Dumped by Maryjane Fahey and Caryn Beth Rosenthal

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Jodi Lustig

Maryjane Fahey and Caryn Beth Rosenthal have been there. Dumped. And they know it sucks. But now they’re using their heartbreak for good.

The writers both found themselves suddenly single one Fourth of July weekend (talk about a happy Independence Day!), and a dynamic duo was born. Not that it seemed that way at the time.

Like your best fairy godsisters, Fahey and Rosenthal aren’t afraid to tell you there’s no magic wanding your way to happily-ever-after. We can’t all make like “precious Liz” (their words, though I wish they were mine) and get paid to take a year off to traipse around the world Eat Pray Love style. But what they offer in their no-nonsense, no-recovery-myth-left-unbusted tale of moving on and loving it is a lot more practical and a hell of a lot funnier than any spiritual quest you can shake a talking stick at.

I joined the authors at their New York pub party, held, where else, but at an actual pub. (Women with the moxie to write “a grown-up guide to gettin’ off your ass and over your ex in record time” don’t mess around with petit fours and room temp tap water.) Over our shared appreciation of martini glasses–and the various beverages, adult and non, that can be served in them–I asked them a thing or three, Book End Babe style.

Q: I love your take on closure. (The title of chapter four: “Closure–huh?” Right up there with the book’s subtitle for clarity, don’tcha think?) How did we ever get the idea there was such a thing?

MJ: ‘Closure’ next to ‘cougar’ is one of my least favorite words. Really. Overused, overexpected–and not just with men, with anything. In our heads, we write a script of what we want our men to say to us, and it’s never going to happen.

CB: Such bullshit. It’s like, “What do you think is going to happen?”

MJ: So what you need to do is find closure with yourself and move on.

CB: Just close that door. You will get closure when you’re marching down that fuckin’ street with your red lipstick on in your high heels and feeling good with life.

MJ: When you find your joy again.

Q: What’s the best thing you’ve done since you’ve gotten off your ass and over your ex?

CB: Written a book!

MJ: For me, it was on my to-do list to be more creative.To do all the things I had been on my stupid ex to do. After we broke up, and I started taking care of me, I started knocking things off that list. Like writing this book.

Q: What was your process like?

CB: We started meeting once weekly. We taped it.

MJ: Then we decided it needed shape.

CB: Maryjane insisted we put our stories in. That’s what I think changed the whole thing. We wrote from the heart. We’re real women, we have a funny bone, and we’re sassy.

Q: From the BEB favorites’ file: favorite “forget the diet” dessert?

MJ: I’m not a sweets person, but if I were to do sweets, I’d have chocolate mousse. But I’d much rather have a huge platter of French fries.

CB: I don’t ever have a diet to forget. But I love canollis.

Q: Favorite book?

MJ: Lolita and all things Nabokov. No one compares. I am reading a book of his poetry now, and it slays me nightly.

CB: Skinny Bitch changed my world because of one sentence about getting rid of the toxic people in your life. A vegan book and that one line hit home! I dumped wings, burgers and my ex a month after reading it.

Q: Favorite literary figure?

MJ: Scarlett O’Hara. I love the girl’s pluck. I love her determination. I adore the scene when she vows, holding the soil in her hands, to never be poor again. (Of course, I am thinking of the gorgeous and mad Vivien Leigh in the film on that one.) It’s also the first book that drew me into the joy of reading as a kid.

CB: Heathcliff has never had a limp dick. He’s romantic and sexual–that’s how I like my men—showing up at the door at attention, and by that I mean flag raised and ready to roll. A take charge confident dude. Most certainly a happier version of Heathcliff would be mighty fine!

Dumped is filled with amazing advice from amazing women–and even a few men. Dedicated to Anne Boleyn, “the most famous dumped chick of all time who will always win the ‘worst breakup ever’ contest,” it features a quiz on the dreaded red flags and a helpful multi-media guide to getting back in the groove–from “Deep Ones” to “Pick Me Ups” to the badass and bawdy. For more about Maryjane Fahey, Caryn Beth Rosenthal and Dumped, check out dumped411.com

Jenny Peterson – Five In The Hive

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Dani Stone

Today’s Five In The Hive features YA author, Jenny Peterson. Earlier this year, Jenny’s story, “Tonight You’re Mine” was featured in the Buzz Books anthology, PROM DATES TO DIE FOR. Her story won praise for its clever premise and entendre-laden dialogue.

