Lindsey Kelk is back with a new book to give away!

**Giveaway is now closed**

We are beyond thrilled to have the lovely Lindsey Kelk visiting us twice in one year! Make that twice in half a year! This time, she's sharing her thoughts about how she came up with her new novel, "The Single Girl's To-Do List," which is being released in the UK on Thursday. (We're not even single and we want to see this "list!") She's also giving away one signed (personalized) copy to a lucky winner anywhere in the world!

So, without any further ado...

The Single Girl’s To-Do List

When I sat down to write my first non-“I Heart” novel, I had far too many ideas all fighting to get down on the page. Of course, none of them really made any sense, which was fun. And not at all worrying. The main themes I knew I wanted to get across were things that had been incredibly important to me, friendship and taking chances. And of course, given that I’m a hopeless romantic, I wanted to throw in some lovin’.

To catch you up, The Single Girl’s To-Do List is about Rachel, a make-up artist in London whose long-term boyfriend announces that things are over because she’s not ‘the one’. Immediately, her friends snap into action and put together a list of the ten things single Rachel has to do to get into the swing of her single self.

Despite the title, the hardest part was writing the actual to-do list. I mean, if you could do anything, what would you do? I wanted the challenges to be that...challenges, things that would force Rachael to widen her horizons. And while obviously, yes it’s a book and it’s a total fantasy, but I didn’t want the list to be so fantastical that it wasn’t believable. Which sort of ruled out a lot of fun things that my friends suggested (no, she can’t shag James Franco… no, she can’t win X Factor…). More importantly, as is so often the way when I’m writing, it made me address some issues in my life. Was there anything I hadn’t tried that I had always wanted to do? Any chances I hadn’t taken? Roads not travelled? And as my friends will tell you, I (and more importantly they) went through some pretty prickly moments while I pushed my limits all in the name of research.

My to-do list included but was not limited to dying my hair red, road tripping to Toronto, leaving my fulltime job to write, pole dancing in Las Vegas, running across the street in bare feet, a swimming costume and a card to tell a boy who mattered how I really felt, getting my tarot cards read, getting a new tattoo, buying some very expensive shoes and well, generally grabbing hold of every opportunity that came my way. The result was a new hair colour, a few of tears, a lot of laughter, a couple of extra dollars (from the pole dancing), a broken heart, a complete emotional breakdown at Niagara Falls watching the fireworks while wearing a feathered head dress and at the end of it all and at the end of it, one book.
And while my story didn’t necessarily have what people would call a traditional happy ending, it did remind me of what’s important in life – friendship and taking chances. I gave myself the most exciting six months and besides, I’ve started a new book now. Who knows what will happen this time around…

Special thanks to Lindsey for making us laugh again and for sharing her book for our giveaway!

If you like what you've read today, ask her to be friends on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also check out her BeautyMecca blog for some fun beauty tips!

How to win "The Single Girl's To-Do List":

Please comment below with your e-mail address.
(Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: What is on your "bucket list"?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.)Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

Giveaway ends June 13th at midnight EST.

More by Lindsey Kelk: