Trashionista

Goodbye from Helen

I’m afraid the time has come when I have to say goodbye. I’ve been writing for Trashionista for ooh, well over a year now, but it’s time to move on. I want to say a huge thank you to all the readers, commenters, authors and publishers who have made writing for this site so darn enjoyable. I will really miss it.

I will not be dropping out of the blogisphere however. Please do feel free to pop over to my personal blog to see what I’m getting up to next.

Introducing Elle Symonds

My name's Elle and I'm extremely happy to be working here at Trashionista. I'm a 20-something supergeek from Wales who cant wait to bring you news and reviews from the chick-lit world. Seeing as you don't know me yet, here's a little interview. (Self-interrogation; it's all the rage, apparently!)

When did you start reading chick-lit?
I first got into chick-lit in 2004, when I picked up The Second Assistant by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare. It looked witty and interesting, so I bought it. After that? I was hooked.

What's your favourite chick-lit book?
Hmm, difficult question! I don't have a specific favourite, although there are a few that I could read again and again. One being Maria Beaumont's Marsha Mellow and Me (it's downright hilarious!) I'm also into paranormal chick-lit and rather liked Blood is the New Black by Valerie Stivers. And, of course, let's not forget the fabulous Undead series...

What are your favourite non-chicklit books?
I read a bit of everything, and I'd have to say that my favourite books out of the chicklit genre would be Alexander Cordell's Rape of the Fair Country, and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

Any guilty pleasures?
Ooo! Well now that you ask-

We mean book-wise, of course.
Oh. Right. Weelll...I do frequent the teen section of Waterstones. For Meg Cabot especially. Aw c'mon, who doesn't?

Do you want world peace?
Why yes. Yes I do.

Introducing Robyn Wilder

Fresh from guest editing Dollymix for a month, Robyn Wilder joins Trashionista as a regular writer.  You can read all about her on her blog, Orbyn.elsewhere.

Favourite chick lit book: Watermelon by Marian Keyes.  It was my introduction into chick lit as a genre, and I’ve reread it about five times.  I love how it breaks all the rules of fiction writing (telling rather than showing; many, many adverbs!) but still manages to be heartbreaking and hilarious.

Favourite chick lit author: Marian Keyes, rather predictably. I haven’t read a single book of hers that I don’t like.  I totally buy into all her characters, and I love the way her style is still conversational and easy to read even as the stories get more complex.  This Charming Man was very ambitious (there is a particularly traumatic scene I’ll never get out of my head) but she draws you in and makes it all seem effortless.

Favourite fictional heroine: Well, I’m a geek so obviously I’m a big fan of Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!  Partly because of her attitude, rebellious style and choice turns of phrase (“five by five!”).  But also because of Faith’s situation – in every generation, a vampire slayer is called, but Buffy’s still alive – still the “chosen one” – so Faith is essentially redundant, which makes for interesting psychology!  Um, yes – told you I was a geek.

Favourite non chick lit book: The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.  My teenage discovery of “magical realism” led to countless pretentious short stories which will hopefully never see the light of day!

Do you have a theme song? The novel I wrote (and am still finishing) for NaNoWriMo is about a slightly clueless girl who discovers, amongst other things, her hidden strengths and ability to deal with what life throws at her.  In my head, the theme song for the film of the book(!) is 80s favourite Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.

Hello (again) from Helen

Well I'm back from maternity leave after giving birth to my beautiful baby girl. She is well and lovely and everything a mother could wish for.

But enough about the baby, I hear you cry. What about the books?

Well, whilst I've been on *holiday* I've managed to read Class by Jane Beaton and The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center, both of which I loved and cannot recommend enough. 

Two of my favourite authors, Meg Cabot and Tess Gerritsen both have new releases. Meg with the final Princess Mia book and Tess with a return of Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles. Reviews of both will be coming soon. Also Lisa Jewell has a new book out in April (more about that later). So, which books are you looking forward to reading this year?

Goodbye from Keris

I'm sure you've noticed that Trashionista's been pretty quiet lately. That's mainly because Helen and I have been brewing babies rather than reviewing books. Helen's daughter arrived five weeks ago and my little boy is due - eek! - today.

During my time off, I've actually made the very difficult decision not to return as editor of Trashionista following maternity leave. I've been with the site for more than two years and I've absolutely loved it, but I've got my own book deal now, so I could do with writing rather than reading! And there's the small matter of a new baby to take care of.

I just want to say an enormous thank you to all the lovely, talented and enthusiastic readers, authors and publishers who have made working for Trashionista an absolute breeze! I'll miss you all. Feel free to drop in on my personal blog and say hello.

(The hunt is on for a new editor, so hopefully the site will be back in action in no time.)

Back Soon!

Apologies for the slight hiatus at Trashionista.

Please watch this space, we'll be back very soon!

More Trashionista news!

Following Sarah's announcement that she's taking a break from Trashionista, some of you sent me (Keris) best wishes and congratulations, which was lovely, but I'm not going anywhere. No, you're stuck with me - the editorship of Trashionista will have to be prized out of my cold, dead hands.

Though Sarah will be much missed, I'm happy to announce that her replacement is Helen Redfern, who you may remember from such posts as Helen's Heroines. Welcome, Helen!

Goodbye for now

This is a sad post (for me, at least!) as I am taking a break from Trashionista. I hope to be back in the future, but desperately need to carve out some more time for my own fiction writing. That book ain't going to write itself!

I have absolutely loved working for this brilliant site and I want to say thank you to Keris for being a lovely friend and fabulous editor, and to all the wonderful readers, authors, and publishers I have encountered over the last six months. Thank you!

April is ... big giveaway month!*

I thought I'd tell you about this today because if I told you tomorrow you'd think it was an April Fool (wouldn't you?).

During the month of April, we're going to be giving books away EVERY SINGLE DAY!

You'll need to be quick because the deadlines are going to be tight, but don't worry if you miss the chance to win one, another one will be along the next day.

Make sure you drop by tomorrow for your first chance to win. No foolin'!

*I wanted to call this something exciting and alliterative, but I couldn't think of anything to go with April...

Introducing Keris Stainton

I realised that while I've been busy getting all our regular writers to introduce themselves, I hadn't actually ever introduced myself!

So, hello, I'm Keris, your friendly neighbourhood editor. Nice to meet you.

Favourite chick lit book: A toss-up between Marian Keyes' Anybody Out There? and Jennifer Weiner's In Her Shoes. I pretty much read both of them straight through and could happily reread them any time.

Favourite chick lit author: Again, a toss-up between Marian Keyes and Meg Cabot. Can't read their books fast enough. They're both so warm, natural and very funny. (And if I ever make it to Ireland or Key West, they should be afraid.)

Favourite fictional heroine: Probably Mia Thermopolis from Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series. When I was pregnant and thought I was having a girl, I was seriously thinking of naming her Mia. She's not just sweet and funny, she's a great role model. (I had a boy so didn't get to use the name.)

Favourite non chick-lit book: Nope, can't choose just one. Either Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One or Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series. Both utterly absorbing and affecting. (I dreamed about The Power of One and bunked off work to read the full Tales of the City series!)

Do you have a theme song? Embarrassingly enough, the song I find myself singing without thinking is Sweet Life by Barry Manilow.