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What's on Liz & Lisa's Bucket List?

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We're still jumping up and down Oprah audience member style over your overwhelming support of the publication of our second novel, The D Word and the re-release of our debut book, I'll Have Who She's Having . Thank you! Warning: Shameless self promotion coming in 5, 4, 3, 2...1

And...don't forget about  The D Word HUGE ASS giveaway!

Here's how the contest will work-It's simple!
  • Buy The D Word (only 2.99!) and email us the receipt at  Lizandlisa@chicklitisnotdead.com to receive an entry to the contest. There is no limit on the number of entries. Every copy of The D Word purchased= one entry.

All receipts must be received by TUESDAY JUNE 21st at MIDNIGHT PST and this contest open to US/Canada only.

We also have ONE more way you can win a great prize:

If you post a review of EITHER The D Word or I'll Have Who She's Having on GoodReads, Barnes & Noble or Amazon and send us the link to the review to  Lizandlisa@chicklitisnotdead.com by July 14, 2011 at midnight PST, you'll be entered to win a DXG 720p high-defintion camera. You can receive one entry for the review of each book for a maximum of two entries.  Doesn't matter if you've loved or absolutely hated the book(although we're crossing our fingers you like it...), you'll still be entered to win!  We'll choose the winner by random drawing. US/Canada Only.

So we just have to say that we're loving participating in our own features (and hope you are too!?) like Tuesday's 5 Things You didn't know...yesterday's 5 Do's and a Do-Over and today's Bucket List.

ON THAT NOTE: We may be attached at the hip (even while living 2,000 miles apart). We may also have many of the same likes- Macbooks, hot men under twenty-five (Roar!) and getting our gamble on in Vegas, to name a few. And we've obviously known each other a very, very long time (to put it in perspective, parachute pants were a wardrobe staple when we met). But we happen to have very different lists of what we'd like to accomplish before, um, it's all said and done.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS... LIZ AND LISA'S BUCKET LISTS:

Liz's Bucket List

1. Start a charitable foundation. I don't know about you, but I always feel so helpless when I read stories about people that need help.  Especially if has anything to do with kids or animals(cue waterworks!).  My brother works with the amazing human rights agency  IJM, that that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression.  So I have this secret dream of coming up with a large sum of money(But I thought I'd look like an ass if I put "winning the lottery" on this list) and poach him from IJM to start my foundation.  What would my foundation do, you ask?  I haven't got that far yet.  But I know that I'd be able to pick up the phone and *really* help next time I'm watching the nightly news.

2. Become a foster parent. Okay, so let me just say up front that I have no business putting this on my bucket list.  Between my two kids, two dogs, full-time job and my writing, I barely have time to breathe most days, let alone take on another child.  But there's something in me that REALLY wants to.  Like a heart-hurting, lump-in-throat-inducing reaction whenever I read something about fostering or talk to others who have.  So we'll see.  Oh, it would probably help if the hubs was on board with it too, right?  For now, I'm working on asking him if we can foster an animal.  Baby steps, people.

3. Be a contestant on The Amazing Race. Even though I turn into a complete bitch when I'm hot, hungry or tired, I'm dying to be on this show.  So when Lisa told me HELL TO THE NO when I asked her to be my partner, I decided to take the next best thing-her husband.  We applied in February with a very poor Flip video that featured an introduction from *someone* that was postpartum and VERY cranky. (Lisa!)  So we'll try it again with a new video and cross our fingers.  Although I think Lisa and my husband may be crossing our fingers that we won't!

Lisa's Bucket List

1. Own a beach house. There's something about the ocean, the waves, the sand (okay, maybe not the sand so much) that centers me. That clears my head and makes me feel like I can do anything. So someday, whether it be in Maui, Manhattan Beach (or even both!), I will own a home that overlooks the ocean. Even if it's a little shack amidst mansions, I'll take it.

2. Travel around the world. As cliche as it may be, it's definitely on my list to travel, travel, travel. I'm lucky that my passport has already been stamped numerous times. But there are still so many countries I want to see (China, Germany, Greece- to name a few). I love to to experience different ways of life, the foods (oh how I love the food- and drink!) and the history. There's something about being far from home that excites me. In my dream scenario, I'd be able to pack up and travel for months on end before heading back to reality.

3. Sit courtside at the Lakers. I want to be Jack Nicholson. I want to sit courtside at every Lakers game. yes, we're talking courtside season tickets. I want to overhear Leo Dicaprio's conversation and high five with Justin Timberlake. Kobe Bryant can drip his sweat on me. Pau Gasol can throw a ball in my face. Derek Fisher can fall on me. I'll take it all! I'm a huge Lakers fan and can think of nothing better than being that close to the action!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

 

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What's on Josie Brown's Bucket List?

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We love Josie Brown. Plain and simple. We first fell for her when we read the impossibly delicious,  Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives and now we're falling all over again after consuming her latest fun, funny and  completely satisfying novel, The Baby Planner. (In stores tomorrow- Tuesday, April 5!) about a thirty-seven-year-old baby planner whose own biological clock is ticking off the charts faster than you can say designer stroller. (Lisa could definitely relate- having her first baby, er, a little later in life.) Synopsis:

Katie Johnson may make her living consulting with new moms on the latest greatest baby gadgets no parent should be without, or which mommy meet-ups are the most socially desirable, or whether melon truly is the new black, but the success of her marriage to her husband, Alex, depends on controlling her own urges toward motherhood.

He's adamant that they stay childless. Sure, Katie understands that he's upset over the fact that his out-of-town ex-wife rarely lets him see their ten-year-old son, Peter. But living vicariously through her anxious clients and her twin sisters' precocious children only makes Katie resent his stance more deeply.

While helping a new client—Seth Harris, a high tech entrepreneur who must raise Sadie, his newborn daughter, as a single parent after the tragic death of his wife in childbirth—maneuver the bittersweet journey from mourning husband and reticent father to loving dad, Katie’s own ideals about love, marriage, and motherhood are put to the test as she learns ones very important lesson about family:  How we nurture is the true nature of love.

Want to win one of five copies of The Baby Planner? Just leave a comment here and we'll randomly select the lucky winners after 6:00 PM, EST on Wednesday, April 6.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: JOSIE BROWN'S BUCKET LIST 1. To own pied–à–terre on the northwest tip of the de l'Isle Saint Louis, an island in the Seine, there in the middle of Paris.

2. To circumnavigate the world in my own private plane, stopping wherever and whenever I want, for however long. (In other words, I may never get back home...)

3. To live long enough to witness world peace. Seriously. I'm no beauty queen, believe me. I just mean this from the bottom of my heart. (Must be the flower child in me who still believes it's possible!)

4. Great skin. Always. Despite a daily dose of sunshine!

5.  To see my own musical of Pride and Prejudice make it to both Broadway and the West End.

To find out more about the fabulous Josie Brown, check out her website and follow her on Facebook. And don't forget to pre-order The Baby Planner!

Thanks, Josie!

xoxo,

L&L

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What's on Laurie Frankel's Bucket List?

