Interview - Lisa Daily, author of Fifteen Minutes of Shame

Today's 5 Q&A is with Lisa Daily, author of Fifteen Minutes of Shame.

1.) Who are you?
About me:
I'm the author of STOP GETTING DUMPED!, a columnist, and real-life TV dating expert on DAYTIME, a syndicated morning TV show.

Official bio:
Lisa Daily can tell you why he didn’t call, the color you should never wear on a first date, and even where to snoop for evidence if you think your guy’s been fooling around. Millions read her dating advice column or tune in to see her every week on Daytime, and the early buzz on her debut novel Fifteen Minutes of Shame says it pops with the same signature quirky humor and fresh, irreverent voice that made her dating advice book, Stop Getting Dumped! a bestseller.

Women from 16-60 flock to Lisa’s popular Dream Girl Academy at the Learning Annex in New York City and events across the US. Lisa is a dating coach, speaker and popular media guest -- she has done more than 2000 interviews on top radio and television shows, including iVillage Live, MTV Live, Entertainment Tonight and she appears as a real-life dating expert on the HITCH movie DVD starring Will Smith. A frequent source for reporters, Lisa has been quoted in hundreds of publications, from the New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune to Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Men’s Health, Christian Science Monitor and US Weekly Magazine. For more on Lisa, visit www.lisadaily.com

2.) How did you come to write Fifteen Minutes of Shame?
Right before my dating advice book, STOP GETTING DUMPED! was being published, a really prominent dating expert was going through a very nasty divorce, and the media was really going after her. I remember having two simultaneous thoughts -- first, it really hit me that any of us are one step away from public humiliation, and second, how painful and challenging it would be to go through one of the most difficult times in your life with the whole world watching -- some of them rooting for you to go down in flames.

I thought it would make an interesting start to a novel -- what happens when America's favorite relationships expert finds out her husband is cheating on live television? And how do you come back from that?

3.) One of the things that really stuck with me about the book is Darby is incredibly strong in the face of adversity. Do you think that women are born with an inner reserve of tenacity that only shows itself when the going gets tough?
I do think most of us are stronger than we know, and usually it takes something really awful to bring out that inner strength. But some people are weaker than they expect -- adversity hits and they end up in a puddle. Those people make pretty interesting characters too. (Although you don't really want them in charge when the going gets tough.)

4.) Tell us about Dreamgirl Academy.
The Dreamgirl Academy is a class I teach for women that is a fun mix of dating strategy and female bonding. What's always been interesting to me are the women who attend -- they're everyone from 16-70, at every stage of their lives. I love meeting the women, helping them spot problems in their love lives.

5.) What's next?
I've just finished a new non-fiction book, HOW TO DATE LIKE A GROWNUP, which will be out in January 2009, and once I'm back from my tour, I'll be working on my new novel, THE TRUTH ABOUT GOSSIP.

Thank you, Lisa!