Her latest story, “Under Loch and Cay” can be found in the SOMETHING WICKED anthology, available October 2012. In her newest YA tale, friends Rachel and Kendra are college students by day and demon hunters by night who use their individual “gifts” to keep their small seaside town safe. When an odd stranger appears who insists on helping the girls, they’re not sure whose side he’s really on. Can these demon-hunting besties save the day and their dropping GPA’s? Find out in October.

Visit the Buzz Books Something Wicked page for more information about hosting your own Day Of the Dead book club or party, complete with masks and special menu items. Also, don’t forget to LIKE the Facebook page for updates on contests and parties coming soon.

This weekend, one lucky Facebook friend will receive a galley copy of SOMETHING WICKED, chosen by random draw on Monday 9-10-12.

Now, without further adieu, Jenny opens up her diary and shares a few secrets by answering our Five In The Hive questions. Thanks for playing along, Jenny.

1. First book you fell in love with? “The Secret Garden.” My obsession with England started with the discovery of Disney’s “Robin Hood” at age four and was solidified with “The Secret Garden” around age eight. I read it basically on repeat and longed for my own walled garden of secrets (which totally sounds like a euphemism, right?). Unfortunately, without a Dickon of my own (which also sounds dirty), my gardening ability stops at picking up bouquets at my local florist.

2. Favorite “forget-the-diet” dessert? I have an Eric Cartman-like love of pie. Any fruit pie will turn my head (like those saucy little minxes raspberry and strawberry-rhubarb), but my true love is banana cream. I don’t like any other cream-based pies or anything else banana-flavored (except for, you know, bananas), but put those two magical ingredients together, and I’m yours.

3. Book Character Crush? So. Many. Obviously, Mr. Darcy from “Pride and Prejudice,” that goes without saying. But also Kartik from the Gemma Doyle trilogy (go pick up the first book, “A Great and Terrible Beauty” immediately), Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables books, Jon Snow from the Game of Thrones books (yes, the series is really called A Song of Ice and Fire, but that is just SO geeky). And then, of course, there is Ron Weasley. He is probably my favorite character ever, and I love him with all my heart, but I would never try to come between him and Hermione.

4. In a battle between Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula, who wins? Dracula, hands down. Frankenstein’s monster just wants some love (don’t we all), and Dracula is known for seduction … then chowing down on your neck. Still, the tragically misunderstood monster would melt for a bit of love and acceptance from the vampire prince, then they’d probably form some sort of Monster Acceptance League and stage a super popular kiss-a-thon to raise public awareness. Voldemort would join them. Somebody go get on that fanfic right now.

5. Dirty little secret: I don’t get poetry. Like, at all. It’s strange, because I love Shakespeare, and what makes his plays is the genius rhyming verse. But if you were to take, say, “Macbeth,” pull it out of iambic pentameter and slap Emily Dickinson’s name on it, I’d probably go from “yay!” to “meh.”

Jenny Peterson Bio -

Jenny Peterson is a former lifestyle editor and current freelance writer living in Denver, CO. For her day job, she’s had the opportunity to write about everything from her love of “Harry Potter” to local shopping. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies such as Buzz Books’ “Prom Dates to Die For.” Jenny spends most of her free time reading and writing YA fiction. You can read more from her on www.jennycoonpeterson.com or follow her on Twitter @JenC_P.

Mari Farthing – Five In The Hive

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Dani Stone

Joining us today for a Five In The Hive chat is our own beloved Book End Babe, Mari (Hestekin) Farthing. *applause*

Mari is stopping by today as a guest so we can chit-chat about her upcoming debut in the YA anthology, SOMETHING WICKED from Buzz Books, USA. The five authors from PROM DATES TO DIE FOR have returned to SOMETHING WICKED for more ghoulish fun and this time, much like a zombie apocalypse, they’ve invited Mari to be, “one of them. . . one of them.” *insert appropriate zombie noises here*

In SOMETHING WICKED, Mari tells a tale of TROLLS. And these aren’t persnickety cranky trolls that hide under bridges and make you answer random trivia questions to pass. Nope, these hairy beasts are out for blood, and vengeance. The girl with the recurring dream, the boy with the notebook of secrets and the “hunters” must come together to defeat the trolls. But who are the trolls, really, and what do they want? Find out when the book is released, October 1, 2012.

