Melissa Senate

I'm the author of eight novels, including my debut, SEE JANE DATE (called "cheeky" by Newsweek magazine and made into a very cute TV movie) and my newest, THE SECRET OF JOY! THE SECRET OF JOY is about 28-year-old New Yorker Rebecca Strand who discovers, via her father's deathbed confession, that she has a 26-year-old half-sister she never knew existed. Off she goes to a small coastal town in Maine to find her. She doesn't exactly receive the warmest welcome–except by the lovable, quirky locals…and a sexy carpenter named Theo. Booklist magazine calls THE SECRET OF JOY: "Another warm, winning entry from popular chick-lit author Senate."

What do some of my favorite authors have to say in advance praise of

THE SECRET OF JOY?

 "The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate opened my heart, made me laugh, cry, and smile all at the same time. A don't-miss read!" –New York Times bestselling author      Carly Phillips

"The Secret of Joy is a warm hug of a book. Insightful, wise, and romantic, it's as inviting as the small-town life it depicts."  –Claire LaZebnik

"A wonderfully heartfelt story about hope, possibilities and the yearning for real connections. Senate's latest will take you on a much needed vacation, while sneaking vital life lessons in when you're not looking."          –Caprice Crane

"The Secret of Joy is a heartwarming story that hits all the right notes. Senate has you cheering for more."  –Cara Lockwood

"The Secret of Joy is a beautifully written novel that will have the reader crying one moment and smiling with happiness the next all the while cheering for the many wonderful cast of characters. Senate weaves together many tales of love and in so doing discusses, through a brilliant array of characters, what it means to love and be loved. Senate's descriptive prose and realistic storyline make the reader feel a part of the small Maine community. The Secret of Joy drew me in from the prologue and I was sorry to see the story end. I cannot praise this novel enough and look forward to reading Senate's other novels." –Rundipinne

"I loved loved loved this book. The story was captivating, the narration fresh, the characters fun. I flew through it. The characters were relatable, and the subplot was just as interesting and segued well into the ending for Rebecca and Joy. I don't think you can go wrong with Melissa Senate." –Bellas Novella

"Senate’s page-turning comfort read is descriptive and contains a suitable mix of wit and romance. Her characters exemplify the universal need we all have to belong." 4 stars –Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine

Read an excerpt at Simon & Schuster website!

Order from Amazon and check out the rave reviews!!

And . . . my next novel for teens, THE MOSTS, about a group of high school misfits who ask Most Popular to help them not make the Not list, will be published by Random House's Delacorte Press in June 2010. 

Scroll down for my blog, which is updated often with random musings and book recommendations.  The comments are under attack by spam, so feel free to email me with any questions/comments at melissasenate at yahoo.com (use @ symbol and write as all one word–always trying to stay one step ahead of the spammers!)

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Mermaid Angel Tritone has been researching humans from afar, hoping to find a way to convince them to stop polluting. When she jumps into a boat to escape a shark attack, it’s her chance to pursue her mission, but she has to keep her identity a total secret… 

When he finds out what she really is, they’re both in mortal danger…  

For Logan Hardington, finding a beautiful woman on his boat is surely not a problem—until he discovers she’s a mermaid, and suddenly his life is on the line…

-RT BookReview Magazine 4 Stars

"Judi Fennell has extraordinary imagination and has certainly used it in creating this exciting and colorful story. Her characters are wonderful."

Fresh Fiction

Find out more about Judi's series and her upcoming genie series by visiting her website. Great contests–and reading–await you!

Happy New Year!

Last night I was asleep by 10:15, thanks to a) being the mother of a verrrrry active 7 year old boy, and b) having JUST finished writing my new women's fiction novel, THE LOVE GODDESS'S COOKING SCHOOL, which is due to my editor on 1/4. I loved every minute of writing this book. A novel about five people taking an Italian cooking class with very unusual recipes, THE LOVE GODDESS'S COOKING SCHOOL will be published this November (I'm pretty sure, anyway).

