IF YOU WERE HERE by Jen Lancaster

 See if you've won this book!

Winner Listed Here!

I've been a little neglectful on the blog and I do apologize. To make it up to you, I'm coming at you big this week with at LEAST THREE BOOK GIVEAWAYS, so please check in with the blog this week! And starting off, I'm thrilled to bring one of my FAVES to you ...

If You Were Here

Jen Lancaster

Everybody LOVES Jen Lancaster and if you don’t know who she is by now, you might just be living under a rock or haven’t been in the know about books in a very long time. I’ve hosted practically all of her books here on MaNiC MoMMy and this one is a repeat, but NOT TO WORRY because I will also be featuring her next book, JENERATION X in May. It’s KILLER!

But for now, to whet your Jen appetites, we’re giving away the paperback edition of If You Were Here, which is Jen’s very first foray into fiction, which is a novel kind of based on the true experiences of what may or may not have happened when she and her hubby left the city of Chicago and bought a fixer-upper in the suburbs of Chicago. It’s a great fun read and you can win it here!

Blurb:

Told in the uproariously entertaining voice readers have come to expect from Jen Lancaster, If You Were Here follows Amish-zombie-teen- romance author Mia and her husband Mac (and their pets) through the alternately frustrating, exciting, terrifying-but always funny-process of buying and renovating their first home in the Chicago suburbs that John hughes's movies made famous. Along their harrowing renovation journey, Mia and Mac get caught up in various wars with the homeowners' association, meet some less-than-friendly neighbors, and are joined by a hilarious cast of supporting characters, including a celebutard ex- landlady. As they struggle to adapt to their new surroundings- with Mac taking on the renovations himself- Mia and Mac will discover if their marriage is strong enough to survive months of DIY renovations.

Read an excerpt here:  EXCERPT OF IF YOU WERE HERE

Read Jen’s hilarious blog here: http://www.jennsylvania.com/

So, if you want to win If You Were Here, tell me, if you were here, and Jen was here, what would we be doing? Make it CREATIVE!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books.

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

MY BOYFRIEND WROTE A BOOK ABOUT ME By Hilary Winston

SEE IF YOU'VE WON THIS BOOK:

Winner Listed Here!

My Boyfriend Wrote A Book About Me

By Hilary Winston

You all are going to LOVE this book. It’s a memoir, and I’m absolutely crazy about this one. Who wouldn’t be with a title like this:

My Boyfriend Wrote A Book About Me (And Other Stories I Shouldn’t Share With Acquaintances, Coworkers, Taxi Drivers, Assistants, Job Interviewers, Bikini Waxers, and Ex/Current/Future Boyfriends But Have)

Of course, at first glance, you’re dying to know WHO IS THE BOYFRIEND WHO WROTE A BOOK ABOUT HER? This book includes true stories about Hilary Winston and it starts off with the story of her discovering that her ex-boyfriend of about five years who she lived with and talked about what they should name their babies actually wrote a book about them and in that book he refers to her as the “fat-ass girlfriend.”

OUCH.

Revenge is such sweet sweet victory. Because Hilary Winston’s book ROCKS. It’s filled with hilarious stories about her ex, in a self-deprecating yet humorous tone that doesn’t make her sound vindictive. She’s just a funny, funny writer. Yes, some of it is a little over the top if there are a few of you who might be squeamish with a bit of raunchiness, but I truly believe Hilary gets the last word in. As she should!

BLURB:

I’m a single girl and I have stories I feel the need to tell, including the one about the death of a relationship and its resurrection in the "New Fiction" section at Barnes & Noble …

Just when Hilary Winston is finally getting her life together she finds out her ex-boyfriend wrote an unflattering novel about her, referring to her as the "fat-assed girlfriend." This sends her into a downward spiral that's sometimes hilarious, and other times heartbreaking, causing her to question that almost-five-year relationship - as well as every relationship she's had before and after it. Now Hilary reveals her dirty laundry in a laugh-out-loud, non-fiction book written for every woman who's ever been dumped. 

