Friday, September 30, 2011

Clock Watching!


It's Friday and oh my winey goodness, London is HOT! Perhaps this is the summer we never had? Whatever it is, I'm certainly not complaining... but let me tell you, wine o'clock is coming early ce soir! A picnic in the park is definitely in order. 

Today, I'm over on Amlokiblogs, talking about my next novel (official announcement on Monday, yay!) and various other bits and bobs. Sign up to the Rule of Three challenge over there for a chance to win a copy of Willow. And in other yay-worthy news, to celebrate being short-listed for Best Romantic Read, The Hating Game ebook is now on for a reduced price of 98p and its US equivalent

Now over to the lovely Elle Strauss, who is celebrating the launch of Clockwise!

Chick lit Isn’t Dead and Why chick lit is Needed in YA

Recently I read somewhere that chick lit was dead. Obviously no one told the very talented Talli Rolland that!  And I’m with Talli, there will always be room on the shelf for chick lit now that the genre exists.

I remember when it didn’t.  I have very clear memories of a younger me scouring library shelves wondering why no one wrote Romantic Comedy.  It did great at the box office as movies, but nothing came close to it on the shelves.

I think that’s why I read a lot of mysteries back then. Besides liking mystery, it was the only genre that had a “cozy” line.

Then came Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding . Oh my gosh—finally! That’s what I was talking about! She opened the door to a whole new genre.  Which filled up fast.  Maybe too fast, thus the “dead” talk. 

But not in YA.  With the rush of Paranormal and Dystopian, and don’t get me wrong, I like me a bit of Paranormal and Dystopian,  anything on the lighter side seems to be getting not much more than a sideways glance.  Not everything, a few choice nuggets are getting through, like the spy books by Ally Carter.

Sometimes I think chick lit gets a bad rap. Like it’s just meaningless fluff, and flirty words.  And maybe there is some like that. But just because something is light and fun, doesn’t mean there can’t be a, a thought provoking deeper message of substance.

So, I say, let’s keep chick lit coming—both in women’s fiction and YA. Because sometimes you just need to read something that makes you smile and go, ahh.


Clockwise is launching electronically this week and it’s only 2.99 on Amazon , £2.17 on Amazon.co.uk! To celebrate, Elle Strauss is giving away five debut books by authors that you can meet on her blog tour which is happening now.

LOSING FAITH by Denise Jaden
THE CLEARING by Anne Riley
THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL by Heather McCorkle
PERILOUS by Tamara Hart Heiner
THE HATING GAME by Talli Roland

How to win? Sign up for Elle’s newsletter to enter. For extra entries just comment on any blog in the tour. The more blogs you visit and comment on the more chances you have to win. Five books, five days, five winners!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

43 comments:

  1. You know how much I love the cover art Elle! I love you both so much! You're fabulous women and this was a great post!!!

    Talli knows, but last night I created #chicklitchat on twitter so we could get together and talk about how much we adore reading & writing the genre! It should be embraced!

    This weekend I'm going to Austin Teen Book Festival and I'm going to two panels and hoping to be inspired to try my hand at chick lit young adult. I'm very, very excited about it! Watch out dystopian... we're coming for you.

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  2. I LOVE chic lit! Great post Talli! I write humorous women's fiction...and SO hope it's not dying, at least not for older chics like me who still love romance and comedy. And Jen, I'm checking out #chicklitchat

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  3. So true, Elle! And too funny you're here with Talli, today, when we just became friends on Facebook! I love your take on chick lit. I'm not an avid reader of it, but have read a few stories. You're correct - there is room for everything on the shelves. People are diverse and so should the books we write and offer to quench their thirst for a great story. :)

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  4. I've already said I loved the cover and picked up the book. Can't wait to read it. Oh why o why do I keep adding books to my reading list!? Because I love to!

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  5. I'm ready for fall. (But then again, I always am.) Hope London cools a bit for you.

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  6. Enjoy your pinic in the park, this weather is too good to be true.Enjoy it while it last.

    Yvonne.

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  7. I haven't read a lot of chick lit, although I started to while I was living in the UK. It seemed at the time more readily available there maybe. It's fun reading, and you're right, I read some really great chick lit stories that were far more than "fluff." Lighter doesn't mean without substance. There are all types of readers, there should be all types of books.

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  8. Yay for Elle, I'm so excited for her!

    Oh my God, we DO seem to be in the middle of some kind of freakish heat wave, don't we?

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  9. Send some of that hot weather over here! Cleveland, Ohio is cold and rainy! I had to turn my heat on last night!

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  10. Congratulations on The Hating Game being short-listed for Best Romantic Read! How exciting that must have been!

    After 6 years, my niece is leaving London tonight to live in Singapore...she'll be so disappointed that the day she leaves is summer hot!
    Judy, South Africa

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  11. Hi, Elle! Nice to make your acquaintance!

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  12. It's martini time here in HOT Devon! Mediterranean skies, daft pheasants but never the demise of chick lit!

