Our guest today: Dana Bate
Why we love her: Her writing is sweet and savory!
Her latest: The Girl's Guide to Love and Supper Clubs (out Feb. 5th!)
The scoop: Hannah Sugarman seems to have it all. She works for an influential think tank in Washington, D.C., lives in a swanky apartment with her high-achieving boyfriend, and is poised for an academic career just like her parents. The only problem is that Hannah doesn't want any of it. What she wants is much simpler: to cook.
When her relationship collapses, Hannah seizes the chance to do what she's always loved and launches an underground supper club out of her new landlord's town house. Though her delicious dishes become the talk of the town, her secret venture is highly problematic, given that it is not, technically speaking, legal. She also conveniently forgets to tell her landlord she has been using his place while he is out of town.
On top of that, Hannah faces various romantic prospects that leave her guessing and confused, parents who don't support cooking as a career, and her own fears of taking a risk and charting her own path. A charming romantic comedy, The Girls' Guide to Love and Supper Clubs is a story about finding yourself, fulfilling your dreams, and falling in love along the way.
Our thoughts: She had us from page one--a charming tale that we think you'll love.
Giveaway: FIVE copies! Leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on February 4rd after 8am.
Fun Fact: Another Smarty Pants alert! Dana studied molecular bio physics at YALE. You go, girl!
Where you read more about Dana: Her website, Facebook and Twitter.
CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...DANA BATE'S 5 BEST EVERS
1. BEST SONG: Oh, boy. This is a tough on. For me, music and experience are so intertwined that my “best” song depends on what mood I’m in and what past experience the song conjures up. Radiohead and Elliott Smith basically got me through the sophomore slump in college, so songs like “Karma Police” and “Pitseleh” will always hold special places in my heart. My husband and I danced to Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” at our wedding, so that song always brings a smile to my face. I am physically incapable of keeping silent if “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Don’t Stop Believing” come on the radio – a sing-a-long is 100 percent required. And if you were to put me and a bunch of my college friends in a room and blast R. Kelly’s “Ignition”? Let me tell you – all hell would break loose.
2. BEST BOOK 1984. I read this book well over a decade ago (closer to two…), but its story and message have stayed with me. The book made me think about the role and power of government in an entirely new way. I remember reading the scene where Winston and Julia get caught by the Thought Police and not being able to put the book down, even though it was close to midnight and I had school the next day.
3. BEST MOVIE: It’s a Wonderful Life. I watch this movie every year and love everything about it – the characters, the message, the actors. The movie manages to strike the perfect balance of hope, sentimentality, and humor. And when George Bailey’s brother Harry makes that toast at the very end? Forget it. I cry like a baby, every time.
4. BEST LIFE MOMENT: My wedding. I wasn’t one of those brides who’d been dreaming about her wedding since she was five. Frankly, I went through a period where I thought I’d never get married at all. Even once I was engaged, I cared more about having an amazing marriage than having an amazing wedding. But the night was truly magical. Me and the man I love, surrounded by our closest friends and family? Pure bliss.
*Word on the street has it that holding your child in your arms for the first time often supersedes – or at least equals – this moment. Talk to me in a month and a half, and I’ll let you know ;-).
5.BEST PIECE OF ADVICE: “Persistence pays off.” One of my high school teachers used this phrase all the time – often shortening it to PPO – and it’s some of the best advice I’ve ever received. Without persistence, I wouldn’t have landed my first job or written my first book, and I certainly wouldn’t have found an agent or a publisher. And if my husband hadn’t kept emailing me to convince me to go on a date with him…well, let’s just say we’re both happy he did.
Thanks Dana! xoxo, L&L