You can go here to read excerpts from the book, most of the beginning on the ex-boyfriend, which incidentally, I have done book reviews of his on MaNiC as well! 

Here’s more about Hilary, because I think she’s a really talented person, probably with a smallish ass: Hilary is currently working as a writer and producer of the critically acclaimed comedy Community and was one of the writers for the Emmy®-award-winning show My Name Is Earl. She began her writing career by getting people coffee at various places like National Public Radio and Hollywood Squares. She can now proudly say someone else gets her coffee. Unfortunately, she doesn’t like coffee. Winston lives in Los Angeles with her cat Lolly. 

Whether you win it or not, if you’re a fan of funny memoir, this is one you’ll definitely want to check out! OH MY GOSH, I first posted this and FORGOT TO ASK A QUESTION! Maybe because I was so freaked out about the last book's question! But here's a FUN ONE! If you're ex were to write a book about YOU, what would you think he would say about YOU!!!! I think mine would say, "SHE GIVES TOO MANY HICKEYS!!" hahahah, Of course, I haven't had an ex in A VERY LONG TIME!!! OK, you tell me now, what your ex would say about you if he were to write a book!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books.

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

IMPORTANT ADDENDUM to LOSING CLEMENTINE

Before I put up the question on Losing Clementine I didn't think things through very much. I thought through enough NOT to ask how YOU would plan out your suicide. I'm not an idiot. I know you're all mature adults who spend time on MaNiC MoMMy. I don't think that anything I would write on my blog would GIVE you all any ideas or increase the likelihood that you might do something dangerous to yourselves. I also think the author, Ashley Ream didn't think that when she wrote the book, readers would then make a trip to Tijuana to buy horse tranquilizers to plan their own suicide.

But I have worried some readers out there by the last question I asked concerning the book Losing Clementine. In NO WAY was I indicating that you should go out and commit suicide. I know it is a HEAVY subject. Many of the books we discuss here on MaNiC MoMMy deal with heavy subjects--the death of a spouse, abduction, sexual abuse, divorce, mental instability, drug abuse, infertility, murder, finding the perfect shoe ... haha, I wanted to make you laugh there, because that is what I aim to do.

But, in all seriousness, I recently wrote about my own bouts of depression here, so if I offended anyone by my suggesting you discuss ways people might consider suicide, I am sorry. If you'd like to enter to win the book Losing Clementine, you can go back and simply write that you're not comfortable with answering the question but you'd still like to enter the contest. I'm never going to disqualify anyone for stopping by and being honest. That goes for ANY book I promote here.

Thanks to those of you who have already brought this to my attention, and thanks for always coming by to read MaNiC MoMMy. And I promise you that Losing Clementine is not a depressing book -- it's humorous, the main character is spunky and lovable and she's searching for self-discovery actually, and she may just find it ... you'll want to read it!

And also, my heart goes out to those of you who have lost loved ones to suicide. xoxo

Thanks!

LOSING CLEMENTINE by Ashley Ream

See if you've won this book:

WINNER LISTED HERE

Losing Clementine

Ashley Ream

Clementine Pritchard is a world-renowned artist who has given herself just one month to live. The book starts at Day 30 as she begins to get the end of her life in order, from finding a home for her Persian cat, Chuckles, to painting one last work of art, making up with her ex-husband and executing the plans for her suicide. She also has some unfinished family business and wants some unanswered questions answered about her father, who left when she was young.

Can she get everything answered in time before she pulls her own plug?

I really love the format of this book because it’s like it’s starting at the end of her life, but does she end her life?And it's a fast-paced read that'll have you zipping through the book to get to the end to find out the big question -- does she or doesn't she?

Executing a suicide plan has never been this much fun.

You can read the first chapter here.

If you'd like to enter to win Losing Clementine I'm going to ask a really bizarre question. In the book, Clementine decides to go to Tijuana to get horse tranquilizers for her suicide. (Sidenote: At the end of the book, Ashley Ream tells of her real trip to Tijuana to research exactly if it would be possible to purchase illegal substances such as horse tranquilizers over the border -- a very cool addition to the book!)... So, what I would want to know, what do you think would be the easiest form of suicide? I think it would be in the car in the garage.