2010 is a two-book year for me. In June, my second novel for teens, THE MOSTS, will be published by Random House/Delacorte. Interestingly, yesterday on Twitter, someone posted something along the lines of: If there are Best Of lists (as in best books of the year), there should be Worst Of lists. Well, THE MOSTS is very much about that very statement, and in fact, one of the characters, aka Most Beautiful, believes that if schools posts Most This and That lists, ie, Most Popular, Most Beautiful, Most Smart, etc., then the students should post Most Not lists, as well: Most In Need Of An Extreme Makeover. Most Nerdy. Most In Need, etc. The main character, Most Popular, gets involved with a group of Nots when they hire her to teach them how to stay off that list, which will be rearing its ugly head very soon. Sounds like there should be a Most Mean category, huh? The one who'd take it in a landslide believes "reality" should trump feelings. This story and raises a lot of interesting questions, and I hope teens enjoy it.

After all the writing I've been doing, I'm taking a much-needed movie and reading break. Can't wait to see Nine; Up In The Air; Avatar; Did You Hear About The Morgans?; Precious; It's Complicated; The Blind Side; and Sherlock Homes. And I can't wait to hit the bookstore.

After my mini-vacation, I'll be all ready to write up a proposal for a new women's fiction novel, a story that's been poking at me for months now. 

Here's to a happy and healthy 2010!

Melissa

I loved Wendy Nelson Tokunaga's debut,  MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT, and I can't wait to read her new novel, LOVE IN TRANSLATION.

For anyone who’s ever dreamt of finding love and family in an unexpected place…

After receiving a puzzling phone call and a box full of mysterious family heirlooms, 33-year-old fledgling singer Celeste Duncan is off to Japan to search for a long, lost relative who could hold the key to the identity of the father she never knew. Once there she stumbles head first into a weird, wonderful world where nothing is quite as it seems—a land with an inexplicable fascination with foreigners, karaoke boxes, and unbearably perky TV stars.

With little knowledge of Japanese, Celeste finds a friend in her English-speaking homestay brother, Takuya, and comes to depend on him for all variety of translation, travel and investigatory needs. As they cross the country following a trail after Celeste's relatives, she discovers she's developing "more-than-sisterly" feelings for him, although his mother seems to have other plans for her son. But it is when Celeste learns a Japanese song called “The Wishing Star” that things begin to change for her in ways she never expected, leading her to ask, what is the true meaning of family? And what does it mean to discover your own voice? 

“A delightful novel about love, identity, and what it means to be adrift in a strange land. This story of a search has an Alice in Wonderland vibe; when Celeste climbs down the rabbit hole, one can't help but follow along.” —Michelle Richmond, New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Fog

 “An amusing story of one woman's quest for her father and the improbable path of love.  —Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Wednesday Sisters

An interview with Wendy!:

What inspired Love in Translation?

Many things. LOVE IN TRANSLATION is my cockeyed valentine to Japan, which is a place I’ve both loved and loathed, a place that has fueled both fascination and frustration. And it is also a place that has had a huge impact on my life and writing. I also wanted to explore what it means to be a gaijin (foreigner) in Japan and the benefits and downsides of that status and what happens when a gaijin sings in Japanese. I also am fascinated by the concept of the homestay, (something I never experienced), and how that would impact someone as an adult who grew up in foster homes and who never experienced a real family.

Which craft books have inspired or helped you throughout your writing career?

 There are many and some are not technically “craft” books such as “The Resilient Writer: Tales of Rejection and Triumph from 23 Top Authors” by Catherine Wald. Others include “bird by bird” by Anne Lamott, “The First Five Pages” by Noah Lukeman and “The Art & Craft of Novel Writing” by Oakley Hall.

 What do you consider the heart of your story?

 My stories seem to have several “hearts,” or at least I see them that way. In LOVE IN TRANSLATION it’s how Celeste Duncan, a woman without a family, finds one in a foreign culture. It’s also about the power of music on the soul and heart and the meaning of finding your own voice, both in the singing sense and the identity sense.

 What comes most naturally for you to write, dialogue? plot? character? What’s the hardest?

