Author: 
~ By Melina Kantor
Hi Chick Lit Fans,
Happy Friday!
This hasn’t been the most newsy week, chick lit wise, but there’s still lots to talk about.
Read on:
News:
Yes, we know that the romance novel community is ahead of its time, but this article from The Guardian about romance novels and e-readers is just further proof.
Speaking of e-readers. . .
My e-readers of choice are the iPad and the iPhone, so I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank Steve Jobs. What a genius.
Noteworthy:
A few summers ago, I discovered author Melissa Nathan while I was traveling in Crete. Some of her books were for sale at the village grocery store. They were light, hilarious, romantic and engrossing – the perfect beach reads.
Sadly, I soon discovered that Melissa Nathan had written these books while she was facing terminal cancer. This week, thanks to Sarah Wendell’s Twitter feed, I heard about the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance:
All of Melissa Nathan’s novels are both heart-warmingly romantic and very, very funny.
THE NANNY and THE WAITRESS were also in the Top Ten bestseller lists. So it’s highly appropriate that, following her death from cancer at the age of just 37 in April 2006, a new literary award is being established in her memory.
The Melissa Nathan Award For Comedy Romance has been set up by Melissa’s husband, Andrew Saffron – honouring the criteria that Melissa drew up herself very shortly before she died. She wanted to encourage and reward writers who can combine in a novel the magical, life-enhancing elements of humour and love.
Isn’t that lovely? There’s also a Melissa Nathan Foundation.
Just for Fun:
Last weekend, I bought “Missed Connections, Love, Lost and Found” by Sophie Blackall. I figured it would not only be fun, but great inspiration for NaNoWriMo.
Never heard of it? Check this out:
So here’s a writing prompt for you. Take one of Blackall’s illustrations and turn it into an opening scene for a novel. I can’t wait to try this!
Announcement:
According to random.org, the winner of Sandy James’ book is Noelle Alexander. Thank you so much Sandy, and congratulations Noelle! I’ll be in touch soon.
Have a great weekend everyone! 🙂
Melina writes contemporary women’s fiction with a pinch of oregano and a dash of chutzpah. She just returned from a two month trip to Crete and Israel, where she visited family and friends did her best to turn her travels into research and inspiration for her writing. You can visit her at http://melinakantor.com.
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