PLEASE READ THIS ADDENDUM TO THIS POST IF MY QUESTION DISTURBS YOU AS IT DID SOME OF THE READERS.

NOTICE PLEASE, that I did not ask you how you would want to kill yourself!!!! PUH-LEASE!!! Especially after my last post! I am FINE PEOPLE! And thanks to you all who left me such wonderful sweet comments! Love to you all!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books.

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

Depression & Doubt

It's been a long while since I've blogged any personal stuff here. Lately it's all been book features and giveaways. MaNiC MoMMy used to be simply my personal blog but then it morphed into a book review blog. Today I'm feeling depressed and full of doubt. I quit my agents.

I thought that I would want to write about it, but as soon as I typed "I quit my agents" my hands stopped typing. Why am I telling you this? Do you care? Do you just want me to get back to the book reviews? It's so weird how depression can come as it does. Today I felt it. Hard. And I wondered if depression feels different for people. I suppose it does. Like how love must feel different for people. I wish I could describe how it feels to be depressed over not having an agent anymore and having to query to find another one. I know it's a stupid reason to feel depressed over, when there are so many harrowing things going on in the world. Who cares that I don't have an agent? I have my health, my family, general happiness, a roof over my head, food. I don't have an agent. I don't have a book deal.

But then I review ALL of these books. And yeah, I can get jealous. I think, "Why them? Why not me?" I've worked at this for 10 years now. I've written 3 full length novels. I've had to let my agents go because I felt it wasn't working the way I wanted an agent-author relationship to be working. And yeah, I have doubts that I did the wrong thing. But I wasn't happy. And I'm still not happy.

The only time I'm really happy is when I'm sitting in front of my laptop creating lives of people I make up in my head. What's wrong with the life I have that I need to create fake lives to be happy? That's an interesting question to ask myself. And of course, the above statement is NOT true. I'm happy other times, but writing is what I've always wanted to do. The only thing. I never wavered from that idea. That was it. The only thing.

So I don't know why it has to be so hard, and why there are so many obstacles. But there are, and I won't quit at it, and I'll battle this bout of depression and doubt, and move along to figure out the next phase.

In the meantime, I'll query more agents, try to find the right match for me. I know now what I don't want in an agent-author relationship. I know now what I DO want in an agent-author relationship. I know now that I have to SPEAK UP, and the agent works for me.

Since my latest book is done and there's no more writing for a while, I'm going to really try hard to focus on bringing you a bunch of books, more than usual, here. I've got a stack of them here that are great.

Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream is coming up. My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me by Hilary Winston is on the list. Jen Lancaster's If You Were Here is out in paperback soon and I'll be giving that away, and then her upcoming memoir Jeneration X is on its way. Sarah Pekkanen's These Girls is coming. Allison Winn Scotch's The Song Remains The Same is out in April too. I Couldn't Love You More by Jillian Medoff is in the lineup. Rainbow Rowell's Attachment comes out in paperback ... there are so many amazing books and I've got them all for you. If you can hang out for a while, they'll be all up on MaNiC MoMMy soon! Thanks for your support and for all the laughs you give me. I love reading your comments -- you don't know how often I'll read something and say out loud -- "ME TOO!" or I'll laugh at the comments you all leave. YOU all give me reasons to keep writing, and I'm forever grateful!

FEEDING EDEN by Susan Weissman

Congrats to:

Terri who hates corned beef & cabbage

Please email me your full name and address at stephanieelliot@gmail.com so I can send you your book!

Feeding Eden

By Susan Weissman

I’m preparing to write my post for Feeding Eden and as I’m doing so, I’m sitting at Starbucks, drinking a milk-based latte and eating an almond biscotti, and I realize that there are millions of people, especially children, like Eden in the book who are severely allergic to the exact things I am eating. I take this for granted every single day. I haven’t a clue. I’ve never had an allergy; I’ve never had a child with a food allergy.

