Book Review: Pushover


Dani Wilder is about to open her first restaurant in the same Los Angeles location where a murder occurred. As if that doesn’t add enough stress to her life, she also learns that her seemingly perfect boyfriend, Jack, was engaged to Rebecca, the woman who was accused of the murder. When Rebecca returns to town, everything changes. Her conniving behavior threatens Dani’s new restaurant and ruins Dani’s relationship with Jack. Will Dani stand up for herself and take matters into her own hands or be a pushover? 

Pushover is an intriguing novel with enough mystery to keep readers guessing throughout. Mayer does a great job of developing the characters as the story progresses. However, the backstory and flashbacks are overwhelming at times and really take away from the present story. Mayer’s descriptions are wonderfully detailed, but there are also sections that are overly descriptive with unnecessary background information that could have been cut. More dialogue would allow readers to experience the action unfolding rather than being told about it. Aside from these issues, Mayer is a gifted writer with tremendous potential. Pushover will appeal to readers looking for women’s fiction with mystery, suspense, drama, and romance. 

Laurel Mayer has been in the field of marketing communications for more than a decade. She loves the craft of writing whether it is fiction or marketing copy. Laurel studied English literature and journalism at Boston University. Now she lives outside of Boston with her husband and three sons. Pushover is her self-published debut novel. She is currently working on her next novel. To learn more, you can visit her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Stories from the Hart: Chasing Charlie, Part 1

Chasing Charlie by Shannon Hart, author of Until the End of Forever
Part 1

“Miss? Is everything alright?”

Dan’s voice startled me.

“I can’t do it,” I answered, shaking my head. “I can’t do it, Dan. I just can’t.”

I banged the back of my head against the soft leather headrest and closed my eyes. I just couldn’t do it.

“Is there anything I can do?”

I shook my head. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that Dan, my trusted driver, could do about it even if he wanted to. “Unless you have magic powers I don’t know about, I don’t think you can do anything to help me.”

I sat in the backseat of my father’s black Rolls Royce with my arms crossed and my eyes closed, tortured by the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to get out of the car. We were parked right in front of Sal’s Diner where I asked Dan to take me.

A few hours ago, I was so sure that this is what I wanted to do. Less than 24 hours ago, Mom gave Dad a piece of her mind about meddling in my business, then hugged me and told me to go chase after what my heart desired. I got on my father’s private jet thinking I knew exactly how my life was going to play out.

As soon as we landed, I jumped straight into the backseat of the shiny car, entrusting Dan to take me to Blossom County. As the car raced to make sure we could get there before it was dark, I kept smiling to myself, thinking that before the sun came down, I’d be happy again.

I had just attended my sister’s dream wedding in Paris to her prince charming, Jean-Paul, who literally was some sort of royal descendant or something. It was a lavish wedding held at this breathtaking vineyard tucked in the middle of South of France, and was quite possibly one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. The only downside to it was that it was so far. I had to take another flight from Paris to Marseille, and then a four-hour bus ride, which had me wondering if the place even had electricity. But the place was totally worth the journey. I was undoubtedly ecstatic for my sister but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel that pang of jealousy every time I saw Jean-Paul kiss her forehead or whisper things in her ear that made her blush and giggle like a school girl.

I wanted what she had. Not that I wanted Jean-Paul, of course – he wasn’t even my type and what kind of screwed up sister would I be if I wanted him? What I wanted was the kind of relationship she had with him. After four years of dating, two years of living together and at least five hundred fights, they seemed more in love than ever. They couldn’t take their eyes off each other – or their hands for that matter – and they seemed to really complete each other. It was like they were two pieces of a puzzle that fit each other perfectly. Kind of like how it was with me and Charlie. Well, like it was before I messed everything up, anyway.

“Miss? I think Mr. Ross is looking this way,” Dan said, startling me again, forcing me to open my eyes and look out the dark tinted windows.

