Read In Colour’s Comments (group member since Dec 14, 2010)

Read In Colour’s comments from the Colorful Chick Lit Challenge group.

Raina wrote: "I'm a bit late getting started on this challenge, but better late than never, right? I set out to complete the novice level of participation and I think that's still very doable, even getting start..."

I absolutely hated Getting to Happy. I kept waiting for the women to get there and I really feel like maybe only Robin did. Even then, it didn't seem as much like happy as settling.

It's not too late to jump into the challenge. Good luck and you can always check the group bookshelf for suggestions of books to read if you're not sure that they fit the chick lit genre.

The author of A Good Excuse to be Bad, Miranda Parker, has so graciously offered a copy of her book to one lucky winner. How can you win? Several ways!

1. Leave a comment - 1 entry
2. Follow my blog, Reads4Pleasure.com (Must be signed up through Google Connect) - 1 entry
3. Force Ask your friends to follow my blog (They must sign up through Google connect) and leave a comment below telling me who signed up) - 2 entries
4. Follow me on Twitter (@Reads4Pleasure) - 1 entry
5. Tweet about this daily - 1 entry each
6. Blog about the giveaway and leave a link in the comment section below - 5 entries

All entries must be received by 5:00 pm CST, Friday, June 17.

Complete the form on Reads4Pleasure.com. Your information will remain private and will only be shared with the author for mailing purposes.

1. When and why did you begin writing?
Unlike most authors I didn’t think I was going to be a writer when I was a small child. I was an avid reader as a small child. I began reading around four-years-old. I was very curious about the world and read the dictionary, the almanac, my encyclopedias…anything I could get my hands on. I became a writer when I couldn’t find the kind of story I would like to read.

2. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I participated in a year- long writing workshop hosted by Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote Fight Club. At the time I was the only woman in the group. After I completed the workshop I received a letter and a gift package from Chucky P. In the letter he told me lighten up and have fun in my writing. (I took my writing way too seriously during critique.) He stated, “Don’t write the story unless it’s fun to you, else what’s the point?” That stuck with me. When I created this story I wanted to write a story I would love to read and feel like fun while doing it. If I find myself writing a scene that seems like a chore I chunk it. Whether it’s a suspenseful or the black moment for Angel if I’m not emotionally invested in that scene I know it will be a waste to a reader. So my challenge has been how to tell the tough part of my stories in a way that entertains me. After all, I am the first reader of my books.

3. What inspired you to write your first book?
I covered a story about eight years ago for a newspaper I once wrote for, but we had to kill it. It was too sensational for our core readers and some advertisers had relationships with some of the parties that were the focus of the story. Yet, I couldn’t let it go.
So a few years ago while workshopping another novel about a hot missionary’s return to the states I began thinking about this story. How can I build a readtastic story around it? I needed an antihero that my missionary couldn’t help but fall hard for and keep her on her toes. Angel was created.

4. How much of the book is realistic?
I questioned local bounty hunters in this state and DeKalb County Police about the probability of events in the story and how the bail bonds process works here. I wrote a few articles years ago about the IRS’ investigation of two Atlanta megachurches and the rise of Armor Bearers as security forces in nondenominational megachurches. These stories became the background I needed to flesh out my story. Moreover, I am a twin, so that didn’t require special research.

5. What books have most influenced your life most?
Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Ubbervilles, Alice Walker’s Color Purple, Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club

6. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
As I mentioned earlier I took a year-long writing workshop with Chuck Palahniuk, so I consider him a writing mentor. However, I’ve been blessed to have some great writers on my speed dial when I needed encouragement, a line edit, and an introduction to an agent or publisher. I speak about them in the acknowledgments of A Good Excuse to Be Bad. In short some of them are: Reshonda Tate Billingsley, Creston Mapes, and Sharon Ewell Foster.

7. What book are you reading now?
I’m reading Shana Burton’s Catt Chasin and Jane Eyre.

8. What are your current projects?
I am editing the sequel Someone Bad and Something Blue (releases July 2012) and writing the first draft of the third novel in the series.

