Everyone Else's Girl by Megan Crane

My guest today on the Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit Lit Blog Tour is Megan Crane, author of Everybody Else's Girl, her critically acclaimed second novel, which is out now in the UK.

Meredith does things for other people. She irons clothes for her boyfriend, she attends her ex-best friend's horrendous hen party for her brother (who's about to marry the girl) and she moves back to her parents' house to look after her dad when his leg is broken. She's a good girl and that matters. But when she gets back home, all is not as Meredith remembered. Especially Scott, that geeky teenager from her old class at school. He's definitely different now. And so, it seems, is she. One by one, her family and old friends start to tell her some home truths and Meredith begins to realise she's not so perfect after all. Maybe it is time she stopped being everyone else's girl and started living for herself...

Praise for Everyone Else’s Girl:

"Megan Crane rules! Cancel your evening plans: You won't want to stop reading until you've devoured every delicious word."
—Meg Cabot

"Amusing, heartfelt and emotionally sophisticated chick-lit." —Kirkus

"Crane prevails with refreshingly real human emotions and reactions. In this book, actions have consequences, and no one gets off easy, despite appearances." —RT BookClub

Megan is a USA Today bestselling author who has written five women’s fiction novels, many work-for-hire young adult novels, and five category romances (under the name Caitlin Crews) since publishing her first book in 2004. Her novel, Frenemies, was a BookSense Notable in July 2007.　She teaches various creative writing classes both online at mediabistro.com and offline at UCLA Extension's prestigious Writers' Program, where she finally utilizes her MA and PhD in English Literature. Megan lives in Los Angeles with her comic book artist/animator husband and too many pets.

Megan took a break from writing and caring for her menagerie and answered some questions...

What is one thing you’ve learned about the publishing industry since getting your first book deal?

There is writing, and then there is publishing, and there is only one part of that I can control: the writing.

What are you reading now?

I just finished the latest in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, which is SO GOOD. Wow. I can hardly wait for the next book!

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

What's that? "Not writing??" I don't think I know what that is... But when it happens, I like to read some of my towering to-be-read pile.

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?

Just write. No one can tell your story the way you can, and no one will get to read it until you write it.

Visit Megan at her website here.

And follow her on Twitter here.

The Wishing Star (Nozomi no Hoshi) is Here!

In my new novel, Love in Translation, fledgling singer Celeste Duncan, after receiving a puzzling phone call and a box full of mysterious family heirlooms, is off to Japan to search for a long lost relative who may hold the key to the identity of the father she never new. When Celeste learns to sing a haunting Japanese enka song called “Nozomi no Hoshi (The Wishing Star)” her life changes in ways she never imagined.

Now this fictional song is brought to life. My husband, Manabu Tokunaga, wrote and performed the music (and also produced this video!). I co-wrote the lyrics with Hiro Akashi. Hope you enjoy the music video of the theme song for Love in Translation.

Catch of a Lifetime - by Judi Fennell

My guest today on the Girlfriend's Cybercircuit Lit Blog Tour is Judi Fennell, celebrating the release of Catch of a Lifetime, the latest in her "Mer" series.

About Judi:
Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie. So she did—right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she’s still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends’ books.

A three-time finalist in online contests, Judi has enjoyed the reader feedback she’s received and would love to hear what you think about her Mer series. Check out her website at www.JudiFennell.com for excerpts, reviews and fun pictures from reader and writer conferences, and the chance to “dive in” to her stories.




Contest
To celebrate the release of each of her books, Judi Fennell and the Atlantis Inn (www.AtlantisInn.com) and the Hibiscus House (www.HibiscusHouse.com) bed and breakfasts are raffling off three romantic beach getaway weekends. All information is on Judi's website, www.JudiFennell.com

Judi was kind enough to take time out to answer some questions...

Name three songs that would be perfect for the soundtrack for Catch of a Lifetime.
Come Sail Away because, hey, we're talking mermaids, oceans, sharks and a chase on the waves. Kiss Today Goodbye (from A Chorus Line) because of the tone. When the black moment hits, it's pretty much what Angel does for love. And, Can't Touch This, by M.C. Hammer. Maybe it's because there's a kidnapping shark in the story named Atlantic City Hammer—or A.C. Hammer, for short.

What is the elevator pitch for Catch of a Lifetime?
A Mer princess on a mission to save the planet meets the one Human who could help her do it. Too bad he wants Normal in his life and a mermaid is as far from Normal as he can get.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I wish I knew. LOL. I feel like all I do is write these days. Except when I'm doing mom/taxes/wife/homeowner stuff. I need more hours in the day.

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?
Learn your craft and write. Keep writing. Submit your work to contests or critique groups (Charlotte Dillon has a great online critique group that helped me tremendously and several of us formed our own online group from it). Listen to the feedback and if a lot of people are saying the same thing, take a look at it. Don't take feedback personally; you have to pour your heart and should into your story but then let it go and analyze it objectively. Yes, I know, easier said than done. But you have to because, in the end, your story is a product and you need it to be a good one if you want to sell it.

What and where is your favorite restaurant and why is it your favorite?
If I'm not going to Outback Steakhouse, I'm either jonesy-ing for Chinese food (Hunan Chicken) or Olive Garden. But then, I love food (as my waistline will confirm), so pretty much any place is good with me.

Best of luck with the book, Judi!