Bleeding Espresso

13 March 2009

Guest bloggers: Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton

Not only is it great for keeping up with old friends, it’s also fabulous for meeting friends of friends and creating new friendships. I stumbled upon ChickLitisNotDead.com in just that way and ended up “meeting” Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton, authors of I’ll Have Who She’s Having.

I visited their blog and read a blurb about their book and immediately asked if they’d be interested in guest posting here. I can’t wait to read the book (it’s currently in Customs of all places…one book! Come on Dogana!), but for now, here is Lisa:

Liz and I have been friends for *gulp* 22 years. And we’ve been through everything, together. We’ve sported unibrows, mustaches and Lee press on nails. We’ve worn mom jeans, balloon pants and stir ups. There was even a brown braided belt phase I’m not particularly proud of.

It was in college that we first started talking about writing a book. And then we graduated, began our careers, Liz got married, I continued my search for Mr. Right, Liz had a baby and then finally, it all came together. I was in yet another serious relationship with a commitment-phobe that I thought was going to be “the one” and Liz was preggers with baby #2 and we went for it. We wrote the book!

And we’re incredibly proud of the fact that during the writing process, we only tried to kill each other once!

I’ll Have Who She’s Having is the story of a man who comes between a desperately single and a very married sister. Liz wrote the character, Kelly, who is questioning her marriage and her entire life after becoming a stay at home mom. I wrote the character of Kate, the single sister, who after getting dumped on her bootie yet again, continues to look for love in all the wrong places. The book is told from the alternating points of view of Kate and Kelly and is full of laugh out loud moments as the sisters struggle to figure out who is going to make them happy.

We are proud to call I’ll Have Who She’s Having a Chick Lit book. Our belief that the genre isn’t buried six feet under–like many in the publishing world claim– inspired our blog ChickLitIsNotDead.com. Our tag line is “two girls who believe that books with high fashion and happy endings never go out of style.”

We know that there are tons of women (and even men- we don’t discriminate) who want to read a new and campy version of the classic story of boy meets girl, sweeps her off her feet and they live happily ever after. We like to say that our sassy spin and crass sense of humor make our book entertaining. You’ll read about everything from a GP (golden pu**y) to a dremail (drunken email) to a karaoke contest gone way bad.

But at the end of the day, despite the crazy, slapstick antics our characters go through, we believe Kate and Kelly are relatable. We feel we brought a realistic vulnerability to the characters through our own life experiences (although we are not Kate & Kelly, we assure you!) So, whether you’re single or married or somewhere in between, we hope you’ll be able to connect with one or even both of the sisters.

Xoxo, Lisa & Liz

Do you read Chick Lit? What’s your favorite Chick Lit book?

Buon weekend!

13 beans of wisdom »

13 beans of wisdom to “Guest bloggers: Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton”

Paul U on 13 Mar 2009 at 8:53 am #

I know what you are feeling when you meet someone online because I just found out that I have a relative who is also into blogging.

Paul U’s last blog post..Guess the pr update contest

That’s great Paul! Enjoy your connection
joanne at frutto della passione on 13 Mar 2009 at 10:17 am #

I think Bridget Jones I and II and Oliva Joules and the Overactive Imagination are my fave chicklit books. Not crazy about the movies though. This book sounds like a lot of fun.

joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Penne rigate alla Vodka – Penne in Vodka sauce

Just for that super quick comment and interest in the book, Joanne, I will send you my copy when I’m done reading…of course it’s not here yet, having been stopped in Customs. Seriously! ONE book from the US! Too funny….
nyc/caribbean ragazza on 13 Mar 2009 at 10:50 am #

Congrats to Lisa and Liz.

Their book sounds fun. I like the idea of the story being told from two POVs.

I am not a fan of the “Shopaholic” type chick lit. As I get older I have less interest in reading about 20/early 30 somethings who are clueless and only care about getting a man.