9. Can you share a little of your current work with us?
A Good Excuse to Be Bad has a groove that is a throwback to my favorite romantic suspense television series like Moonlighting and Remington Steele with a new kind of hero, a kick butt woman lead who is grounded because she’s a young mom. Most of my favorite television shows (Castle, The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles) have great heroines, but none of them are moms. Therefore, Angel Crawford’s story is unique, because she’s put in a rock and a hard place position. She needs to find her brother-in-laws murderer, make sure her overly dramatic twin sister not take the fall for the murder, keep from falling in love with her pastor who wants to tagalong on her hunt, and prepare her daughter for Kindergarten at the same time. Can she do it all is what makes the book exciting.

10. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The hardest part of writing my book is trying to keep the reader guessing until the end and at the same time leaving hints so that when the reader gets to the end they want to read it over again, because although they are surprised they can now see it. I want my readers to ask themselves, “Oh, why didn’t I miss that?”

11. Do you have any advice for other writers?
mom, I became sick after taking care of her, niece was born, I got sicker…had to ask for an extension. Trust me my case isn’t extraordinary. Every published author has a good excuse, but having a writing discipline gets you threw it. My writing discipline now is 1000 words a day, which is the equivalent of four pages or in one scene and a sequel.

12. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I love reader feedback and would love for you to help me write the third book in the series. Email me at mparkerbooks@gmail.com and if chosen you will get casted in the third novel.

Urs wrote: "Aw. I want to read Cafe au Lait, too, but I already know that it is not lendable. I looked up The Bum Magnet, and it is not lendable either. Thanks for the offers, though.

This page tells you all..."

Thanks for the great info! I'm a Kindle user that hasn't quite mastered lending (or anything else other than downloading and reading). Thanks for the heads up on Cafe au Lait as well.

Audrey wrote: "Would Red Hats qualifies even though it was written by a guy (Damon Wayons)?"

I would say no. In addition to giving characters that are women of color shine, I'm trying to do the same for women authors of color.

The book of the month, both on Reads4Pleasure.com and for the Colorful Chick Lit Challenge, has been K.L. Brady's The Bum Magnet. After reading Monday's review and Wednesday's interview, I know you're just dying to get your hands on your own copy of it.

Author K. L. Brady shared her story of a woman that just kept attracting the wrong men, now it's your turn. Tell us your best "bum" story (and change the names to protect the innocent if you must) in the comments section below (on Reads4Pleasure.com for those reading this on Goodreads) and your fellow readers will have a chance to vote for the best story. Bet you never thought that loser in your life would ever be so helpful.

Stories must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. CST, Friday, May 6. Voting will take place over that weekend and a winner will be announced Monday, May 9.

When and why did you begin writing?
I've been writing since I was a young kid. I've kept diaries and journals since I could remember. My mom used to buy me the ones with the little lock on them...and then she'd break into them and read them. What was the point of the lock? I don't know.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Even though I've been writing and practicing my signature since I was a kid, I never considered myself a fiction writer until I turned forty and took the leap into writing my first novel. After I finished it, I knew writing was my first and only love (at least in an occupational sense). I really cannot see myself doing anything else. This is it for me. Write or die.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I'm not a very artsy or literary writer and I wish I were. I envy authors who have that sense of lyrical prose. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll never be a Toni Morrison on Maya Angelou. The Bum Magnet won't win me a Pulitzer. But at the same time, I will entertain and make people laugh through characters that readers can connect with on a personal level.

What inspired you to write your first book?
I had an Oprah "aha" moment a couple of summers ago. I was watching her "Live Your Best Life" series which had started not long before my revelation. I was successful in my career as an analyst but I wanted more. I knew that I had a destiny to fulfil and being a government employee or contractor, while often rewarding, would never cut it. Writing is something that I had not only kept hidden from other people in secret journals, but I think I kept it buried within myself. Once I hit forty, I couldn't suppress it anymore. The writer in me wanted out come hell or high water--and The Bum Magnet was born.