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OMG- So many great books, so little time to read them!  We are LOVING what we've been reading lately, many from fabulous debut authors that we have a feeling will steal your heart with their fabulous novels. Today we have Laurie Frankel and her debut novel Atlas of Love. And even though she's totally wearing our Lit IT girl crown, she's sharing her bucket list with us today-we couldn't be happier about it! (And we hope she figures out that whole teleportation thing-that could come in handy!)

When Jill becomes both pregnant and single at the end of one spring semester, she and her two closest friends plunge into an experiment in tri-parenting, tri-schooling, and trihabitating as grad students in Seattle. Naturally, everything goes wrong, but in ways no one sees coming. Janey Duncan narrates the adventure of this modern family with hilarity and wisdom and shows how three lives are forever changed by (un)cooperative parenting, literature, and a tiny baby named Atlas who upends and uplifts their entire world. In this sparkling and wise debut novel, Frankel’s unforgettable heroines prove that home is simply where the love is.

We think that reading Atlas of Love would be a lovely way to spend your afternoon.  Log off Facebook and log into Frankel's sparkling debut!  And we have FIVE copies to give away!  Just leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on Friday night after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON LAURIE FRANKEL'S BUCKET LIST?

This is the first “bucket list” I’ve ever made.  The term strikes me as a funny one -- I guess it’s about “kicking the bucket” (itself kind of a strange phrase) but it reminds me more of a hope chest, a repository for important things you want to carry, hold near, and maybe tote to the beach with you.  It’s also a funny thing for me to do right now.  In my 70s, I imagine the list will be wild adventures and final physical feats: skydiving or going walkabout or biking through France or something.  In contrast, I could go skydiving this weekend.  I mean I’d need to get babysitting.  But that’s really my only barrier.  That and I don’t really want to go skydiving.  I don’t especially like to fly.  It’d probably be really cold too.

My mid-30s bucket list then -- things I sincerely hope I’ll do soon enough, possibilities I want to keep with me and tote along to the beach -- isn’t especially glamorous.  It’s much more practical than all that.  I’ll still need babysitting though.

1. My first plan is to get really rich. Actually, I don’t need to be really rich.  Just a little rich.  Rich enough to quit my day job.  Not that I don’t like my day job.  I do.  I teach college, and I like it a lot.  But it’s interfering with all the other things I need to do.  I need to get rich enough for my husband to quit his day job too.  You can rearrange your life and make new priorities and plan and organize all you want, but you still need to sleep and shop for groceries and make dinner and walk the dog and pick up the 424 cars all over the living room rug every day, and your two-year-old isn’t going to entertain himself OR prevent his otherwise certain death from climbing up the bookshelves or over the back deck or under the lawnmower or on top of the stove.  Something has to go, and the day job seems like just the thing because what I really want to do is...

2. Write another novel. Hopefully several more novels.  And a play or two.  And see them all win awards and become bestsellers and receive lavish praise and brilliant stagings and get turned into gorgeous films so that I can go to the Oscars with my husband (must get babysitting) in one of those awesome dresses I always covet but never buy because where am I ever going to wear it?  It’s not like I live in Paris circa 1925 and might don something like that for a simple evening out.  Speaking of which, any minute now I’m going to...

3. Move abroad. I do love London.  You could talk me into almost anywhere though.  I hear wonderful things about the weather in South Africa, so maybe there.  Or Sydney or San Sebastian or somewhere Scandinavian or Costa Rican or Turkey or Malaysia.  I’m pretty flexible really.  Someplace warm and sunny would be nice.  And with a beach so I can bring my bucket.  Europe would be especially convenient because they have those super affordable airlines so you can go to Ibiza for the weekend.  I’d like to go to Ibiza for the weekend.  But I’m going to need some babysitting.  The best option for which is to...

4. Live nearer to more of the people I love. I live in Seattle, Washington.  My parents live in Columbia, Maryland.  My sister lives in Colorado.  My cousins live in California.  My best friend from high school lives in Virginia.  My best friend from grad school lives in South Carolina.  This sucks.  If everyone I loved lived in the same place, I’d move there.  But if I just picked one, I’d be missing only one fewer of those people than I am right now.  Plus my friends in Seattle.  Hopefully everyone will move abroad with me, but if not, I’d like someone to...

5. Figure out teleportation. What is the holdup on that anyway?  Physicists are supercolliding atoms under France and recreating the birth of the universe and developing really strong nanotubes of carbon, and NONE of that is doing me any good at all.  Teleportation, on the other hand, would be really useful.  That way I could spend the day on the beach in Kauai, have dinner at that great pizza place in Trastavere, and then go see a play afterwards at the Donmar Warehouse in London.  And the best part is...free, high-quality babysitting -- plus my mother’s french toast in the morning -- in Columbia, Maryland.

To read more about Laurie, check out her website or head on over to  her Facebook page.

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What's on Cathie Beck's Bucket List?

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There are few things that we love more than a good book.  But a glass of wine is right up there.  Which is why when we saw the memoir, Cheap Cabernet: A Friendship by Cathie Beck, we knew we had to take a closer look.  Because we figured anything about friends and wine just had to be fabulous! Originally self-published, Cheap Cabernet received with so much praise that it was picked up a major publisher. (You go, Girl!)

Cathie Beck was in her late thirties and finally able to exhale after a lifetime of just trying to get by. A teenage mother harboring vivid memories of her own hardscrabble childhood, Cathie had spent years doing whatever it took to give her children the stability— or at least the illusion of it— that she’ d never had. More than that, through sheer will and determination, she had educated them and herself too. With her kids in college, Cathie was at last ready to have some fun. The only problem was that she had no idea how to do it and no friends to do it with. So she put an ad in the paper for a made-up women's group: WOW . . . Women on the Way. Eight women showed up that first night, and out of that group a friendship formed, one of those meteoric, passionate, stand-by-you friendships that come around once in a lifetime and change you forever . . . if you’ re lucky.

We think you'll love this honest and hilarious memoir.  And guess what?  We have TWO copies to giveaway!  Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON CATHIE BECK'S BUCKET LIST?

Ah yes … bucket lists – where we get to literally throw caution and inhibition to wind and declare that which will make our lives complete, should we get the chance to attain them before our last breaths.

One item on my “for real” bucket list was to publish a book. It took ten years and ten more years off my life (read the Poets & Writers story at www.cathiebeck.com/press). But on July 20, 2010, Hyperion Books published “Cheap Cabernet: A Friendship” – a wild ride of two women in the 40s who drink lots of wine and get into some trouble. But they’ve got good hearts and the friendship rocked both our worlds – changing our lives in ways we never saw coming. Bet you know a friend or two like that.

In the meantime, here are a few things that are “must-dos” on my bucket list. In no particular order:

1.  Date Alec Baldwin.  I don’t mean just go on one of those sad, Oprah-episode, “you get to LUNCH WITH ALEC BALDWIN!” dates – I mean I’d really like to hang out with him and date him. Like where we watched movies (imagine!) and he took me to good restaurants and when he had a Hollywood function to attend, I’d be “His Girl.” I know he’s a cad and I’m not talking about marrying him, but I’d love to go meet his parents and his brothers and then I’d love him to fall madly, deeply in love with me. Oh please. Why not?

