Hey There, It's Christa!

So, What Happened to March?

It's fitting that I'll be spending the last two days of March on an airplane because that's exactly the kind of month it's been—eventful.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you, I like eventful.

As we speak, I'm (finally) updating my blog from my hotel room in Beverly Hills. I'm making what's basically a glorified cameo in California for a press junket for The Lucky One.

Since I got here today at 10:00 a.m. PST and am leaving tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., I've been packing in as much fun as I can in the meantime.

After making my way from the airport down the perpetual parking lot that is the 405 and checking into my room, I ventured over to Robertson Blvd. in search of sustenance. And since I'm a creature of tradition and wasn't dressed nearly fancy enough for a power lunch at the Ivy, I couldn't wait to eat the chicken quesadillas w/jalapeño pesto and charred corn salsa that I always order from the Newsroom.

Now if you haven't been to the Newsroom before, lemme tell you, it's an absolute treat. Not only are the bulk of menu selections a lot healthier than your average restaurant fare (but still incredibly tasty, which is a total bonus), but the people-watching is absolutely priceless. To wit, I've seen burger eaters and wheatgrass smoothie lovers peacefully co-exist, and unlike most places with a decidedly free-spirited vibe, it doesn't smell like hummus or patchouli.

Thank goodness.

But as I walked closer to the Newsroom, I discovered something thoroughly unsettling—no lights, no people and a typewritten sign taped on the door. Yep, they were CLOSED today. For renovation.

Sigh.

So with a grumbly tummy and no quesadillas or mindless magazine reading in my immediate future (yet another perk of eating at the Newsroom), I was forced to try some place new.

And when you're trying some place new, it's never, ever a bad thing if the restaurant specializes in Italian food, right?

As it turns out, Cuvee was a fantastic find. While it took a gargantuan amount of self control to resist the specials that included penne with a pink peppercorn mascarpone sauce and pappardelle with lobster and cream, I opted for something light and delicious.

First off, was an Italian chopped salad with a light and zesty vinaigrette. In addition to the usual salad accompaniments like tomatoes, cucumbers and homemade garlic croutons were a sprinkling of exotic olives and oooey gooey boccaccini, which are basically the cheese equivalent of heaven.

Since I was so responsible in ordering a salad rather than the pasta I really wanted, I decided to order a half panini to round out the meal. Filled with juicy grilled chicken, basil pesto and the admittedly un-Italian avocado which took it waaaay over the top, it was pretty much the perfect sandwich.

Aside from my passionate love of any sort of pasta, what I've always loved about Italian cuisine is how the simplest, freshest ingredients are elevated to new heights. For the record, the food at Cuvee totally fit the bill, and I'll definitely be eating there again.

As for what else has been going on, just a few days before making my way to La La Land, I was visiting this adorable girl, her parents and my Mom in Colorado.

Doesn't her smile just make you want to smile?

Yeah, me too.

Like always, we crammed a lot of fun into just a few days, and I continue to marvel at how fast little Miss Adelyn Grace is growing up.

We played hide and seek, we read her new favorite story "Curious George Goes Camping" and per usual, I was wowed by how much she's been learning.

She's quite the smartie, that Adelyn and total sweetness to boot.

And when I wasn't trying to find the perfect hiding place to keep Adelyn on her toes, I was playing Scrabble with her grandma, shopping with her Mama and during one very special day, Lindsey, her best friend Erica and I made our way to Littleton to meet the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.

Little did we know, however, that the meet & greet would involve me standing in line for five (!!!) hours.

Yeah, Lindsey and Erica both deserve a medal of honor in the category of patience...

Apparently, I'm not the only one who loves Ree—and those comfort food recipes of hers. While I'm about the last person in the world who'd love living on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, I've been a fan of her blog—and Food Network show for a while now. Not only is she a major proponent of using butter and cream in her cooking (and really, who doesn't love those?) and loves romantic comedies as much as I do, but she's got a great voice which makes her blog thoroughly entertaining and informative.

Like the best people, that warmth and wit that makes her prose so much fun to read totally translates in public, too. Not only was her presentation a lot of fun, pitchy rendition of "Endless Love" and all, but she never stopped smiling, even after signing books for five hours.

Yes, FIVE hours and a genuine smile through all of 'em...

While I was convinced my feet were going to fail me (yes, I was wearing impractical shoes, naturally) by the time I finally made it to Ree's table, she was totally sweet and made time to chat with each and every person.

Gotta love it when people you admire turn out to be cool in real life, too.

