Bailey, Roz

PERSONAL:

Education: Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, B.A.

CAREER:

Writer. Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, former editorial assistant.

WRITINGS:

Party Girls, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Girls' Night Out, Strapless (New York, NY), 2003.

Retail Therapy, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Postcards from Last Summer, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Mommies Behaving Badly, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Ghost writer of several teen novels.

SIDELIGHTS:

Roz Bailey is a former editorial assistant for a New York publisher who decided to trade places with her authors. She began her writing career with mystery stories for teens, but with her 2002 novel, Party Girls, she turned to chick lit. Her debut adult novel deals with three female best friends from college, Zoey, Jade, and Marielle, who reunite after several years and some failed relationships to try to take Manhattan by storm. The three go in search of high employment and Mr. Right in this novel that "is snazzy, fun, and filled with likable characters worth rooting for," as Kristine Huntley wrote in a Booklist review. Carey Applegate, writing on Romantic TimesOnline, also had praise for Party Girls, calling it "a thoroughly satisfying read." Bailey's second novel, Girls' Night Out, tells of three best friends—Maggie, Chandra, and Apple—who all get more, and less, than what they planned for in this "delightful and impossible to put down" second novel, according to Huntley, writing again in Booklist.

In Bailey's third novel, Retail Therapy, the author presents another trio of friends, Alana, Hailey, and Marcella, who live by the saying that when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. However, each learns in her own way that life demands and deserves more than shopping. Donna Carter, writing on Romantic Times Online, called this novel a "pleasant, easy read, enlivened by fast-paced storytelling." Similarly, Booklist contributor Huntley commended the tale as a "a lighthearted, entertaining comedy." Postcards from Last Summer also deals with the adventures of four best friends, Lindsay, Darcy, Elle, and Tara, who met as children on a Long Island beach and have remained friends into adulthood. Reviewing the novel on the Curled Up with a Good Book Web site, Shaley Melchior concluded that Bailey's novel "breaks all boundaries of predictable chick-lit and sets a high standard for future works in this genre." Further praise came from Romantic Times Online reviewer Stephanie Schneider, who felt Bailey "does an excellent job of showing … the lifelong friendship between the women." Booklist contributor Patty Engelmann termed the novel "a delightfully relaxing read filled with captivating characters and extravagant lifestyles."

Critics have praised Bailey's sense of character, and she addressed that aspect of her work in an interview for the Web site Chick Lit Books: "One of my missions is to draw characters that people can sympathize with. As a reader, I find it hard to finish a book when the character leaves me cold or doesn't grab me, and I'd hate to put out a character that is plastic or boring. Many of my characters are inspired by people I've known, but once I start developing them and placing them into plot scenarios they evolve into their own beings."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 2002, Kristine Huntley, review of Party Girls, p. 1820; July 2003, Kristine Huntley, review of Girls' Night Out, p. 1862; September 15, 2004, Kristine Huntley, review of Retail Therapy, p. 218; August 1, 2006, Patty Engelmann, review of Postcards from Last Summer, p. 54.

ONLINE

Chick Lit Books,http://www.chicklitbooks.com/ (June 30, 2007), "Interview with Roz Bailey/Carly Alexander."

Curled Up with a Good Book,http://www.curledup.com/ (June 30, 2007), Shaley Melchior, review of Postcards from Last Summer.

Romantic Times,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (June 30, 2007), Carey Applegate, review of Party Girls, Stephanie Schneider, review of Postcards from Last Summer, Donna Carter, review of Retail Therapy.

Roz Bailey Home Page,http://www.rozbailey.net (June 30, 2007).