Today's guest: Liza Palmer Why we love her: We've loved Liza since we read Conversations with a Fat Girl

The scoop on it: The strategy on the gridiron of Friday Night Lights is nothing compared to the savagery of coming home . . .

Queenie Wake has just been fired from her job as a chef for not allowing a customer to use ketchup . . . again. Now the only place she has to go is North Star, Texas, the hometown she left in disgrace. Maybe things will be different this time around. After all, her mother—notorious for stealing your man, your car, and your rent money—has been dead for years. And Queenie's sister, once the local teenage harlot who fooled around with the town golden boy, is now the mother of the high school football captain.

Queenie's new job, cooking last meals at the nearby prison, is going well . . . at least the inmates don't complain! But apparently small-town Texas has a long memory for bad reputations. And when Queenie bumps into Everett Coburn, the high school sweetheart who broke her heart, she wishes her own memory was a little spottier. But before Queenie takes another chance on love, she'll have to take an even bigger risk: finding a place to call home once and for all.

Our thoughts: We love her witty writing. And this story is the perfect blend of heart and humor.

Giveaway: 2 copies! Just leave a comment and be entered to win. We'll select the winners on Sunday, April 14th after 12pm PST.

Fun fact: Check out her blog where she reveals behind the scenes details about her books (including the town her latest novel was based on) and her life.

Where you can read more about Liza: Her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LIZA PALMER'S 5 FIRSTS AND LASTS

Kiss

My first kiss was probably with some poor unsuspecting neighbor and my most recent kiss was… the same, some poor unsuspecting neighbor.

Book you read

The first books I read were some combination of Miffy at the Zoo, Fletcher and Zenobia, Where the Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon.

And the last book (play?) I read was Much Ado About Nothing. (And the Joss Whedon movie version…hello?! Can it surpass the Italian tanned loveliness of the Branagh version? WE SHALL SEE. Here’s what I do now: Fillion will definitely do better than Keaton as Dogberry. “Let it be known that I am an ass”… I CAN’T WAIT.)

Risk you took

The first risk I took was my entire childhood. My Mom has informed me that she should have invested in a ceremonial plaque that saved her preferred seat in the Emergency Room.

The most recent risk I took was ordering the Cobb Salad at the Westside Tavern. It’s hard to do a good Cobb. (Verdict? Loved it. Highly recommend it.)

Hell ya! moment

My first Hell Ya moment - I actually asked my Mom about this and she said, “What about when you decided not to go to Kindergarten. Walked in through the front door and right back out the back.” I asked her what brought me back – what convinced me to stay. And she said they’d just started this new pilot program where kids could dictate stories and teachers would write them down and make books out of them. I didn’t know that… very cool to know writing has always been there for me.

My latest Hell Ya moment? I mean, that Cobb Salad was pretty great, but… it was probably when Nowhere but Home came in the mail. The package was on my stoop and I thought maybeeeee – tore it open – and there it was. I got emotional immediately and I haven’t let it out of my sight since. There’s just nothing like holding that finished book in your hands. Yes, I’m kind of crying even writing about it. (NERD)

Aha! moment

My first AHA moment – I mean, you are giving little kids and moreover people’s memories a lot of credit here. Okay, isn’t a baby’s first AHA moment just Peek-a-Boo? Oh, there’s my mom! She’s not gone… wait, she’s gone again!?!? So, first AHA moment was playing Peek-a-Boo with my Mom.

My most recent was that I just needed to shut up and be happy. I will over think everything and I realized (after over thinking it, of course) that I was thinking my way right out of pleasure and happiness. To balance out the instability of publishing and writing, I had to make a concerted effort to take in beauty, get outside and shut my brain off. Yes, that’s a beautiful sunset. No, you don’t need to write an entire blog post about it or take a picture of it for Instagram. Just… enjoy it.

Thanks, Liza!