2. Jeff Bridges. See “Date Alec Baldwin.”  Since Jeff is married and devoted to his 30+-year-long marriage/wife and since it is then completely unrealistic that we’d ever date, you should know that I’d throw Baldwin backward in a heartbeat for a Bridges opp. Jeff, are you reading this?

3. Lunch with Bill Clinton. Yes there’s a tiresome and obvious theme playing out here, but at least it’s a brainy, interesting theme. The lunch I’d have with Bill Clinton would be one of those loooonnng lunches, where he  go off the wagon and have one too many “Jim Beams & 7s” and he’d start telling risqué jokes and maybe even slightly flirting, though that’s not what I’m after. What I’m after is a loose-lipped Clinton all full of himself (and of Jim Beam) and willing to divulge tidbits that never hit the headlines. Just for the fun of it.

4. Win the Nobel Prize in Literature.  There, I said it. I know full well how ridiculous and egotistical that sounds. I cannot help it. Did you SEE the great gown and the pomp and circumstance when Tony Morrison went to England to accept the Nobel? I just want to wear the cool gown and eat with British Royalty and courtesy. Whatever it is I have to win to do that.

5.  Sing a song, live, with Al Green or Bette Midler. This one’s creepy and I hope that Rev. Green and The Divine Miss M don’t seek court protection after this runs -- but the truth is that I melt whenever I see either of them live (now, probably 6 times each). If they are unavailable and/or freaked out about this the very thought of this, Jamie Foxx would work too.

Thanks Cathie! xo, L&L

To read more about Cathie, head on over to her website or find her on Facebook and Twitter .  You can also email her at Cathie@cathiebeck.com.

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What's on Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Bucket List?

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We're so excited for all the fantastic books coming out in 2011.  And you know you can count on us to have all your fave authors and books here! First up?  New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips.  Susan soared onto the NYT bestseller list with Dream a Little Dream.  Now comes Call Me Irresistible-out January 18th, which intersects characters featured in in three of her most beloved novels. Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.  Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.  One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.

But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

Sound good?  Click here to pre-order it!

Fun and sassy, we think that Call me Irresistible is the perfect way to start off the new year!  And we have FIVE copies to give away. Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!  We'll pick the winners on Friday night after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIP'S BUCKET LIST?

1. I’ve been working on my bucket list for the past few years, starting with some amazing walking and hiking trips in Europe, Central America, Canada, and Alaska. Still on the agenda: ¾Morocco, Greece, and more of the British Isles.

2. Master a big girl camera as opposed to my trusty point and shoot.

3. Learn how to bake a great pie.

4. Learn how to eat a small portion of great pie instead of , say, half the sucker in one sitting.

5. Satisfy my unhealthy fascination with Oprah by becoming her second best friend, after Gayle. Do you think I need a shrink?

Thanks Susan! xo, L&L

To read more about Susan, check out her website or find her on Facebook.

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What's on Kim Gruenenfelder's Bucket List?

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Even though we absolutely believe Chick Lit is not Dead, we've featured all kinds of fiction this past year.  Everything from memoirs to YA to non-fiction.  Because we know that like us, y'all just like to read something great, no matter what the genre.  But that being said, we still get a little flutter in our stomachs when we find really great Chick Lit. Because sometimes our brains need a fantastic vacation from all the other sh*t we've got going on! And Kim Gruenenfelder's latest, There's Cake in My Future is a perfect escape from whateveh you've got going on.  And Liz loved it so much that she gave them a blurb. Her first blurb EVEH!  And you know what they say, you never forget your first....

Want to hear what she thought?

"A delightfully witty story about friendship and love, There's Cake in My Future sparkles from start to finish!"

After listening to her closest friends’ latest travails in love, parenting, and careers, superstitious bride-to-be Nicole believes she has the perfect recipe for everyone’s happiness: a bridal shower “cake pull” in which each ribboned silver charm planted in her cake will bring its recipient the magical assistance she needs to change her destiny.  Melissa, still ringless after dating the same man for six years, deserves the engagement ring charm.  The red hot chili pepper would be perfect for Seema, who is in love with her best male friend Scott, but can’t seem to make their relationship more than platonic.  And recently laid off journalist Nic wants the shovel, which symbolizes hard work, to help her get her career back on track.  Nic does everything she can to control who gets which silver keepsake – as well as the future it represents.  But when the charmed cake is mysteriously shifted from the place settings Nic arranged around it, no one gets the charm she chose for them. And when the other party guests’ fortunes begin coming true, Mel, Seema, and Nic can’t help but wonder…. Is the cake trying to tell them something?

We loved it and we think that you will too-it really is a fun read with a lot of heart.  And Target agreed-they've named it as a "Breakout Book of the Month" for January. It comes out tomorrow, Tuesday December 21st, and you can click here to pre-order it!  Also be sure to check out Kim's other two hilarious novels, A Total Waste of Makeup and Misery Loves Cabernet.

And we've got FIVE copies to give to you!  Just leave a comment here and you'll be entered to win.  We'll choose the winners after 6pm PST on Wednesday night.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON KIM GRUENENFELDER'S BUCKET LIST?

I want to just preface this by saying I have dreams of donating a million dollars to a charter school or winning an Academy Award, but these are the goals I feel like I have some control over.

1.  Kiss my husband under the Eiffel Tower: Both my husband Brian and I have been to Paris, but never with each other. One of these days…..

2.  Travel somewhere exotic with friends and family: My husband, son and I have been to Hawaii and Disney World with my sister and her kids, Mexico with my son’s best friend from preschool and her family, and even run into my son’s favorite girl from elementary school on a beach in Kaanapali (3,000 miles away, in Maui.) I love traveling with people with kids – oddly enough, to me it makes the trip more relaxing. I would love to go to Ireland or Italy with any of these families.

3. Share a bottle of Cristal with my husband: My voice sounds like one of the little green Martians from Toy Story when I say, “Pretty gold bottle….oooooohhhhh…..” I have been lucky enough to have enjoyed very nice champagne over the years, but this bottle has eluded me.

4. Bora Bora in 2020: In September of 2020, my son will go college, and I plan to be suffering from Empty Nest Syndrome. Depending on the day, the thought of it either breaks my heart and threatens to send me into the arms of a bottle of cabernet – or makes my mouth water at the thought that there might be a light at the end of this parenting tunnel. No matter how I feel that week, I am going to be lounging around an overwater bungalow, watching fish swim under the glass coffee table.

5. Dogsledding: I love snow – since I don’t live anywhere near it. I love dogs – since I don’t live with one. I hate camping. Naturally, I want to combine the three. This is the trip I talk about every winter, and dream about every summer. One day, my family will relent and go, and it will be a disaster. I can’t wait!

Thanks Kim! xoxo, L&L

To read more about Kim, head on over to her website, like her on Facebook follow her on Twitter.

