For the month of December, I will be going back into time…not too far back, but back enough so that I can say hi and catch up with previous spotlight authors here! There will be one or two new interviews coming down the pike this month, but I think it’s always important to reconnect with people – especially those of whom you enjoy reading, 🙂

Every author was asked the same two questions: What’s the latest happenings in your writerly world, and What’s one thing you’ve learned about the writing industry over the last year?

I thought it would be interesting to see the answers that would come from such a multi-talented, diverse group of writers!

Our first CATCH UP W/ CLG Author is Lauren Baratz-Logsted, whom I have been a fan of since her first book. I dig her because she’s eclectic in her writing: no one genre can hold this talented author down!

You can learn ALL about Lauren by checking out her WEBSITE and her page on MYSPACE!

NOW, FOR THE CATCH UP!

What’s the latest happenings in your writerly world?

My next book, due out in January, is SECRETS OF MY SUBURBAN LIFE, about a NYC teen named Ren D’Arc whose novelist mother is crushed to death by a stack of Harry Potter books. In the wake of this tragedy, Ren’s dad moves them to Connecticut where Ren becomes involved in a sort-of mystery centering on an online predator.

Following that is ME, IN BETWEEN, about a spectacularly well-breasted 12-year-old who feels conflicted about her assets. That one’s due out in March.

What’s one thing you’ve learned about the writing industry over the last year?

Being a writer is one big learning curve and this last year has been a constant reminder that once you’re published, rejection doesn’t end. There will always be projects that you think are viable – maybe even great! – that for one reason or another the gatekeepers respond to with: No. I think that’s why it’s so important for writers at all levels to keep working, producing new work. That way, even when you suffer the inevitable disappointments, there’s always something else you can be hopeful about. Oh, and I’ve also learned that ChickLitGurrl is the hardest working person in publishing.

From CLG: Oh, and I didn’t pay her to say that! LOL