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January 1, 2006

Surprise!

Well hello and happy 2006! We hope everyone had either the raucous night of I'm-too-old-for-this-partying or the quiet, Parcheesi-and-wine kind of new year experience - whatever makes easing into a new year good for you. As for us, we're doing raucous partying because not only do we have swank new digs, but...

... drum roll, please...

... we're launching this year with not one, not two, but three, yes count 'em three new Literary Chicks! Please give a big welcome to Eileen Rendahl, Whitney Gaskell, and Beth Kendrick! We're so excited to have them here that if we were chihuahuas, our owners would be cursing and breaking out the mops. Seriously.

So, without further ado, let's introduce you to the new chicks!

Eileen Rendahl hit the chick lit scene running with her fabulous genre debut of the dual RITA-nominated Do Me, Do My Roots. You wouldn't think a story about a woman coming to terms with the death of her husband would be a funny as well as heartwarming read, but you'd be wrong. Eileen followed up in 2005 with Balancing in High Heels, another story riding the line between serious and funny with the story of Alissa Lindley, a lawyer whose anger issues after being betrayed by her husband send her packing for home, where life in the bosom of her family becomes a little... well... suffocating. Y'all know family bosoms. In addition to being a fabulous writer, Eileen is also one of the top 10 most adorable people on the planet. Alesia, Michelle and Lani have known her for a while from various online loops and writer's conferences, and we're all crazy about her. We're so very excited that she accepted our invitation to join us! You guys are going to LOVE her, if you don't already!

Whitney Gaskell's hilarious and engaging 2003 debut novel, Pushing 30, is what got her into this mess. Lani read it in 2004, fell in love with it, and e-mailed Whitney to rave like a maniac. Whitney very graciously e-mailed back, and over the course of what certainly seemed to Whitney like endless chit-chat, they discovered that they both went to Syracuse University at the same time. So that was it. After Lani raved about Whitney to Alesia and Michelle, we all invited her to be a guest, and the rest was history. And even if her books weren't great (which they are - you're missing out if you haven't read them all) her fun, irreverent and cheeky blog would have won us all over eventually anyway. Whitney followed up the critically acclaimed Pushing 30 with 2004's True Love (And Other Lies), a Romantic Times Top Pick about a woman who inadvertently steals her best friend's boyfriend while on a flight to London. Lani loved it, and then got the chance to read an advance copy of Whitney's fabulous 2005 release She, Myself & I, a book about three very different sisters who manage to co-exist within the same crazy family. We're all three so excited to welcome Whitney to the group!

Beth Kendrick is one of those people you really want to hate because she's drop-dead gorgeous and smart and a great writer, but she's so damn nice it's just impossible not to adore her. Beth's debut, My Favorite Mistake, came out to rave reviews and much cover jealousy from some authors who will remain unnamed. (:::cough::: Lani :::cough:::) A great book about a woman who goes home against her will only to find that the ghost of her past got even sexier in the years they were apart, it's a must read for anyone who loves chick lit. Beth followed this up in 2005 with the Romantic Times's Top Pick Exes and Ohs, a funny story about the exes you just can't escape. The very, very good news is that Beth's new release, Fashionably Late, is coming out on January 3rd to more critical acclaim and much, much, MUCH cover envy. We can't wait to read it and we're so thrilled to have Beth with us!

But, of course, it wouldn't be Literary Chicks if there wasn't a tremendous GIVEAWAY!!! And be sure to tell your friends, because this is a BIG 'UN. We're giving away...

(is it too obnoxious to ask for another drum roll?)