My Chick-Lit Timeline: Samantha Stroh Bailey (Author Of Finding Lucas)

Fab author, Samantha Stroh Bailey just came back from her Europe/Canada tour with her entertaining debut, Finding Lucas, I described queer-ky and she decided to step on my part of the world to speak a language we all our quite familiar with, Chick-lit!

Stick with her as she goes down memory lane to relay to us, all the Chick-lit that has made an impact on her life from her wee years till present.

My love affair with adult chick lit began quite late, towards the end of university, when my best friend handed me Milk Run by Sarah Mlynowski and said, “Read this.” Well, as a lover of literary fiction and mystery, I scoffed and pointing to her pastel-covered books, I said, “Thanks, but I don’t read that stuff.” Knowing I wasn’t a fan of change, she smiled and said, “Just try it.”

Bridget Jones’s Diary:

Like any chick lit fan, I am itching to get my hands on Helen Fielding’s third installment of Bridget. Mad about the Boy will be published in October, and I think I’ll re-read the first two to get myself in a state of frenzied excitement. Bridget’s madcap antics, hilarious friends and never boring love life changed the face of chick lit forever

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner.

I adore, revere and lay at the feet of the incomparable Ms. Weiner. I love her edgy plot lines, imperfect characters and page-turning prose. I have read every single one of her books and have loved them all. I have always wanted to be a writer and her books have fueled my passion and drive.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

has one of my favorite covers of all time. I love how simple and elegant it is, and the plot line is one of the best ever written.

Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

made me laugh harder than almost any other book I’ve read. Kinsella is a master at writing over the top situations in the most effortless, breezy and likeable voice.

Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes

cemented her as one of my favorite writers. Dark, smart and always funny, Keyes is brilliant. I was beyond honored to appear with her in a video launching Wattpad’s chick lit feature. I play it over and over. If only I hadn’t giggled.

Brenda Janowitz’s Scot on the Rocks

was just one of the many Red Dress Ink books I’ve inhaled. I also read the sequel, Jack with a Twist (love that title) and can’t wait to read Recipe for a Happy Life.

Eileen Goudge is one of my writing idols, and while she’s not a chick lit author, per se, she writes women’s fiction like nobody else. In fact, she should have been the first author I mentioned because she wrote some of the Sweet Valley High books and also wrote the Seniors series, which I read long before my BFF handed me her pink books. Goudge is a NYT bestseller and her first novel, Garden of Lies, has sold millions of copies worldwide.You would think that someone so successful and talented would be untouchable. Well, not only is Eileen an incredible writer, but she is also kind, lovely, warm and generous, and I am very lucky to call her a friend. Little did I know when I entered this wacky and wonderful author life that I would become close to such amazing people.

And when I published Finding Lucas, I was introduced to a world of authors who I might never have known had I not fallen in love with my e-reader. I still love to browse bookstores and crack the spine on a new paperback, but incredibly talented, lesser known authors don’t often get their books lining bookstore shelves. Here are some authors you should definitely check out if you love chick lit and women’s fiction!

Meredith Schorr

Francine LaSala

Cat Lavoie

Tracie Banister

Anna Garner/Libby Mercer

Lucie Simone

Lydia Laceby

Brea Brown

Sarah Louise Smith

Janis Thomas

Jackie Bouchard

Nicky Wells

Susan Buchanan

Kathleen Irene Paterka

Patricia Mann

There are so many other books and authors, but since I’ve turned 40, my memory has gone completely downhill. Forgive me if I have missed anyone I have read and adored. I know I have. Whether indie or traditionally published, these books make me smile, laugh and cry. And I would love to see all of these books be made into movies because what’s better than seeing your favorite characters brought to life and done right?

In fact,I’ve never seen Confessions of a Shopaholic. Off to do that now!

—————★—★—————

Now that Samantha Bailey has gone through all her shelves with you, if you love her selections, there's no reason not to to stuck your shelves up with her titles (since all these are her influences)

Books by Samantha Stroh Bailey (click image to purchase)

Click here for my review of Finding Lucas.

ATM Samantha is trying her best not to reveal any secrets on her Upcoming novel which is in it's final editing stages, but trust us to get scoop on it [Insert wink here].

Samantha loves it when readers get social so check her out at Twitter | Facebook| Her Fab site.

Big Thank You to Samantha Stroh Bailey for spending time with us after a long pee-stakingly flight. I am grateful.

Signing off,

Kobby.

Book Review: Finding Lucas By Samantha Stroh Bailey

Blurb: Can you ever really go back to the past?

After five long years of living with Derek, her former bad-boy-turned-metrosexual boyfriend, Jamie Ross finally reaches her breaking point. She's had enough of his sneering disdain for her second hand wardrobe, unusual family and low-paying job as the associate producer of Chicago's sleaziest daytime talk show. When her new boss plans a segment on reuniting lost loves, Jamie remembers Lucas, her first love and the boy she'd lost ten years earlier. Spurred on by her gang of quirky friends, Jamie goes on a hilarious, disastrous and life changing hunt to track Lucas down. But are some loves best left behind?

He keeps squeezing my ass and sighing with pleasure.

Now he does it again, and says, "Never lose this. It is so goddamn sexy."