Are experiences in your books based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
People ask me this question all the time. I always give the same canned answer...that all authors put pieces of their own stories in their work. And this time will be no different. :) Seriously though...I don't think anyone could write this story as it is and not have experienced the drama for themselves or know people who did. People connect with Charisse because she's so real and she doesn't mince a single word about her situation. She tells it like it is, even when it doesn't reflect positively on her. With all that said, the story is based on a little bit of fact and a lot of fiction, exaggerated significantly so I can't be sued for slander (hehe).

What books have most influenced your life most?
I would have to say that for me, The Autobiography of Malcolm X was unquestionably one of the most life-changing books I've ever read because it really widened my perspective, not only about the black community and civil right movement, but the world. I so admire Malcolm X's willingness to grow and transform. I think we all have to be open to transformation if we are to fulfill our destiny. You will always see growth and transformation in my characters...and hopefully me.

With Worst Impressions you took on the YA world and Pride and Prejudice. What led you to combine YA with a literary classic?
I didn't really start reading books outside of non-fiction African American books until after I started college. I'd never been exposed to the literary classics growing up. It was like a whole new world opened up for me, and Jane Austen's stories are part of that. I'll never forget the first time I read Pride & Prejudice. I bought it right after watching the movie, You've Got Mail. I was amazed at the drama and humor. I consider it to be the original romantic comedy or chick lit novel, which represents the kinds of stories that I devour. I would never have thought something written so long ago, by a white English lady, could make me laugh or touch me the way that book did. I would really love to see young adults use Worst Impressions as kind of a gateway to widening their perspective and reading classic novels from other countries and cultures. That was my hope in writing Worst Impressions. Plus, Liz is just so funny, she's a character that will stick with teens and whom I think they can relate to because of her self-image issues.

What book are you reading now?
My Kindle is so full of TBR books it's not even funny. It's been my goal to participate in the Colorful Chick Lit challenge but with the effort I've put in promotion, I just haven't been able to read like I've wanted to. With that said, I have several things that I'm really looking forward to reading.

I just finished a book called One Thing She Knew by Toni Meyer which was fabulous, definitely a page-turner. I want to finish up Two Tears in a Bucket by Traci Bee which is more of an urban drama--a page-turner as well. I'm looking forward to Bollywood Confidential and The Sari Shop Widow. I've been hooked on the Indian culture and food since Bend it Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. And I have a bunch of books I've promised reviews on that I have to add to that list. Too many to name them all.

What are your current projects?
Well, the sequel to the The Bum Magnet, tentatively titled Got a Right to be Wrong, is completed and with my editor. I really love that story. You're going to see a lot of loose ends get tied up in the sequel. We find out what happens to Nisey and the baby. Mama Tyson plays a much bigger role in this story and has her own drama. Most importantly, we get to see the history behind Charisse's relationship with her father, how that has contributed to her "bum magnetism" and whether she really does find her happily ever after...and does that necessarily involve a man?

In addition, I have two big projects that I'm working on now and hope to have both finished by the end of the year. The first one is a young adult novel called Soul of the Band, which features a music-loving African-American teen girl from DC who, after a family crisis, moves to a small town in Ohio and becomes the only black girl in an all white band. This book really stands apart from your typical books of this type because I explore the racial issue with a very truthful but humorous character.

The second project is the first in a series of adult novels featuring an AA female FBI agent named J.J. McCall who catches spies. I liken her to a black "Salt"/Jackie Brown working for the FBI instead of the CIA. I love this storyline because it features a very strong female character in a spy romantic comedy/suspense novel. In my former life, I worked with women like J.J. and always wondered why no one was telling their stories. So, I'm going to do it. I haven't read anything like that, and I'd really like to. I hope readers agree with me.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Not a single thing. I think one of the beautiful things about self publishing this novel first before it found a publisher is that I got to tell this story EXACTLY the way I wanted to tell it...and readers love it anyway. :)

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Yes, I learned to grow some thick skin and how to accept criticism. I really had to get over myself and "my art" and do the right thing for the story so that my audience would get the kind of quality they deserved. At a certain point, you have to distance yourself from your work so that you can make it better. And you have to learn to take the useful information from criticism and ignore what you don't need. A very important lesson for new writers.

