Yesterday, while I was walking to interview local writer and author of Dotcom Divas, Elizabeth Carlassare, a large black car bumping what is known as gangsta rap pulled up next to me. This is not a strange occurence, but when one of the passengers extended half of his body out of the window and threw up a sign using his fingers shouting, "Westside!," I was a bit taken aback. After all, why represent the west coast to someone who already lives right here?

After seeing this, it was a good feeling to sit down to interview the well spoken author of Dotcom Divas, and learn more about her and the book itself.

Dotcom Divas takes the reader through the world of e-businesses, with a twist, as the book profiles women entrepreneurs, contrary to the large number of books written about males, such as E-boys and The Silicon Boys and Their Valley of Dreams. "There has not been a book written yet on women technology entrepreneurs," says Carlassare. "This is the first book of its kind."

The book also tells women how to gain financial backing for their companies. Carlassare commented that, "Women's access to capital has improved over the past few years. Even three years ago there were few, if any, venture funds targeting women. There are several of these now."

A graduate from UCSC, Carlassare says, "One of the best parts about writing Dotcom Divas was the opportunity to interview women entrepreneurs. Hearing their stories and learning about the challenges they've faced was fascinating. I've personally leaned a lot through the experience."

Carlassare is now involved with her own company called MyWebtivity, which offers e-business services, custom Web application development, and wireless application development. She has moved from working for high tech companies to becoming an entrepreneur herself. Maybe there is something in her book to help guide female entrepreneurs in this innovative field, but as she said in my interview with her, "There is nothing like learning through experience."