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UpClose & Personal: Malena Lott

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A/B is pleased to announce several new special sections in ’09:

UpClose & Personal with an Author, This Author Reads and Writing Tip Tuesday. Authors! See our Authors & Publicists page for submission guidelines. To kick off our New Year, our editor Malena Lott will submit her UpClose & Personal interview:

 

Malena Lott, Dating da Vinci, Nov ’08

Favorite guilty pleasure: Lipstick Jungle. Heard it may be canceled, though, and then I’ll be left with the shows I watch with my husband: 30 Rock and The Office. 

Writing crutch? Usually have to have a drink by my side. Starbucks Cafe Mocha and Frappaccinos are both addictive and expensive. 

Plotter or Pantser? Pantser, though I usually plot in bed right before I go to sleep. I figure if it’s a great idea I’ll still remember it when I wake up the next day. 

Favorite movie snack: Buttery popcorn with M&Ms in it. Only good thing that came from a relationship with an ex-boyfriend. 

Personal style: It changes from day to day, but I love to wear color and add a little glamour and glitz to my outfits, with a scarf or jewelry or funky hat. Gap jeans and cowboy boots with a fitted T and jacket would be my favorite ensem. Comfortable but seems dressy compared to a lot of mom-wear. 

Favorite brands: Apple, and therefore all the Apple baby brands like the iPod and iPhone and the cool applications like iTunes and iPhoto and iWeb, which is what I use to create malenalott.com

Favorite time of day to write: Mornings before 10. My mommy brain is fried by evening. 

Favorite writing spot: Lately I’ve started writing again in the playroom/office. I sit in this 1960s pink office chair against the window so it’s nice and sunny. I also love to sit in a sleek black recliner in my library downstairs. 

Favorite writing motivation: A fat, juicy contract would be nice motivation, but usually just setting a word goal is good enough for me. I like to write 2,000 words a day if I’m in first draft mode. 

Favorite weekend activity: Long walks with my husband if it’s nice weather. I also like to go on little mini adventures with the family. Weekends is when I update Athena’s Bookshelf and get more reading done, too. 

Favorite vacation spot: I’ve only been to Hawaii once, but it really was paradise. I thought, “Wow! This is on our planet? What else has the universe been keeping from me?” I aim to find out. Anything in nature is pretty satisfying for me. 

Favorite writing tip: Finish. 

Finish these sentences:

When I was young, I...dreamed of being famous and traveling the world. I grew up in a small town and couldn’t wait to see what else was out there. 

When I grow old, I...hope I can look back and see that I’ve made a difference in the world and that my loved ones felt I loved them as best I could. 

When I first fell in love, I…felt giddy and stupid. I usually had multiple crushes at once. The only time I felt truly hopeful about love was when I fell in love with my now husband. I had a feeling we could last, and fifteen years later I think I’m still right about that. 

I love to read because…there’s no better way to get to live multiple lives and experience the raw, rich emotion of human existence. 

Web site: www.malenalott.com

Lott’s second novel, Dating da Vinci, a tale of love, longing and la dolce vita, is in bookstores everywhere and available online. 

 

More Great Books for Gifts

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Today, A/B is pleased to provide an eclectic mix of great reads for women – funny, contemporary, paranormal, erotic and historical – something for every taste. Thanks for giving Books As Gifts this holiday season! – ML

Line of Scrimmage
By: Marie Force
The Hail Mary play of a lifetime . . . An NFL quarterback has just 10 days to convince his soon-to-be ex-wife to give him another chance, and he has to act fast—she’s already engaged to her ex-boyfriend. Readers will laugh and cry and hope—that at the end of the day, these two lovers, who clearly belong together, will somehow find their way back to one another.

“With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” —Booklist

BUY IT

Dating da Vinci
By: Malena Lott
A gorgeous young Italian, with nowhere to go . . .His name just happens to be Leonardo da Vinci. When he walks into Ramona Elise’s English class, he’s a twenty-five-year-old immigrant, struggling to forge a new life in America – but he’s lonely, has nowhere to live, and barely speaks English . . .She knows she shouldn’t take him home . . .Picking up the pieces of her life after the death of her beloved husband, linguist and teacher Ramona Elise can’t help but be charmed by her gorgeous new student who becomes the catalyst for la dolce vita… the sweet life.