In addition to flying the friendly skies and hanging with family, I've been writing like a madwoman, watching a slew of good and not-so-good movies, reading a fantastic travelogue titled Paris My Sweet and reminiscing about Will and I's time in Europe since it's been a (gasp!) year ago now.

All that to say, life's been good...and I'm incredibly thankful.

Doing NaNoWriMo My Way...

Maybe it's my slightly anal-retentive nature or the adrenaline rush I get whenever one's on the horizon, but I've always loved deadlines. And no, not "the sound of them whooshing on by" that's referenced in one of my favorite movies, Julie & Julia.

In fact, one of my favorite things about college that didn't involve  working on the school newspaper or late-night pizza with friends was the first day of class when the professor passed out the syllabus. For whatever reason, I loved those flipping through those perfect white pages just so I could carefully write the assignments (and when they were due, naturally) in my beloved dayplanner.

Even in the era of SmartPhones and iCal, both fabulous inventions in their own right, I still buy a regular ol' dayplanner every year—usually with some exotic European city on the cover. After all, why opt for the boring Franklin Covey when you can dream a little while staring at pictures of London, Paris or Rome?

Yeah, that's pure deadline bliss.

So now that my love of deadlines has been firmly established (not to mention my utter geekdom in the process), it's probably no big surprise that something like NaNoWriMo is right up my alley.

For the unacquainted, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, something that happens each and every November. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (on a side note, I absolutely can't wait for Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol...I think the trailer looks so good), is to write 50,000 words, essentially, a decent-sized first draft, in a month's time.

Yeah, as someone who's written two novels already, lemme just say, that's rather ambitious.

But after having my first two novels published in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and taking my sweet time to decide what to write about the third time around, I think I'm up for the challenge—even if I'm not doing it exactly how the NaNoWriMo folks envisioned it.

See, I'm cheating a little because I'm not actually starting from scratch. I have a decent-ish start on my third novel already, but I want to jumpstart my word count in a serious way, so I'm using the month of November to do just that. It'll be like NaNoWriMo, but with a method to the madness. Or I hope so, anyway.

In any case, it gives me a deadline, and not just a pretend one that I can ignore if I'm distracted by something else, like the stack of delicious new novels practically begging to be read in my office or the latest episode of Two Broke Girls.

Updates TK, I promise. You know, when I'm not chipping away at that 50k...

Words I Didn't Know Were Words Until I Played Scrabble...

Once upon a time in a land without iPhones and Words With Friends, there was a young girl from America's Dairyland who loved to play Scrabble. In fact, any time she had an opportunity to throw down a bingo (the Scrabble term for using all your letters in a single play), it was a happy, happy moment.

And since she lacked the finesse and coordination required to play any actual sports that involved, you know, throwing, kicking and the like, Scrabble was the perfect avenue for her fiercely competitive nature. On snowy, wintry days when she simply didn't feel like trying a new cookie recipe (another one of her favorite pastimes), she'd been known to (gasp!) read the Scrabble dictionary just for the fun of it.

After all, most people believe it's possessing an expansive, GRE-level vocabulary that makes you the biggest Scrabble threat. But the secret that I learned from playing many, many games is actually...

(Drum roll please)

Knowing all the legit two-letter combinations.

For the unacquainted, those are words like qi, ai, za and fa—the vital force in Chinese thought, a three-toed sloth, an abbreviation for pizza and the fourth tone on the diatonic musical scale, respectively.

And once you've mastered those (and trust me, there's tons and tons of seemingly unlikely combinations), not to mention how to layer them properly on the board (a trick that yields the most points, even if the words are super short), there are slightly longer gems that are also pure Scrabble gold, namely words like turfy (covered with turf), jute (a strong, coarse fiber) and qat (an evergreen shrub).

Now of course, these aren't words I'd probably use in normal conversation. To wit, when I'm  watching football with Will, I never say the Metrodome is turfy. But it is fun (or a bit nerdy, take your pick) having a small sector of my brain dedicated exclusively to Scrabble words like "xi" (a Greek letter), "vig" ( a charge made to a bookie on a bet), "jo" (a sweetheart) and "ut" (the same as "do" on the musical scale in the French solmization system).

Whether I can work them into my new novel, however, is a different matter entirely...but a girl can try, right?

How Did We Get Subscribed to These Again?

Ever since that first issue of Children's Digest made its way to our family's mailbox in Ladysmith, Wisconsin when I was just 8, I've been a huge fan of magazines.

