Chez Shaffner

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Secret Confessions...

Now is that a kick-ass cover or what? Click to access Amazon.

Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA by Ellen Meister

I’m not typically the sort of guy who reads chick-lit, although my girlfriend has recently drawn me into the sticky web spun by those Desperate Housewives... I don’t blame her. Not really.

Last week I read on the Internet one woman’s defense of her own novel-in-progress as NOT being “chick-lit.” She seemed genuinely offended by the label, noting that the ubiquitous catch-phrase pertains only to stories about twentysomething women, and such novels tended to lack “real” substance. She went on to clarify that her story was “women’s fiction, thank you very much.” Uh huh. Such distinctions may be meaningful to some, but certainly to the majority of male readers. For my money, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and wears a sailor suit...

Whatever, you want to call it, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA follows three interesting women, as they try to do whatever it takes for a Hollywood production company to bring its cameras--and leading man George Clooney--to their Long Island hamlet. They face plenty of obstacles along the way, including the meddlesome and attention-grubbing PTA president, but each woman also faces her own personal demons--an alcoholic mother, a stroke-damaged husband, a husband who may or may not be messing around with his own cousin!

The story is fun and fast-paced, the characters are well developed and distinctive, and plot twists along the way sustain the tension to the final pages. I just loved it.

Buy it, will you?

You should also take some time to check out Ellen’s blog.

4 Comments:

At 2:50 PM, Veritas99 said...: "I’m not typically the sort of guy who reads chick-lit..."

Un-huh. So what's next, hopping on the alphabet books train? I hear "S is for Silence" is almost as good as "A is for Alibi".
At 3:33 PM, Ellen said...: Thanks for the review, Jason. I'm glad you liked the book. Only real men admit to reading it!

As far as the whole chick lit vs. women's fiction thing, that author who seemed defensive to you was actually right. I understand that people commonly use the term "chick lit" to refer to any books marketed toward women, but in the publishing industry, it's a very specific term. And it does indeed apply only to books with young, single, urban, female protagonists (think Sex and the City). Since Applewood is about middle aged, married, suburban female protags, it's got another label: Mom lit.

Anyway, that's all industry jargon. From my perspective, I don't care what labels people choose to use. I'm just glad when they read the book.

Thanks for your openness, Jason!
At 6:20 AM, Shaffner said...: Ellen -- I defnitely see where some of these distinctions make logical sense when positioning a book in the industry...

I bought the book when it came out, but I banned myself from reading any novels through the fall, for fear they would affect the style of my novel project... When I finally sat down to read your book, I read it in a single sitting. About three and a half hours, cover to cover, and that's just about the most ringing endorsement I can give of any novel!!! Can't wait for your next one!

Jason
At 11:32 AM, Ellen said...: That's so great to hear. Thank you!

Interesting that you cut yourself off from reading other novels when you're writing one. I've heard other writers say that, too, and I can see how it might have some subtle influence on your voice. For me, though, it actually helps to be reading other novels while I'm writing. Somehow, they always offer the exact right lesson at the exact right time. Author's kismet.

So did you finish yours? If so, congrats!