THE BOOK: KnitWise: Chicks with Sticks #3

THE PITCH:

For Scottie, Amanda, Bella, and Tay, life in Chicago has been all about seeking shelter. They’ve found it in their firelit stitch ’n bitch at Joe Coffee; in the halls of their quirky private school; in the arms of boyfriends—and always in the comfort of the friendship that bonds them together.

But now the Chicks are staring down the end of high school and it's time to contemplate life beyond the protective web of their knitty ensemble. Will the stresses of college applications and service projects, debutante balls and long-distance loves, mean the end of the Chicks? Or can this unlikely foursome bind-off the happy ending that only true friendship can craft?

The Chicks with Sticks books aren’t just for crafty types (though each book does include several original knitting patterns and projects). They’re for anyone juggling the works-in-progress that are friendship, first love, and surviving high school; for anyone who’s ever found friends in the most unlikely place—or wanted to. Sometimes you just need some string and sticks—with some full-fat hot chocolate on the side—to get you there.

THE BLOG: http://elizabethlenhard.typepad.com/

THE SAME THREE QUESTIONS I ALWAYS ASK:

Welcome, Elizabeth! Let's start with your Top Ten Desert Island Discs.

It seems every musician I love ends up being featured on NPR. I don't know if this makes me cool or hopelessly square. Probably the latter. But anyway. . .

"The Mysterious Production of Eggs" Andrew Bird
"Beneath the Country Underdog" Kelly Hogan
"Catch the Moon" Elizabeth Mitchell/Lisa Loeb, the only kiddie music my daughter and I can agree on
"Mass Romantic" the New Pornographers
The "Once" soundtrack
"Illinoise" Sufjan Stevens
"XO" Elliott Smith
Annie Lennox's "Diva," which got me through college.
Ditto the soundtrack to "Hair"
Handel's Messiah, because when you're stuck on a desert island, you need some inspiration

Hello, nostalgia! (But I'm always a sucker for musical sountracks.) Okay, next question: if you were to appear on Jeopardy!, what would your seven dream categories be?

Minutia of the Little House books
Tragically trendy baby names
Candy of the Seventies (Choco-Lite, anyone?)
Southernisms
Yiddishisms
How to gloss over mismatched blacks
Essential elements of the Chicago hot dog

Okay, I was SO expecting some variation of knitting on that list. Color me surprised! Final question: if you could live inside any TV show, which would it be and why?

Gilmore Girls, even though it's now tragically defunct. I'd happily live in reruns I've seen three times. Why? Because I'd kill to be so witty and wacky and, might I add, well-dressed.

Oh, I am so with you on that one. In my next life, I want to BE Lorelei ...


Elizabeth Lenhard grew up in Atlanta and studied English and creative writing at the University of Michigan. She’s been a features reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a contributing dining critic for Chicago magazine, and the author of more than thirty series books for teens and children. Elizabeth lives with her husband and daughter in Atlanta. Now that the Chicks are college-bound, she’s assuaging her empty nest syndrome with lots and lots of knitting. You can visit her on the web at http://elizabethlenhard.com/ and http://myspace.com/elizabethlenhard.