Trying to feed our kids healthy food can be a full-time job in itself. I don't know about you, but it's something we are constantly stressing about-all the organic, whole grain and fiber rich labels at the store make our heads spin!
Which is why we really loved Julia's Child, Sarah Pinneo's fun fiction debut novel about Julia, a mom who is heading up a startup organic children's food brand. It's a fast-paced read that's perfect for the beach(um, hello, it was 80 degrees in LA this past weekend!). We're ecstatic that Sarah agreed to strike a pose and wear our Lit IT girl crown-we think you guys will love her!
Here's the 411 on Julia's child: Julia Bailey is a mompreneur with too many principles and too little time. Her fledgling company, Julia's Child, makes organic toddler meals like Gentle Lentil and Give Peas a Chance. But turning a profit while saving the world proves tricky as Julia must face a ninety-two-pound TV diva, an ill-timed protest rally, and a room full of one hundred lactating breasts. Will she get her big break before her family reaches the breaking point? In the end, it is a story about motherhood's choices: organic versus local, paper versus plastic, staying at home versus risking it all.
Sound good? We have FIVE copies to give away! Just leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on Sunday, March 11th after 6pm PST. Good Luck!
CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LIT IT GIRL: DEBUT AUTHOR SARAH PINNEO
1. How many agents did you query before you found "the one"? For me, you have to ask that question this way: how many agents did you have before you found “the one.” And the answer is three! The first one handles only cookbooks. So we were great together, until the minute I finished my novel. But it wasn’t a bitter divorce. We keep in touch. My second agent couldn’t sell my first novel, and then he fired me—by email—immediately after reading the second.
But somehow I scraped myself up off the floor and queried widely for Julia’s Child. And in only 60 days I had three offers of representation. I learned something valuable from that experience—that it really isn’t personal.
My third agent, bless her, is amazing. I say a little prayer for her health on a daily basis.
2. What's a line from your "favorite" rejection letter? Rejection letters are mostly alike: “not for me,” etc. So I tend to remember them more for their speed than their contents. There is a certain New York agent who always ranks among the “Top 10 Most Non-Responsive agents” list maintained over at QueryTracker.net—meaning that he can’t even be bothered to reject anyone.
Well!
I sent him a snail mail query, dropping it into an Upper East Side mailbox on a Tuesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon my SASE had made it, complete with tiny 1/4 page pre-printed rejection, into my Upper West Side mailbox. I’m not quite sure how he pulled it off, unless he has a mole in the Post Office. He couldn’t wait to get my query off his desk.
3. What was the hardest part about writing your debut novel? I had so many things I wanted to say—points I wanted to make. But that’s not what drives a good novel. So (with my editor’s help) I cut a lot of things that didn’t move the story forward. All my trade reviews have praised the book’s fast pace, which feels like a victory.
4. What is the best/worst advice you received while you were trying to break into the book biz? The best and worse advice is the same: to have a thick skin. I get it, I really do. You can’t feel too strongly about rejection and stay sane in this business. But nobody tells you where to get a thick skin. Amazon doesn’t even sell them. I’ve looked.
5. How did you celebrate your book deal? The call came at about ten in the morning, and my husband popped open a bottle of champagne even before I hung up the phone. Isn’t he a great guy?
6. Who is your writer crush? Carl Hiaasen. Any man who can write really funny novels about South Florida while also writing terrific investigative journalism is a man after my own heart. I hope I get to meet him some day
7. If you were stranded on a desert island and could have only one book, what would it be? Well, if How to Survive a Desert Island weren’t available, I guess I’d opt for Pride and Prejudice. It’s my literary comfort food.
8. What's on your iPod right now? I’m listening to Girlyman’s Through to Sunrise. I love that song.
9. What's your #1 stress reliever? A cool flute of Prosecco. I could use one right about now.
10. Who/what would you place in the center of the Entertainment Weekly bullseye? The sisters of Downton Abbey. In a perfect world I would have Mary’s waist, Edith’s bust and Sybil’s smoky voice.
Thanks Sarah! xoxo, L&L
To read more about Sarah, head on over to her website or find her on Twitter.