Okay, Mari, time to play along and answer the Five In The Hive questions:

Book you can’t get out of your head: A Simple Plan. A couple finds a large sum of money and chaos ensues in such a way that I could totally picture myself falling into that downward spiral. Brilliant read. It was later made into a movie starring Bridget Fonda, Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton, but the book far eclipsed the movie.

Book character crush: Ooh, good question. I love Eric Northman from the Sookie Stackhouse books (yeah, that’s not a very literary answer!)

Most unusual place you’ve written: On a receipt is the weirdest thing I’ve written on. In the way-way back of my parent’s van on the way to the airport in High School is the weirdest place I ever wrote. It was a very Jim Morrison-esque poem about the highway. I still remember it.

Lipstick or lip gloss: Copious amounts of both.

In a battle between Frankenstein and Dracula, who wins: Dracula, of course. Frankenstein is adorable, but rather slow. Dracula could run circles ’round him. Then there’s the whole turning into a bat and flying away thing. Unless it’s a daytime battle, Dracula wins.

Mari (Hestekin) Farthing

Mari is a military wife, mom of two, a technical writer, a magazine editor, and Senior Editor at Buzz Books. In her free time (all 15 minutes of it), she likes to cook, discover new music, read, watch movies, run and share drinks with friends … not necessarily in that order. Mari firmly believes that life is best lived with a wicked sense of humor, a willingness to listen, a stash of cute accessories, an open heart for others, and a very dirty martini. Follow her on Twitter @marifarthing.

Girls Summer Reading

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Jodi Lustig

Somehow summer always brings me back to my teens. Whether it’s remembering my glory days at camp, slogging through the best (A Separate Peace) and worst (Crime and Punishment) of summer reading assignments, or my adorably sunny belief that one day I, too, would be a bikini babe, when the sun’s steamy and the days are long, my younger self hangs out way close to me.

So like, that’s totally why I’m passing along two virtually dog-eared coming-of-age novels this month. They may be slower reads than Gone Girl, but I swear to gawd they’re equally rad.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker made it onto many a summer reading list, and as I belatedly realized last month with Gone Girl, rabid professional readers tend not to be wrong. The premise is suitably off-kilter: one day in ten-year-old Julia’s ordinary life, the earth changes forever. The rotation slows, stretching out days and nights and affecting the planet’s gravity. Watching Julia navigate her way through the uncertainty that follows–and the effect it has on everyone and everything she knows–is a wistful pleasure, the perfect mood matcher for the days when the August breeze starts blustering onto the beach.

The earth isn’t slowing in Carol Rifka Brunt’s Tell the Wolves I’m Home, but it’s still plenty alien. The year’s 1987, and fourteen-year-old June Elbus lives for the days she goes into the city (New York City, of course) to visit her painter uncle Finn Weiss. She knows he’s got AIDS–even if her mom can’t quite talk about it–and she knows he’s dying. But when it happens it doesn’t make it any less awful. What it does bring is an unexpected acquaintance who might just make all the difference in the world. This one’s a special treat for those of us who remember the 80s and anyone who occasionally wondered if their family of origin wasn’t like, way too lame to be their own. Rifka Brunt manages to show us how far we’ve come, and how some things about family and human frailty will always stay the same.

The Ugly Friend

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Bailey Blair

Have you ever heard the saying, “If you can’t pick out the ugly friend in your group, then it’s you”? Well, Emma Frazier doesn’t even get that chance at naivety. While in the presence of her crush (and boss!), Emma is described by a frienemy as “the ugly friend”. With that in tow, Emma decides to focus on her writing… Which leads to turns she never expected.

While running away from her office life and toward her hometown, her past, her secrets, and positive transformations that span all areas of her life. For the first time in a long time, Emma feels desired, valued, and, well, beautiful. She reconnects with an old friend, and sparks fly… Leading to a delicious romance, right? Wrong!

The best message Maria Geraci provides in A Girl Like You is that beauty, money, and fame don’t bring happiness; only happiness with yourself can bring the confidence you need to navigate the transitions in your life. Through this process, Emma does find someone to love, and someone to love her… In the last place she thought to look.