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Yes, get over yourself, grow some thick skin, and learn to accept criticism! (hehe)

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I would just like to thank everyone who has read or plans to read my work. Your support and great feedback is what helped me get "discovered" and why I have a book deal today. I'll never take that for granted...not ever. Please connect with me on Facebook (Karla Brady or K.L. Brady), on Twitter (@KarlaB27), or my website (www.authorklbrady.com). I would absolutely love to hear from you and I respond to every single note, letter, e-mail, message, post or Tweet that I receive.

If you haven't picked up a copy of The Bum Magnet, it's available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Booksamillion, Target and Walmart. Get a copy for you and a friend or two (because you know they need to read it. lol)

Jamie wrote: "I am so glad that I found this website and definitely this group! Some great books that I have read most recently are Substitute Me, Sweet Little Lies, and [book:Jump|..."

Loved Sweet Little Lies and Substitute Me!

Vernetta wrote: "This sounds like a lot of fun. Looking forward to the challenge."

Thanks for joining us!

Kari wrote: "Hi Ladies, I just finished the book and 1 - I think it meets the qualifications of the reading challange. And 2 - I thought it was just ok. I thought the writing style was very enjoyable but the pl..."

You may want to try I Wish I Had a Red Dress, but I totally understand if her writing style doesn't do it for you. Have you read J. California Cooper? Her work doesn't fit the chick lit genre, but she's a great story teller. Reading her books is like sitting on your granny's porch while she tells you about the good old days.

Kari wrote: "Hi Everyone,

I just started What Looks LIke Crazy On an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage. From the discripti..."

Great book. In my eyes, Pearl Cleage can do nothing wrong!

Flashette wrote: "The strong women in my world are my mother and sister. My mother because even though she was a single parent, she raised two daughters who went on to receive advanced educational degrees. Another ..."

Congrats! You've won copies of Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing. Please email me at lisa@reads4pleasure.com with your mailing address.

Kariericka wrote: "This looks like it will be a lot of fun. Thank you for forming this group, since I really do love chick lit. I want to do the novice level, since I read about 1 book a month and I already have a l..."

Thanks for joining. You're welcome to do either. You can start your own folder over here and list your reads as you go. That way, other members can see what you've read and, perhaps, find something new to read.

You've read the reviews of Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing. Now is your chance to win a copy of both books. How? Leave a comment telling us about the strong women in your world and how they've inspired you.
Winners will be chosen through a random number generator. Books will be shipped directly from the publisher. Winners will be announced Sunday, March 13. Good luck!

1. When and why did you begin writing?
The first time I had that rush, or sense of belonging with writing was in fifth grade. Around that time I used to love to read Erma Bombeck's humor essays in the newspaper. My language arts teacher gave us a weekly assignment to write a story and then draw a matching picture. I looked forward to that assignment every week. I observed my family and took little scenarios and made them into humor essays. I knew I had a good one when my teacher would invite me to read it in front of the class. Of course my parents were horrified when they went to parent-teacher conferences and had the teachers tell them all about it. On the drive home, my folks were like, "I can't believe you wrote that for a school paper!"


I went on to journalism and yearbook all through high school. My dream was to be a features reporter for The Arizona Republic. It took a lot of work (almost 9 nine years), but I did it! I loved writing articles, reviewing movies, books and concerts. I also started blogging in 2003, where I wrote essays about crazy things that went down in my life. Happy, funny things. I just love to write, any outlet I can find, I go for it. Around the time I started my blog, I knew I wanted to write a novel. I always wanted to, but didn't have the confidence. I'm a very project-oriented person. I put my mind to something and go full force. After outlining for a year, I knew I needed a kick in the butt, so I joined National Novel Writing Month. It worked! That was in 2004. My book finally hit store shelves last year!

2. I'd venture to say that crafting is your first love. What was it that drove you to combine your love of crafting and writing?
Many people think that. Writing was my first love. That's what I excelled in at school, I used to get Cs and Ds in art class! Never in a million years did I ever think I would make a living by being an artist and crafter. I think that's why I spent 13 years as a newspaper reporter, I did my crafts on the side. I didn't think I was good enough to do it as a "real" job. I do know I enjoyed it immensely and I often think of my grade school and high school art teachers that discouraged me. That's why I preach to people to create because they want to, and not to think about being judged, just let yourself be happy and enjoy the process.

