Hanging out at Elizabeth La Ban's LOFT...plus a book giveaway

We are pleased to have Elizabeth LaBan at Chick Lit Central today to feature her novel, The Restaurant Critic's Wife. Thanks to TLC Book Tours, we have one copy for a lucky reader in the US or Canada.

Elizabeth LaBan lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant critic husband and two children. She is also the author of the young adult novel The Tragedy Paper, published by Knopf, which has been translated into eleven foreign languages, and The Grandparents Handbook, published by Quirk Books, which has been translated into seven foreign languages.

She teaches fiction writing at The University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Newsday, and The Times-Picayune, among other publications. She also ghostwrites a weekly column, and has ghostwritten two books.

She has a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s in English from Trinity College in Hartford. Elizabeth was an NBC Page, worked at NBC News in New York, taught journalism at a community college in New Orleans, and was a reporter at a number of small to mid-sized newspapers including The Riverdale Press before she began writing books. (Bio courtesy of Elizabeth's website.)

Visit Elizabeth at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

The full schedule for Elizabeth's blog tour can be found here.

Synopsis:
Lila Soto has a master’s degree that’s gathering dust, a work-obsessed husband, two kids, and lots of questions about how exactly she ended up here.

In their new city of Philadelphia, Lila’s husband, Sam, takes his job as a restaurant critic a little too seriously. To protect his professional credibility, he’s determined to remain anonymous. Soon his preoccupation with anonymity takes over their lives as he tries to limit the family’s contact with anyone who might have ties to the foodie world. Meanwhile, Lila craves adult conversation and some relief from the constraints of her homemaker role. With her patience wearing thin, she begins to question everything: her decision to get pregnant again, her break from her career, her marriage—even if leaving her ex-boyfriend was the right thing to do. As Sam becomes more and more fixated on keeping his identity secret, Lila begins to wonder if her own identity has completely disappeared—and what it will take to get it back. (Courtesy of Goodreads.)

*To me, beauty is:
Going up to the Ocean City, New Jersey boardwalk after a day at the beach – clean and brushed, and glowing a little from the sun.

*What is your must-have beauty product?
First let me say that I buy very few beauty products. So few, in fact, that I just recently had to replace the makeup I bought for my wedding (over 17 years ago!). But when I do, I buy Clinique – generally from the counter at the Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia. I can’t live without the Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser – I love the non-smell smell of it. Also, I LOVE Clinique lipstick. I can go weeks without wearing any makeup but I try to wear lipstick most days. I don’t have a favorite color – I will wear many – but I do tend to gravitate toward the pinks.

*Where is your favorite place to buy clothes?
I can’t answer this question without thinking of that line in the movie This Is 40 when Debbie talks about not being ready to shop at places like J. Jill and Ann Taylor Loft. I always laugh when I think of that. I get most of my clothes at LOFT. Right now everything I’m wearing is from there, including my socks. I’m not even kidding.

*What is your favorite fashion trend?
Plaid. I love all things plaid!

*Which celebrity has the best style?
Taraji P. Henson who plays Cookie on Empire!

*What is your favorite song that has the word "beauty" or "beautiful" in it?
That is the easiest question here. "You’re So Beautiful" by the Empire cast. We love that show, and listen to the music whenever we get a chance. There are a few versions of this song, and I like them all.

Thanks to Elizabeth for visiting with us and to TLC Book Tours for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US/Canada only. Giveaway ends January 17th at midnight EST