The Plucky World of Chick Lit

The Plucky World of Chick Lit

Hi, my name is Cindy and I’m a Chick Lit enthusiast.

Whew. I said it.

There was a time when loving this genre was my deep dark literary secret.  I hid my brightly colored  books with illustrations of high heels and martinis underneath my collection of high-brow  New York Times best sellers and hoped to God my “bookish” friends wouldn’t discover my secret stash of beach reads.  But  late at night, when no one was looking , I’d pop popcorn, curl up in bed and pull out of my  books from Harlequin’s new line of fashionable fiction they coined Red Dress Ink (yes, I’m dating myself that was in 2001.)

I  felt at home while reading these books, laughing and loving along with authors like Melissa Senate, Cathy Yardley, Wendy Markham and Sarah Mlynowski who created worlds where I could escape and have fun, but also where I felt understood. I  felt a kinship with the strong heroines who were sassy and sarcastic and who often found it necessary (and helpful) to stop in the middle of their emotional crisis to eat chocolate cake or crack a joke.

It made perfect sense to me.

I’ve never understood  the controversy with Chick Lit as a genre. Not every book has to have the same tone to still carry a positive and important message. Chick Lit tackles female issues, professional careers, balancing life and love, female friendships, family issues, motherhood  and getting out of your own way to find your true self. Nothing fluffy or mindless about any of that.  Yet, somehow because of its lighthearted tone and humor, it’s the one genre that seems to have to defend its very existence.

Doesn’t make sense, but I’m happy to see Chick Lit continue to persevere and thrive much like the plucky heroines do in the very same novels.  And for those who say Chick Lit is dead, come take a look at my Kindle that is overflowing with amazing reads from writers all over the world!

If you love to read chicklit make sure to check out the International Chick Lit Month blog, where you can read posts and Q&A’s from Chick Lit writers all over the globe.