Eden’s mother, Susan Weissman, has written a poignant, uplifting and especially informative memoir about what it’s like to raise a child with life-threatening allergies. From the time he was a baby, Eden had allergies with infant formula, and a simple lunch of rice and lamb landed him into the ER when he was one. 

Through the worries and struggles, Susan manages to tell the story of the trials and triumphs of their family in a way that will not only inspire, but also enlighten and inform. 

Here’s more info on the book:

Imagine rushing your child to the hospital, terrified for his life…just because he took a mouthful of the wrong food or a few drops of milk touched his skin. Susan Weissman knows how that feels. From birth, her son Eden suffered from allergies so intense that an errant bite could be deadly: Dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, fish, shellfish, and several fruits all wreaked havoc with his body. Susan had to make food the focus of her existence just to lead him safely through a world filled with edible landmines.

In Feeding Eden, Susan writes with poignancy, honesty, and humor about her quest to help her son--including trying a cluster of alternative therapies-as well as the effect of Eden's illness on their entire family. More than just a story for parents with severely allergic children, this is a stirring account of one woman's recipe for motherhood as she rises to a challenge she has no choice but to conquer-and successfully restores her entire family's appetite for life.

Check out Susan’s website for great allergy-free recipes and plenty of information for those struggling with allergies here: 

SUSAN'S WEBSITE

Read an excerpt here:

EXCERPT OF FEEDING EDEN

If you’d like to enter to win a copy of Feeding Eden, leave a comment telling me what is your LEAST favorite food in the ENTIRE world! I might go with olives or pickles! YUCK!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books.

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!

THREE WISHES by Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones, Pamela Ferdinand

Congratulations
Melissa tmd636
Please send your full name and address to stephanieelliot@gmail.com and I'll send your book to you!

Three Wishes

By Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones, and Pamela Ferdinand

Today I bring you a memoir on motherhood, and I love these types of books so whenever I find one I just have to share with you. This one is called Three Wishes: A True Story of Good Friends, Crushing Heartbreak, and Astonishing Luck on Our Way To Love and Motherhood.

Whoo, that’s a mouthful, huh?

Anyway, it’s written by three amazing women, Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones, and Pamela Ferdinand who were nearing 40 and successful at work but still single and wanting children. They decide to seek help through the local sperm bank to fulfill their dreams of motherhood. What comes from their story when that first vial of sperm arrives will give any woman hope and bring joy to your heart. As the women find love and create families, one by one, embarking on their journey to motherhood, you’ll fall in love with Three Wishes!

Here is a video of Carey, Beth and Pamela explaining a little bit about what happened.
VIDEO FOR THREE WISHES

Here’s the official back of the book blurb:

Carey, Beth, and Pam had succeeded at work but failed at romance, and each resolved to have a baby before time ran out. Just one problem: no men. Carey took the first bold step towards single motherhood, searching anonymous donor banks until she found the perfect match. What she found was not a father in a vial, but a sort of magic potion. She met a man, fell in love, and got pregnant the old-fashioned way. She passed the vials to Beth, and it happened again. Beth met man, Beth got pregnant. Beth passed the vials to Pam, and the magic struck again. There were setbacks and disappointments, but three women became three families, reveling in the shared joy of love, friendship, and never losing hope.

If you’d like to win a copy of Three Wishes, leave a comment here telling me what are three wishes of yours—make sure they’re possible/logical three wishes, like here are mine: 

1.      To have my books published.

2.      To have a personal chef.

3.      To have a maid change my bed sheets daily.

What would three wishes be of yours? Tell me and you could win a copy of Three Wishes!

Remember, MaNiC MoMMy is aiming to feature great books each and every week this year, and you’ll have a chance to win it as well! Please stop by often AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE PREVIOUS POSTS as I’m now posting new books more than once a week! Open to US/Canada residents only, and thanks to all the participating authors and publicists for providing the books.

Check back on this post in a few days to see if you’ve been chosen, and as long as there is not a highlighted winner’s name on the top of the blog post, you may enter to win any of the previous books being offered. One entry per person as always! Please include an email address or a uniquely identifying user name when entering to win!