The Phantom Paragrapher

As we come to a close of International Chick Lit Month, I would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU for all the guest posters who helped promote International Chick Lit Month on The Phantom Paragrapher and last but not least, I present to you the last Guest Poster for International Chick Lit Month 2012 - Kathy Gilmore Women Literature Today   I want to thank Paula for letting me guest host. The broad subject matter that she gave me kept me sleepless for a couple of nights. There are so many ways to take this wonderful subject that I had trouble eliminating all the paths but one.   I am a woman author and  continually  write when I can snatch a moment here and there from our fast paced world.  I, like many authors today, thought that the only way to publish  my  manuscripts was to get an agent who then would work tirelessly to get  me  a publishing deal with a major company.   Many, many rejections later a good ...

Have you ever wondered about relationships and love ? Ever read a FICTION book that makes you actually stop and reflect on your life ? Review: Glaen - Fred Lybrand - February 2010 Have you ever read a fiction book and thought OMG that actually relates to my life now and what I am going through ? Why, would you when fiction is supposed to be fake but every now and again you will get an author who can write so amazing and be able to go out and touch many and speak to them through their fictional writings.  What attracted me firstly to the book was the unusual name and then of course the coffee cup on the front cover reminded me of a Starbucks coffee.  Glaen was one of the best books I have read as it was not only easy to read and fast-paced but it made you think and re-evaluate your life and the way you do things especially when it comes to romance and relationships which was the main aspect of the novel. Glaen is set around two main characters Annie and Glae...

Today celebrates the last day of International Chick Lit month and to conclude , I have a Guest Post from one of my all-time favourite Australian Chick Lit authors Lisa Heidke. Hi Paula, Thanks for inviting me to do a guest post at The Phantom Paragrapher for Chick Lit Month. Is it just me or have you noticed that chick lit’s been getting some bad press lately. Recently, I spoke on a panel at the Gloucester Writers Festival in NSW, Australia, explaining why I think Chick lit is not dumb lit and then I wrote a blog about it. http://blog.lisaheidke.com/ But what I’d really like to talk about is why I write chick lit...Firstly, I think the definition has become muddied since Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary was first published in 1996. Way back then, most readers, writers and publishers believed that chick lit referred to books written by women about single, twenty-something women, searching for Mr Right, finding the perfect career (preferably in magazi...

Do you love looking beautiful ? Wanting a book to show you how to look beautiful on the inside and outside? Review: More Beauty, Less Beast - Deborah M. Coty- March 2012 Do you love to look Beautiful and feel beautiful but worry that you aren't looking at yourself as a whole ? Are you turning into the vain beast from "Beauty and The Beast" ? Are you the female version of Kyle Kingsbury from Alex Flinn's "Beastly" ? With Deborah M. Coty's new book "More Beauty, Less Beastly" , you will be taught how to not only transform your outside into looking the beautiful stunning person you are meant to be but also how to more importantly transform your inner self as being Beautiful is meaningless unless you have a great personality and a beautiful inside.  This book is an easy read – separated into 3 larger unit sections containing smaller chapters of about 7 pages.    The sections focus on outer beauty, inner beauty, and beautifying y...

There's two more days left in the celebration of International Chick Lit Month, so readers a question for you all "What is your all-time favourite Chick Lit Book "? Today's Guest Post is written by Rose McClelland on "Why she loves reading Chick Lit and Why she is a Chick Lit Author"? Why I love reading c hick-lit and why I’m a chick-lit author by Rose McClelland I love reading words that jump off the page. I love characte rs who are fun, vulnerable; love able – who make me want to stay with them on their journey. I love reading abou t modern girlie issues – our friendships, relationships with family, work problems, boy trouble. I love a story that reads itself – one where I can vividly imagine what the character is up to and one where I can see the scenes perfectly in my head. You know when that page turns effortlessly? When you’re s o engrossed in the character that you need to kno w what’s going to ha...

Do you enjoy Steampunk ? Looking for a new series to read ? Review: Innocent Darkness - Suzanne Lazear- Book#1 The Aether Chronicles- August 2012 Steampunk is one of those genres , that you either enjoy it or don't. For me, I enjoy the mixture of thee Victorian era with the modern/fantasy world and it's aspects.  Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear mixes Steampunk with Fantasy as the novel starts with a girl named Annabelle who is being hunted by fairies as in order for the fairies to keep their magic, every seven years they have to sacrifice a girl who is vivacious and contains that extra ommph, a special spark. Seven years ago, Annabelle not wanting to be sacrificed took the way out via suicide. Now seven years later, they are on the lookout for a new girl and it seems that Noli is the one. Noli, loves all the things that girls are not supposed to as she lives in the time when girls are supposed to be ladies and their future lies in getting married off...

Wow, as we wind down International Chick Lit Month. It's been such an awesome opportunity to have all these great Guest Posts and it has given me ideas to run in other months of the year. Today we have author "Louise Wise" and her Guest Post about Partying and Chick Lit. Party like a Chick Lit Writer – by Louise Wise ‘You’re an author? Wow, that’s really cool.’ ‘Thanks. I enjoy it.’ ‘So what do you write?’ ‘Chick lit.’ ‘Ah.’ ‘Ah?’ ‘Sorry, just thought when you said you’re an “author” you write real books.’ ‘I do write real books. Paperbacks and eBooks.’ ‘But chick lit?’ ‘A genre that usually means books written by women for women with relationship and or work issues. Sometimes they are romance; most have a dose of reality, but all are humorous and light hearted. Yes, chick lit. I write chick lit.’ ‘I guess it’ll be practise for you until you begin to write proper books.’ ‘I do write proper –’ ‘I suppose it’s because they are e...

Do you love Dystopian Books ? Did you enjoy Lauren DeStefano's debut novel "Wither" ?  Get ready for Book #2 "Fever". Review: Fever - Book #2 The Chemical Garden Series - Lauren DeStefano- February 2012 "WARNING : If you have not read Book #1 "Wither" - Do not continue reading the review as this is one of those series, where you have to read Book #1 "Wither" first. At the end of Wither, we read as Rhine and Gabriel - one of the servants at the house she had been made a wife in escaped the clutches and into the real world. Rhine , has one goal in mind - to find her twin brother Rowan. We read as Rhine and Gabriel make their way through the country , on boat/foot/trucks. However, one wrong turn will turn out to be bad news and good news as the pair of them end up in a Madam's tent as Rhine is a good-looker , she is bound to fetch the Madame lots of money. Can Rhine and Gabriel escape the compound and continue on...