Okay, so y'all know that we LOVE Sex and The City. In fact, we were so desperate for a Carrie fix that we chose our fave episodes in celebration of the premiere of SATC2 last year! So when we discovered that Liz Tuccillo, one of SATC's writers, had written a novel, we knew that we just had to get our hands on it. So we're thrilled that Liz is sharing her 5 Do's and a Do-Over with us today. She was a writer on the two final seasons of Sex and the City. After that she went on to co-author the bestselling book, He's Just Not That into You, which went on to be a major motion picture produced by New Line Cinema. She created the television show Related for the WB, before traveling the world and writing her first novel, How to Be Single. She has recently finished writing and producing a new webisode for Warner Brothers titled Paul the Male Matchmaker.

And we LOVED How to be Single. It's smart and funny and will make you want to call up your best girlfriends for happy hour! Order it today!

After Julie Jenson, single New Yorker turned anthropologist, has a historically bad night out with her friends, she decides to cash it all in and hit the road. From Paris to Brazil to Sydney, Bali, Beijing, Mumbai and Reykjavik, Julie travels the world to find out if anyone has a better idea how to handle this whole “single” thing. Julie falls in love, gets her heart broken, sees the world, and learns more than she ever dreamed possible.

Back in New York, her friends are grappling with their own issues—bad blind dates, loveless engagements, custody battles, and single motherhood. Through their journeys, each woman fights to redefine their vision of love, happiness and a fulfilled life.

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered to win one of FIVE copies! We'll choose the winners on Sunday, April 10th after 6pm PST.

We think you'll love her 5 Do's and a Do-Over. In fact, we are going to give #2 a try this week!

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: LIZ TUCCILLO'S 5 DO'S AND A DO-OVER

5 DO'S

1. Try to learn something every day. Rent a documentary instead of seeing that romantic comedy one night. If you travel, make a point to learn a little about the history of where you're going. If you read something in the paper you don't understand, go online and research it.

2. Go one day not saying anything nasty about yourself. See if you can do it. Go about your day as you normally would, but just when you pass that mirror and are about to comment that you're too old, or too fat, or how much you hate your hair... stop it. At work, if you make a mistake don't call yourself an idiot. If you eat too much at lunch, give yourself a break and just decide to enjoy it. Just for educational purposes, try to remember how many times you wanted to be nasty to yourself. I'm sure it's a lot more than you'd like it to be!

3. Make a movie. We all have a little Meryl Streep or Martin Scorcese just trying to get out. So get your video camera or flip cam (or even cellphone at this point) and be a filmmaker! Get all your friends to act in it. Or just interview a family member, like your mother, who'd you'd love to capture for posterity. Edit it on one of the inexpensive programs they have now. (Many laptops already have one installed.) Have your own special film festival!

4. Have a pot luck. Nothing is more fun than a dinner party with friends, but sometimes the thought of it can be overwhelming. But with a potluck, you share the work and the fun! Pick a theme, like "tapas" or "Northern Italian" and invite people to cook a dish from that region, (organizing by appetizer, entree, side dishes and dessert.) For the non-cooks, invite them to bring alcohol from that region or provide the music from that region -- or just a good appetite. It gives everyone something totalk about, and you'll come away some great recipes and a great time!

5. Take a child to their first play. Whether it's Broadway or Community theater, there's nothing more fun than watching a child experience their first live performance. You come off looking all generous and thoughtful, but in the end, you'll have the most fun of all.

DO-OVER

I've lost loved ones to illness, and I am still haunted by feeling like I didn't do enough for them. I guess I would like to have that time back. And also to be better in the future.

Thanks Liz! xoxo, L&L

To read more about Liz, head on over to her website. And is this where we officially beg her to set up a Facebook or Twitter page? C'mon Liz! Your fans are dying to "like" you!

Girls night out. Three beautiful words that always seem to light up the faces of whoever utters them. Back in the day, it meant putting on your favorite pair of Seven jeans and going on the prowl for Mr. Right-dancing the night away at your favorite club and eating Jack in the Box at three in the morning.

And when I did find Mr. Right, I was so smitten that I was willing to gain seventy pounds, not once, but TWICE in order to bear him two children. And somewhere along the way I started saying N-O to GNO.

At first, it was because I was pregnant for what seemed like three years straight. During which time I would only stay up past midnight when I was rocking a screaming baby. Or cleaning their throw up off my pajamas. Or trying in vain to fall back asleep after my little darling crawled into our bed, giving me approximately three inches of space. (WHY do they always come to my side?)

And let's not even bring up those last ten pounds of baby weight that was still firmly cemented on my body, making a mockery of me each time I dared try to squeeze into one of those old GNO tops that still hung in the back of the closet.

But something happened when my youngest turned two. Finally able to get a good night's sleep, I found the energy to care about more than how I could manipulate my daughter into picking the shortest book on her bookshelf to read that night or how to get my son to eat something other than pasta. And the baby weight? I went on Weight Watchers and rid myself of that damn muffin top that had been plaguing me each time I shoved my ass into those Seven jeans.

I was back, baby! It was time to get my GNO on.

I had GNOed sporadically during what I like to call the "battleground years". But each time, all I could think of was the hell I would pay the next day. That it would take me a week to recover from staying out too late and having a cocktail or two. Or I'd be so tired that I'd almost fall asleep in my champagne, barely able to hold up my end of the conversation. And while my husband and I attempted to have a date night each month, I found myself daydreaming at dinner about getting a hotel room by myself so I could sleep in peace for a few hours.

Thank God those days were over- I had finally reached the promised land! Well-rested and sporting my pre-prego jeans, I was ready to take on the world!

Happy hour? Bring on the half-priced appetizers!!

Friend just got dumped and needed some girl time to recuperate? I'm your gal!

Want to celebrate your latest promotion? I'll have the champagne waiting!

The world was my oyster once more. Or at the very least, I was going places where they served oysters instead of chicken strips and fries.

And it was about so much more than just having a glass of wine. It was about reconnecting with the person I was before I had kids-the one who used to play tennis, read three books a week and was the life of the party. And cultivating all those beautiful friendships again that I missed so much. (There's only so many poo-poo and spit up talks people are willing to have with you!)

While I love my kids and feel incredibly blessed to have them, I'm not ashamed to admit that there's a part of me that misses my pre-mommy self. And even though I'll never again be the girl who dances on the tables, (long story!) I like to think that by making time for myself every so often, I'll find a nice middle ground that both myself and my family can live with. Because I don't believe that being a great mom means you have to give up who you used to be or the friendships that keep you grounded.

So next time you're invited to GNO-don't say N-O. Remember that Mommy needs some me time too. I'll see you there-I'll be the one toasting you from across the room.

Do you make time for yourself? Leave a comment and be entered to win one of FOUR copies of Irene Zutell's breakout novel Pieces of Happily Ever After, an intriguing story about a mom who struggles to find herself after her husband dumps her for an A-list celebrity.

xo, Liz