, Sophie Kinsella (She’s the only writer who makes me laugh out loud). And at least 40 others I know I’m leaving out. Seriously, I have piles and piles of books waiting.

Word Association. What comes to mind when you see the following words:

REINCARNATION: Possibilities

WRITING: Faith

FAITH: Writing

M.J. ROSE: Lip Service (I took the name M.J.Rose when my first novel, Lip Service was published so they are indelibly tied together.)

SELF-PUBLISHING: The Past

As a published author, what advice might you offer to writers hoping to get published?

Read. I know it’s a cliché but it’s frightening how many people I meet who want to be writers who don’t read. And also know this is one tough gig – I also meet so many writers who are annoyed this whole process isn’t easier.

What are you currently working on?

The next book in THE REINCARNATIONIST series: THE MEMORIST

Want to know more about M.J. Rose? Then, check her out at these locations:

Her Official Website: http://www.mjrose.com/

AuthorBuzz: http://www.authorbuzz.com/

Buzz, Balls & Hype: http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/