"Really?"

"Really." He assures me and flips me over so he can bite it.

"Ow!" I yell.

But, it feels so good.

...Oh my, Oh my, this book is very good. It's just so... quirky-sorry, queerky.

Samantha is very brazen. Draws in things that are not in your everyday chicklit. And she never ceases to dazzle as she keeps bringing in more and more of these strange things that might make you wish this book is fantasy. I wouldn't call this number light and fluffy. Quite dense and soulful, less than a mile away from Women's Fiction.

So Jamie is with her long-term boyfriend of five years who can't get her an orgasm (unless it's a price tag at Bergdorf) that she's now accustomed to spending more time in the shower (with the shower head) than she's known to. She has a job as an associate producer to a low-key talk show, lacks motivation and has a talent for staying glued to the boob-tube. I found her boring, and her lack of self-esteem annoying (despite her friends kept telling her she was gorgeous). I am hoping that's what Bailey was aiming for since she was vivid on these traits that ticked me off. It's no surprise Derek, the metrosexual and mummy's boy boyfriend wanted to transform her-into an image I wasn't fond of either (unless, being a housewife who raised kids and baked all day is a thrilling image to you).

Eventually, Jamie accepts the fact that, her then-Derek is way different from the now-Derek who would only get into the few sex positions that wouldn't muss up his hair and was so keen on her cutting the flab by undertaking extreme sports only him could endure. I was a fan of Derek wanting her to change, get-into-shape, but wasn't really crazy for the housewife image he wanted to impose on her. No wonder I was thrilled when she broke up with him.

But things get bad as Jamie isn't able to cater for herself with her measly income, being those kinds of women who allow their boyfriends who haven't spoken a word about marriage pay for everything. Ugh. Following the advice of her very, well, odd friends, she takes on the mission of finding Lucas-her high-school 'part-time friend, part-time you-know-what' (as they call a fuck buddy where I come from). It's clear to her she wants happiness, happiness only Lucas could give-No surprise there, because Derek wasn't as good as her shower head.

I think that's enough of the spoilers. Now to why, this book made my week.

I loved the cause. The whole Finding Lucas idea was very exhilarating. Yeah, everyone wants a second chance, we all wonder whether there would have even been a happy-ending if our crushes we fantasized about so much took a chance with us. And Samantha is one of the smartest writers to use this as a ploy in an attempt to get readers turning pages. Though I wasn't really a fan of Jamie, I was always on tenterhooks to find out if she ever will find Lucas. And if she ever did, would he be Mr. Right? Because following Alexandra Potter's You Are The One That I Don't Want you always know the obvious guy wouldn't be Mr. Right. I was praying, hoping this Lucas guy might just be (owing to some very enticing flashbacks Samantha brought up).

Secondly, I loved the cast of this book (excluding Jamie, of course). Leah and Katie-the mother and her equally hippy significant other were fun to read about. I was always raising brows to some of the acts Samantha was so brave to reveal. Like Lucy, the queer friend who isn't the least shy about her sexuality and contributed mostly to Jamie's quest to find Lucas. And Rachel-the sister who's teenage drama she'd relay to anyone whether or not they were interested. Hannah, the lingerie mogul-ess who's fierce personality got me wishing she'd slap some over to Jamie. To Giddy Amy and Silent Chris-the not-so-normal couple roommates who have some skeletons in their home "office". All these unusual characters made me have a blast.

Also, like any fantastic Chick-lit, this number has a lot of OMG moments, and ones that make you scream "Not HIM too!" It kept my excitement running non-stop for this book.

The introduction of one pestiferous co-worker and the final SHOWdown that led to Jamie's transformation from the Girl with Self-esteem issues to the girl with so much confidence that I was gob-smacked and kept asking myself, where was this side all along?!!

Don't blame me, I am not only a sucker for happy-endings, but I am a sucker for great/perfect endings. And this book had it.

Though I totally loved our lead girl towards the end, and instantly had a change of heart, there was one thing I couldn't overlook: Her constant dwelling on the past and failing to move on even after the breakup. I wasn't enamored with how she kept going back down memory lane to Derek wondering why he'd changed from the then-guy to the irritating dick-bag (new insult on the block) he had become. Why did she keep musing about Derek when I was expecting some action now that she was rid of him? I know being a guy, you ladies (at #ChicklitChat) might be thinking: Try getting out of a relationship you've invested five tedious years of your life, asshole. But, it just didn't sit right with me.

Overall, I compliment Samantha Stroh Bailey for going where no Chick-lit author dares-a very tricky attempt your average debut author wouldn't consider. Plus one to her ability to make her debut memorable-something not all best-selling authors now could do.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Samantha Stroh Bailey's spectacularly queerky and thrilling debut, can be found on Amazon in both kindle and paperback.

I recommend this hilarious title to anyone ready to read something out of the ordinary chicklit yet want to have a blast. Anyone who thinks their lives are full of shitty embarrassing circumstances would be appreciative of whatever they have after reading this. You should also pick up this title if you want a book rich in back story and not so light and fluffy but dense and, uh, intellectual (as Samantha puts it).

Certainly looking forward to Samantha Stroh Bailey's next.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.