 Easiest for me is plot and that’s what I try to spend time sorting that out on the first draft.  I also like to “talk out” my plot to friends and keep refining it that way. The most difficult is slowing down and spending time on description. I don’t care for long passages of description, but you must have some. So I try and strike a happy medium, but it isn’t easy for me.

 What has brought the greatest joy since you were published? The greatest angst?

 I’d say the greatest joy is having readers who appreciate your writing. And the greatest angst is in working hard to keep those readers and gain more.

Author Bio: Wendy Nelson Tokunaga is the author of the novels, MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT (St. Martin's, Available Now) and LOVE IN TRANSLATION (St. Martin's, November 2009). Her novel, NO KIDDING, won the Literary/Mainstream Fiction category in Writer’s Digest’s Best Self-Published Book Awards in 2002. She is also the author of two children's non-fiction books, and has had short stories published in various literary journals. Wendy signed her two-book deal with St. Martin’s just as she was beginning the MFA in Writing program at the University of San Francisco in 2006. Along with her MFA, she also holds a BA in Psychology from San Francisco State University. In her spare time Wendy sings bossa nova, cool pop, jazz standards and Japanese songs accompanied by her surfer dude husband Manabu on electronic keyboards. They live with their cat Meow in the San Francisco Bay Area, a short walk from the Pacific Ocean.

 Find more information at Wendy’s website (http://www.WendyTokunaga.com). And look for her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-Nelson-Tokunaga/52795977320) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/Wendy_Tokunaga)  

I can't wait to read Jessica Brody's new novel, called "an honest, witty portrayal of modern love." Click on Jessica's name to watch a fun trailer for the novel and to learn more about the book that's currently in development as a TV series by the executive producer of Crash!

LOVE UNDER COVER

In her job, she’s an expert on men… In her own relationship, she doesn’t have a clue. Boyfriend behaving badly? Suspect your husband of straying? Jennifer Hunter can supply the ultimate test. She runs a company which specializes in conducting fidelity inspections for those who suspect their loved ones are capable of infidelity.

An expert on men, Jennifer can usually tell if they're single, married or lying… Unfortunately, her new boyfriend, Jamie, is one of the few men that she's never been able to 'read.' Has she finally found the perfect man or is he too good to be true?

"With a complicated, sympathetic protagonist, worthy stakes and a clever twist on the standard chick lit narrative, Brody will pull readers in from the first page." – Publisher’s Weekly

About the author: Jessica Brody graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with degrees in economics and French. In 2005, she left her job at MGM Studios in Los Angeles to become a full-time freelance writer and producer. Jessica currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is working on her next novel. Visit Jessica's website at: www.JessicaBrody.com

I asked Jessica what her inspiration was, and here's what she had to say:

"As soon as I finished writing my first novel, The Fidelity Files¸ I knew that Jennifer’s journey wasn’t over yet. Although she had seemed to find her happy ending there was so much more fun stuff I had in mind for another book. Setting Jennifer up with an entire agency of fidelity inspectors was definitely the first and foremost on my mind for the next instalment.

Plus, I really wanted to explore what a fidelity inspector would be like in a committed relationship. After everything she’s seen—all the cheating, dishonesty, and betrayal—would she really be capable of settling down herself? So that’s what I set out to focus on in this book."

Enjoy!

Just one more week until THE SECRET OF JOY arrives in bookstores (Tuesday, November 17th)! I am so excited about this novel for several reasons: 

1) It's my first with my new publishing house, Simon & Schuster.

2) It's my first to be a book club pick and come complete with a Reading Group Guide.

3) It's my first to be written in the third person instead of my usual first person (She is hot stuff instead of I am hot stuff.)

4) It's my first to send me on a virtual blog tour of over 60 blogs! I've long been a member of the fabulous Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit tour, and you'll find interviews with me on all the Girlfriends' sites (I'll list them all next week), and I'll also be reviewed by forty-plus amazing book bloggers (fingers are crossed that they like the book!). 

5) It's the first novel since my debut, See Jane Date, that helped me figure out some very personal stuff. Several years ago, I received an email out of the blue that said: "I think you might be my half-sister." Some rattling family skeletons later, I still didn't know how I felt about contact being made (and yes, there's a long-short story to go with this!). So I did what writers do: I let my questions come out on the page. Many pages.