And although the titles have certainly changed through the years (yep, I no longer get The Sporting News or Seventeen, which gives you a pretty good indication of my wide variety of interests back in my teen years), I still look forward to receiving everything from Entertainment Weekly to Real Simple to Bon Appetit.

In fact, while I've been forced to say goodbye to many of my favorites over the years because they've been phased out, I still happily subscribe to 12 actual print magazines.

And yes, for the record, I do make time to read each and every one, even if it's a month after the fact.

But in the past couple of years, a strange phenomenon has been taking over our mailbox. Recently, I've been getting all sorts of magazines I didn't even sign up for.

For instance, I've been regularly receiving Better Homes and Gardens for almost two years now, even though we're in a rental and don't have anything close to resembling a garden. Even more peculiar is our subscription to New York magazine. While I love Manhattan as much as the next person, I'm not so sure I actually need the local gossip and political breakdowns.

Equally puzzling is our most recent acquisition, GQ. While Will definitely has an eye for fashion, I doubt we'll be plunking down $6,332 for the new watch recently featured in the fall fashion round-up. And don't even get me started on those pictures of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez in a bubble bath. I sure hope his teammates are giving him a hard time for posing for those.

Strangely enough, the word is also apparently out that Will works for Wells Fargo, too, because in addition to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Business Week that we actually paid for, we're now getting The Economist, Money and Barron's. While financial mags aren't really our thing, I got give their editors credit, though. As bad as the markets have been lately, they've managed to come up with really, truly creative ways to say that things are bad, so that's something, I guess...

How 'Bout Some Information, Please?

So, I'm thinking the time has come to give my website a bit of a facelift. It's pretty much been the same, save for a few minor variations in color and content, since my first two novels released, and I'm ready to spruce things up a bit.

Now with that in mind, I have a few questions I'd love for y'all to weigh in on...

1)What components do you like seeing on your favorite authors' websites? What could I add that would make you want to visit regularly?

2)If you're a writer, would you enjoy reading a special section that gave specific tips about the craft, writing for publication, etc.?

3)Do you like websites that are basically the author's blog? Or a more of a standalone page like I have with links to everything else? Why?

4)Do you like receiving regular author e-newsletters? Why or why not? And if you like them, what makes one an absolute must-read?

5)Any other feedback/thoughts? Please don't hesitate to let me know...

In the meantime, thanks soooo much for your help, and be sure to look for the new website in the not-so-distant future! :)

Getting Wistful for Paperbacks, Hardcovers and Dusty Ol' Library Basements

I'll be honest, I'm not usually a pine-for-the-old-days kind of gal.

Sure, I absolutely adore old movies and prefer writing actual letters (yes, in my own frilly cursive) to e-mail any day of the week, but you won't see me giving up electricity and "living off the land" any time soon. After all, I enjoy all the perks of modern life too much to go granola.

Although I was a little late to the party, I'm still in awe of my cell phone's multi-tasking powers and love that I never have to miss my favorite TV shows again, thanks to the wonders of DVR. And given my perpetually direction-challenged nature and how I now live in a place with practically 2,353 different freeways, I'm a big, big fan of Greta, my GPS (and yes, I named her).

And high-speed Internet? How did I ever manage without that? Oh wait, I endured that lovely hissing sound and loud "You've got mail" declaration from AOL.

As far as music goes, I like to kick it old-school and listen to entire albums (like my favorite artists intended) on a fairly regular basis. Still, I have to admit my iPod is a pretty great disc jockey, too. Not only does she (and yes, because she's hot pink, I've decided it's a girl!) provide a great soundtrack while I'm working, but I never have to hear any hideous Top-40 music unless I personally selected it.

Sweet.

All that said, however, I'll admit I was more than a little saddened by something I read online yesterday. Sure, it was inevitable, but I still couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that Amazon.com's digital book download sales have now far surpassed that of traditional books of the paper and hardback variety.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for reading—however people want to do it. I'm an author, after all, so any way we can get masses to forgo Facebook, TV and, well, pick up a book, I'm all for it. Truth be told, these e-readers have plenty of appeal since they're all nice and portable and perfect for traveling. And when paired with one of Kate Spade's too-cute-for-words cases, it's also quite the fashion statement. But as cool as they are, I still find myself resisting...

While I know the tides are changing, I'm just not ready for books to become dinosaurs. In fact, some of my favorite childhood memories involved holing up in a dusty basement of books at our local library. When you live in a small town, your library card is like your passport, and it's there where I discovered everything from Deenie (quite a scandalous read when you're 13) to Anne of Green Gables to The Great Gatsby and so many more.

