Ellen Meister

She might just make it after all... Starting out single in the big city as an actor in her twenties, Dana Barry was sure she was on her way to success. But now, newly unemployed, her life is a mess...that is, until she hears The Shopping Channel is auditioning. Relying on her keen eye for detail, sheer bravado and knack for knowing what makes people tick, she lands the host job. While navigating tricky office politics, Dana is caught in the drama when the star host who hired her is found dead. She knows the prime suspect, a male colleague, is innocent--they were sharing some "alone time" together on the rooftop when they both heard the gunshot. Complicating things for Dana is the electric chemistry she feels with the handsome detective in charge. She is so close to having it all if, just this once, she doesn't screw up. But trouble seems to come easier to Dana, and, she finds, it's often a lot more fun.

Love Sold Separately

A Host of Trouble... In this witty and engaging novel, Dana Barry, the Shopping Channel's star host, stops by the company's rooftop party to pitch the new CEO her brilliant idea that just might save the flagging business, her job and possibly her love life. As she chats with the smarmy executive, he backs her into a dark corner. For Dana, it's a quid pro oh-hell-no. She escapes his lecherous grasp and grabs her drink on her way to the dance floor. Woozy, she blacks out. When she comes to, the CEO is dead, fallen from the roof. Or was he pushed? And if so, by whom? It's hard to know, but one thing is certain: Dana was close enough to be suspect. Sure, she loathed how the creep moved in on her, but she's no killer. Or is she? Truth is, Dana can't remember much about those minutes. Now she has to use all her skills to prove her innocence to everyone, including her police detective boyfriend--and herself. Meister's latest is fun and breezy, a compelling, suspenseful read that entertains and keeps you guessing.

The Rooftop Party

Only one thing stands in the way of Laurel Applebaum's happiness...Doug Applebaum.

In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's dreams seem so close. There's just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it.

Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the deep corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who's spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

A Novel

Take My Husband

Wielding considerable influence as a Hollywood critic in spite of insecurity, Violet Epps is approached by the ghost of Dorothy Parker, who in exchange for help with moving to the afterlife offers advice on how Violet can find the courage to speak out.

Farewell, Dorothy Parker

Hiding the truth about her ability to cross into alternate realities where she has made different life decisions, a married and pregnant Quinn Braverman learns that her unborn child will be disabled and glimpses into a parallel life where she is married to someone else and childless.

The Other Life

Bonnie Jo Campbell

Cat Warren

Beth Kephart

Diane Lefer

Carol Guess

Sybil Baker

Ethel Rohan

Kim Chinquee

Kathleen Rooney

Tama Janowitz

Kathi Appelt

Sherrie Flick

Victoria Redel

Robin Black

Deb Olin Unferth

Kathy Fish

Molly Gaudry

Debra Di Blasi

Xu Xi

Jennifer Steil

Amina Gautier

Jo-Ann Mapson

Elaine Chiew

Tara Laskowski

Kristine Ong Muslim

Natasha Saje

Roberta Allen

Susanna Sonnenberg

Pamela Painter

Jillian Sullivan

Nancy Stohlman

Liza Gardner Walsh

Tara Campbell

Patricia McConnell

Lisa Kastner

Ellen Boscov

Kristin Burcham

Sara Chansarkar

Mare Chapman

Watsuki Harrington

Tara Masih

Robin OIivera

Alina Pleskova

Zalisa Rabin

Trisha Rodriguez

C. J. Spataro

Wendy Stetson

Chelsea Stickle

Julia Strayer

Girija Tripp

Fifty-two writers responded in exactly 100 words to the fine art photography of Meg Boscov to create an anthology of healing visions.

An Anthology of Micro Writing and Fine Art Photography

Healing Visions

The Wishing Cake

Secret confessions of the Applewood PTA

While trying to convince brilliant writer Ted Shriver, a cantankerous recluse who is slowly dying of cancer, to keep her company on this side of eternity, Dorothy Parker, tired of haunting the halls of the Algonquin alone, uncovers startling secrets about his past, with the help of an ambitious TV producer. Online reading-group guide. By the author of Farewell, Dorothy Parker.

Dorothy Parker Drank Here

“Laugh-out-loud funny and deadly serious… Do yourself a favor: READ THIS BOOK!” —David Henry Sterry, bestselling author of Master of Ceremonies Only one thing stands in the way of Laurel Applebaum’s happiness…Doug Applebaum. In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it’s about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug’s death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there’s the insurance money. Laurel’s dreams seem so close. There’s just one problem: Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she is going to do something about it. Subversive, irreverent and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the dark corners of a marriage and emerges to find the light. For anyone who’s spent a little too much time with a significant other and thought, One of us has got to go.

If you could return to the road not taken...would you? Quinn Braverman has a perfect life, with a loving husband, an adorable son, and another baby on the way. Quinn also has an ominous secret: she knows that another version of her life exists...one in which she made totally different life choices. But she's never been tempted to switch lives-until a shocking turn of events pushes her to cross over, and she discovers the one person she thought she'd lost forever: Her mother. But Quinn can't have both lives. Soon, she must decide which she really wants-the one she has...or the other life...

When a Hollywood location scout comes to Applewood, Long Island, and announces that the local elementary school might make the perfect backdrop for an upcoming George Clooney movie, the PTA's decorum crumbles like a cookie from last week's bake sale. Enter Maddie, Ruth, and Lisa, three women who become the glue that holds the project together, forging a bond of friendship stronger than anyone could imagine. And not a moment too soon, as marriage woes, old flames, and scandalously embarrassing family members threaten to tear each of them apart. Is their powerful alliance strong enough to overcome the obstacles to getting the movie made in their town? And will their friendship be enough to mend their hearts and homes? Join them as they reach for the stars . . . and try to pull off a Hollywood ending of their own. At once tender and hilarious, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA is a captivating story that turns suburbia upside down . . . with more humor, heartache, and heat than one PTA can hold.

Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA

Maggie Marr

Jenny Gardiner

Christa Allan

Judith Arnold

Marilyn Brant

Sylvie Fox

Maria Geraci

Tonya Kappes

Leslie Langtry

Leslie Lehr 

Ellyn Oaksmith

Jess Riley

Saralee Rosenberg

Sara Rosett

Wendy Tokunaga

L.J. Wilson

With the unbeatable combination of both compelling fiction and great insight on the writer's journey, these award-winning and bestselling authors of the Girlfriends Book Club join together to bring you ONE MORE PAGE! Enjoy 17 excerpts of outstanding fiction by authors Christa Allan (All They Want for Christmas), Judith Arnold (Changes), Marilyn Brant (The Road to You), Sylvie Fox (The Good Enough Husband), Jenny Gardiner (Something in the Heir), Maria Geraci (That Thing You Do), Tonya Kappes (Checkered Crime), Leslie Langtry (Merit Badge Murder), Leslie Lehr (Wife Goes On), Maggie Marr (One Night for Love), Ellen Meister (Dorothy Parker Drank Here), Ellyn Oaksmith (50 Acts of Kindness), Jess Riley (Mandatory Release), Saralee Rosenberg (Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead), Sara Rosett (Elusive), Wendy Tokunaga (His Wife and Daughters), and L.J. Wilson (Ruby Ink). Also included in this book as a *special bonus* are 34 of the GBC's most popular blog posts on the subject of writing craft and the writing life, which you won't want to miss. So pick up this sampler, sit back, and get drawn into a wonderful world of unputdownable essays & stories!

A Fiction Sampler with Bonus Writing Advice from 17 Successful Novelists

One More Page

Ellen Meister

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