Combining writing and crafts came so natural for me, I love both. I love the stories I hear about the ladies who are in the craft industry, and art enthusiasts in general. They make things because they are releasing emotion and passion! My books are about what happens before the jar of glue is opened.

3. Your lead characters in Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing are such strong women, much stronger than women we usually see in chick lit. Would you classify your books as such? Are Star and Scarlet based on people you know?
Thank you! I call my style contemporary Latina fiction, or else "crafty lit." I want to show positive, creative role models. Star is a little bit of me when I was her age in the book. I started off judgy and 'all talk' and had to be humbled. As far as Scarlet, at first I didn't think I had anything in common with her, but now that I've had time to step back,I do see some of my experiences in her story. Like the way her family never seems impressed by what she does, and how she refuses to give in to the easiest route. And the coffee! I really did taste VIA coffee grounds to get more energy, just like Scarlet.

4. Have you seen a lot of crossover between your crafting fans and readers of your books?
With this second book, I really am. I did have a lot of crafters who didn't have time to read novels (because they were crafting!) take time to read mine. I love when they tell me how reading my book motivated them to read other books. That was always my goal - to get crafters reading and readers to try crafts! I was worried there would be snobby book people that would not respect me as a novelist because of my craft background, but luckily I've only encountered one or two of those. They assume I started crafting and then tacked on a writing career like Snookie or Lauren Conrad. It feels good to tell them, "Actually, I spent 13 years as a newspaper reporter and have almost 10 years of essays on my personal blog!"

That's why I always tell people, in order to stay relevant you have to reinvent yourself every so often to keep the interest. Try new things, challenge yourself, make people raise their eyebrows at your accomplishments because they underestimated you. Show them what you can do! As far as crossover - so far it's working! I think anything we, as authors, can do to build the book market and keep it thriving the better - especially if glitter is involved!

5. Is there a message in your novels that you want readers to grasp?
My messages are always about honoring family, having your girlfriend's back, not settling for easy, letting go of your fears so you can fly and have a magical, wonderful life...on that journey you may encounter heartbreak or tragedy or set backs, but the only choice is to move forward and learn from it! I love happy endings!

About the author
With a life motto of “Crafts! Drama! Glitter!” Crafty Chica Kathy Cano-Murillo is a creative force of nature. A former syndicated columnist for The Arizona Republic, she is the founder of the award-winning Web site, CraftyChica.com and the author of seven nonfiction craft books and a Web series on LifetimeTV.com. Kathy has a Crafty Chica line of art supplies that are sold nationwide. She also has been featured in numerous media outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, NPR’s Weekend Edition, USA Today, Bust, and Latina magazine.

For more on Kathy, visit her website The Crafty Chica, like her Facebook page CraftyChica.com or follow her on Twitter @CraftyChica.

Join us the week of March 7 - 11 for Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing Blog Tour. Look for an author interview and giveaways, in addition to the review below.

Scarlet Santana is a spitfire. With two degrees in engineering, her family wants her to settle down and work a real job. Scarlet, however, has her own ideas.

By day she works for local designer, Carly Fontaine. At night, and in her spare time, she designs her own wardrobe and items to sell on her Etsy site and blogs about her heroine, Daisy de la Flora. The deceased Daisy was a designer and person Scarlet most admires. Through her blog, she shares with her readers her dreams and passion for living a Daisy-inspired life.

Given the chance to attend a designer's program offered by the late Daisy's nephew, Scarlet creates her own class to teach others the style of patternless sewing that her Nana taught her, in an effort to raise money. It's through this class that the reader meets a variety of characters that could all use some help with getting their lives on track, Scarlet included.

An absolutely delightful read, you'll find that Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing is a book that you won't want to put down once you start it. Kathy Cano-Murillo creates such strong female characters that you can't help cheering for them and hoping they reach whatever goal it is they've set.

What did you like about this book?
I loved the friendships all of the women shared, even though their backgrounds were remarkably different and they had little to nothing in common.