He was. Charlie was looking this way. But I was sure he didn’t he realize that it was me hiding out in the black sedan like a coward.

Not that it would surprise him at all. I was always a coward throughout our entire relationship. I was such a coward, I never even told him the truth about me – about being heir to a ridiculous fortune and being worth more than Paris Hilton. What I told him when I first bumped into him at the diner was that I was just Kate Murray, a simple girl from a humble family who lived in the outskirts of LA. Never once did I mention that I was actually Katya Annabelle Cordelia Murray Livingston, daughter of Gerald Livingston, who was listed as the number four Richest Man Alive in Wealth Magazine’s annual 100 Richest Men Alive issue.

In my lame defense, I thought everyone knew who my dad was. It never occurred to me that there were people who never even touched Wealth Magazine or watched the business channel on TV. To have an entire town in California, however small it may be, not have a single clue about my identity was actually kind of refreshing.

I stumbled across Blossom County by accident. The crappy rental car I was driving broke down in front of Sal’s Diner as I was driving back from Los Angeles to San Francisco to see my old college roommate Annie, who had just given birth. Charlie helped call the company to ask for a replacement car because my cell phone died, and like a true gentleman, he actually stayed with me until they sent me a new car about two and a half hours later. It took all but ten minutes for me to fall head over heels for him. I drove down to see him every weekend, and after about two months of going back and forth, I moved to Blossom County, telling my parents that I invested in a small business there.

My cowardly behavior had cost me my relationship. Charlie, who could never say a bad a thing about anyone, never actually used the word coward, but he did think I was a pathological liar. I couldn’t say I blamed him. I did lie the entire year that we were dating. I pretended to be poor and I pretended to need the job at his grandfather’s diner. I pretended to understand what it was like for him to have to sweat and bleed to earn a decent amount of money just to pay off his rent and the loan he took to buy his truck.

I would admit I lied, but I couldn't say I didn’t love pretending to be someone else. We lived a simple life together and I actually loved it. Our dinner dates consisted of eating hot dogs and drinking beer on a blanket at the park and I never once felt like I missed sitting at the VIP table in the best restaurants in town. Even when we had to take his beat-up old truck on a road trip to his cousin’s graduation in Reno, I didn’t miss Daddy’s private jet even for a second. Just spending all that time sitting next to him in the car and watching him drive made it all worth it.

“Miss? He’s leaving the diner now,” Dan said, playing his part as the spy very well.

I sat up straight immediately and felt my heart start to race. Maybe he did know that I was hiding out in the car. Maybe he wanted to come over and tell me to get lost and never bother him again much like he did the day he found out who I really was six weeks ago. 
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Check back for Part 2 of Chasing Charlie on Wednesday! 

Do you like this story so far? What do you think will happen? Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win a paperback copy of The Divorce Party by Laura Dave! The winner will be chosen randomly on Friday. Good luck!

Holiday Short Story Competition

Happy Friday everyone! We're so excited to announce our Holiday Short Story Competition! Here are the details:
  • Women's fiction only
  • Holiday theme
  • 1000 - 3000 words
  • Submissions will be open on Thursday, November 10th
  • Stories will be posted from November 15th - December 15th
  • Winners will be announced on December 20th
  • Nancy and Shannon will choose the winners based on comments from readers. So, if you love a story, be sure to comment and let us know!
  • First place prize is a $50 Amazon gift card, second place prize is a $25 Amazon gift card and third place prize is a $10 Amazon gift card
We hope you'll submit your holiday short story to our contest!

Please email submissions and any questions you have to Nancy at editor@chicklitbee.com. Thank you! We look forward to reading your stories!

A Quick Chat with Author Heather Wardell

Heather Wardell is an independent author of seven novels, including her most recent releases A Life That Fits and Live Out Loud. She started out by participating in the National Novel Writing Month challenge and successfully wrote a novel in a month, realizing her love of writing. We're delighted that she's joining us today to tell us about her novels and what the writing process is like for her. 