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What’s on Stacey Ballis’s Bucket List?

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Can you believe it's almost Christmas?  Time has just flown by this year.  And one thing we've noticed?  So many fabulous books this year about food. (Maybe we're all looking for a little comfort?) Some of our fave books this year have made us hungry-books by Melissa Senate, Jenny Nelson and Jennifer Ross.  And now we have another book about food that we adore: Good Enough To Eat by Stacey Ballis.  And we're ecstatic that she's sharing her bucket list with us too! Former lawyer Melanie Hoffman lost half her body weight and opened a gourmet take-out cafe specializing in health and delicious food.  then her husband left her for a woman twice her size. When she's blinded by a financial crisis, Melanie reaches out to a quirky roomate with tons of baggage and becomes involved in a budding romance with a local documentary film maker. 

Soon Melanie realizes that her weight loss was just the beginning of an amazing journey that will transform her life from the inside out.  With relatable characters and genuine warmth, we think you'll find Good Enough To Eat as delicious as we did-it would make a wonderful Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for girl on your list!

And we have FIVE copies to give away to you!  Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!  We'll choose the winners after Friday at 6pm PST.

And we have a feeling Stacey's bucket list will have you running out to get your own copy of Good Enough to Eat.  Read on to see why we heart her!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON STACEY BALLIS'S BUCKET LIST?

I’m really very lucky, especially since the things that has topped this list for the past decade were to find and fall in love with the man I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with, but last year he finally showed up, so I got to bump these up to the top!

 1.  Make my agent a very wealthy man.  It’s rude to wish for such things for oneself, you know, but if I am making him rich, I am also doing okay work-wise.

2.  Publish a cookbook.    Not a purely recipe book, but a really lovely book of stories and anecdotes and entertaining tricks and tips with plenty of gorgeous photos and recipes.  There are 40 pages of recipes in the back of my new book Good Enough to Eat, but that has only whetted my appetite for a real cookbook project.

3.  Get to my top five travel destinations.  I have long wanted to see Prague, Barcelona, Casablanca, Venice, and Berlin.  Lucky for me, they are all on my boyfriend’s list too, so hopefully we will  make time to go there together.

4.   Start playing music again.  I played trumpet, mostly jazz, for about fifteen years, but put the horn down during grad school and never picked it back up.  Not sure if I want to start back with the trumpet or try a whole new instrument, but it would be great to get back into music. 

5.  Own my building.  I have lived in my apartment for 17 years.  The building is a wonderful 1906 Victorian Greystone with three units.  My landlord and I have an agreement, when he is ready to let go of the building, he will sell it to me.  I am very patient, and don’t care when it happens, I just can’t wait for the day it is mine….especially since once I own it, then I can do some of the home improvement projects not possible as a renter. 

Thanks Stacey!  xo, L&L

To read more about Stacey's five novels, head on over to her website or her blog.  Or you can find her on Facebook and Twitter too!

Also, there’s still time to leave a comment here  to be entered in Liz & Lisa’s Favorite Holiday Things giveaway for your chance to win a Blackberry Curve, A Sony eReader and so much more! And don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page too!  It ends this Friday so don't wait!

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What's on Tori Spelling's Bucket List?

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Since the days of 90210 (the original, not the copy!) we've been fans of Tori Spelling.  She was Donna Martin, need we say more? And now that we're all grown up (well...sort of!) we have a new appreciation for her as an author. First there the New York Times bestseller,  sTORI telling which we gobbled up with a spoon (loved the inside scoop on Shannen Doherty and tales from the set of 90210) then there was Mommywood (which also topped the NYT bestseller list) and now there's her latest, Uncharted TerriTori. In Uncharted TerriTori, Tori is again incredibly open and candid as she writes about everything from media scrutiny over her weight and marriage to Dean McDermott to her controversial relationship with Dean's ex-wife to her unfolding reconciliation with her mother, Candy Spelling. And we loved every single page.

And you can win ONE of FOUR copies of Uncharted TerriTori by simply leaving a comment on this post. And on Friday, we'll randomly select the winners! Good luck!

And now CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...WHAT'S ON TORI SPELLING'S BUCKET LIST?

1. Go for sushi in Japan

2. Go antique shopping in throughout France

3. Own a farm

4. Go to Bali with Dean

5. Take the kids on a safari

To find out more about Tori Spelling, follow her on Twitter. And if you haven't already, be sure to check out her reality show Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.

Thanks, Tori!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

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What's on Maria Geraci's Bucket list?

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Tis' the season for great books! Case in point: Maria Geraci's The Boyfriend of the Month Club is available tomorrow! And we're here to tell you that it's a perfect escape after you've run yourself ragged with all your holiday shopping. We're thrilled that she's sharing her bucket list with us today! The Boyfriend of the Month Club is Maria's third book-and it's a fun, sassy read we think you'll love. At thirty, Grace O'Bryan has dated every loser in Daytona Beach. After the ultimate date-from-hell, Grace decides to turn her dwindling book club into a Boyfriend of the Month Club, where women can discuss the eligible men in their community. Where are the real life twenty-first century versions of literary heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy?

Could it be successful and handsome Brandon Farrell, who is willing to overlook his disastrous first date with Grace and offers financial help for her parents' failing Florida gift shop? Or maybe sexy dentist Joe Rosenblum, who's great with a smile but not so great at commitment? Unfortunately, like books, men cannot always be judged by their covers...

Click here to pre-order The Boyfriend of the Month Club!

Sounds great, right? It is! And we have FIVE copies to give away to you guys. You know the drill-just leave a comment and you're entered. We'll choose the winners on Thursday night after 6pm PST.

And also, don't forget to head on over to our Favorite Things Holiday Giveaway-we have FABULOUS prizes- a Blackberry, a Sony eReader and so much more!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON MARIA GERACI'S BUCKET LIST?

First, I want to thank Liz and Lisa for having me here today. Thanks, ladies! I also want to say that this Bucket List thing is really hard. For one thing, I have no intentions of kicking the bucket. Ever. But, I guess if I have to think about the things I’d most want to do before I… you know, do that thing that I’m not ever going to do, then this would be it.

1. After giving this some consideration, the first thing I’d like to do is take all my money and go to a third world country and feed orphans. But that would be a big fat lie. That would be my Catholic guilt talking, because the real first thing on my list would be getting the girls lifted. And yes, I mean those girls. I’ve breast fed three babies. It’s not pretty. Just once before I die I’d like to see them point north again (My husband might appreciate it too).

2. I want to spend a summer at the beach. Just me and Charlie (that’s my 13 year old, 100 lb mutt). I would write all day, walk on the beach in the evening, then drink wine and read books and watch movies at night. My husband and kids can come visit on the weekends (maybe). Oh, and it’s got to be Diane Keaton’s house from the movie “Something’s Gotta Give.” No other house will do.

3. Learn to cuss in Italian. I don’t need to know the whole language. Just the important words.

4. Do a huge family reunion. We’ve tried, but someone is always missing.

5. Put on a killer dress, get my hair and make up professionally done, go to the awards show and thank the academy. It doesn’t matter which academy or what I’m thanking them for. Any will do.