What didn't you like about this book?
I honestly can't think of a thing.

What could the author do to improve this book?
I would have loved to see some sketches of the outfits Scarlet created. The way the author described them made them sound quite stylish.

Q: When and why did you begin writing?
A: I began writing, or I should say scribbling, the moment I could pick up a crayon. As a kid, I loved to type stories on my little toy typewriter. I stapled the pages together and made little “books” with illustrations and copyright notices inside the front covers. I didn’t know any other kids who did that.

Q: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
A: I’ve always considered myself a writer to some degree, but I didn’t take my writing seriously until I was in my late twenties, when I signed up for the Writers’ Digest School correspondence course in short story writing. Only after I moved to Washington State and joined a critique group of working women authors, did I believe I could get published in book-length fiction.

Q: What inspired you to write your first book?
A: Before I wrote my first novel, I penned many short stories, many of which were published in literary journals such as the University of Baltimore’s Passager: A Journal of Remembrance and Discovery, The Green Hills Literary Lantern, Lynx Eye, Writing for Our Lives, and an anthology called New to North America. After moving to Washington, I also wrote feature articles for local newspapers and company profiles for coffee table history books. In a sense, I was gearing up to write a book, building my publishing credits and experience. Then I found my writing group made up of working, published novelists who inspired me to try writing a romantic suspense novel. I thought it would be easy to write romance, but my critiquers humbled me. I had a lot to learn, and over 50 agents rejected that first novel. One agent wrote, “It’s not different enough.”

That agent doesn’t know it, but she inspired me to write my next novel, MAYA RUNNING, based on my experience as an Indian immigrant growing up in Canada. What could be more different? I got an agent almost immediately, and a couple of weeks later, we had a two-book deal with Wendy Lamb Books/Random House.

Q: What was the hardest part of writing Haunting Jasmine?
A: It took me a while to hone in on a story arc for Jasmine that would lead to a hopeful ending without being too predictable. I knew she would reinvent herself and find the promise of happiness, but I didn’t want the path to be too formulaic. I can’t tell you how I figured out what to do, or I would be giving away the plot!

Q: From reading Haunting Jasmine, I can tell that you have a love for literature. I noticed that you managed to weave in The Chronicles of Narnia and Curious George into the story. Did any more of your favorite works find a home in Haunting Jasmine?
A: I love THE FUR PERSON by May Sarton, and of course I love all the other authors as well. I ended up deleting a few of my favorites in the final draft – Rumer Godden, Paula Danziger, and Alexander Key, for example.

Q: I don’t know if you’re familiar with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Mistress of the Spices, in which the lead character intuitively knows which spices her customers seek because the spices “speak” to her. If you are familiar with that work, did it influence Haunting Jasmine? If not, how did you come up with the premise for the book?
A: I have not read MISTRESS OF SPICES, although I’ve heard it’s good! My idea came out of nowhere. One day I thought, What if dead authors could come to life in a bookstore and try to get people to read their books? The idea seemed “high concept” to me –easily pictured and easily explained in a sentence or two.

Q: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
A: I try not to force any message onto readers. I believe my job is to try to write an entertaining story. My values and interests will naturally emerge (can you tell that I love animals, booksellers, books, love stories, Pacific Northwest islands, and ghosts?), and an underlying theme also naturally emerges (for example, a theme might be that love can heal all emotional wounds if you only take a chance and believe – that kind of thing). But in the end, the readers will interpret the story in his or her own way.

Q: What books have most influenced your life most?
A: Too many books to name! If I mention a few authors, I will inevitably exclude many other important ones. I read widely. I enjoy children’s books, literary novels, mysteries, commercial fiction, memoir, historical fiction and nonfiction – a wide range of genres.

Q: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
A: I would choose many writers, but mainly other authors who are in or have been in my critique group and have taught me what they know: Sheila Roberts, Elsa Watson, Carol Cassella, Suzanne Selfors, Susan Wiggs, Lois Dyer, and others.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I’m reading a few different books, including Fannie Flagg’s latest hardcover, I STILL DREAM ABOUT YOU (I love her humor), Anita Shreve’s RESCUE, Janna Cawrse Esarey’s memoir, THE MOTION OF THE OCEAN (she and I will be presenters at the upcoming Whidbey Island Writers’ Conference), MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND by Helen Simonson, and more…

Q: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
A: I’m reading a wonderful literary manuscript, a historical novel due out from Hawthorne Books in October: THE LUMINIST by David Rocklin. I will certainly give the book a glowing endorsement.

