What's on Sally Koslow's Bucket List?

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!

Writing Wednesday: Chick Lit Is Not Dead! By Liz & Lisa

Chick Lit is not dead. It's not-we swear! And although we know that y'all are dying to discover the next big author, you'd probably be shocked to discover that we're STILL being told by agents that Chick lit, or Upmarket women's fiction, or whatever the hell they want us to call it these days, just doesn't sell.

And to be perfectly honest, we're tired of our gal Chick Lit feeling like she has to hide in the corner like some dirty slut. So we're calling bullsh*t.  Chick Lit is NOT Dead!

Looking back, Chick Lit's popularity was ultimately the death of her. Because when the market became over-saturated with a bunch of copycats with predictable plots and cardboard characters, she was catapulted down to the D-list faster than than you could say Snooki. She was accused of lacking substance, of being insulting to women's intelligence and being *gasp* cliche'.

Poor Chick Lit became such an outcast in the publishing world that she couldn't even be called by her own name anymore. Apparently, if she stood any chance of transforming from unbound manuscript to sleek, published novel, she had to be disguised as Women's Fiction. And even then, the odds of her becoming Homecoming Queen again were pretty damn slim.

Aspiring novelists querying agents needed to beware! Titles that conjured images of stilettos were shunned; the mention of designer purses was literary suicide; and if the protagonist was *gulp* a quirky, single girl with dreams of meeting Mr. Right, the manuscript was sent off to die a very slow death in some slush (or should we say "slut") pile.

Chick Lit had been pronounced dead, gone well before her time due to overexposure. And her writers and readers put on their black designer dresses and went into mourning.

Her headline in the gossip columns would have read, From It Girl to Out Girl. One Too Many Knock-offs Sealed Her Fate!

But like any former A-lister, we knew she'd make a come back. (If Hugh Grant could do it, so could she!) She just had to wait for her moment and seize it.

And the time is now! Here's why we say Chick Lit has not only made a comeback, but she's going to be on the scene for a while.

She's our fantasy! Thinking about the crashing stock market and the record high unemployment rates hurts our heads. So instead of watching the nightly news, we'd rather pop open the book with a stick figure drinking a martini on the cover and give our brains the night off. If you can't take a real vacation, at least give your brain one! Let your biggest worry be over whether Jane Q Single Gal gets to marry Joe Q Bachelor; whether frenemies can become friend-ly; if it's a bad idea to get a manny.  Let her wrap your ending up in a nice red bow and don't feel guilty about it for one second!

She's a cheap date! Even though hard economic times have caused most of us to slash our budgets (Tarjay is so the new Nordys), Chick Lit is still making it into our shopping carts. She's like that friend who talks you out of your buyer's remorse.  She reminds you that it's OK to spend money on things that make you feel better. In fact, she thinks it's the American way! And even though a lot of us can't justify buying that Louis Vuitton purse or getting that $200 haircut anymore, Chick Lit still gives a frugal girl some bang for her buck. If you get her in paperback, she's only about $12. 95! This seems like an awesome price considering how often she makes us laugh, cry or even SOL (snort out loud!).  And BTW, Chick Lit is always up on the latest trends. And if she says cheap is the new chic, we believe her!

She's Secure in her Stilettos Chick Lit is proud of who she is. She makes no apologies for drinking Cosmos or wearing designer skinny jeans. She's never going to make the argument that she should win the Pulitzer or that she's invented cold fusion.   And she definitely doesn't think a book should require a thesaurus while reading! She loves a good rom-com too and couldn't be happier that her cousin, Chick Flick is back on the red carpet again.

So to the literary snobs of the world, it's time to face the truth. That Chick Lit is back and better than ever. And she's back now for the very reason she exploded onto the literary scene in the first place. No good woman can resist well-written books with high fashion and happy endings.

So say it loud and proud, *channels Ty Pennington and yells into megaphone* CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD!

What do you think?  Do you still want your happy ending? Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win a $20 iTunes gift card!  Let's let people know that we want some brain candy!

xoxo, Liz & Lisa