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How many of us have feared, at one time or another, that we would wind up spinsters with an apartment full of cats? Well, the star of Becky Monson’s debut novel only has one cat, but she also lives in her parents’ basement … and is 32 years old. 

Thirty-Two Going on Spinster has been hailed by dozens of book bloggers for its humor and heart. Not only is Monson a brilliant writer, but I consider her a friend to authors and readers of chicklit everywhere.

After the interview, leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of her book!

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Your debut novel, Thirty-Two Going on Spinster, has had tremendous success in the past year, with more than 50,000 Amazon downloads and loads of glowing reviews. How would you describe the story?

The story is about Julia. Julia is thirty-two and stuck in a rut. Dead end job, no love life, very little social life. Her favorite things to do are bake and hang out with her cat charlie. She sees spinsterhood as her future… trailer parks, muumuus, and the like. Then along comes the new hire at work – Jared. And for some odd reason Jared finds Julia intriguing. Over a series of events (some of them unfortunate), Julia starts to come out of her shell and realizes that there is more to life then the bubble she has been living in.

But then, of course, everything blows up in her face. Will the new and improved Julia be able to pull it all together? Or will she give up and go back to her spinster future? I guess you’ll have to read to find out!

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What do think people will love most about this book?

Julia is the star of this book. And I think (I hope) people will love her the most. I know I do (I am a little biased, however).

I think, especially in the beginning, she can some off as a bit whiny and sometimes you want to slap her to get her to realize what she needs to do. But I think Julia is very relatable in many ways. I think everyone can find aspects of Julia’s personality that they can connect with. Continue reading →

I’ve been holding on to these titles for several weeks now, hoping for a good time to mention them on my blog. Well, today’s the day! From historic princesses to fairy tale recipes to a bloodthirsty Sleeping Beauty, here are three books I thought readers of Skipping Midnight might enjoy:

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Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Blurb:
You think you know her story. You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, and you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after.

But real princesses didn’t always get happy endings. Sure, plenty were graceful and benevolent leaders, but just as many were ruthless in their quest for power—and all of them had skeletons rattling in their royal closets.

Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe was a Nazi spy. Empress Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian empire slept wearing a mask of raw veal. Princess Olga of Kiev slaughtered her way to sainthood while Princess Lakshmibai waged war on the battlefield, charging into combat with her toddler son strapped to her back.  Continue reading →

Much love and many thanks, National Indie Excellence Awards, for choosing Desperately Ever After as a 2014 chick-lit finalist!

Said President and CEO Ellen Reid in her congratulatory announcement: “Your book truly embodies the excellence that this award was created to celebrate, and we salute you and your fine work.”

Check out it and the other honorees here.

And in another wonderful surprise this week, the women of Marestam were saluted by two fabulous book bloggers — first as one of Tracie Banister’s 2014 Summer Reads and then as part of Jenny in Neverland’s “Books That Made Me … Laugh” series.

“It’s sarcastic, it’s flirty, it’s cheeky, it’s hilarious!” said guest blogger Mary from M’s Bookshelf. “Laura gave those girls and their stories such an interesting, contemporary spin with some magic and lots of humor. I couldn’t stop reading and my cheeks hurt from grinning.”

I can’t stop grinning either. It’s amazing welcoming readers into this world I’ve immersed myself in for years now. Been an amazing few days :)

Spoiler alert! The season finale of ABC’s Once Upon a Time aired on Sunday, and fans have been lighting up Twitter with excitement over a long-awaited romance (“Captain Swan”), a fallen hero honored (baby Prince Neal), and the promise of something super cool (Elsa from Frozen) next fall.

But I’d like to devote this post to my favorite part of that triad: the moment Hook finally got the girl he’s been chasing for two seasons, Emma Swan. (Thank you, OUAT writers!) Yes, after following Emma into a time portal (Quote: “One of these days I’m going to stop chasing this woman.”), Hook helps his unrequited love navigate the past without destroying the future. During this time, she realizes that she doesn’t want to run away to New York City after all, that home is right there with her family in Storybrooke, and that … yes … Hook sold his beloved ship, the Jolly Roger, in order to come back and find her during the lost year. That’s how true his love is.

And with that confession, we finally get this:

(thanks to @lillyrain77 for the photo)

It was the reprise of this:

I’ve been waiting for since last year!!

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And for me, it was perfect. Unlike the old tales, this relationship took WORK. The guy didn’t rescue the girl like a prize; they rescued themselves and each other–physically and emotionally–many times over. And  that kiss was based on a heck of a lot more than her looks or his wealth.

My favorite kind of hearththrob has never been the white knight Prince Charming type, anyway. I’m a Han Solo kind of girl. Damon Salvatore. Sawyer over Jack. I’m far more interested in the flawed anti-hero with the dark past. The guy who’s constantly battling his inner demons, but who wants more than anything to be a better man … usually because he’s found that ONE person who makes him want to change. To him, while “charm” may come naturally (particularly the kind that digs deep beneath a girl’s skin until she just can’t resist it any longer), he must constantly work at all those other “heroic” qualities the storybooks celebrate. And in some ways, that makes them more meaningful.

In Once Upon a Time, Hook plays the role of this black leather knight perfectly. For me, his addition during season two revived what was becoming a somewhat repetitive storyline. Then, the Neverland love triangle between him, Emma, and Neal gave me hope that this was leading somewhere great. And during Sunday’s season finale, I wasn’t disappointed!!

