She has travelled across the globe and finds that is where many of her book ideas have come from. Amanda currently lives in Sydney and truly believes in hope and love.

Get her book here:  www.ihatecinderella.com and see her gorgeous photography at www.amandacolephotography.com.au

Guest Editor, Amanda Cole Author of I Hate Cinderella

True Louise Bagshawe fans don’t really notice what is written on the back of the book, we see her name splashed across the front of an unread brand new release and pounce on it. Making sure that our hands wrap around it quickly, fingers flicking the pages to breathe in the scent, relinquishing it only for a second, long enough to pay for it, then tucked into a safe handbag to devour it hungrily as we go about our day on the bus, or on a lounge chair or curled up in bed.  If you haven’t read a Louise Bagshawe book (I doubt there are any people like this really!) be prepared to become one of her worldwide fans as you are drawn in by the back cover.

“Passion“, her latest sumptuous feast, reads so well and so fast for such a big book, that I had to force myself to put it down so I wasn’t late for real life.

Heroes, Heartbreak and Hitmen. Can it all lead to happily ever after…? A failed marriage between Melissa Elmett and Will Hyde did a lot of damage. She was too young, he was hurt when she left him. Years later, Melissa becomes the target for a kidnap plot, a consequence of her father’s ground-breaking invention, and Will is the only man who can protect her. Now they’re on the run, thrown together again by the pursuit of vengeance, will their passion for each other reignite? (Hachette)

Her words about a lost love, tangled emotions, assassins, high society, glittery social set and intrigue, captured me. Her main character Melissa (or Missy as we come to know her) is so real you feel like handing her a towel to wipe her brow with, through the pages of the novel and her “Will” simply makes you turn the pages quicker to see more of his manly and decisive nature, unfold.

It’s sharp pace, as it treks from Oxford where young love blooms, to America, through Boston (my favourite City) through Paris and Rome and across the globe in a frenetic pace that you almost wish it was you being chased by a top class assassin “or operatives” just to have Will beside you.

“Passion” is simple that, a tale as believable in a world that we dream of, of two people almost destined to be part of each others’ lives, inextricably tied to each other. After the initial introduction to Will & Missy’s failed marriage due to snobbery, you read the words hungrily waiting for them to meet again and when they do, it does not disappoint on any level, intellectually, physically or spiritually.

Bagshawe’s characters are divine, complex, complete and probably have their own twitter accounts!

Pick “Passion” up and read, but before you do that, turn your phone to silent, secure the coffee and get ready! It’s as addictive as all her others to the very last drop!

Available: 1st May, Hachette, $32.99

Look out for my interview with Louise herself very soon.

Love,

Amanda

The very sassy Amanda Cole had a dream, on a plane and this gorgeous book, I Hate Cinderella, is her Glass Slipper from that dream.

I had the pleasure of having brunch with Amanda last week as well as attending her launch party for her book with the hilarious and divine character that she is Bianca Dye.

Forget the fairytale. Make your own!

Who hasn’t had their heart broken?
Who hasn’t cried for days and been unable to eat, sleep or concentrate?
Who can honestly say they haven’t asked their best friend: “When will this pain stop?
When will I get over him?”

Lucy Summers is one of those girls. Three weeks after her heart has been broken, she travels for work, when the plane crashes halfway. She falls deep into the ocean where she is saved, as only a loving mother, a patient best friend and a healthy dose of chocolate could do, by a mermaid named Obelia.  Together they reignite Lucy’s passion for drawing and re-establish her sense of her self-worth.  Lucy learns that you have to know what you want to be able to get it!

Amanda’s adorable illustrated fairy tale for us grown up gals is told from a mix of personal heartache and her best girlie friends’ heartache stories.  It’s not a revenge story in anyway, it highlights the completely surreal feeling of the grieving process through the fairytale analogy of living underwater with the loving Mermaid Obelia.  When you’re heartbroken, as I was last year, you feel like your world has ended and that you will never love again.  Her book supports you through the process and shows you that there is hope and you can love again.  It truly bursts at the seams with positive statements and highlights the importance of self belief and how extraordinary we all are in our own way.

Amanda self published her book because she knew exactly how she wanted it to look.  The exquisite illustrations that are dotted throughout the book have been created by the extremely talented Jovan de Melo from Brazil.  As you know I’m obsessed with illustrations and the above images are a few of my favourites.

I also asked Amanda to answer these five questions about herself:

What are your five favourite things you can’t live without?

T2 peppermint tea, my notebook and pen (you have no idea when a random idea can arrive!), my Mum, GHD Hair straightener (for those days when the hair just can’t be tamed), and my Tiffany starfish necklace.

Which Sassi Moment best describes you – Bad Hair Day, Nothing to Wear, Just in Case or Shop Wrecked?

Just in Case – I’m always on the go so I need to have sexy, sassy wardrobe items that are able to travel with me at a minute’s notice! I flew to the Gold Coast the other weekend with about five hours notice … already had my bikinis on standby!

What’s your favourite fun and girlie thing you like to do?

Drink colourful cocktails, dress up and dance the night away at a random city bar with my friends and some just-as-crazy good looking men!

Who would you like to have a girl’s night in with?

Bianca Dye, my most treasured and glamorous girlfriends, Hamish Blake (I know he is a guy, but he is so funny I am sure we can let that slide for this night in!), Scarlett Johansson (to convince her to star in the movie about my book when it gets made!!) and Meredith from Greys Anatomy (so we could get all the goss on Dr McDreamy) and my book -’I Hate Cinderella’, of course.

And speaking of Hamish Blake, Amanda was shopping with her girlfriend at Castle Hill Towers with her camera (as she does) – did I mention that Amanda is an amazing photographer?  Well the cheeky boys Hamish & Andy were there signing copies of their CD compilation for Christmas.  Amanda very cheekily lined up and instead of getting them to sign a copy of their CD for her, she got them to sign a copy of her book and they signed it ‘we do too‘.  So here is Amanda with her secret crush, Hamish who is currently off the coast of Queensland whipping up a windy storm, not really but he’s who I think of every time they mention Cyclone Hamish!

Amanda and I both live in Coogee in Sydney, in fact we live 1 min away from each other.  We’ve yet to meet our Coogee Mermaid who likes to swim around our beach pools when we’re not around, but we know she’s there looking out for us and will be there when we need her.

And remember, laughter is the key to life, don’t take yourself to seriously and enjoy your time with your Mermaid wherever you are.

Love,
Sassi
Your Pop Culture Gossip Girl