Clock Watching!

It's Friday and oh my winey goodness, London is HOT! Perhaps this is the summer we never had? Whatever it is, I'm certainly not complaining... but let me tell you, wine o'clock is coming early ce soir! A picnic in the park is definitely in order. 

Today, I'm over on Amlokiblogs, talking about my next novel (official announcement on Monday, yay!) and various other bits and bobs. Sign up to the Rule of Three challenge over there for a chance to win a copy of Willow. And in other yay-worthy news, to celebrate being short-listed for Best Romantic Read, The Hating Game ebook is now on for a reduced price of 98p and its US equivalent. 

Now over to the lovely Elle Strauss, who is celebrating the launch of Clockwise!

Chick lit Isn’t Dead and Why chick lit is Needed in YA

Recently I read somewhere that chick lit was dead. Obviously no one told the very talented Talli Rolland that!  And I’m with Talli, there will always be room on the shelf for chick lit now that the genre exists.

I remember when it didn’t.  I have very clear memories of a younger me scouring library shelves wondering why no one wrote Romantic Comedy.  It did great at the box office as movies, but nothing came close to it on the shelves.

I think that’s why I read a lot of mysteries back then. Besides liking mystery, it was the only genre that had a “cozy” line.

Then came Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding . Oh my gosh—finally! That’s what I was talking about! She opened the door to a whole new genre.  Which filled up fast.  Maybe too fast, thus the “dead” talk. 

But not in YA.  With the rush of Paranormal and Dystopian, and don’t get me wrong, I like me a bit of Paranormal and Dystopian,  anything on the lighter side seems to be getting not much more than a sideways glance.  Not everything, a few choice nuggets are getting through, like the spy books by Ally Carter.

Sometimes I think chick lit gets a bad rap. Like it’s just meaningless fluff, and flirty words.  And maybe there is some like that. But just because something is light and fun, doesn’t mean there can’t be a, a thought provoking deeper message of substance.

So, I say, let’s keep chick lit coming—both in women’s fiction and YA. Because sometimes you just need to read something that makes you smile and go, ahh.

Clockwise is launching electronically this week and it’s only 2.99 on Amazon , £2.17 on Amazon.co.uk! To celebrate, Elle Strauss is giving away five debut books by authors that you can meet on her blog tour which is happening now.

LOSING FAITH by Denise Jaden

THE CLEARING by Anne Riley

THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL by Heather McCorkle

PERILOUS by Tamara Hart Heiner

THE HATING GAME by Talli Roland

How to win? Sign up for Elle’s newsletter to enter. For extra entries just comment on any blog in the tour. The more blogs you visit and comment on the more chances you have to win. Five books, five days, five winners!

Have a great weekend, everyone!