Hey y'all! Today we're introducing another new feature we hope you'll love--Liz & Lisa's Book Club! Each month we'll highlight one UH-mazing novel and give away a copy.
To kick it off, we've found an author we think you'll really love--she's hilarious and her narrative is quirky and funny---Linda Yellin! Her novel, What Nora Knew (out tomorrow, January 21st!) is a breath of fresh air--we could not put it down. Any fan of Nora Ephron will devour it! And when you read her answers below, we think you'll fall a little bit in live with her the way we have!
We have ONE copy for giveaway! Leave a comment and you'll be entered. Winner will be chosen after noon on January 23rd. US and Canada only.
Here's the scoop: Molly Hallberg is a thirty-nine-year-old divorced writer living in New York City who wants her own column, a Wikipedia entry, and to never end up in her family’s Long Island upholstery business. For the past four years Molly’s been on staff for an online magazine, covering all the wacky assignments. She’s snuck vibrators through security scanners, speed-dated undercover, danced with the Rockettes, and posed nude for a Soho art studio.
Fearless in everything except love, Molly is now dating a forty-four-yearold chiropractor. He’s comfortable, but safe. When Molly is assigned to write a piece about New York City romance “in the style of Nora Ephron,” she flunks out big-time. She can’t recognize romance. And she can’t recognize the one man who can go one-on-one with her, the one man who gets her. But with wit, charm, whip-smart humor, and Nora Ephron’s romantic comedies, Molly learns to open her heart and suppress her cynicism in this bright, achingly funny novel.
Where to read more about Linda: Her website, Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads.
Liz & Lisa's book club: What Nora Knew by Linda Yellin
1. We loved WHAT NORA KNEW! What was your inspiration for the book? Are you a huge fan of Nora Ephron's? My first book, SUCH A LOVELY COUPLE, was about my first husband, and my second book, THE LAST BLIND DATE, was about my second husband. I ran out of husbands so I had to write about somebody else I love. And, yes, I love Nora Ephron.
2. In the novel, Molly is quite skeptical about romance after a bad divorce. What about you? Are you a romantic? That’s the funny thing about skepticism. You’re skeptical…you’re skeptical…then you meet the right guy and – boom! - you’re a romantic. I hated dating. I was terrible at it. I wanted to skip ahead from the getting-to-know-you part to the order-in-a-pizza-and-watch-TV part.
Molly interviews couples making out on subways, couples buying engagement rings at Tiffany’s, single guys playing Frisbee in the park. Like her, I couldn’t figure out what everyone else seemed to figure out so easily. The first time my husband Randy called (of course, he didn’t know he was my future husband; I had to point that out to him several months later) – I was at home watching TV and eating a pizza. So really, it was the perfect beginning. And now I am a total romantic.
3. Molly subjects herself to many different ways of meeting people in order to research her article. What's your take on speed dating, online dating, etc? One of the great perks of being a journalist is that you can pretend you’re researching an article, when really you just want to meet guys. Speed dating fascinates me. It must be either the ultimate trust-your-gut experience, or a great way to have men reject you every five minutes. Maybe both.
And then there’s online dating. Ah, yes. I met Randy right before it became popular. I often wonder if a computer would have matched us up. I lived in Chicago and he lived in New York, so I’d have had to request: looking for someone within a 700 mile radius - which let’s face it, sounds pretty desperate. But – and I’m quite proud of this - I’ve written several profiles for girlfriends and so far I’ve reeled in two husbands and two serious boyfriends. I get the fun of online dating without having to actually date.
4. What's your favorite Nora Ephron movie? (Ours is When Harry Met Sally...) Oh, me, too. Definitely. Ditto. I totally agree. When Harry Met Sally. High five. Group hug. Absolutely.
5. What's up next for you? At the moment I’m recruiting anyone I’ve ever met in my entire life to come to my Barnes and Noble reading on January 28th. Which is why I expect a major New York snowstorm on January 27th.
Thanks, Linda!