“Smartly written…satisfying and uplifting.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“A remarkable tour de force. This story will make you laugh, cry and fall in love all over again.” SingleTitles.com

BUY IT

Romeo Romeo
By: Robin Kaye
Rosalie Ronaldi is a woman focused on her career. She has no intention of ever getting married nor is she a domestic goddess—both major points of contention with her traditional Italian Catholic family. However, when she gets a flat tire and is stranded on the side of the road, a mechanic with a tow truck pulls over, and gives her a hand.
Turns out that “mechanic” is actually Nick Romeo, “Brooklyn’s Donald Trump,” a self-made millionaire and serial dater. He’s instantly attracted to Rosalie, even though she’s far from his usual type of girlfriends who are fortune-hunting sticks with breasts. He quickly realizes, though, that he would have no chance with her if she knew who he was—the multi-millionaire playboy who, back in his misspent youth, got her older brother arrested. So he neglects to mention that detail. Somewhat inexplicably to both of them, they click instantly (helped along by Nick’s protective instincts when Rosalie gets pneumonia), and Nick suddenly becomes her live-in caretaker, cook, housekeeper, and lover, all rolled into one. Looming over his head, though, is his hidden identity and the fact that his company is at odds with Rosalie’s.

“Wonderful Laugh Out Loud Humor, a sexy and precious love story with twists and turns until the very end. Do Not Miss This Treasure!!” —Single Title Reviews

BUY IT

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Dating da Vinci Scrabble Tournament

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Ramona, the linguist in my novel Dating da Vinci loves word games, including Scrabble. So let’s have some word fun…

Got Facebook? Love Scrabble? Join the Dating da Vinci Scrabble Tournament on Facebook for a chance to win a brand new 60th Anniversary Scrabble set with colorful rotating board ($35 value).Just in time for Christmas! Set will be mailed out on Dec. 16th to the winner. Register now through Friday Nov. 28th at Midnight. Players will be randomly paired and will be given 72 hours to determine a time for the two of you to play your game on Facebook. Winner posts the win on the event comments or the Dating da Vinci Fan Wall. At the end of the 72 hours, the 1st round winners will be paired for the 2nd round and so on. Depending on the number of players, you could play several games, though I doubt there will be more than four rounds. 

More details can be found on tournament Facebook page. May the best “word nerd” win! – Malena Lott

 

How Author Malena Lott Gets La Dolce Vita

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First off, a hearty Midwestern thank you to authors Joanne Rendell, Jenny Gardiner and Jess Riley for taking the time to share their personal insights into “the sweet life” with our readers. These three authors are a big part of the reason I wanted to start Athena’s Bookshelf – to bring light to great books by great emerging authors. We’ll be back to more  book reviews next week, including reviews for The Amend Sisters, Where Am I Wearing, And Never Stop Dancing and more historical romance.

And now, for my route to the sweet life, la dolce vita…

This is going to sound strange for an author to say, since stories live in our heads all the time, but the best way for me to experience the sweet life is to get out of my head once in awhile. I’ve always prided myself on being a thinker and my creative outlet is not only escape for me, but therapy. But what I realized last year, while reading The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, is that my brain was pretty much controlling my life, and not in a good way. 

Do you ever have too many thoughts going on at once? Catch yourself worrying about the past and fretting about the future? Conjuring up drastic scenarios that may never come to fruition? Yeah…I pretty much rock at that. And it’s all well and good if you’re creating those things for conflict for your characters, but something else entirely if it’s about your own life. The stress pool is a cesspool. 

By practicing keeping myself in the present moment as much as possible, the past and the future melt away (unless the present is purposely planning for a future moment.) What’s left is the glorious present – whatever I happen to be doing at the moment. Making bacon for my 8 year old’s farmer’s breakfast this morning. Concentrating on the bacon and visiting with her, and not thinking about the dozen other things I need to do this morning. Getting ready for my launch party yesterday, I listened to Oprah’s Soul series, instead of worrying if anyone would show up at the launch party. (Thankfully many did!)

We’ve all heard the saying, “don’t worry, be happy,” yet it’s much harder to live it. But I’ve found when I do, then everything in life is sweeter. I really get to savor the small stuff and simply be present. Now I have to rush. Can’t take the kids to school in PJ’s, now can I? 

Be sure and check out my web site to enter two great contests ending in November, for an Italian Cafe CD perfect for your next dinner party or a Sephora Makeup Kit for yourself or as a Christmas gift for a girlie girl on your list. Need some holiday baking and recipe ideas? You’ll find my favorites on the site, as well. Thanks for supporting Dating da Vinci, and I wish you the sweet life this holiday season and beyond!

Get the book on Amazon here.