BABY NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF CHOOS (Red Dress Ink, August 26, 2008)

An obsessive-compulsive window washer turns to casino black jack when her new Choo obsession spins out of control.

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Vertigo (Bantam, September 2006)

A literary novel with suspense and erotic undertones that opens on New Year's Eve 1898. Emma Smith has just informed the reader that "For seventeen years I was a good - some might say exemplary - wife. It is important that you know this about me from the start." That night, she resolves to, during the course of the next year, become "a better person." Her husband John, a writer, suggests that she do so by striking up a correspondence with a convicted murderer who he thinks does not deserve to be in prison for his crime. The prisoner, Chance Wood, initially wants nothing to do with Emma, but then his letters become more heated and Emma learns that the real definition of vertigo is not the fear of falling, but the fear of wanting to fall. As the following New Year's approaches, and the world gets ready for 1900, Queen Victoria announces - at the suggestion of an advisor who states that this will make her look more progressive - that she will free certain prisoners that do not pose a real threat to society and who can get an upstanding citizen to petition for them. But by the time Chance is freed, Emma finds that she is in a prison of her own making. Unable or unwilling to merely turn away from the only world she has ever known in order to achieve what she wants, she becomes convinced that if she is to ever have her Chance, then her husband must die.

• "What captivating characters Baratz-Logsted creates in Vertigo and what a cunning plot she spins. I couldn't stop turning the pages of this fascinating novel." ~ Margot Livesey, author of Banishing Verona
• "Lauren Baratz-Logsted has tapped the Victorian fascination with the social monster, and in VERTIGO she concocts an ingenious chamber opera of a novel. But whether the monster is to be found behind bars or deep within the protagonist herself is ultimately a question for the reader to decide." ~ Dave King, The Ha-Ha
• "...entertaining novel...keeps readers guessing up to the end." ~ Publishers Weekly
• "In Lauren Baratz-Logsted's VERTIGO, Emma Smith, the privileged young wife of a successful English novelist, narrates her own story, building layer upon layer of tension in a plot reminiscent of Ruth Rendell's novels of psychological suspense ...
  Like the more famous Emma, she's a victim, trapped in an unsatisfactory marriage, hamstrung by society's limitations and expectations …
  It's clear almost from the start that her story is bound to end badly, but the author is talented enough to keep readers interested until the last page." ~ Diane White of The Boston Globe

This is Chick-Lit

THIS IS CHICK-LIT was conceived as a response collection to the negatively-titled This is Not Chick Lit. In addition to a story from collection editor Lauren Baratz-Logsted, it includes original stories from: Deanna Carlyle, Jennifer Coburn, Johanna Edwards, Karin Gillespie, Raelynn Hillhouse, Andrea Schicke Hirsch, Julie Kenner, Harley Jane Kozak, Stephanie Lehmann, Caren Lissner, Cara Lockwood, Ariella Papa, Kayla Perrin, Rachel Pine, Gena Showalter, Karen Siplin, and Heather Swain.

• "This is a long overdue and smart answer to the naysayers of an often maligned genre" 
  "Funny, a little edgy, thoughtful, and thoroughly entertaining"
  "Lots of interesting and eye-opening stuff for clever guys who want to see how the other half thinks." ~ Nelson DeMille
• “Like a lot of snotty literary types, I have often sneered at chick lit … I’m here to tell you: I was wrong...These stories, which take chick lit beyond its Bridget Jonesian beginnings, show that it’s time to take this maturing genre a little more seriously. In this round of the culture wars, at least, the point goes to the chick-lit girls.” ~ BUST Magazine

How Nancy Drew Saved My Life (Red Dress Ink, September 2006)

HOW NANCY DREW SAVED MY LIFE is about Charlotte Bell, a young nanny who, having been burned by one affair with a married ambassador boss in NYC, accepts a new position with the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland. Once in Reykjavik, history begins uncomfortably repeating itself as she finds herself falling for Ambassador Edgar Rawlings. But where is Mrs. Rawlings? And, oh, by the way, is there a madwoman in the attic? Part Charlotte Bronte, part chick-lit, part Nancy Drew, HOW NANCY DREW SAVED MY LIFE is about the choices we make the first time around and the choices we make the second time around.

• Readers who appreciate classic love stories will enjoy the old-fashioned dialogue and Charlotte's fanciful imagination. ~ Booklist
• Witty and wonderful… her best book yet. ~ Tom Groneberg, author of One Good Horse

A Little Change of Face (Red Dress Ink, July 2005)

A librarian blessed with good looks decides to give herself the ugly-duckling treatment to see if what one of her friends says is true - has the world been treating her differently because she can turn heads?

Book Discussion Group Guide

Lauren answers questions about this book

• “A Little Change of Face not only has something to say about how women look, and are looked at by others, but it says it with a whip-smart, funny voice.”
  ~ Christopher Moore, author of Lamb and Fluke
• Baratz-Logsted offers a clever twist on makeover fiction. ~ Booklist

Crossing the Line (Red Dress Ink, July 2004)

Jane Taylor cannot get off so easily - the child that she says to the world is hers cannot be. In this heartwarming sequel to The Thin Pink Line, Jane learns the true meaning of motherhood.

Book Discussion Group Guide

• "Even better than the first book, CROSSING THE LINE offers the possibility of another delightful adventure for Jane." ~ Kristine Huntley, Booklist
• "This is a certainly a delightful read packed with all that I love in a book. The twists, the humour and the ability Lauren Baratz-Logsted has to touch on the nasty side of reality with a dose of laughter, as always, impressed this reader. I believe Lauren has also left room for another sequel which I will anxiously await."~ Tracy Riden, CataRomance Reviews
• "Quick, funny, and warm-touching, Lauren Baratz-Logsted has done it again. With such a different storyline, you won't be able to put the book down." ~ linkup-parents.com
• A terrific read – a story that is dryly funny, brightly written and emotionally satisfying. ~ Peter Lefcourt, author of Eleven Karens

The Thin Pink Line (Red Dress Ink, July 2003)

A self-absorbed editor for a London publisher decides to get what she perceives as her fair share of the attention pie by faking a pregnancy. After nine months of deceiving family, friends, and coworkers, what will she do when the clock stops ticking?

Book Group Discussion Guide

• "Wonderfully funny debut with a fine sense of the absurd and a flair for comic characterization." ~ Kirkus (starred review)
• "…hilarious and original."~ PublishersWeekly
• "…amusing, light fun."~ Booklist
• "…the reader is soon endeared to such a single-minded creature and it's impossible to put this debut novel down without knowing how Jane is going to end this charade after her ninth month."~ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• "…Baratz-Logsted keeps us hooked by zinging us with one-liners followed closely by heartfelt passages…"~ St. Petersburg Times
• "THE THIN PINK LINE is well written with excellent characterization and snappy dialogue…I closed the covers with feelings of awe."~ Romantic Reviews Today
• "It's what Jane Austen might have written if she were working today."~ JanuaryMagazine.com
• "…fast-paced and funny. Anyone who has been pregnant or within twenty feet of a pregnant friend, wife, co-worker, or relative will enjoy the satire."~ MostlyFiction.com