Now, sadly, all of us Once Upon a Time fans have to wait FIVE MONTHS to find out what happens next :(

Lucky for me, I won’t be going a day without Belle, Snow, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, or the Princess and the Pea. I’ll be pouring myself into the June blog tour of Desperately Ever After; the August release of its sequel, Damsels in Distress (it’s got one of those black leather knights); and the creation of both a novella (Want to find out more about Rapunzel’s captor?) and the third book in the series.

Chick Lit Central recently called Desperately Ever After the perfect solution to Once Upon a Time withdrawal: “If you are looking for a fun and gossipy story to satisfy the holes left when Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives had their series finales (or even if you’re going through Once Upon a Time withdrawal come season finale time) look no further than Desperately Ever After.” Continue reading →

Happy Mother’s Day to every mom, grandma, mother-to-be, special aunt, wife (because having a husband is often like having a kid), puppy mama, and honorary mother out there. I hope you have a beautiful day surrounded by the people you love.

In the words of some of history’s most prolific writers:

“Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not.” ~ James Joyce

“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” ~ Rudyard Kipling

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in all its perfect power.” ~ Maya Angelou

Continue reading →

If you love dogs but haven’t heard of Marshal Zeringue’s Coffee with a Canine blog, you’re missing out–big time!

I’ll admit, I didn’t know about it until a few months ago, but now that I do, I LOVE it. As I’ve said before, every writer should have a dog. Not only do they yank us away from our writing caves when we get obsessed, but we work hard enough to convince people we’re worth a chance: literary agents, editors, publishers, reviewers. I think we deserve a bit of easy, unconditional admiration in our lives … for doing something as simple as picking up a leash or throwing a ball.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to have my Shadow featured on Coffee with a Canine today. And just in time for Mother’s Day, too! Click here for the article and to view all the other fabulous writers with their cuddly companions. Continue reading →

Well, not really. But part of me is!

The wonderful Effrosyni Moschoudi, author of The Necklace of the Goddess Athena and The Lady of the Pier was gracious enough to feature me on her blog this week. It’s a very fun interview, and she’s got a ton of wonderful readers I’m having a blast connecting with :)

Check it out here: Effrosyni’s Blog: The public diary of a Greek dreamer  Continue reading →

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Happy Monday everyone!

First, I want to give a huge thanks to Jonita Fex for featuring Desperately Ever After today on her blog, The Book Chick. I’m looking forward to her review later this summer! Click here to read the full article at book-chic.blogspot.com

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Second, here’s a reminder that Cathy Bramley is giving away an e-copy of Conditional Love through Tuesday. All you have to do is leave a comment. Plus, she’s a great interview, so it’s a win-win! Check it out here

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Third, Amanda Prowse will stop by Wednesday to talk about her latest novel, A Little Love, and give FOUR signed copies to you lovely Skipping Midnight readers. You won’t want to miss it.

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And finally, the price of Desperately Ever After has just dropped again to $3.99! Loads of Amazon and Goodreads reviewers have called it a great beach read, so plan ahead! Summer will be here before you know it ;)

Alex Hughes’ Mindspace Investigations series has been described as a mixture of “Chinatown” and “Blade Runner.” Just days away from releasing the third a planned nine books, she stops by Skipping Midnight today to talk about the next installment … and to give one lucky reader the chance to win an electronic copy of RABBIT TRICK!

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1. You are just a few days away from releasing the third book in your Mindspace Investigations series. What can you tell us about the story?

Thank you for having me on the blog! I’m very excited about the upcoming release, and of course, I’d be glad to share details. The series is about a telepath who’s a recovering addict working with the police in future Atlanta to solve crimes. In this book, Adam’s ex-fiance calls him to investigate a suspicious death at the Telepath’s Guild, and Adam finds himself juggling both a Guild case and a police case, the latter a brutal axe murder. Will he be able to keep all the balls in the air? If he doesn’t, he’ll lose more than just his job.

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2. What do think people will love most about the series? What do you love about it?

Adam is a very real character with very real problems, and getting deep in his head (and, through him, in the heads of others) is a cool experience. I love the contrast between the futuristic world (flying cars!) and the post-Tech Wars lack of computer technology, and I love getting deep into the Telepath’s Guild with all their powers and all their agendas. I also love the cop-show feel of the cases, as Adam and Cherabino fight for justice one case at a time. I try to be true to the expectations of both mystery readers and SF readers and the mix, I think, is cool.

Continue reading →

As a not-so-closet fan of “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals,” I was intrigued when RG Dole sent me the information for her debut novel, IMMORTAL LONGINGS. Werewolves, vampires, a struggle to belong, and a pair of star-crossed lovers? Sign me up!

After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win an e-copy of IMMORTAL LONGINGS!

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1. Your debut novel, IMMORTAL LONGINGS, seems to have a sort of Romeo and Juliet premise—only it involves vampires and werewolves. What can you tell us about the story?

It is in fact a three-part story, beginning with the rather Romeo and Juliet look of a vampire and werewolf falling in love, knowing neither of their families will understand. But it’s more about Lexi, the vampire, running from someone who tried to kidnap her and really beginning to question her life and trying to make it on her own. The rest of the book is about their son, Eric, who is trying to discover who he is. By being the only half werewolf half vampire in existence, he feels like an outcast most of his life. There’s a lot of action and self-discovery and it even comes to answer why the vampire and werewolves exist.

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2. What do think people will love most about the book? What do you love about it?

Well at first I loved most that I was being so original in my half vampire half werewolf man … until my dad told me about Underworld … so that bubble was popped. But I hope people will love the characters and enjoy Eric’s point of view on things. I loved watching him grow and change. People think that as the author I know what will happen, but my characters surprise me at times and that’s what makes writing so much fun.

Continue reading →