That said, I love women’s contemporary fiction. Bridget Jones and Waiting to Exhale are among my favorites.

nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..Flashback Friday – Corinne Bailey Rae “I’d Like to”

I can definitely see growing out of Chick Lit…that’s why some of us need to write books to grow with us chicks
Willym on 13 Mar 2009 at 11:00 am #

I must admit I’m split on the whole Facebook thing – its good to reconnect with old friends but sometimes the results can be disaster. Often there is a reason they are “old friends.” And the one’s who insist that “wasn’t high school the greatest time of our lives” need to change their medications. But before I sound like to much of an old curdmudgon I have made some great connectins also.

ChickLit – must admit that’s a new classification for me but hey I’ll give anything a try – once.. well actually twice just for affirmation.

Willym’s last blog post..Una farmacia antica

That’s the spirit Willym! And I definitely hear you on Facebook…I try really hard to only be friends with people I really *was* friends with….
Tina on 13 Mar 2009 at 11:30 am #

I love chick lit! Sophie Kinsella is my favorite! (You know, shopaholic, etc…) I especially had fun reading the Italian translations of her books.

I look forward to reading this one too!

Tina’s last blog post..You know you’ve been here too long…

I loved the Shopaholics too, and I just got an Italian translation of one of them…what a coincidence
Liz Fenton on 13 Mar 2009 at 2:43 pm #

Thanks Michelle! Your site is awesome and we are so happy to be featured here!

And for the record, my favorite chick lit book is “Something Borrowed” by Emily Giffin. Love!!!

Liz Fenton’s last blog post..Facebook Faux Pas By Lisa

I like her books too Thanks for coming by, Liz!
Carmen on 13 Mar 2009 at 3:23 pm #

Not a darned thing wrong with chick lit! This book is on my list!

Carmen’s last blog post..Thursday 13 Friendship Poems

Agreed, Carmen! Thanks for coming by
Asianmommy on 13 Mar 2009 at 3:33 pm #

Sounds like a fun read.
I love Jodi Picoult’s novels. Does that count as chick lit?

Asianmommy’s last blog post..Cupcakes With an Asian Flair

I still haven’t read anything by her, but I know I’ll love it when I do Thanks for coming by Asianmommy!
Lisa Steinke on 13 Mar 2009 at 4:06 pm #

Michelle–thank you for featuring us! You know I love Facebook…being the friend whore I am- ha!…But I’m am truly happy it brought us together. I love your site–from the love to the kid to of course the coffee, it’s a favorite of mine xoxo, Liss

Lisa Steinke’s last blog post..Facebook Faux Pas By Lisa

So pleased to have met you Lisa and I can’t wait to read the book
Paola on 13 Mar 2009 at 6:12 pm #

I love Chick Lit – seriously it is a relief to read such fun books when my semester ends.

My favorite Chick Lit author is Marian Keyes. She is Irish and amazing and her books are hilarious. I would start with Watermelon and continue from there if you have not read her.

I will definitely have to pick up a copy if I’ll have what she is having for me to read in Italy this summer! Thanks for the recommendation!

Paola’s last blog post..Big Man Little Man

Chick Lit *is* fun…that’s definitely the big draw for me as well. Kind of like a great if corny romantic comedy…FUN!
Laurie on 14 Mar 2009 at 8:33 am #

I hope your book comes through soon, it sounds like a fun read!

Laurie’s last blog post..Tomatoes Stuffed with Rosemary Quinoa, Chicken & Pesto & Where I Have Been Lately!

I’m looking forward to it, Laurie
saretta on 14 Mar 2009 at 8:39 pm #

Chick lit is not my favorite genre, but I don’t snub it either!

saretta’s last blog post..Lama Cupa

I can accept that
I'll Have Who She's Having by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke | Bleeding Espresso on 30 May 2009 at 7:34 am #

[...] when Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton, authors of I’ll Have Who She’s Having, guest posted here a while back? Well here is my review of their [...]