Yesterday (or thereabouts, time flies, you know), we published an article where Marian Keyes declares 40 to be the new 30. We’ve been saying this for quite some time. But to discover that aqua is the new pink? We’re simply not sure how this affect our decorating plans. And so it goes for chicklit, so many changes, so hard to keep up. It’s been a rough week for this budding genre. It always is for books about women, by women, that sort of thing. The article, fairly evenhanded, explores the good and not-so-good about chicklit (yes, Virginia, feminism did happen,

A tipster directed us to this very informative article. We are sharing because, frankly, we know so many authors who are going about this publishing thing in the wrong way. In fact, we’ve made one or two missteps ourselves (but, of course, we don’t admit to them). The article touches on the basics of blogging-for-publishing-deals (including tips for staying alive — as it turns out, dead bloggers aren’t quite as effective, nor can they sign contracts) and all but promises editorial interest. This may be why the author remains slightly anonymous while helpfully pointing to others who’ve found success. Update:

We probably would have let this Boston Globe article pass if a typo on Page Two hadn’t caught our attention. In reviewing the posthumous offering from Olivia Goldsmith, the article’s author says Dumping Billy “…is a clich-ridden story with characters…” We don’t know if she means clinch or cliche — for us, it makes all the difference in the world (yes, we are making fun of someone’s honest mistake which is dangerous given our frequent typos…but they have professional proofreaders; we have cats who can’t type). From London to NY, the merry-go-round called romance

We admit it — initially, we had no interest in reading The DaVinci Code. After all, we outgrew our fascination with all things Templar long ago. But we’re weak and succumbed to peer pressure. And it was a light, fast read. We took it like we take everything: with a dash of healthy skepticism. We often mistakenly assume all people are like us. The Boston Globe examines the phenomenon and rush to tell the “true” story. Alas, it’s clear that some will never learn that truth is in the eye of the beholder. Thriller instinct

We found ourselves both agreeing and disagreeing with Hannah Strom-Martin as she analyzes several current Chick Lit titles. We also agreed and disagreed with the Utne Reader article. Lest anyone accuse us of flip-flopping, let us be clear: we think there is room for all kinds of women in today’s literature — from Isadora Wing (Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying to the stumbling-along-socially (many current novels). We like variety in our heroines, but also think it’s time for Chick Lit to move beyond the conventions established. Perhaps (and this is just off the top of our little heads) the first