Ladies I Love: Summer Land, Summerlandish + a Giveaway

I was introduced to the super funny lady, Summer Land, by a super sweet lady, Miss Emily of Shell Chic'd. She said that Summer was one of the funniest people she had ever met. Obvi, I did a little digging. I love funny people. Let's start with her hilarious video series on YouTube called Confessions of Another Blonde on the Internet. Then add in her just as funny blog. Yep, she is as funny as we'd expected. When Summer offered me the chance to read her book and ask her a few questions, I lept at the chance. It's hard to explain exactly what I thought of Summerlandish, Do as I Say, Not as I Did, but I know that I really liked it. To say that her book both horrified me and made me laugh hysterically, would be no lie. This woman likes to share and is not one to shy away from telling a good story, even if it's embarrassing. The book is about her life but not in one consecutive stream of thought; rather the book is a group of small (and hilarious) stories about everything from using the litter box to Halloween costumes. She refers to her mother by her first name, Donna, and let's just say that when Donna is involved, it's sure to be amusing. There is a lot to love about this book and at it's foundation is Summer herself, a woman with personality in spades, wit to rival the best and sure, she's pretty but that's just the icing on the cake. I got to chat with Summer for a bit, let's see what she had to say...

You have a blog, a vlog and a published real life book with pages (woo hoo!). What made you start writing and how do you decide what you want to share?

In 2010, I was a college graduate who was growing tired of being a poor backpacker, but not anxious to jump behind a desk again in a standard 9-5. A friend's big sister who conveniently happened to be a life coach suggested that I write. (This was after a couple glasses of wine and a discussion on why we love Chelsea Handler.) The next day I started writing. I mostly just emailed stories to friends and got their feedback. Once I had some confidence, I launched a blog. That naturally turned into the bigger goal of being a published author. I love self-deprecating humor that is relatable. I share things that make people say, "OMG me too!" My favorite thing in life is getting people to laugh at themselves. If that means sharing some questionable experiences from my life, I'll take one for the team.

In your book, you talk a lot about your Mom, referring to her as Donna (which OMG I love). It seems like you two have a very special relationship. What did you learn from Donna that you're trying to apply to being a Mother yourself?

I am obsessed with my mom. I love that my friends love her. She is so open and accepting and my biggest cheerleader. Lucky for me, she is also full of parenting advice. She says that if your child is doing something that you don't like, don't worry - it will change. And if they're doing something that you love, don't get used to it - it will change. That is super helpful to hear when your baby all of the sudden starts patting their own bum in public. Like Donna, I want to be a "Fun Mom." I want to be on my kids' side and help them win as much as possible. I never want to hurt their spirits.

What did you learn from Donna that you will absolutely not apply to motherhood?

Donna is very trusting which is great, but I don't think I will be able to let me kids "fly" too far when they're young. I will also keep better watch of their credit cards. haha

Like you, I am an over-sharer... but sometimes I share then immediately regret the decision. Is there anything that you've shared that you wished you hadn't? Is there anything you have shared that Donna wishes you hadn't?

Choosing to have a personal blog based on the mishaps in your life is terrifying. Every morning I wake up with severe anxiety that someone will have said something mean on the Internet. True story. (Okay fine, not every morning.) But at the end of the day, I know that I want to be the person who inspires people to not feel so bad about their experiences. We're only human. If I want to live in a world where people are kind, accepting and humble about their pasts, then I feel like I need to own it. As for Donna caring- I always ask her opinion (and my husband's) if I think I've gone too far with a story and surprisingly, I haven't yet. 

What does the future have in store for Summer Land?

Aside from being pregnant and binge eating "organic" cheetos at this very moment, Summer is hard at work on her follow up book which is about being a newlywed ex-pat. She has also decided to launch an online book store on her website where the WORLD can buy her book!!! She is also posting weekly videos on her YouTube channel, Confessions of Another Blonde on the Internet.

What's new with Donna, anyway? 

Donna is fabulous! She is going on a cruise from Venice to Barcelona in May and then coming to Australia in July for the birth of our baby!! In the mean time, I can only assume she is abusing her Facebook privileges and posting too frequently. 

So maybe I was a little too interested in Donna, I admit it but hey, I am only human ;-). Summer's book is not for the faint of heart but if you love funny women (I'm talking Amy Poehler, Chelsea Handler, Tina Fey etc) and don't mind someone spittin' the truth, then I really think you would enjoy Summerlandish, Do as I Say, Not as I Did. Grab your digital copy instantly for iBooks, Kindle and Nook! If you want to play the odds, why not take your chance in our amazingly awesome giveaway. Two lucky P+P reader will snag Summerlandish, Do as I Say, Not as I Did in paperback mailed right to their home! Just enter in the Rafflecopter below. Easy as that!




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