Where do you find the inspiration for your novels? 

It seems to come from everywhere. I read a lot and watch people a lot, and I think all of that stashes little pieces of information and detail in my mind that then come out when I'm working. More broadly, I am inspired by real women and the issues they face in their daily lives.

How do you choose which perspective to write your novels from? 

Each of my books to date has been from the perspective of one woman. She's what the book is really about and so everything is filtered through her background and experience. When I'm plotting a book, I am thinking about her: who she is and what kind of issues would arise in her life and how she would handle them. I write in first person because, for me, it's the best way to get into that woman's head and make her story as real as I can for the readers.

Do you identify with any of your characters? If so, which ones and why? 

Each of my main characters has a little part of me in them, but I think I identify most with Rhiannon in Planning to Live. She is so focused on her goals that she doesn't take the time to enjoy her life, and I've had that same issue myself throughout my life. I'm much better at not getting overly upset about little details, and it was writing Planning to Live that got me to that stage, so I connect with it and with its main character Rhiannon.

Are there messages or lessons that you hope readers will take away from your novels? 

Definitely. All of my books are about women taking control of their lives in some way or another. It's not always easy, but I think we're so much better off when we don't hand the responsibility for our lives over to other people. I hope that my books encourage women to stand up for themselves and to take care of their own needs.

What are you working on now? 

In December, I'll be releasing a book about a woman who wakes up naked in a strange man's bed to find she's lost fifteen years of her life. I'm also in the first draft of another book, which is still in the early stages, and have another waiting for its second draft. I will release three or four more books next year, and I can't wait!
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To learn more about Heather and her novels, please visit www.heatherwardell.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, check out Nancy's review of Heather's novel A Life That Fits.

Book Review: Destined to Fail


With an intriguing title like Destined to Fail, it’s obviously impossible to expect this story to be light and breezy. Destined to Fail is a strong tale of survival and courage packed with emotions and baggage. It is a novel that is hard to put down. Jasmine, or JJ to her friends and family, welcomes readers into her world of chaos. To simply say that her life has been tough is the understatement of the decade. Between getting over her past that includes physical and emotional abuse, battling addiction (not hers though, but it was equally difficult), and an absent father, and trying to cope with the challenges of the present (losing her best friend, financial turmoil, and having to deal with an unplanned pregnancy), it is amazing that she hasn't gone completely insane. Apart from her way-too-perfect boyfriend Nate, her life is a complete and utter mess. But JJ is wise beyond her years and has strength and determination that keeps her going. Her ability to forgive and her concern for the safety and happiness of her friends are admirable characteristics that everyone could learn from.

There were certain elements of the story that could have been better. For example, there were a few sentences that could have been more elaborate to get the reader even more invested into the story. Also, a few more hints about her abusive past could have been added a bit earlier in the story. But these are little things that do not affect the strength of the story at all. It is possible to look past all these things because the underlying message is so much stronger. In this debut novel, writer Samantha March opens up a world filled with what should be anger, frustration, bitterness and insanity, but in the form of formidable strength and friendship. This strong tale is the perfect illustration of how people can rise above the past, no matter how painful, and leave behind all the drama to make the ultimate choice to move on and create a better future for themselves. Samantha presented a well-written, emotional and compelling story, one that all women should read and recommend to others. Girlfriends, go ahead and give it a read!

Samantha March fell in love with books at a young age thanks to her mother and grandmother, both avid readers. In high school, Samantha excelled in writing courses but took what she considered the practical route and enrolled in a business college where she graduated with honors in 2009. However, her thoughts of writing never dissolved. In October of 2009, Samantha started the book blog Chick Lit Plus where she met fellow readers and writers who pushed her to continue her goal of becoming published. Her self-published debut novel, Destined to Fail, is available now as an eBook and will be available in paperback in November. Samantha currently lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, with her boyfriend.