Star Guest Post: Wendy Wax, Author of Ocean Beach

I am so delighted to share with everyone a Guest Post from one of my favorite chick lit authors, Wendy Wax. The first novel I read by her was Ten Beach Road, which turned out to be more than just a fun beach read for me. It delved into the lives of threewomen and eventually intertwined their stories after being brought together by the same financial destruction that led them to a shared ownership in a Florida mansion hat proved to be more than just a fixer-upper. I am more than excited to read her follow up to this fabulous novel of friendship and triumph in the sequel Ocean Beach. I have always felt like Wendy Wax has a way with characters and making the reader feel like a part of their lives. The second novel I read by Wendy Wax was The Accidental Bestseller, and she once again, proved to have me tied up in the lives of another group of intriguing women, turning page by page, anxiously awaiting to read how their lives unfold.

When I was approached to post an article about Wendy Wax and how she delves into the writing process to bring her characters and stories to life, I of course, jumped at the opportunity and am thrilled to share it with all of you! Happy reading (and writing!)

Why I Write What I Write

by Wendy Wax

Last week, my new book OCEAN BEACH hit the shelves in bookstores across the country and of course in all the usual online spots.  As always, when a new book comes out, I spent the week doing launch parties and signings at some really great bookstores.

Celebrating a new release is always a fun part of the process for me, because I get to step away from my computer and meet all kinds of people who have one thing in common.  They love to read and they love books.   So right off the bat, we have something in common!  But these readers (most of whom are women) often challenge me.  They ask me what kind of books I write and why I write them.  They ask me what inspires me and where my ideas come from.  And the answer in many ways is them. 

I write books for and about women.  I do this because I’m fascinated by women’s strength. By how much we can handle and how long we can carry incredibly heavy loads. My female friends and family members lift me up and keep me going when the going gets rough, and I try to do the same for them.

In my experience, women are almost always stronger than they know and more needed and more loved than they will ever realize.  The women who come to the bookstores to chat with me certainly are. They come in with their book clubs, or with a girlfriend or two, or with their mothers or their sisters and they often share their stories with me.  I think women are the glue that holds even the most fragile things together.

Whether a group of women are related or longtime friends or meet in a time of crisis like Maddie, Nicole and Avery (who first meet when their lives are torn apart by a Bernie Madoff style Ponzi scheme in TEN BEACH ROAD), they strive to be there for each other, and they rise to the occasion.  In OCEAN BEACH, Maddie and her daughter Kyra, Avery and her mother Deirdre, and former matchmaker Nicole head to Miami’s South Beach ready to shoot the first episode of what’s supposed to be a home renovation show called Do Over.  But when they arrive at the historic Art Deco Streamline home they’re supposed to work on, they discover that the network has shifted its focus. Do Over is now a reality show and the cameras are aimed at them.  

Most reality stars seem to want nothing more than to be in the spotlight 24/7, but I found myself wondering what it would feel like to be under that kind of scrutiny if it was the last thing you wanted. The spotlight can expose all kinds of chinks in your armor and cracks in your foundation. In OCEAN BEACH the spotlight’s glare forces Maddie, Nicole, Avery, Deirdre and Kyra to stick together as a group and to support each other fiercely even as each woman deals with current and former loves, career struggles, and figuring out who they are and what they’re made of while they’re lives are shaken, stirred and served up over ice to a thirsty public.

While I know most of us won’t end up on a reality show—I certainly hope I don’t-- I do know that we often find ourselves getting by with a little help from our friends.  That’s why I write about women and their struggles and triumphs again and again.  And it’s why I knew that I had to come back to the women of TEN BEACH ROAD and continue their journey in OCEAN BEACH.  

I hope you all get a chance to go to the beach this summer with a couple of your girlfriends and a book or two of mine in your beach bag. But sand and surf aren’t required. Just put your feet up, mix yourself a cocktail and break open a bag of Cheez Doodles (Avery’s snack of choice) and settle in for a ‘virtual’ beach break as the women of TEN BEACH ROAD and OCEAN BEACH discover the women they were meant to be.

Cheers,

Wendy

**Thank you to JOAN SCHULHAFER PUBLISHING & MEDIA CONSULTING for providing me with this Guest Post from Wendy Wax.**

Star Book Review - The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

One of the latest books I read was by an author who was new to me as of only about two months ago, Wendy Wax. After being approached by her publicist at the Penguin Group publisher, I posted a favorable review of Ten Beach Road on my blog. I truly loved the plot inTen Beach Road and even more so, I enjoyed the intersecting stories of four strangers whose lives crossed one another and they became unlikely friends while fixing up a house in Pass-A-Grille, Florida. For the full review of Ten Beach Road , check back to an earlier blog post Here. I was more than thrilled at the anticipation of reading The Accidental Bestseller when my book group the Chick Lit Book Club on Goodreads chose to read it for our June “Beach Read” book. See our discussion and thoughts on the book and catch a glimpse at what Wendy Wax, herself, had to say to our qustions: here.

The Accidental Bestseller was one of my favorite women’s fiction books that I’ve read in a long time. It told an interwoven story of four goods friends in the publishing industry who are challenged to find out just how far they are willing to go and how much they are willing to risk for their friendship with one another.

Kendall, Mallory, Faye and Tanya are all at different points in the writing careers but are brought together for an annual conference in New York City which can make or break Kendall’s future in writing. When Kendall does not win the award at the conference she anticipates, she hightails it out of the conference, away from her friends and back home before anyone tries convincing her otherwise. Unfortunately when Kendall returns to Atlanta, her future prospects only worsen.

Facing a final book deadline that could be the impetus for a failing writing career and meeting a shifty woman, disguising herself solely as a realtor but really the mistress behind her failing marriage, Kendall once again does what she knows best at the moment and runs away to her house in the mountains. There she sinks into a deeper depression, displacing every emotion into fix-it and repair projects all over the house.

When the three other women don’t hear back from Kendall, they know something’s wrong and vow to get to her as quick as possible. Mallory is the first one reach her and is shocked at the disarray of Kendall’s life, her house and her state of being. Determined to get Kendall back to her old self, the three friends rally behind Kendall and decide to attack things one at a time, starting with her looming book deadline. They agree to work on her pending novel, Sticks and Stones, which is loosely based on the four friends’ lives anyways and remain ghostwriters.

Each woman creates their character who matches a little too close to their real selves and the secret lives that they’ve kept harbored in the past for so long; but since Kendall’s publisher doesn’t plan to do anything more than bury her book, the women assume and hope they have nothing to worry about.

The Accidental Bestseller was an excellent expose into the lives of four friends and revealed the difficult decisions friends must go through in order to protect their selves, their families and maintain their friendship. This was one of the quickest books I’ve ever read, giving testament to its fabulous story and expert writing. It’s possible that this book hit a little closer to home to someone like me who is an aspiring writer but I think that any woman can relate to the aspect of friendship, the secrets and struggles each person shares. A plus.

                                         5 stars

Want more info on Wendy? Visit her web site here:

http://www.authorwendywax.com/