Thanks Maria! xo, L&L

To read more about Maria, check out her website or find her on Facebook.

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What's on Lisa Rinna's bucket list?

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Okay, so we think Lisa Rinna may have it all.  Actress, boutique owner, NYT bestselling author and married to hottie Harry Hamlin!  They've even got their own reality show, Harry Loves Lisa. What's not to like, right? Her first non-fiction book, Rinnavation, encouraged us all to look better, feel better, live better, even love better! (Which btw, sounds pretty good right now as Liz sits here writing this post while bleary-eyed in sweats...)  And there must have been others who felt like her-it made the NYT bestseller list! Now Lisa's making her fiction debut with Starlit-and we think it's a lot of fun!  Glamorous parties, flashing lights, red carpets-Tally jones has worked hard to join Hollywood's A list.  She finally gets her break replacing veteran diva Susie Sheppard on a nightime soap opera, ratings skyrocket and she earns an Emmy nomination.  But celebrity has a dark side too.  Tally's financial advisor makes off with her savings and her celeb boyfriend's kinky sexploits and paparazzi baiting have Tally wondering why there isn't a better leading man in her life.

Filled with colorful characters, Hollywood insider details and scandalous backstabbing, Starlit combines the fun of Days of Our Lives, Melrose Place and US Weekly into one titillating Hollywood drama.

Sound good?  Then leave a comment to be entered to win-we have FIVE copies to give away. We'll choose the winner on Friday 12/3 after 6pm PST.

And read on to discover what's on Lisa's bucket list! (And if she figures out how to make #5 happen, we hope she shares her secret!)

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS:  WHAT'S ON LISA RINNA'S BUCKET LIST?

1. Have dinner with Warren Buffet.

2. Live in Italy for a time.

3. Go around the world in 80 weeks.

4. Have enough $$$ to give millions and millions and millions to Charity- and not even feel it! :)

5. To be able to eat anything I want and never gain a pound :)

Thanks Lisa!  xo, L&L

To read more about Lisa, head on over to her website.  Or you can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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What's on Abby Drake's Bucket List?

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There's something special about the sisterly bond.  Which is probably why some of the best books have been about sisters. (Think The Opposite Of Me by Sarah Pekkanen and In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner)  In fact, we explored the sister dynamic in our first novel, I'll Have Who She's Having.  So when we came across The Secrets Sisters Keep by Abby Drake, we just knew it was going to be good.  I mean, c'mon- sister and secrets?  What's not to like? The Secrets Sisters Keep follows the four Dalton sisters, who have more than their fair share of secrets.  There's Ellie, the eldest, who tends to their Uncle Edward rather than living out her dreams.  Then there's Amanda, the Park Avenue snob whose husband just left her for a bikini waxer.  Babe's a movie star beauty and Carleen is a middle class mom who quilts cloth pocketbooks for fun!  When their quirky Uncle Edward decided to throw a seventy-fifth birthday party and then wanders off, it leaves the sisters to not only face their past, but one another.  Will these ladies ever be able to confront their long-buried past and be sisters again?

Sound good? (HINT: It is!) Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win your own copy-we have FIVE to give away!  We'll choose the winners on Thursday night after 9pm EST.  Good luck!

Abby Drake is also the author of Good Little Wives and Perfect Little Ladies-we're thrilled that she's sharing her bucket list with us today!  Read on to discover who her famous ancestors are and where she'd love to spend the winter.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON ABBY DRAKE'S BUCKET LIST?

1. Become a Grandmother. Boy or girl, one or ten or twenty! I understand I really have no say in this matter, but I would really, really love this! Babies are such wonderful, sweet little beings who hold all sorts of possibilities for love and hope and stories not yet written. Besides, my friends are having all the fun.

2. Go back to Paris; explore England. I guess that should count as two things in my bucket. J I would love to spend delicious time at the Paris museums and at Montmartre; I would also like to adventure down into the famous city sewers. As for England, ah, Oxford is my favorite, but I’m eager to discover the Lake Country and all the places and their people in between. Perhaps you’ve figured out that I’ve watched a lot of reruns of Inspectors Morse and Lewis and All Creatures Great and Small.

3. Get a Master’s degree. I’ve started, stopped, started, stopped, etc. I hate that sometimes life gets in the way of learning!

4. Finally untangle my Mayflower ancestry. Okay, so we have just about everything except the elusive marriage certificate between Isaac and Elizabeth in 1801. We know they had nine kids. Oh, yes, and we still need to address the issue of Orville and Nettie and the bigamy. Hmm. And how did great-great Grandpa get that wooden leg? Imagine the novels – not to mention the reality TV shows – that Mayflower descendants could have conjured.

5. Spend a winter on Martha’s Vineyard. I long to be where the loudest things I hear for months are soft seagull cries and muted buoy bells; where I can spend countless hours in the libraries that are packed with books of island life and lore; where I can walk along deserted beaches and watch a purple sandpiper or two; where a crock of chowder at the “Newes from America” pub will warm me through the night; where I can write. And write. Hey! Maybe my grandchildren will come to visit me!

Thanks Abby! xo, L&L

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What's on Julie Klam's Bucket List?

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If the cover alone isn't enough to make you want to read this book, let us tell you more. You Had Me At Woof by Julie Klam is touching, funny, emotional (Lisa might have shed more than a few tears) and downright charming. And beware, this memoir is so engaging that by the end, you're going to want a Boston terrier all your own (even though Lisa's almost eight months prego, she is seriously considering rescuing one!). AND, they just announced that You Had Me at Woof made the NYT bestseller list! Woo hoo! Julie was thirty, single and wondering if she'd ever meet the man she could spend the rest of her life with. And then she met him...although he didn't look at all like what she'd expected. For starters, he had four legs... His name was Otto and he turned out to be one dog in a line of many that taught Julie the secrets of love, health and happiness. (Oh and in case you were wondering, Julie end up finding that husband too!)

And five of you will win a copy of You Had Me At Woof! Just leave a comment and we'll randomly select a winner Friday night!

Now we'll let you read Julie's bucket list. (We love it- especially the Jennifer Aniston part!)

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON JULIE KLAM'S BUCKET LIST?

1. Meet Jennifer Aniston-not in a stalky creepy way, more like a she wants to be my friend way and so we go have lunch and walk around Barney’s and everyone says, “Oh wow, is that Jennifer Aniston and her personal manicurist?”

2. Get an iPhone- I know it’s not such a big stretch but I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time for Verizon to get the iPhone. Should I say get an iPhone in Egypt? Is that better?

3. Go to Tahiti- I think the plane trip is really long but I would love to be in Tahiti and drink something out of a coconut. I don’t want a long flight though so it would have to be after the Star Trek transporters are put into use.