Plus, for anyone who's ever been to our house, books are a major part of the Banister's decor, thanks to one giant IKEA bookshelf that's stuffed to the gills with theology, travel guides, biographies and plenty of fiction, too, not to mention that ever-growing stack of novels on our nightstand.

So suffice it to say, I couldn't imagine living in a world without pages to actually turn. And as it turns out, I'm not alone (whew!). While flipping through the most recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, namely the "Summer Must Lists," I found a kindred spirit in actor Tom Hanks.

"I still carry a bag of books around all summer, as I'm not enamored with the tactile experience of reading books on Kindles or iPads," Tom says. "Magazines, scripts and newspapers, sure, but my policy on books is: Buy, Read, Keep."

Aside from Cast Away, I knew I always liked that Tom Hanks. :) Here's hoping one day he'll carry around one of my novels one summer (or at least do the honors so Rita can enjoy it beachside)...

Writing By Your Own Watch

While I was walking down the cobblestone streets a stone's throw from Rome's famed Spanish steps a few weeks ago, I was thinking about my next novel and how long it's been taking to come together.

In the publishing world, or really any industry where creative output is the order of the day, there's a pretty high premium on producing consistently. And since my last novel released just shy of three years ago, I've been asked on several occasions by well-meaning writer friends and thoughtful people who've enjoyed my last books when the next one is hitting store shelves.

Now trust me, it's a great problem to have—you know, people being interested in what you're up to. But sometimes as a writer, it can also make you play the dreaded comparison game and ask questions like "Why don't I have my third book out yet like so and so does?" Or you end up feeling guilty for not hurrying things along because in our here today, gone tomorrow A-D-D culture you worry that people will forget that you exist once you finally get around to having a new novel out.

Cue Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)"...

But one day, in the midst of one of my internal freak-outs about when my next book would finally be ready for press, something so obvious but so encouraging occurred to me: Ultimately, we have to write by our own watch. After all, merely being prolific for prolific's sake is quite overrated if the quality simply isn't there—or if the story isn't complete. And for everyone, the process looks a little different.

So all that to say, I'm forging forward with a new perspective. I'm writing by my own watch. Do I have a goal in mind of when I'd like to submit the proposal for my latest work? Absolutely. But instead of comparing myself with what so and so is up to, I'm focusing on making my manuscript the best it can be, however long that takes...

With that said, however, I'm really excited about the story I'm working on. I've sketched out the characters and the story is finally taking a shape that I like. It's women's fiction with a bit of a foodie twist...so stay tuned...

Q&A With Brandy Bruce, Author of "Looks Like Love"

A book editor by day and renegrade author, wife and mommy to an adorable daughter by night, I was absolutely thrilled when Brandy Bruce asked if I'd take a look at her first novel, Looks Like Love.

In fact, I ended up liking it so much, I endorsed it. And finished reading in about two days flat.

If that wasn't enough to persuade you to pick up a copy of Looks Like Love, well, lemme tell you this...it'll make you want to hop a plane to London pronto, too. As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, I've always had a soft spot for London, and Brandy does a wonderful job of making you feel like you're there. So if you've gotta live vicariously in the ol' travel department at the moment, this is the perfect read.

Now with no further adieu, get to know Brandy a little better in our Q&A.

When did you first know that you wanted to write and edit books, and who was the author that first won your heart? I’ve been scribbling stories since elementary school. But it was in middle school that I read the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn and just fell in love with the power of story. Those books made such a difference in my 14-year-old life. When I went to college, I knew I wanted to have a career with books, but I also knew it wasn’t easy to get published and make a living off writing. So my very first day at Liberty University I told my advisor I wanted to be an editor. I figured that would be another great way to work with books. After graduating, I was lucky enough to get a job as an editor for Focus on the Family books. 

That's very cool. I was also a huge fan of the Christy Miller series and loved that she was from my home state of Wisconsin—not many protagonists are. Who are some of your biggest writing influences and who would I find on your personal bookshelf? Robin Jones Gunn is probably the person I would credit with influencing me to write. You’ll definitely find a worn-out copy of A Summer Promise somewhere on my bookshelf. I’ve also been inspired by Jennifer Weiner, Liz Curtis Higgs, Jodi Picoult, and Ann Rinaldi—just to name a handful out of an otherwise huge list. I’m an eclectic reader; I like all sorts of genres. On my bookshelf right now I’ve got Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz, Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs, and LOL with God: Messages of Hope and Humor for Women by Pam Farrel and Dawn Wilson.  

