Chica lit author “hosting” house parties around the country

by Marisa Treviño of of Latina Lista

Time magazine dubbed Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, author of the groundbreaking book “Dirty Girls Social Club,” as the Godmother of chica lit — that genre of literature featuring modern stories with sassy, professional and educated women who just happen to be Latinas or chicas.

Valdes-Rodriguez is a multi-creative chica herself having already published four chica lit novels. Yet she is savvy enough to know that in this day and age of mortgage meltdowns, credit crunches and federal bailouts, it’s going to take some ingenuity to get people to want to invest a few spare dollars on books — and she has an idea.

It’s dubbed the Dirty Girls Book Party.

The author knows that sales of a new book in the first month of release are a good indicator of how long that book will be around. Since she already credits word-of-mouth recommendations for the bulk of her book sales, Valdes-Rodriguez decided to create a little extra buzz with the at-home book parties in the first week of July for the debut of her next book: DIRTY GIRLS ON TOP.

However, these aren’t just ordinary house parties. Valdes-Rodriguez pledges to make an appearance at each party — via Internet camera. She is also partnering with a major cosmetic company, among others, to provide some worthwhile goodies to give out at the parties while also holding a contest among the party hosts for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip for two to a Scottsdale, Arizona resort and dinner with the author herself.

In return, there’s a few criteria that must be followed:

1. Schedule the party for the week of July 8, 2008.

2. Register with the official online petition site http://www.petitiononline.com/dgot/petition.html.

3. Must have a computer with an Internet connection.

4. Must have at least 10 women attend the party.

5. Party must “spawn” at least one other party.

Valdes-Rodriguez said that when she first mentioned this idea to her publishers their reaction was lukewarm, at best. Yet, with the constant change in how business is being conducted across industries, it’s clear to see that Valdes-Rodriguez is taking her new title to heart and is on top of her game.