GCC: Ellen Meister

Another great read from the Girlfriends is here and ready for your perusal, dear reader. I myself am buried under final student essays--underwater and fighting my way back up.

This week’s girlfriend from the GCC is Ellen Meister, author of Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA. A Long Island PTA mom herself, Ellen Meister is no stranger to the scandal and drama of the carpool set. Ellen has a background in writing ad copy and short stories—as well a stint as editor of an online literary magazine. Meister lives on Long Island with her husband and three children. She writes, she swears, she sings, she dances … all from the front seat of her minivan.

When a Hollywood location scout comes to Applewood, Long Island, and announces that the local elementary school might make the perfect backdrop for an upcoming George Clooney movie, the PTA's decorum crumbles like a cookie from last week's bake sale.Enter Maddie, Ruth, and Lisa, three women who become the glue that holds the project together, forging a bond of friendship stronger than anyone could imagine.

And not a moment too soon, as marriage woes, old flames, and scandalously embarrassing family members threaten to tear each of them apart. Is their powerful alliance strong enough to overcome the obstacles to getting the movie made in their town? And will their friendship be enough to mend their hearts and homes? Join them as they reach for the stars . . . and try to pull off a Hollywood ending of their own.

At once tender and hilarious, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA is a captivating story that turns suburbia upside down . . . with more humor, heartache, and heat than one PTA can hold.

Praise for Confessions:
"Meister's debut novel is heartbreakingly funny, her characters facing life's dramas and disappointments head on with wit and spunk." – Library Journal (starred review)

"Ellen Meister has written a beautiful book about love, life and friendship that you are sure to never forget." – Fresh Fiction

"A funny and wonderfully irreverent look at the dark underbelly of suburbia." – Lolly Winston, author of Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately

"With sexy characters, sharp dialogue, and snappy pacing, Meister's sassy, saucy debut novel could well turn into a movie of its own." – Booklist

"Women, hide this book from your husbands and resist the urge to read passages out loud. Ellen Meister knows our secrets, and she tells them in a smart, honest, and very funny voice." – Maryanne Stahl, author of Forgive the Moon and The Opposite Shore

"Three conflicted housewives in Applewood, Long Island, long for something more fulfilling than what their families and their membership in the local PTA offer.... helping each other realize their dreams. Comical yet poignant." – Kirkus Reviews

"George Clooney should be proud." – Mark Ebner, author of Hollywood Interrupted

"Ellen Meister's first novel is a smashing success ... touches the heart and the funny bone ." – Romance Divas

"Funny, compelling and well-written." – Trashionista

"The best time I've had in years. Ellen Meister's characters are so funny, smart, and real, I feel like I've made three new friends!" – Lisa Kudrow

love and more about me next time

Becky