How did your day job in the book biz help you with your first novel? And for those who don't know already, describe a bit of what you do at Focus on the Family. My work as an editor definitely helped, especially with the nitty-gritty stuff like working on sentence structure, character development, vocabulary, and pacing. I’ve been a book editor for Focus for more than six years so lots of my time is spent editing, writing or rewriting, working with authors, going to cover design meetings, and reviewing book proposals. 

Had the idea for Looks Like Love been in your head for a while? How did you come up with your plucky protagonist? I went to Europe several years ago, right before I graduated from college actually. Traveling through places like Scotland, Ireland, and England left a lasting impression on me, and I knew I wanted to write a story about a girl who travels overseas. In fact, my first thought for a title was Over the Ocean.  

In an interview we did for Family Fiction, you said your novel was also inspired a bit by one of my favorite movies, The Holiday. What is the significance of traveling to England in your story? Going to Europe was such an amazing experience for me personally. I realized what a big world this is and how much more to it there is than what I was used to seeing. I wanted to broaden my heroine’s perspective. One way to do that was to make her travel and see other parts of the world. It provided my heroine with a fresh start. She needed to be reminded that there was still adventure to be had, that there were places of mystery and romance, and sometimes you have to step outside your comfort zone to experience that.

Now that you've written your first novel, have you officially been bitten by the author bug? Do you have other story ideas in the works? Well, to be honest, I’m juggling two major book projects as an editor at the moment. It’s hard to think past working on what’s in front of me. But my sister has been working on a YA fantasy series and I’m helping co-author that. It’s been a lot of fun and a great way for me to keep my creative writing outlet while I’m editing other projects.

Many people in the publishing industry have seemed to indicate that chick lit is "out" but yet it still seems to be selling relatively well. Why do you think the industry is so quick to want to bury this genre? I’m not sure. Since I’ve been in publishing, I’ve noticed that there are trends, like in everything else. Over the last several years historical fiction and Amish fiction have really taken off in Christian publishing. That seems to be what most publishers are looking for. But I think there’s room at the table for more than just Amish and historical fiction. And I think that women will always enjoy a good love story. I think there was a flood of “chick lit” for a while, and then maybe interest waned a bit. But humor and romance are two things that are never going out of style, in my opinion. Jane Austen has taught us that.  

Since your novel is basically a romantic comedy in book form, what are some of your all-time favorite movie rom coms? The Holiday, Sabrina, Sweet Home Alabama, and The Prince and Me

When you're not taking care of your daughter, hanging with the hubby or working, what's your favorite way to kick back? I love just ordering pizza and renting lots of movies and staying in with my husband.

Rumor has it, you're a big Harry Potter and Twilight fan. Are you sad that the last movies in these franchises are coming so soon? Definitely. Even though I’ll admit I was one of those people who wasn’t a huge fan of Breaking Dawn. But still, it’s so fun to get into the excitement of going to those kinds of movies with other fans. I’m going to be looking for my next series obsession to get into. I’ve heard that the "Hunger Games" trilogy will be turned into films. I’d totally on board for that.  

Lastly, where can people connect with you online? I’m very active on my blog: www.brandyreneebruce.wordpress.com or you can look me up on Facebook or Twitter.

Book Comment: One Day by David Nicholls

For whatever reason, be it skepticism or pure snobbery, I often avoid popular books like the plague. Or in the case of Eat Pray Love, The Davinci Code and even Blue Like Jazz, I wait until the hype has died way, way down and then check it out. You know, when it's practically culturally irrevelant to do so.

But for David Nicholls' much-ballyhooed One Day, I actually broke my own rule. Thanks to a particularly convincing review from Entertainment Weekly, I decided to go ahead and dive in because I was in the mood for a decidedly Hornby-esque reading experience. And given that he endorsed the book, I figured if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me.

And boy, I'm glad I went against my gut's usual impulse.

Not only is One Day one of those books you'll have a hard time putting down, but the characterization is pitch-perfect. So many times when I'm watching a romantic comedy (and yes, that's what One Day essentially is, albeit from a guy's perspective), the protagonists are amusing enough, but lack anything resembling a connection with reality (you know, the sorts of people that creep into your everyday existence).

But in the case of a plain Jane named Emma and Dex, the narcisstic wanderer she met in college, these are people I've met before and can relate to, even if their actions (mostly Dex's) are downright deplorable at times. The only problem I had with One Day is when I heard that Anne Hathaway is playing Emma on the big screen. I'm fine with Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, 21) taking on Dex, but really, Anne Hathaway? Again? Was no one else available (Emily Blunt, perhaps?)