4. Get hair extensions – my hair is long but not LOOONG and I would like it to be LOOONG. I’ve had it pretty long but it was really scraggly so I think extensions would be neater. Also in  the hair category one of those Brazilian hair things that makes your hair not be frizzy (though I don’t want the one the New York Times says has poison in it, I don’t want to die for unfrizzy hair)

5. Live in an apartment with an outdoor space – I wish I had a way to let my dogs out without walking them down to the street. I don’t quite know how this would work – a terrace with Astroturf? Hmm, yes.  And maybe a little putting green.

To find out more about the incredibly talented Julie Klam and her memoir, check out her website, follow her on Twitter and Facebook and definitely watch the book trailer!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

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What's on Jillian Cantor's bucket list?

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It's no secret that we love books here at CLIND-and we feel so lucky to get to read so many from such talented authors. Even better, then we get to share them with you!  So when we come across a book we really, really love, we get pretty freakin' excited.  Because we know if we love it, then many of our you will too.  And who doesn't want to fall in love with a great book? So when we recently read Jillian Cantor's The Transformation of Things, (due out next Tuesday November 2nd!) we knew that we just HAD to have her on the site.  Jillian is the author of two YA novels and this was her fist foray into women's fiction-we think she hit it out of the park!

In The Transformation of things, Jennifer Levenworth has a headache-a great big pounding headache.  When her husband, a judge, is indicted on bribery charges, everything in her privileged lifestyle starts to fall apart. And something very odd is going on-Jennifer doesn't feel quite right and all of her thoughts are not her own. Suddenly, she's able to have insight to her family and friend's innermost secrets.  Unable to determine why or how it's happening, she begins to wonder what's really going on-with her friends, with her life and with her husband.  And she'll soon discover that her headache was more than just a bad day.

Thought provoking and engaging, The Transformation of Things hits the prefect pitch on the reality of love, marriage and children.  You'll be turning the pages as fast as you can to see if Jennifer can discover what's really going on in her life and ultimately transform herself.  It will have you thinking about it long after you read the last page. (Just ask Liz-she woke up in the middle of the night and was STILL thinking about it!)  So do yourself a favor and pre-order it here!

And we have FIVE copies to give away also!  Just leave a comment and you'll be entered.  We'll pick the winners on Friday night.

And we think you'll dig Jillian's bucket list too!  In fact, Liz was surprised to discover that her's is almost identical to Jillian's. So now she's crushing on her even more than before. (Is that even possible?) Read on to discover if some of these things are on your bucket list!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON JILLIAN CANTOR'S BUCKET LIST?

1. Live in a house near the beach: This is one of those things that my best friend from kindergarten and I promised we’d do together when we were adults. Actually, we wanted matching next-door beach houses, and we planned on hanging out in each other’s kitchens drinking coffee together every morning while our kids played. Currently we live thousands of miles apart, not that close to any beaches. But we still mention those matching beach houses almost every time we talk on the phone.

2. Adopt a child: I am a mom to two amazing children who I gave birth to, but I’ve always had the feeling that I’d also like to adopt at least one child, too a la Angelina and Brad. It’s one of those things I always say I would want to do if I had more time/money/the patience to deal with the process of it all.

3. Learn to bake an edible looking cake: This is one of those things that no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to do, like the character Lisa in The Transformation of Things. My cakes always collapse, turn out lopsided, or just generally look like a mess. Yes, I’m the mom with the bakery-bought birthday cakes, every single year. I’d love to learn to bake things that people actually wanted to eat, or at least, wouldn’t laugh at.

4. Help Someone in a Profound Way: I’d like to have an Oprah moment with someone, where I’m able to give a person something he/she always wanted but couldn’t get: a car, a vacation, a reunion with a long lost love, etc. Actually, I’d really like to have a foundation where I got to give these things repeatedly to lots of people.

5. Run a race: I’ve never been a runner. I was always that kid in school who used to dread running the mile and who ended up in last place, coughing, panting, and feeling like I was going to puke. Recently, I’ve been running on the elliptical a lot, and I even went so far as to go jogging outside last week. I’d love to be able to train for, run, and finish a race of some substantial distance

To read more about Jillian, head on over to her website.  Or catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter.

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What's on Melissa Senate's bucket list?

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Do y'all have an author that you can always count on?  You know, someone whose books always deliver on the goods?  The kind of author that has you waiting in anticipation for their next novel as soon as you finish their last?  Well, we have quite a few-and we're thrilled to have one of them sharing their bucket list today. The fabulous Melissa Senate! We first discovered Melissa when we read the best seller See Jane Date and have loved all her books since. (She's written TEN!) Liz chose The Secret of Joy as a hot summer beach read over at Sheknows.com a few months ago.  So when Melissa's latest, The Love Goddess' Cooking School arrived on our doorstep, we couldn't wait to dive into it! It comes out TOMORROW-click here to pre-order!

The Love Goddess' Cooking School is a charming story about love, family and discovery.  When thirty-year-old Holly Maguire inherits her Nonna's Camilla's Cucinotta, an Italian cooking school, twelve of the sixteen students immediately drop out. And who could blame them? Holly's grandmother was a seventy-five-old love goddess whose secret sauces had aphrodisiac properties and whose kitchen table fortune telling often came true.  Holly couldn't tell fortunes and wasn't much of a cook, but her determination to keep her grandmother's legacy alive motivates her to teach the class anyway.  Armed with Camilla's hand-scrawled recipe book, Holly and her students create their own recipes for happiness.

Melissa's delicious writing will have you craving the delectable dishes served up each chapter and keep you hungry for more of her heartfelt narrative.  Touching and a bit nostalgic, The Love Goddess' Cooking School is perfect way to reflect on why you loved your grandparents so much. (Liz *might* have shed a few tears about her own Italian nonna while reading...)

And guess what?  We have FIVE copies to give away!  Just leave a comment and we'll randomly choose the winners on Wednesday night!

And it's no surprise that we adored Melissa's bucket list too.  Read on to find out why!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS:  WHAT'S ON MELISSA SENATE'S BUCKET LIST?

1.  A year in Italy—from the cities to the countryside, learning the beautiful language, taking regional cooking classes, staring in wonder at the frescoes in the Vatican museums, eating outrageously good pasta, sipping cappuccino at a tiny café table and writing.

2.  A tour of the American west. I want to see the red rocks of Utah. The Grand Canyon. A real cowboy. I want to taste some serious chili.

3.  A visit to my childhood homes. I moved often as a kid, and I’d like to go back to those old neighborhoods and see what I remember, what it evokes. I lived in the Bronx, New York till I was 8 and vividly remember the courtyard of my apartment building, where some mean old lady used to pour pots of cold water on the loud kids (I was very loud) from her fourth floor window. I’d like to visit my elementary school in Flushing, Queens, where my love of writing was sparked and nurtured. I’d like to find the spot in that little park in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where I had my first kiss in junior high school.

4.  Tom Petty in concert. Yes, Tom Petty! I dare anyone to look at my beloved Tom on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes and tell me he’s not beautiful. I want to hear/watch him sing American Girl and Refugee and Don’t Do Me Like That and my favorite Here Comes My Girl from my front row seat.

