Why Guys Should Read Chick Lit
What
most guys don’t
know, is that women’s
fiction has a lot on offer. I don’t
think I’m
being presumptuous about the reading habits of XYs. My husband (who
has earned his title of “beditor”)
wouldn’t
be caught dead reading *girl* stuff, unless I convince him otherwise.
His
biggest complaint is that “women
sure do think a lot.”
That’s
right, we do. Live and learn, hombres.
What
can guys learn from chick lit? Lots of cool stuff. Like women think
it’s
sexier for guys to fill up our cars with gas, than to play bongos on
our ass. (See what we did there, it’s
sing-songy and rhymes
so guys can easily
remember it.)
It’s
not like men are from Jupiter, that’s
why they’re
stupider . . . (though if the planet fits!) This is just an open
invitation to those he-men of the universe to take a ride on the
chick slide. (That sounds dirty but maybe it will help attract their
attention.)
There
are so many smart, fun women writers, it would be great if guys would
read it and weep. For extra relationship-bonus points, they can share
their feelings in a
bedtime book report!
And they all lived
happily ever after . . .
All My Restless Life to Live by Dee DeTarsio
Publication date: April 29th 2013Genres: Adult, Romance
Award-winning author Dee DeTarsio combines life’s darker side with humor and tenderness in a wonderfully charming look at love and the afterlife.
Life is a soap opera, especially for Elle Miller, who is a TV producer. (Ellen dropped the “n” in her name in hopes of finding a better ending for herself.) When her laptop crashes, she borrows her dead dad’s computer and gets way more than she bargained for.
As Elle tries to save her career with a storyline featuring a trip through Atlantis, she takes a trip to the Emmys, and finds herself in the middle of a romance between a real doctor and a hunk who just plays one on TV. Friends, family, and clues from “the other side” all help Elle figure out the difference between living the good life . . . and living a good life.
Life is a soap opera, especially for Elle Miller, who is a TV producer. (Ellen dropped the “n” in her name in hopes of finding a better ending for herself.) When her laptop crashes, she borrows her dead dad’s computer and gets way more than she bargained for.
As Elle tries to save her career with a storyline featuring a trip through Atlantis, she takes a trip to the Emmys, and finds herself in the middle of a romance between a real doctor and a hunk who just plays one on TV. Friends, family, and clues from “the other side” all help Elle figure out the difference between living the good life . . . and living a good life.
Author Interview
Tell
us about All
my Restless Life to Live:
I
always wanted to be a soap opera writer. Even though an 8th grade
career aptitude test indicated I would make an excellent farmer’s
wife. Of course, I also wanted to marry one of my junior high
crushes, Jim Flower . . . which would have made me Dee Flower! (I
need to write that book someday.)
What
do you find most challenging about the writing life?
Distractio
. . .
Where
do writing ideas come from?
I
grew up in Ennui, Ohio, and only wish I had started taking notes
earlier—some
of the funniest people I know are from the Midwest. I think it is
constant fear of tornadoes or being trapped in a snowstorm that
forges a delightful melancholy of the absurd. Plus, I come from a
long line of teasers where NOTHING is sacred. Teasing is some complex
form of hazing required to be a member of my family. And yes, when I
was a teenager, my whole family totally made fun of me and my
Scoliosis back brace (a la Joan Cusack, Sixteen Candles).
Are
you a TV junkie?
I
don’t
watch much TV at all—only
when I’m
in the kitchen, family room, living room, bedroom, or on the
treadmill. It’s
not like there’s
a TV in the bathroom or anything.
What
do you do when you’re
not writing?
When
I’m
not writing, I’d
like to say I’m
busy speaking (and cooking) fluent Italian, teaching yoga, and
volunteering for the Peace Corps, but none of that would be true.
Read
any good books recently?
I’m
a Virgo, (*shakes head sadly* at the other eleven inferior signs) and
I run a tight ship on my kindle. I can only manage up to five books
at a time on there, despite temptations, I’m
talking to you, buy-now-with-1-click button.
Side
note: I am currently reading Dangerous Women, a brilliant cross-genre
anthology, in hard back, borrowed from my nephew (meaning no Cheetos
allowed). Amazon
There
were one or two studio computers networked together, but one was
missing a mouse and the other had a yellowed monitor that you would
have sworn smoked three
packs
of cigarettes a day and looked like you could play Pong on it. (Look
it up. I would, but I don’t
have a computer, remember?) Just like in the old-timey days of Don
Draper, when geniuses needed their favorite pen and ice-clinking,
crystal-glassed drinks, I needed my laptop. Call me superstitious,
but I did my best work that way. Besides, Information Technology was
a non-existent department at the studio, since management seemed to
think “IT”
stood
for sex, and therefore wasn’t
going to pay for it when they could screw everybody for free. I had
to figure this out.
Dee DeTarsio is a graduate of The Ohio State University and lives in southern California with her family. She did not teach herself to read at an early age or write stories by the time she was in kindergarten. She was still wetting the bed and playing in the can cupboard.
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