Ok, back on point...

Thanks to smartly written characters and killer dialogue, there doesn't even need to be a ton of action to make One Day worthwhile. Instead, we see these characters' lives intersect every once in a while, and the result is a funny, sad and surprising read that if you're like me, you'll end up plowing through in three days and feel a little sad once you're done.

Rating: **** out of 4 stars

List #5: 5 Authors I'll Never Get Sick Of...

First off, I apologize for my blogging hiatus...like everyone else on the planet, I've been busy, busy, busy as of late, and unfortunately, blogging is usually the first thing to go when life gets like this. Sigh.

In the midst of all the deadline madness, though, I made my way to Colorado where we celebrated my Mom's 58th birthday with P.F. Chang's, shopping and some great live music (and bonus, I also got to hang with the  lovely Adelyn Grace and her two amazing parents!), so that was a pretty awesome reason to set my writing aside, no?

Now that I'm back in the swing of semi-normal life (or as normal as it gets when you're a full-time writer), it's back to all things list-worthy, and today, we're talking writers.

Ever since I've been old enough to read (and a big shout-out goes to my late Grandpa Buisker, who always read to me when I was a kid), I've absolutely loved, loved, loved books. Truth be told, some of my fondest childhood memories involve those trips to my local library where I read everything from Jane Austen to Judy Blume and yes, even a handful of Nancy Drew mysteries and Sweet Valley High books, too.

And while I graduated from reading Sweet Valley a while ago now (but I must say I'm thrilled that Diablo Cody is reviving it for the big screen), I'm still a very, very happy girl whenever I'm digging into a juicy new novel. So with no further blathering on and on, (and trust me, I could go on for days), I'm revealing my list of 5 Authors I'll Never Get Sick Of (in no particular order)...

Nick Hornby (yeah, he's the Brit in the picture)—While I probably would've hated dating any of his music-obsessed, man/boy protagonists with a John Mayer level of commitment (see High Fidelity, About a Boy, Juliet, Naked), I sure didn't mind hanging out with them for the few days. Maybe it's because his stories are usually set in my favorite city, London, or perhaps, it's because I've had crushes on my fair share of hopeless causes before I met and married my Prince William. But whatever the reason, Nick Hornby's novels (with the exception of A Long Way Down, which was just morbid and a complete drag) are an absolute kick. In fact, I wish he'd stop writing music with Ben Folds already so he could concentrate on writing something new...

Jane Austen—You know how Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail says she's read Pride & Prejudice like 100 times and gets lost in words like "thither" and "felicity?" Well, that's precisely why I like Jane's writing so much. It has that innate ability to completely transport you to another era, and yet, the themes are still relevant today. LOVE that.

A.J. Jacobs—I've probably never laughed so hard—or so much—while reading as when I plowed through A.J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically. Sure, growing up in church definitely helped the cause, but trying to live out the Bible—literally speaking—in the modern age? Yeah, that's universally funny, especially when it involves one hideous beard, blood on your doorpost and being forced to stone someone with a small selection of pebbles. And in case you wondered, yes, Jacobs' other books are gutbusters, too. Case in point: the "outsourcing his life" chapter in Guinea Pig Diaries.

Judy Blume—Back in my elementary school years, we had "library day" once a week, and trust me, that was definitely one of the highlights of my school experience, especially when I discovered Judy Blume's Superfudge. I loved it sooo much that I checked it out faithfully—week after week. Finally at the end of the school year, probably exasperated by my enthusiasm for Peter Hatcher and that dreadful brother of his, the librarian finally just gave me the book, and I was thrilled beyond belief. Of course, all the other Judy Blume books I discovered later on (Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Blubber, Freckle Juice, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, etc.) certainly didn't disappoint either. I liked them so much that I wrote her a fan letter and to this day, I remember how I thought if she could make up stories for a living and get paid for it, well, that's exactly what I wanted to do.

Sophie Kinsella—I'm on my gazillionth Shopaholic book and am still laughing at the looney antics of Rebecca Brandon (neé Bloomwood). Not only does Sophie have a flair for comedy, but she spins some pretty great tales under not one, but two names. Of all the chick-lit writers I love (and trust me, there are p-l-e-n-t-y!!!), her books are why I gravitate toward writing romantic comedies. With all that's bad in the world, it's good to escape (and laugh), and her books (especially Can You Keep a Secret? and Twenties Girl) always do the trick.