Whitney Lyles

IF YOU SHED A TEAR during the final episode of Sex and the City, or can’t get enough “chick lit” like The Devil Wears Prada, you should know Whitney Lyles. A native San Diegan, Lyles has authored three novels that lightheartedly spin stories any woman can relate to.

Although Lyles does not base her novels on her own life, she incorporates memories of living in San Diego into her stories. “I was just writing about what was familiar to me,” she says. The Del Mar Racetrack, Mission Bay, North Park and ultra- hip concert venue The Casbah all have appeared in her books.

Lyles concedes there is another truth taken from her own life: “I always use real animals,” she says, smiling at the memory of her “crazy cat” Grease, who appears in two of her books.

Growing up, Lyles loved writing in her diary about her seemingly drama-laden existence (life is rough when you’re a preteen). But it wasn’t until college that the author decided to pursue a writing career. Her parents, namely her writer father, convinced Lyles to consider the field. “I don’t know if I would be here right now if it wasn’t for him,” she says.

At 26, Lyles published Always the Bridesmaid, her most popular book to date. Follow-up efforts include Here Comes the Bride, Roommates and a short story in the anthology Catch of the Day. Despite her growing fame (she was an answer on a recent Jeopardy! episode) and her hopes to someday move into the mainstream fiction genre, Lyles says she is content being a “chick lit” author.

New mother to a 10-week-old daughter, Lyles is using the experience to prepare her for a new genre: “mommy lit.” Due out in 2007, her next novel, First Comes Love, is the third installment in her Always the Bridesmaid series and follows Cate Padgett through her humor-laden pregnancy. “I knew I definitely had to write about all the funny things [that happened while I was pregnant],” says Lyles.

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