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  13. Hi Elle and hello Talli!! London is certainly basking in some last gasp sunshine to make up for a crappy summer! Hooorah!!!

    I say yay for eclectic and varied genres! Keep em coming! take care
    x

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  14. Thank you Elle for the fabulous post! I think you're right. I love Bridget Jones :) And you know, I think a little rom-com mixed in with anything else only makes it sweeter and more enjoyable.

    Sarah Allen
    (my creative writing blog)

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  15. I haven't read much chick-lit (either adult or YA), but I totally agree that there's a place for it -- we all need those stories that make us "smile and go, ahh".

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  16. Hi Talli .. hope you're enjoying your picnic in the park - your parents will be amazed to be able to sit out in little old England at the end of September let alone your in-laws total amusement, when you get to tell them! Sounds wonderful ..

    Elle's book does sound so interesting .. while can't wait for the news re Willow on Monday - so much happening .. congratulations - Hilary

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  17. I love reading interviews with authors. I never get tired of them.
    You are very generous. Have a good weekend!

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  18. It's been great getting to know Elle on her tour.

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  19. Yay, I can hardly wait for the official announcement about your next novel!!!

    And congratulations to Elle! I'm so excited for her and wish her the very best of success with Clockwise.

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  20. I agree. I love chick lit and can't imagine it ever going out of fashion.

    Great post, thank you.

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  21. Nice interview. Love the book cover. So glad the writers in this genre are holding their ground. I absolutely believe that there is a need for chick lit/women's fic!

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  22. Everyone definitely needs to read some things that make you smile and say ahh!

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  23. I kind of have a dislike for proclamations like "chic lit is so dead" *said with a valley lilting tone for emphasis...like, Okay*

    I may not drool over chic lit, but someone does. I happen to enjoy a good chic lit novel even though I;m a fantasy/paranormal kind of gal. The guy next to me may think writing about vampires and demigods falling in love is stupid, but I like it and am excited to write about it. The person riding their scooter to reduce their carbon footprint may think 1000 pages for 1Q84 is a waste or that G.R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones is wasteful...but for me GOT made one heck of a wonderful read, not a waste of anything at all.

    So keep the chic lit coming. Whether traditional publishing or self-publishing, you have a reader somewhere ready to devour your story.

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  24. I sincerely hope chick lit isn't dead!

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  25. Great post! Chick lit is awesome, and I agree - more of it in YA would be great as well. :)
    And Talli, YAY for another book! :) It sounds great (I was just over at Amlockiblogs) and I can't wait to read it! :)

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  26. Hope you had a lovely day in the park. Cheers for Friday!

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  27. Great post Elle! I like all kinds of romance - and chick lit is such a fun genre. :)

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  29. "Here!" [sticks up hand to be counted in the vote to keep chic lit coming]

    BTW, all you fantasy-chic-lit lovers, have you ever run across "Enchanted, Inc.", by Shanna Swenson? http://shannaswendson.com/enchanted.html. I have no connection with her myself, just really enjoyed the books and would love to see more sequels - and there won't be any unless more people buy & read the books!

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  30. Somehow I cannot see Chick Lit ever dying. I just think there's still too many chicks who want to read it. :)

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  31. Have a great weekend, Tally.

    Elle, wishing you loads of success with Clockwise. Haven't read a lot of chicklit, but those I've read, I liked.

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  32. Thanks so much for hosting me, Talli! And thanks to everyone who stopped by!!

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  33. Congrats on your launch week Elle!

    Talli, i didn't know you were coming out with ANOTHER... already. How awesome. How do you do it?

    Enjoy wine o'clock and the weekend. I wish we had warm weather here. Chicago is COLD already.

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  34. Chiklit in my book is totally mandatory for coming of age...LOL. Those books were my companions and guidance counselors in a society where no one spoke about sex, love or gave hugs and kisses. Without them I may just have been another clueless girl with dreams no bigger than her kitchen. :) we can all thank the Louise Bradshaw's and ilk for that not happening.To this day I love career Girls.Ok, they were not Y/A but they did the job.

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  35. Great post and well said!

    And Talli, yay for 98p :-) I'm not supposed to be buying books at the moment but you were practically giving that one away, so I'm sure it doesn't count!

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  36. So glad that people are interviewing Elle. I really like her:)
    And news on Monday...*anxiously waiting*...

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  37. Long live Chick Lit! Just add a wormhole or two and you've got a great story!

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  38. Ah, funny how 'chicklit' has had several write-ups recently. I don't think its dead at all. Far from it.

    Talli - trust you are having a fab weekend - isn't the sunshine just gorgeous?! ;-)

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  39. No genre is dead while people still want to read it!

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  40. I just heard the news on Caroline Rose's blog! Congrats Elle - the book looks so fun.

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  41. I just downloaded The Hating Game. I'm so broke these days, I have to wait for a good sale, and I'm so glad I can read your first book now! Thank you! Looking forward to hearing about your new novel!

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Coffee and wine for all!