5.  A world tour. I’m dying to see Spain and Latvia (I’m half Latvian and only time I’ve ever heard anyone else say they were Latvian was on the TV show Seinfeld, so it’s time to see/meet some others) and Australia and everything in between.

Thanks Melissa!  xo, L&L

To read more about Melissa, head on over to her website or click here to follow her on Twitter.

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What's on Sally Koslow's Bucket List?

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It's just about that time of year again.  You know, when you can curl up by the fire with a blanket and read the latest offering from your favorite author. Or if you live in Southern California like Liz does, it might just be more like a tank top and a light throw.  But still, you get the point.  There's no better way to spend a lazy Sunday than with a great book. Which is exactly why we're so excited to have Sally Koslow revealing her bucket list.  As the former Editor in Chief at both McCalls and Lifetime, we loved her fictional take on the magazine publishing world in her debut, Little Pink Slips. (Which was reportedly about her experience working with Rosie O'Donnell!  Juicy stuff!)  So when Sally's latest, With Friends Like These, arrived at our doorstep, we were looking forward to losing ourselves in Sally's smart and sassy narrative.

With Friends Like These follows four friends who meet in the early nineties and become fast friends, despite the fact that they have little in common.  A decade later, their bonds are still strong but they are each struggling with their own issues and discover that sometimes the right decisions are the hardest to make, especially when it comes to old friends and loyalties. With Friends Like These is a fun and sassy read that may also hit an emotional bull's eye for anyone that's ever been less than a perfect friend.

Sound interesting?  Well, you're in luck because we have FIVE copies to give away.  All you have to do is leave a comment and you're entered!  We'll choose the winners on Thursday evening.

So, without further adieu, read on to discover what things the lovely and talented Sally Koslow is dying to do. (pun intended...)

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON SALLY KOSLOW'S BUCKET LIST?

1. Put all my pictures, including the ones languishing in my computer, into leather albums so my epitaph can be “Please let me read one more page” instead of “She never archived her 3000 photos.”

2. Get to the 937 novels I haven’t read in my well-thumbed 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

3. Road trip! Bad Sally has let her license become ossified. After I’ve conquered my fear of driving, I’ll take a cross-country drive whose centerpiece will be the Grand Canyon.

4. Write a rom-com screenplay.

5. Vacation together with my husband, sons and their gorgeous ladies in Italy. Or the south of France. Not picky as long as there’s sunshine, wine and excellent grub.

Thanks so much Sally! xo, L&L

To read more about Sally, head on over to her website. Or you can  find her on Facebook and Twitter too!

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What's On Janelle Brown's Bucket List?

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We've been reading fiends over the past few months- in search of books that make us happy, that engage us and resonate with us long after we've finished reading them. And that's exactly what happened when we found Janelle Brown's latest novel. This Is Where We Live is set against a backdrop of hard economic times as we follow a young married couple, Claudia and Jeremy through ups (they're aspiring artists, both on the verge of making it) and downs (Jeremy's manipulative ex appears on the scene AND they can't pay their bills). When their inability to pay their mortgage starts to crush the possibility of realizing their dreams, they begin to question their future. It's a book that makes you think, that reminds you what's important and challenges you.

And three of you will win a copy! Just leave a comment and we'll randomly select the winner tomorrow night.

And, btw, if you haven't had a chance to check out Janelle Brown's brilliant debut novel, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, definitely put it on your TBR list! Liz had already read and loved it, but Lisa hadn't. And after devouring All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, Lisa snatched up Liz's copy and was again in awe of Janelle's talent.

We could go on and on, but we'll stop gushing and let you read Janelle Brown's bucket list. That just like her writing, is inspiring.

Janelle Brown's Bucket List:

1) Go to Africa. When I was 20 years old, my parents took me on a safari in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Watching hippos play and listening to lions roaring at night outside my tent and drinking sundowner G&T: Paradise. Been dreaming of returning ever since.

2) Learn to speak Spanish. It's ridiculous that I live in Los Angeles– and in a neighborhood with a strong Mexican population to boot-  and my year-old child speaks more Spanish than I do. (I learned German in high school, which turned out to be a fairly useless language in my everyday life.)  2b) Learn how to roll my "r's" – a necessity skill for Spanish, and one I have never mastered.

3) Eat at The French Laundry. It's the best restaurant in America (or so the critics say), up in Napa. A foodie paradise. Actually, let's amend this to: Eat at the five best restaurants in the world. Why settle for just one?

4) Read all the great French and Russian authors. I've never read War and Peace, nor Remembrance of Things Past. This shames me.

5) Visit the bottom of the ocean in a submarine. I'm too chicken to scuba dive (even snorkeling makes me panicky), but I'm fascinated by the ocean. I would love to see the ocean floor close up without having to, you know, swim with sharks and eels and octopi.

To learn more about the talented Janelle Brown, visit her website and follow her on Twitter.

Thanks, Janelle!

xoxo,

Liz & Lisa

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What's on Adena Halpern's Bucket List?

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For us, there's almost nothing we like better than discovering a new author.  And when we find out that author has already written three books? We just *might* jump up and down like giddy schoolgirls.  *just maybe*

So when the fantastically talented Laura Dave told us about Adena Halpern and her latest novel, 29, we snatched up a copy immediately. And we found it funny, engaging and sweet (the perfect combo).  After finishing this page-turner with the perfect cover in just two days (and seriously wanting more!), it's exciting to know that we will get more because 29 and another of Halpern's novels, The Ten Best Days of My Life have been optioned by 20th Century Fox to be made into movies.  In fact, Amy Adams (Lisa has a major girl crush on her) is set to play the lead in The Ten Best Days of my Life!

In 29, Ellie Jerome is a young-at-heart seventy-five-year old who's done just about everything to stay young.  On her birthday, she wishes to be 29 again for just one day and wakes up the next morning to discover she's morphed into her gorgeous twenty-nine-year old self!  The sheer joy of being young again prompts Ellie to consider living her life all over-even if it means she'd have to leave all of her loved ones behind.  We think you will love 29- a story that reminds us why we all should live our life without regrets. And if you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of FIVE copies.  We'll randomly select the winners on Thursday night.

And you know what else we love?  Adena's bucket list!  Like 29, it's fun and sassy and left us wanting more.  We loved that she wants to pay it forward and set up a couple that gets married (Like Adena, Lisa met her husband through a mutual friend who set them up!) and that she wants to change someone's life.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHATS ON ADENA HALPERN'S BUCKET LIST?

1. Have Mr. Valentino design a gown for me. I don’t care if I have no place to wear it, I’ll wear it to the supermarket.  I’ll be the best-dressed woman in the frozen foods section.

2. Change/save someone’s life. Of course I’ve volunteered my time and given money to those in need, but one of these days I’m going to do something huge.  I want to be one of those people who offer to pay a stranger’s college education or buys them a house or pays off all their debts.  That’s something I’m definitely going to do one day.