Q: What are your current projects?
A: I’m working on another women’s fiction novel for Berkley/Penguin, tentatively titled ENCHANTING LILY and due for release in February 2012. I’m also developing my next children’s book.

Q: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
A: I always have to work out story details, but I enjoy the process. The big challenge is balancing writing with my other job (I write reports for an investment consulting firm) and the other demands of daily life! For example, right now I’m trying to type answers to these questions on my laptop computer while a rather large cat is also trying to sit on my keyboard.

Q: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
A: I don’t have a favorite author. I love too many of them!

Q: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
A: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Whenever I receive a nice note from a reader, I’m walking on air. Authors live to hear from readers. We write for our readers.

1. When and why did you begin writing?
When I was in elementary school, I used to do creative writing and win state awards. When I got to high school, I did a journalism workshop at a local college and knew I had found my calling. I've been doing the journalism thing ever since.

I'm not sure why I began writing. It's just something that I've always done. As a professional, I've identified myself more as a journalist. I haven't written fiction since childhood.

2. As a journalist, did you ever think you'd write a book or were your original plans to stay in that field?
Everyone assumes that journalists write books. A lot of people would encourage me to write a book, but for a long time, I didn't have a subject to write about.

3.What inspired you to write Frugalista?
I wrote the book after the blog took off. A lot of the readers wanted more details than what was in my 300-word blog posts. When you are building a brand, you are always looking for ways to connect with your people.

4.Were there any aspects of your story that you were afraid or embarrassed to share? Why or why not?
Oddly, I am a private person. I just had this story that people were asking to be told in a book, so I decided to tell it. I talk about a lot of things that happened in my life over the year. It's never easy to discuss love, life or money, but it wouldn't be a memoir if I didn't share with the reader. I would say everything I shared had some type of emotion attached to it. Memoirs are not easy.

5.What was the hardest part of writing Frugalista?
It was hard to think of my life in a narrative arc. It's my life. It just happened. Also as a journalist, I am used to telling and reporting stories about other people. It's very scary to turn the pen on yourself.

6. Did you learn anything from writing Frugalista and what was it?
I learned that you can't play it safe all the time. I learned that you have to take a risk and believe that even if you fail, you'll eventually get back up.

7. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in Frugalista?
Writers always think there is something to fine tune... Is there ever a perfect manuscript in the author's eyes?

8. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I like Benilde Little's earlier works. She's great with nuance. I do not know her personally.

9. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I'm pretty random. I just read books that peak my interest. My book shelf is pretty diverse. I have everything from Gary Vaynerchuk to Zora Neale Hurston.

10. What book are you reading now?
I'm re-reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith. She's hilarious.

11. Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Nowadays, I spend my time purchasing books of my friends. I just ordered Danielle Evans' book, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self.

12. What's next for you?
I'll be promoting the book hard for all of 2011. Also, I'm inviting your readers to join me in a No Buy Month, starting in February. I will be going a month without dining out or getting my nails or hair professionally done. I won't even pay to go to the movies. I always end up saving lots of money when I do it. Buy my book and follow along as we save big money!

13. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Thank you for enjoying the ride with me! I cannot do this alone.

For more from the Frugalista, be sure to visit her at The Frugalista and follow her on Twitter @frugalista.

Ari wrote: "Yup, lemme just figure out how to do that. haha"

:-) Click on "Bookshelf" in the upper right, once you're on that page, look on the upper left. Under "add books" type in the name of the book you want to add, click search and when it pops up, click "Add to group."

Ari wrote: "I actually found a good deal of YA chick lit books, yay :D I think I'll start with Honey Blonde Chica or the Fight."

Can you add them to the bookshelf? I'm trying to build it up so that readers have an abundance of choices.