Black Friday Blog Hop

Greetings and salutations, my dears.

If you're not fighting the crowds on this busiest of all busy shopping days, you're in for a treat! By partaking in this one-day Black Friday Blog Hop, you can enter to win scads of super sensational prizes. I'll get to those in a minute. In the spirit of consumerism, I thought I'd blog about one of my very favorite shopping-related movies. Sticky Fingers, released in 1988, is an adorable little gem of a film that not too many people know about.

Lolly and Hattie are two struggling musicians who share an apartment in gritty Lower Manhattan. When a friend asks her to look after her tote bag, Hattie agrees, and only later do she and Lolly realize the bag contains nearly a million dollars in cash. Spooked, they decide to put the bag away and try not to think about it. But first… their landlady takes steps to evict them from their apartment because they haven’t been paying rent. And then… they have a break-in one night and their instruments are stolen. You can probably see where this is going. They need to pay their rent. They need to replace their instruments. Their definition of what a “necessity” is shifts as they find they need things like electronic equipment, haute couture and caviar. Sticky Fingers is not exactly a critical masterpiece, but for a fun, chick flick-ish, screwball comedy, it fits the bill perfectly.

To expand upon the shopping theme, I thought I’d post a short excerpt from my novel, Fashioning a Romance. Caitlyn, the heroine, is trying to find a dress to wear for a night out with John – the guy she’s determined not to fall for. Here’s the excerpt:

“The Dress was designed for the hour-glassy figure; the bodice was structured, the waist nipped in, and the skirt molded itself beautifully to Caitlyn’s hips. The mossy green fabric was sand-brushed silk: a fabulous silk with a suede-like texture, and it was cut on the bias, allowing for plenty of movement.

The neckline was the only thing that gave her a moment’s pause. Not exactly the kind of dress she’d wear to hang out with her grandma, it was pretty low-cut and offered a fairly impressive display of cleavage. Normally Caitlyn didn’t mind showing off her assets, but she was worried about the message she’d be sending John by wearing this particular dress. And she, no doubt, would be sending a message – Caitlyn’s “Fashion as Communication” senior dissertation had been a labor of love, the highlights of which were melded into her mind.

Hm. By wearing The Dress, would she be conveying to John that she was interested? But what was the alternative? Show up in some shapeless number like she’d just stepped off the bus from Frumpsville?

Oh, who cared about the message to John? Caitlyn was too in love with The Dress to possibly resist buying it. Anyway, she could always wear her cardigan too. Course that would kind of spoil the effect; it would be like eating caviar with a plastic spoon.”

You can find Fashioning a Romance at Amazon or B&N.

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for: 

To win an e-copy of Fashioning a Romance: please share with us your favorite shopping-related movie. If you can't think of a whole movie that qualifies, feel free to mention a funny or memorable shopping scene. And post your comment below.

To win one of the Black Friday Blog Hop Grand Prizes: you simply need to comment on one of the blogs involved in the hop, so if you post on my shopping/movie question, you will have entered to win one of the grand prizes, but keep on hopping to different blogs - the more blogs you comment on, the more times you'll be entered.

A couple of important things to note: all prizes can be shipped internationally except the swag prize, which will be awarded only to US residents. Sorry, overseas folks. Also, please leave your email address so we can contact you if you win.

Here's a list of these incredible prizes:

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $75 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, e-books, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies and more!

Best of luck everyone!!!

Love,
Libby

Now, hop to it! This is a one-day-only event, and there are many more prizes to be won.