, in exchange for honest review from Goddess Fish Promotions. The book was written by Chrissy Anderson. This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. I did purchase the book in 2012. A review will be added later to this post.Interview Questions:
How long have you been writing?
It took me two years to write The Life List and another two to get up the courage to publish it.
The moment I left a bar with a guy six years younger than me...when I was a seemingly happy married woman, I knew I had a big story to tell. Well, the story became HUGE when that chance encounter led to massive amounts of lies, desperate and gross manipulation, and shockingly, the kind of love I never knew existed.
I was a good girl—a girl who created a detailed life list at the age of sixteen and I diligently stuck to it. I worked my ass off to achieve all of the things I thought I wanted in life and by twenty-eight…I almost had it all. But then that chance encounter at the bar made me question the life list and all that I had accomplished. In one night my entire world was turned upside down.
How many other books have you published?
The Life List is book I of The List Trilogy. Book II, The Unexpected List, was released last March. The last book in the series, The Hope List, is set for release next March. The books in the series that have been released sit tight at an average Amazon rating of 4.8. I’m pretty happy!
What motivated you to write "The Life List"
Is the main character based on your life experiences?
Do you keep a life list? yes or no
It took me two years to write The Life List and another two to get up the courage to publish it.
The moment I left a bar with a guy six years younger than me...when I was a seemingly happy married woman, I knew I had a big story to tell. Well, the story became HUGE when that chance encounter led to massive amounts of lies, desperate and gross manipulation, and shockingly, the kind of love I never knew existed.
I was a good girl—a girl who created a detailed life list at the age of sixteen and I diligently stuck to it. I worked my ass off to achieve all of the things I thought I wanted in life and by twenty-eight…I almost had it all. But then that chance encounter at the bar made me question the life list and all that I had accomplished. In one night my entire world was turned upside down.
My story is based on my life and it examines the sanity of blindly following the bucket list we make when we are young and the impact of changing our minds after we have checked most things off the list. It’s a dilemma that millions of married women face every day. There are so many women who are torn between choosing love and obligation. I know their struggle…I know their heartache.
The Life List is book I of The List Trilogy. Book II, The Unexpected List, was released last March. The last book in the series, The Hope List, is set for release next March. The books in the series that have been released sit tight at an average Amazon rating of 4.8. I’m pretty happy!
What motivated you to write "The Life List"
Women of all kinds–twenty-somethings, housewives and superwomen wanna-bes–will all be able to relate to the same pressures I felt of constructing the ideal life, only to fall short. I suspect there will be a lot of exhaling going on as those women read The Life List. All of them were my motivation.
I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with my decisions, but all will pause as they follow along on my journey to ask, “What would I do if I were her?”
Is the main character based on your life experiences?
Although I can’t give you an exact ratio of what’s real and what’s fiction, I can tell you that this book is based on my true story. But I suppose, if my life depended on it and I had to come up with a ratio, I’d go 90% real life, 10% embellishment. What’s sort of funny (or tragic, depending on how you look at it) is that people think the real stuff is fictitious and the fictitious stuff is real. I really did do and say some pretty outrageous things in my attempt to find happiness, and it still blows my mind at how disturbing and chaotic my life was for a while. You can all breathe a sigh of relief, though, because I am in love and happily married to one of the two men in the novel. Can’t tell ya if it’s Kurt or Leo because that would just ruin the entire List Trilogy and that would be plain ‘ol mean.
Do you keep a life list? yes or no
Not anymore because what makes us happy is ever-changing and that right there is the problem with making life lists! By the time you cross off the last item you’re like, “Damn, I don’t want all of that shit anymore! None of it means anything to me because I’m a different person than I was 5, 10…15 years ago!” I say stick to only making grocery lists…can’t get hurt or let down with thoseJ
About the book:
When she was just sixteen, Chrissy Anderson made a life list……The outcome is a dream husband, a career to envy, and the kind of best friends every girl wants. Then out of nowhere…an affair. What would you do if you realized the life you created wasn’t right for you? You think you know the answer? Think again. Follow Chrissy as she lies and cheats and ultimately learns to tell the truth to herself and those that she loves.
At twenty-eight, Chrissy has been steadily checking off the boxes on her life list as she mocks the style and life choices of everyone around her. She’s got it all—or so everyone thinks. Her life begins to fall apart when she unexpectedly meets a much younger man, Leo, who makes her question just how perfect her “perfect life” really is. With the help of her no-nonsense therapist, Dr. Maria, Chrissy learns more about herself than she anticipates. But it isn’t until she stares an untimely death in the face that Chrissy is catapulted into an overdue reality check. Only then does she scramble to correct the mistakes of her past…trying to figure out if it’s her husband Kurt, her lover Leo, or both that she has to leave behind to make everything right.
Women of all kinds will be able to relate to the pressure of constructing the ideal life, only to fall short. Not everyone will agree with Chrissy Anderson’s decisions, but all will pause as they follow along on her journey to ask, “What would I do if I were her?”
The Life List, book ONE of The List Trilogy, will take you on a rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows as Chrissy makes mistakes on her bumpy road to happiness. Come along for the ride and you’ll be left breathless and ready to find out what she does next in book TWO, The Unexpected List.
Excerpt:
And then out of nowhere I turn into Heather Locklear. No, Tawny Kitaen! No wait…I’m one of those smokin’ hot chicks on a Budweiser poster who’s licking the side of a dripping wet beer bottle! Whoever the hell I am, I’m NOT Chrissy Anderson. She would never have the guts to look deep into a beautiful stranger’s eyes and say, “Do you want to kiss me?”
Author Bio:
CHRISSY ANDERSON spends her life doing exactly what she always wanted: doting on those she loves. A former fashion executive, she is a writer, wife, and mother whose own life events inspired The Life List. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with the love of her life and her beautiful daughter.
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I shared the same struggle and heartache.
ReplyDeleteThank you for responding. I felt the same pressures when I was married. I still think I fall short sometimes.
Deletei think people searching for the perfect life will always be disappointed. nothing is perfect. i hope he comes to terms with her issues and finds her own version of perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mel. I love your insight
DeleteThank you for selecting me
ReplyDeleteI'm in my 50's and my life list is all shot to hell! I think we all are capable of making bad choices, some of which we reconcile ourselves to and others we regret forever. I hate the latter so do my best every day to accomplish the first.
ReplyDeleteThank you Elise-Maria. I love your insight as well. I hate the regrets, but you can still learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes again
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ReplyDeleteThank you Rose-Marie for commenting. I loved what you said as well. Until you get into a particular situation, you are unsure of what you will (or won't do)
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