Or if you like your books pretty...

The theme of this book conversation is "Try it. You might like it."
After the writing workshop I attended, I was curious about Laura Castoro's books. She's published 39 of them, and I, voracious reader and all, hadn't read any. And she's a local. And she's very funny in person, very likable...so even though I don't as a rule read "chick lit", not because of excessively high standards or anything 'cause I like a good romance or teenage vampire book just as much as the next girl but more because I want a happy ending and that just isn't always guaranteed with chick lit as I understand it and there is a whole lot of pink involved usually and I don't usually go for pink. Was that a complete sentence? I'm not going back, moving forward.

Here's the copy from Amazon to tell you the story of "Icing on the Cake."

The author of A New Lu (2005) returns with a tale of two businesses run by one woman. After her husband left her for the much younger Brandi, Liz Talbot throws herself into her burgeoning venture, the No-Bagel Bakery. Liz is hoping, despite the lingering fear of all things containing carbs, that her store will succeed nationally and be made into a franchise. But ex-hubby Teddy manages to throw a wrench in her plans when he has a fatal fall while on a mountain bike ride with his new wife. Liz is stunned to learn he hasn't changed his will, leaving her in charge of Talbot Advertising, the company they built together. Brandi is none too pleased, and immediately gets an injunction, forcing the unlikely pair to work together. Castoro's winning tale of a woman coming into her own in midlife will no doubt make fans of readers searching for novels that go beyond the usual focus of chick lit.

And I enjoyed this as much as I hoped I would after hearing Laura Castoro. Liz is funny, her life is funny, and she ends up with a guy called TRD (until they all know his name). And any time the hero looks like The Rock's Dad (or just an older version of The Rock), I'm in. Liz is a woman of a "certain age" (47 if you were wondering) who is building her life after divorce, dealing with adult kids and a mother who's not quite as adult. I laughed, I learned about spray tans, the dangers of paper swimsuits, and baking bread, and Liz triumphs in the end...having her cake and eating it too.

(And Liz enjoys a few steamy episodes with TRD. That's a warning for some and a selling point for others. Take it as you will.)

Laura is taking part in the Arkansas Literary Festival, so if you're local you can check her out on Sunday afternoon.