Today, reader chums, I am more than a little delighted to be hosting fellow author and all-round gorgeous lovely, A.L. Michael on the penultimate stop of her blog tour. 

Her latest book, ‘My So-Called (Love) Life’ is the story of the brilliantly named Tigerlily James,  founder member of the ‘Young and Bitter Club’ who is happily single and cynical until she gets an invite to her Ex’s wedding and suddenly needs a ‘plus one’. Enter Ollie, barman at her favourite cake and cocktail haunt. He offers the perfect solution – he will pose as a fake boyfriend if she pretends to be his girlfriend for three months – no sex, no strings. Tig has finally found a way to date without the heartbreak. Surely this is her best idea ever? Or maybe not…

Here, A.L. Michael talks about ‘Stuckness’ and the pain of the late twentysomething:

There’s only one reason a group of people would insist on something called a ‘Misery Dinner’. A Misery Dinner is something in my latest novel, My So Called (Love) Life, and it’s a monthly dinner where you get together with your dear friends, eat gluttonous food, drink margaritas and feel damn sorry for yourself. You list the horrible things that have happened to you, you wallow in them, surround yourself in them, almost allow yourself to *enjoy* the shittiness that has been inflicted on you.

You know those friends who constantly moan about their partner, or their parents, or their ‘difficult situation’ (whatever that might be), ask for your opinion, take up hours of your time (you know because you counted) and then do NOTHING? Only to start the cycle over and over again the next week? These people ENJOY it. They are true wallowers.

Whether you’re the wallower, or you’re the poor friend, you are in a state of ‘stuckness’. You can’t move forward. Maybe you don’t want to. This state can happen to anyone dealing with grief or shock, but it seems to be a standard moment in the late twenty something life. Things don’t look like they’re changing. And you’re not entirely convinced you want them to. Because, yeah, things suck…but they could be much worse, couldn’t they?

The job you vaguely dislike could be a shittier, worse paid one. The partner you don’t particularly like could be horrible. The friends who let you down could be arseholes. It’s safer to be stuck. Except then you’re never happy.

My So Called (Love) Life is about what happens when you decide to let go of the stuckness, even when it’s scary. When you decide to take a chance on someone who makes your heart flutter, on a job that makes you panic, on the ideas you forgot you were passionate about.

So have faith, young stuck ones- be brave. Say no to the Misery Dinner, and hello to second chances.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-So-Called-Love-Life-Michael-ebook/dp/B00S6T93OQ

 

Praise for A.L. Michael

‘I know it’s a good book when I shut the kindle cover and sigh with contentment. The Last Word totally did it for me.’ – 4* from Angela (Goodreads)

‘This is a funny, funny book.’ 5* to The Last Word from Rosee (Amazon)

‘Fresh, fast and…had that magical romance feeling and a bit of hotness that you just can’t help but love<./b>. Absolutely brilliant!’ 5* to The Last Word from The Book Geek Wears Pajamas

‘I LOVED THIS. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love. All of the emotions were felt in the reading of this book and it is definitely one of the best Christmas releases that I’ve read this year.’ 5* to Driving Home for Christmas from Erin’s Choice

‘I laughed, I cried and I was left with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you read something wonderful.’ 5* to Driving Home for Christmas from That Thing She Reads