Cynthia Ellingsen takes matters into her own hands...plus a book giveaway

Photo by Brian McConkey Photography

**Giveaway is now closed**

Today we welcome back Cynthia Ellingsen and her brand new novel, Marriage Matters, for which she is celebrating a pub day...today! Marriage Matters is about three generations of women who are planning weddings at the same time, but each of them has something to lose.

You may remember Cynthia from when she was here in 2011 to talk about her debut novel, The Whole Package. We're glad to have her back again, especially as wedding season is quickly approaching. Her latest novel will set the mood nicely. Aside from being an author, Cynthia is also a screenwriter. She lives in Lexington, KY with her husband.

Thanks to Penguin we have one copy of Marriage Matters to give away to a lucky reader anywhere in the US. 

You can find Cynthia at her website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

*Before reading ahead, please note that there's a spoiler for The Whole Package, so watch out when reading the question about compliments.

How did you come up with the idea for Marriage Matters?



When I wrote The Whole Package, my first novel, I noticed that women were buying extra copies and having me sign them to their best friends from college or high school.

With Marriage Matters, I thought it would be fun to write a novel that women would share with their mother and grandmother. I’m a huge fan of Skyping with book clubs and I’ve already heard from some mother/daughter book clubs that want me to Skype in, which is so fun!

What is something you wish people knew about you?



When writing Marriage Matters, I listened to “Us Against the World” by Coldplay at least a thousand times. If a book could come with a theme song, that would be it.

If you could meet a celebrity, who would it be?



Ooh, given what I wrote above, let’s go with Chris Martin from Coldplay. Of course, I’d probably say something ridiculous, like, “Every time I look at you, a Coldplay song runs through my head.” (Thank you, Lena Dunham, for even putting that in my head.)

According to you what defines women's contemporary fiction? 



Relatability. For Marriage Matters, Publisher’s Weekly mentioned that I write characters that “talk like actual people.” I also call on pop culture - there are big references to The Bachelor in Marriage Matters, because it’s something that most women have snuggled up to at some point with chocolate and a bottle of wine.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?



The toughest criticism went as follows:

Reader: Cynthia, I saw your book at the-

Me: Ooh! Thank you so much for buying it.

Reader: Yeah… didn’t. I’m really into trilogies right now, if you know what I mean.

As for the best compliment, a conversation about The Whole Package went as follows:

Grandma: I knew Cheryl and Andy were meant to be together.

Me: Ooh! Was it my clever push-pull of romantic structure?

Grandma: No. I looked at the last page of the book.

Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point?



It totally depends on the day. If I’m working from my bed – which I don’t do often, but it is one of the perks of being a writer – I don’t bother.

Do you get road rage? What pisses you off the most about other drivers?



I drive a convertible, so during spring/summer/fall, I’m pretty happy to just sit in the sun. But when it’s raining and truckers fly by on the highway and do that whole, “Haha, now you’re sitting in a carwash” thing, I get mad. It would probably be worse if the top’s down during this scenario, right?

What project(s) are you working on now?

I’m working on my next contemporary novel, which I hope will be a summer read for next year, as well as putting together a young adult series. I’m also hoping to pull off a vegetable garden this year - fingers crossed!  

Special thanks to Cynthia for chatting with us and Penguin for sharing the book with our readers.

How to win Marriage Matters:
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 do you find most annoying or frustrating when you're driving?
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. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US only. Giveaway ends April 7th at midnight EST.