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Monday, October 14, 2013

Getting "Fresh" with author Jodi Lipper


Getting "Fresh" with Jodi

Q&A with Jodi Lipper



Q: How did you come up with the title Fresh Women?

A: I loved the fact that there are many different meanings and plays on words within the title, Fresh Women.  I think all writers have certain words they love and hate, and I love the word fresh.  It can have opposing meanings and in the case of the tittle, it represents the opposition between the novel’s main characters.  Most people will probably look at the cover and assume the title refers to women being fresh meaning nasty and impudent, and that’s certainly true.  But it also references how raw, innocent, and pure other characters are.  Finally, Fresh Women is a wink to my fellow women’s college graduates.  At Barnard, we were told not to refer to ourselves as freshmen because we weren’t men.  The term we used instead was First Years, but sometimes we used Fresh Women in jest.  When I started writing this book, Fresh Women captured everything I wanted to convey in a title and I never considered using anything else.

Q: You are well known for writing a non-fiction series about Hot Chicks.  Tell us about that series.

A:  The “Hot Chick” series is three books that I wrote with the fabulous writer and actress Cerina Vincent.  In our books, we define a Hot Chick as a confident, empowered woman who knows what she wants and goes after it.  Those books aren’t about looks at all! Through our friendship, Cerina and I learned so much and gained a lot of confidence, and the idea behind that series was to share the life-changing advice that we gave each other with young women around the world.  We started with diet advice (or as we call it, anti-diet advice) in How to Eat Like a Hot Chick because we know that so much of women’s confidence is unfortunately centered on what we eat and how we feel about our weight.  From there, we moved to relationships (the other thing we drive ourselves nuts about) in How to Love Like a Hot Chick. Then we wrapped it all up with advice on work/life balance in Live Like a Hot Chick. It’s been amazing to hear from women all over the world who tell us, “I used to look in the mirror and think, ‘I’m a fat pig,’ but now I tell myself, ‘I am a Hot Chick!’”

Q: You’ve also written several books as a ghostwriter. What’s that like?

A: I love the process of ghostwriting, mostly because it involves such close collaboration. Writing can be a lonely process, but when you’re working with an author on his or her book, it’s a lovely partnership instead of a solitary endeavor!  Ghostwriting also allows me to step into another author’s shoes for a few months and learn from them while helping them share their story and expertise with the rest of the world.  It is rewarding and challenging to capture an author’s unique voice and translate it into an actual book.

Q: Why did you decide to start writing fiction now?

A: I strongly believe that as a writer it’s crucial to be diverse. It’s one thing if you’re an established entity who’s selling a billion thrillers a year or what have you, but as a non-fiction writer, I had to diversify.  My expertise is in writing in general, not in one style of writing or one particular subject.  After reading the Hot Chick books, some people are surprised to hear that I’ve written serious non-fiction as a ghostwriter, but that’s silly and judgmental. I’ve written everything from grant proposals for Ivy League colleges to speeches for corporate CEOs.  A good writer can write anything, and fiction was simply the next way to challenge and push myself.  It’s a way of expressing a different side of myself.  I have no intention of giving up ghostwriting, either.  Part of what I love about writing is the opportunity to keep trying something new, challenging, and exciting!

Q: What do you enjoy reading?

A: My tastes as a reader are just as diverse as they are as a writer!  I love all types of fiction, from literary fiction to chick lit to romance.  In non-fiction, I especially love memoirs and books that inspire and motivate me to push harder and do better!

~Fresh Women~

Blurb~ 

When Cate arrives at Barnard College, the prestigious women’s school in Manhattan, she’s trusting, innocent, and maybe a bit too naïve. But she’s determined to use these four years to figure out who in the world she’s meant to be.  At a school where she’s lectured not to identify herself by her gender, Cate is shocked by her own attraction to her very oppositely gendered professor. Alex is sexy and mysterious, having survived a recent tragedy.  In fact, his presence on campus causes such a stir that soon Cate finds herself competing for his attentions with both another professor and a girl who may be her best friend or her worst enemy.  But Cate and Alex’s connection is undeniable.  It proves to bestronger than the rumors, backstabbing, and scandal that soon begin to swirl. But first it must be tested…

Buy Links:
Amazon / B&N / Smashwords

 Excerpt~ 
“Are you okay?” He asked, his face etched with concern, and she just nodded again, not trusting her voice.  She didn’t want to cry in front of him, but it was looking inevitable.  “Come here,” Alex said, sitting down on the plush chair across from his desk and pulling Cate down into his lap.  She just sat there as he stroked her hair and planted a few soft kisses on her cheek, and after maybe thirty seconds she fell into a sound sleep.

Cate opened her eyes an hour later and watched Alex for a full minute before she realized where she was.  He was holding his arms out to the side, squinting his eyes to read something that looked like a manuscript.  As he finished each page he turned it agonizingly slowly, taking great pains not to wake her.  Cate hadn’t known quite what to expect when she began this spontaneous relationship of sorts with her professor, but this simple act of kindness and consideration certainly wasn’t it.  It made her think, against every other ounce of her good judgment, that this was actually a good idea.  The year had been incredibly hard, lonely, and confusing, and if she could find someone who cared enough about her to sacrifice his own comfort and productivity just so she could get a few minutes of sleep, why in the world would she let that person go?

“Hi,” she said softly and he turned his head to look at her.  They both smiled.  Cate wrapped one arm around his neck and pulled his face to hers, kissing him passionately once they met.  Alex was clearly surprised by her aggression, but pleasantly so.  He tossed his manuscript onto the floor and put both of his hands at her waist, pulling her towards him in a much different position than the childlike one she’d slept in.  Now she was straddling him, her knees pressed against the back of the cushioned chair as they kissed fervently.  Cate felt like he was consuming her and she liked it.  She wanted to disappear into Alex, away from her own mixed feelings and constant confusion.  

Cate stood up abruptly to shimmy out of her jeans.  Alex took the hint and did the same thing, and then they rearranged themselves on the chair in the exact same position as before.  Alex had already entered her when he pulled her sweater and bra over her head in one motion, bending her backwards so that he could reach his lips to her breasts. 
A quiet moan escaped from her lips.  Alex moved his hands down to her hips, using his strength to push her entire body back and forth against him so that he went deeper and deeper inside.  Cate kissed him as she ground her body against his, loving the way his hard body felt against her soft skin.  Alex grabbed onto her hair as they rocked together in perfect unison.

Praise for Fresh Women:

"FRESH WOMEN is the smartest, sexiest, funniest fun I've had reading in I don't know how long.  Read it immediately." - Rachel Shukert, author of the Starstruck series.

“Fans of both New Adult romance and chick lit will love Lipper's sexy and irreverent tale of friendship between outspoken and endearing girls on the cusp of womanhood.” - Zoe 

 Fishman, author of Saving Ruth, Balancing Acts, and the upcoming Driving Lessons


Author Info:

Jodi Lipper is the co-author of the bestselling “Hot Chick” book series (How to Eat Like a Hot Chick, How to Love Like a Hot Chick, and Live Like a Hot Chick).  These inspiring, girlfriend-to-girlfriend self help books are sold throughout the world, have been translated into half a dozen languages, and have been featured on the Tyra Banks Show, Extra!, Good Morning America Now, and in Jodi’s regular appearances on NBC’s Today Show.  Jodi’s writing has been featured in Time Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Essence, OK Magazine, USA Weekend, Star Magazine, Women’s Health, In Touch Weekly, the Huffington Post, Maxim Magazine, Complete Woman, Galtime, Pop Sugar, and many other print and online publications.  

Jodi is also a prolific ghostwriter who has collaborated with numerous experts and celebrities on books in a wide variety of genres.  Before becoming a writer, Jodi worked at Atria Books/Simon & Schuster with #1 New York Times bestselling authors such as Jodi Picoult, Brad Thor, and Vince Flynn.  She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two young daughters. Fresh Women is her first novel.

Author Links

GIVEAWAY!




Oct 14th- Day Dreaming Book Reviews
(Stop 2) Deal Sharing Aunt
Oct 15th- Escaping Reality One Book at a Time
Oct 16th- Once Upon a Book
Oct 17th- Judging Books by Their Cover
Oct 18th- Racing to Read
Oct 19th- Storm Goddess Book Reviews
Oct 20th- Sweets Books
Oct 21st- The Suburban Eclectic
(Stop 2) Sylv Jenkins Author
Oct 22nd- Romance Bookworm
Oct 23rd- Paperbacks and Pastries
Oct 24th- Mythical Books
Oct 25th- Random Jendsmit
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