I've been blessed to become friends with a number of local authors, such as the generous and wickedly funny Holly Robinson. Holly's latest book came out October 6, and she was kind enough to take a few minutes to talk with me about it.

Anne Wagener has been a bridesmaid 10 times. She has transformed her experiences -- good, bad, and hilarious -- into a delightful first romantic novel, Borrow a Bridesmaid. It's also a portal into the minds and hearts of 21st century 20-somethings.

The strength in these feminist empowerment projects is clear to fans who use them to navigate their own lives, but I want to highlight the message for other artists: use creativity to carve your identity and empower others.

Why are we so precious about what we read? Admitting to a guilty pleasure TV shows is the stuff of Cool Girl celebrity profiles. Plenty of brilliant women are open about the "Real Housewives" backlog on their DVRs, but loving un-literary books still feels like a shameful secret.

Recently a literary festival asked me to appear on a panel of regional 'Women Writers.' I'm early enough in my career as a novelist that I'm damned grateful to be invited anywhere, but the panel title gave me pause.

For many women, there's nothing that makes for a better beach or airport read than a fun chick-lit novel. They are vacation must-haves. But are they bad for us? That's what one study claims.