ANNOUNCING: Winners of the Social Lives book giveaway!

And the big winners of our free giveaway for Wendy Walker's Social Lives is ......(drumroll please)....

Evidence of An Artistic Life! (At least, that is what her blog name is!)

AND

Melissa from Frugal Creativity!

Congratulations, ladies!

And to all those that didn't win: fear not, we're doing ANOTHER book giveaway next month for an amazing memoir, Halfway to Each Other. (Amazon says it pubs Sept. 1, but it actually pubs Sept. 25). It's received early raves here, here, here, and also here.

Back to Social Lives for a moment. As Glamour.com's Little Miss Fortune wrote about it the other day, "recession lit" - a.k.a books like Social Lives, The Penny Pinchers Club, et. al - represent a departure for women's fiction from the credit card-wielding, clackety-clack high heeled heroines of Chasing Harry Winston and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Little Miss Fortune described recession lit as "a new type of chick-friendly fiction packed with characters who are dealing with the reality of today’s economy." Her readers weighed in on this trend, and had lots of interesting thoughts. Like this one:

"This sounds right up my alley. I've given up reading the sort of rich-bitch-socialite-professional-arm-candy books because I keep wanting to slap those fluttery tweety birds. But a-hah! Recession Lit! Yes to that- gimme some realism!" -spikesnsilk (awesome commenter name)

So we want to know, P&P blog readers: What do you think about recession lit? Intrigued? Tell us in the comment section.

And while you think about it, have a gander at the new book trailer for Social Lives!

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Kick off your Manolos, dig into recession lit with "Social Lives"

Last week, Ruth La Ferla's eloquent piece in the Style section of The New York Times forecast a new trend for women's fiction: "recession lit." "Once unabashedly focused on the perks of wealth and fame, this spate of new fiction is tackling the recession and its attendant woes," wrote La Ferla. In the story, she quoted this section from Social Lives, a novel coming next month by our client Wendy Walker.

“There was little equity in the house after the loan for the new wing they’d put on last year, and the severe drop in the housing market,” she frets. “Nothing remained in the checking account beyond what was needed to pay the bills.”

Can you relate, dear Reader?

GalleyCat interviewed Wendy last Friday about the new economic reality facing women's fiction. Specifically, they asked her about the experience of publishing exactly two novels that focus on women in wealthy communities: one pre-recession (Four Wives), and one mid-recession (Social Lives). From Financial Times onward, everyone in the publishing industry - as well as those who make the the publishing industry possible, readers - are keeping an eye out for writers and books that grapple with the tightened purses of our times. Call it the Age of Recess.

Because we here at P&P are taking the recession lit trend as seriously as anyone, we thought we'd offer something to our plucky readers who could use a little freebie. A moment of escapism while you ignore your 401K, browse online sales, and brew coffee at home! See how the once very, very privileged ladies of Wilshire are navigating the recession waters, in particular Jacqueline Halstead's husband, whose hedge fund husband is being investigated for fraud. (Read Wendy's blog post - and a very moving reader comment - about her character Jacqueline here).

We'll select two winners for this book giveaway. To enter, just leave a comment below, and don't forget to include your email address so we can notify you. Contest closes next Wednesday!

BOOK GIVEAWAY meets far too many puns: Name your favorite frappuccino, win "A Cold-Blooded Business"

Do you know what today is?

FREE PASTRY DAY AT STARBUCKS!

I know, I know. It's only 9:47am CT right now, and we're sure you're already munching your complimentary cranberry scone. But it's summer, which means there's a good possibility you're also enjoying....a frappuccino.

And who do you have to thank, in large part, for the bottled frappuccino? Why, that would be Mark Mangelsdorf, friends. The killer featured in Marek Fuchs' new true crime book, A Cold-Blooded Business.

Why exactly is a successful corporate star - from a Bible Belt town, a Harvard MBA, who helped introduce the world to grocery store frappuccinos and was praised in Howard Schultz's Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time - now sitting in jail for a 20+ year old cold-case murder?

Wouldn't you love to know.

Simply respond to this blog post, or join us on Twitter (find us at twitter.com/phenixandphenix) and Tweet your favorite frappuccino flavor. The winner will receive a copy of this fascinating tale from The New York Times' Marek Fuchs. You MUST use hashtag #acoldbloodedbusiness to enter, and we will select a winner by 4pm CT today. RT'ers ("retweeters") of the contest may get special consideration...

As for us? Mocha frappuccinos all the way!