Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature that shines the light on Indie and Debut authors. This week I have the pleasure introducing readers to:
MARIE LANDRY
~Author of The Game Changer~
In Defense of Chick Lit
by Marie Landry-2013
Chick lit has acquired a bad name over the years. It’s been referred to as fluff and has been accused of being poorly written. That may be true of some chick lit, but it’s also true of every other genre out there. And while other complaints range from it being too feminist to it being anti-feminist, or full of insipid women with ridiculous problems, that’s not always the case, especially in the 21st century. A lot of chick lit these days is smart, funny, and leans more toward intelligent, capable women dealing with real-life issues.
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| (CC) Gabriela Camerotti |
I love romance; I honestly never thought I’d write anything but romance, so when I got the idea for my second novel, The Game Changer, I was as surprised as anyone who knows me well and knows my romance addiction. The Game Changer is about Melody, a young woman who’s wasted the last few years in a dead-end relationship, and when she comes to that realization in a painful and embarrassing way, she’s forced to reexamine her life. The story has some elements of romance, but it’s about so much more: friendship, family, and self-discovery, among other things.
One of the reasons chick lit can be so great is that it explores relationships other than those between a man and a woman. So often women are portrayed as catty and backstabbing, and we don’t get to see the solid, sisterly bonds between close friends. That was my favorite part of writing The Game Changer. While I loved the potential romance between Melody and Julian, the parts that were most enjoyable to write were the scenes between Melody and her lifelong best friend Olivia. They have their ups and downs, but they’re loyal to each other and love each other fiercely. Not everyone has been in love or experienced the epic romances we often read about, but almost everyone will know what it’s like to have a friend you’d do anything for.
So while chick lit may not be the most popular genre, I think people should give it a fair chance - even those who are die-hard romance fans. There may be a romance, but it’s not usually the main focus. It’s more about the main character’s journey. And how many of us haven’t been on a journey of some sort in our lives?
Marie Landry is the author of Blue Sky Days (contemporary YA - Jan 2012), Undressed (a collection of short erotic romance stories - Oct 2012), and The Game Changer (chick lit - Nov 2012). Marie has always been a daydreamer; since early childhood, she's had a passion for words and a desire to create imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, or having grand adventures with her two precious nephews.
GIVEAWAY
Today Marie is giving away an eBook (version of choice) of her novel The Game Changer!! One lucky winner will be chosen Feb 23, 2013.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Melody Cartwright has never had a problem with change, but for the first time in her life the changes are beyond her control—she suddenly has a niece she never knew, but has to prove herself to; her best friend is making huge life changes of her own; and she has to deal with her ex and his crazy new girlfriend who has stalker tendencies.
When Melody meets confident, sexy Julian, she’s not interested in a relationship. He tells her it’s possible for a man and a woman to just be friends, and despite his ultra-charming ways there’s something about him that makes Melody believe he could be right.
During a time of change and turmoil, it doesn’t take long for Julian to become everything Melody never knew she needed in her life. But is it possible for them to remain ‘just friends’ or will Melody be a game changer for Julian the playboy?
Thanks so much Marie for being on the spotlight today. Looking forward to checking The Game Changer out. Find out more about Marie at:
Goodreads~Blog~Twitter
Good point! It sure has.
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The book sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for featuring me Tina! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love Chic-lit! I think it does get a bad name but I have a feeling it will come back around :)
ReplyDeleteI love reading chick lit books - it´s my favorite genre of all books :) My reasons are exactly like you said - they are about more than a relationship between a man and a woman :)
ReplyDeleteI honestly didn´t know that chick lit had a bad name. (at least not more than any other genre) There will always be poorly written books - or more books that didn´t catch you :)
The Game Changer sounds like a great read. Thank you for this giveaway :D