3. Get a sandwich named after me. Though my husband thinks it should be ham on rye, heavy on the ham (hardy har har), I think it should be something more ladylike, dainty, like a tea sandwich with watercress and smear of cream cheese… and a spicy pickle for flavor. 

4.  Set up two people on a date who eventually get married. That’s actually a pay it forward thing.  A mutual friend set up my husband and me on a blind date. We’ve been married for three blissful years.  I’d call our friend every day and thank him, but he’d think I was crazy.  I think extending his good deed to someone else is the best way of repaying him.

5. Receive an award. I never win anything.  One year I won the Oscar pool between my friends and I. You would have thought I won an actual Oscar I started heaving with elephant tears, literally heaving.  I wouldn’t be picky about my award either.  Any old award is fine.  I’ll accept it in my Valentino gown!

Thanks Adena! xo, L&L

To find out more about Adena and her latest novel, 29, head on over to her website.  You can also buy 29 here.

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What's on Belinda Carlisle's Bucket List?

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When we heard that beloved Go-Go's front woman Belinda Carlisle was writing a tell-all book, we nearly squealed with glee. And when we found out that she'd be sharing her bucket list with CLIND, we channeled our inner GoGo and danced around the room to We've Got the Beat. (C'mon you know you would too!) I mean, what self-respecting child of the 80s didn't worship the Go-Go's?  To us, they defined a generation and were our first foray into "rock" music and fashion (Liz STILL listens to their Beauty and The Beat weekly on her iPod!).  And although we weren't quite able to pull off leg warmers and fluorescent belts the way those girls could, at least we were trying to get our inner "mod" on.

Belinda's memoir, Lips Unsealed, is filled with all the wild stories that her fans are dying to hear.  Stories about the band's crazy days on tour with bands like The Police and Madness and the fabulous parties and people to whom the Go-Go's had exclusive access.  But more than that, this candid memoir reveals the gritty flip side to the glitz, as Belinda shares her private struggles with abusive relationships, weight and self-esteem, plus a thirty-year battle with drug and alcohol addiction.  It's also a love letter to her lifelong friendships with the other member of the Go-Go's and to her son and husband, who led Belinda to sobriety.  We have a feeling that you won't be able to put it down!

And...we have THREE copies to give away to lucky readers.  Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!  We'll choose the winners on Monday evening.

But for now, read on to discover the top five things Belinda has on her Bucket List! (Hint: She loves to travel!)

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: WHAT'S ON BELINDA CARLISLE'S BUCKET LIST?

1.  Four-wheel driving in the uyuni desert in Southwest Bolivia
2.  To travel on the Siberian Express
3. Trek to Mt. Everest base camp
4. Do 10 days of Vipassana (silent meditation) in Rishikesh, India
5. See Tiahuanaco and Lake Titicaca
Thanks Belinda!  L&L
To read more on Belinda, head on over to her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter!
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What’s on Beth Kendrick’s Bucket List?

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With the kids heading back to school and leaves beginning to fall off the trees, there's no denying it any longer-Summer is OVUH!  And while we love Fall (Liz is SO ready to bust out her new black jeggings!), we're lamenting the end of  "beach read season".  Which is sort of strange since we didn't make to the beach as much as we would have liked and when we did, had zero time to read! But rest assured, we still read plenty of light and fun books we LOVED this summer.  One of them? Second Time Around by the lovely Beth Kendrick- her seventh novel. When a group of old college friends inherit a million dollar windfall, it gives them the second chance to live out the dreams they left behind to pursue more practical things after graduation.  Almost overnight, a professor, a bartender, a copywriter and an administrative assistant reinvent themselves as a novelist, an event planner, a pastry chef, and a bed-and-breakfast owner.  Fun and entertaining, Second Time Around is a perfect escape after a long week. We loved it!

So it's no surprise that we loved Beth's bucket list too!  We're happy to discover that we're not the only ones who secretly dream of being a surf goddess or are fixated by The September issue.  But don't take our word for it-check out Beth's list for yourself!

AND...we have FIVE copies of Second Time Around to give away! Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win! We'll pick the winners on Thursday night.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: BETH KENDRICK'S BUCKET LIST

1. Learn to Surf I took one lesson five years ago and I want more!

2. Acquire matching bedroom furniture When my husband and I first bought our house, this was at the top of our to-do list. But somehow, between re-plumbing the bathrooms, installing new windows and battling the freakishly resilient weeds in the backyard, we lost sight of our goal.

We just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary and our bedroom is still a hodge-podge of battered antiques, IKEA castoffs, and random piles of books (mine) and half-empty water glasses (his). I’m not even going to get into the curtain situation. (Of course, it goes without saying that my toddler’s bedroom is straight out of a Pottery Barn Kids photo shoot. So wrong.)

3.  Watch the Chicago Cubs win the World Series Actually, I would like to be the Cubs’ starting pitcher for the final game in the series, but I would settle for watching from the bleacher seats. Go Cubbies!

4. Visit Cinque Terre When I was a headstrong lass of 20, I spent a semester in Florence, Italy. While there, I had the opportunity to take a day trip to Cinque Terre, which is a cluster of seaside towns that is supposed to be breathtaking and picturesque and basically a Merchant Ivory film all rolled up with sunshine and gelato.

I wouldn’t know.

I turned down the chance to see it so that I could hole up in my bedroom and work on my grad school applications.

(Bangs head against desk.)

My reasoning was that I’d go see it next time I was in Italy. You know, because it’s always so easy to traipse off to Europe whenever the mood strikes you.

(More head banging. Ow.)

Also on my must-see list: Ayers Rock in Australia, the Northern Lights in Alaska, and the legendary underground jail cell at Disneyland. (Rumor has it that when you get your mug shot snapped, you stand on a pair of painted Donald Duck feet. I’m dying to see it. Yes, I’m eleven years old.)

5. Go shopping with Grace Coddington (the creative director of American Vogue) I just watched the documentary The September Issue, which follows Anna Wintour and her editorial staff as they prepare Vogue’s most important issue of the year, and I have a total girl-crush on Ms. Coddington. She seems funny, spirited, and brilliant--the kind of person who makes high fashion playful and accessible instead of intimidating and exclusionary.

Plus, I need a fashion intervention. Badly. The great thing about being a writer is that I work at home, in ratty old yoga pants if I so desire. The not-so-great thing is, my leaving-the-house wardrobe has been whittled down to a scant 4 or 5 outfits consisting of boring black shirts, dark denim, and flip flops. While the idea of jazzing things up with bright belts and statement necklaces and bad-ass boots appeals, I find excursions to malls to be overwhelming and stressful. (It does not help that I have the aforementioned toddler singing “Help Me, Rhonda” at ear-shattering decibels while I browse the racks.)

The time has come to call in a professional. I want Ms. Coddington to take me under her wing and school me on mixing textures and tell me whether someone with my body type should be caught dead in skinny jeans. If Vogue ever decides to do a feature on author makeovers, I’m first in line. Call me, Grace!

Thanks so much Beth! xo, L&L

To learn more about the fabulous Beth Kendrick, head on over to her website and be sure to check out her Facebook page.

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