The Secret of Joy is not autobiographical. I am nothing like Joy Jayhawk, the half-sister that my main character, Rebecca Strand, sets off to find. And I flipped everything on its head in the telling of this story so that only the most basic nugget of the premise is based in real life. But what is true, what is very real for me, is the emotional impact, the theme, the burning questions: what is meant by the word family? Do words like family, sister, brother, mother, father mean anything in and of themselves or must they be backed up by, say, actually being there? Does DNA a sibling make? Is the answer that black and white? 

It's the gray that I love exploring in my novels. And I explored these questions to help me figure out how I felt. How I feel about my situation isn't necessarily what you'll find in The Secret of Joy, though. The novel is not my story; it's Rebecca Strand's story. But again, her questions, and Joy's questions, are mine. This is what I love so much about writing. What comes out of your heart, mind and soul on the page can explain yourself to you, even though you're writing a totally fictional character, a totally fictional scenario.

Here is a sneak peek at a review that one of my favorite book reviewers will post next week about the Secret of Joy: " In The Secret of Joy, we discover two wonderfully strong, different and appealing main characters—at first they are strangers to each other, but they will unite through a shocking secret—they are half-sisters and immediately from the beginning of the novel we get a very strong idea of just how different these two "sisters" are. This only adds another layer of complexity in a novel that offers us layer after layer of secrets, sentimentality and most of all of discovery . . .  Touching, sentimental and absolutely riveting. As I write this, I am rethinking of some of the passages and they make me teary eyed. I recommend this book very, very highly!” –Tina Avon, Bookshipper

P.S. If you're anywhere near the lovely state of Maine next week, you are cordially invited to the launch day reading and signing for The Secret of Joy at Borders Books in South Portland, Maine, on Tuesday, November 17th at 7pm.

To pre-order, please see the links to online bookstores above. I love pre-orders!

As always, please feel free to contact with any comments or questions via email (MelissaSenate at Yahoo .com) — put it all together with the @ symbol; I'm just trying to stay ahead of the spammers.

Melissa

There are a few books I reread every year, usually around Christmastime, which is my very favorite time of year. Pride and Prejudice is one of those novels. I recently watched the Keira Knightley film version and it was gorgeous and I loved her as Elizabeth, but there just is no other Darcy for me than Colin Firth in the BBC version. Anyway, I love all things Pride and Prejudice and can't wait to read this delightful-sounding debut novel by fellow Girlfriend Cyber Circuit member Marilyn Brant.

ACCORDING TO JANE by Marilyn Brant

It begins one day in sophomore English class, just as Ellie Barnett's teacher is assigning Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. From nowhere comes a quiet "tsk" of displeasure. The target: Sam Blaine, the cute bad boy who's teasing Ellie mercilessly, just as he has since kindergarten. Entirely unbidden, as Jane might say, the author's ghost has taken up residence in Ellie's mind, and seems determined to stay there.

 Jane's wise and witty advice guides Ellie through the hell of adolescence and beyond, serving as the voice she trusts, usually far more than her own. Years and boyfriends come and go–sometimes a little too quickly, sometimes not nearly fast enough. But Jane's counsel is constant, and on the subject of Sam, quite insistent. Stay away, Jane demands. He is your Mr. Wickham.

 Still, everyone has something to learn about love–perhaps even Jane herself. And lately, the voice in Ellie's head is being drowned out by another, urging her to look beyond everything she thought she knew and seek out her very own, very unexpected, happy ending. . . 

"A warm, witty and charmingly original story." –Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"An engaging read for all who have been through the long, dark, dating wars, and still believe there's sunshine, and a Mr. Darcy, at the end of the tunnel." –Cathy Lamb, author of Henry's Sisters

 What does the author herself have to say about the inspiration behind ACCORDING TO JANE?: "My debut novel, According to Jane, is the story of a modern woman who–for almost two decades–has the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. I first read Pride & Prejudice as a high-school freshman. Like my heroine Ellie, I raced through the novel way ahead of the reading assignments. I loved both the story and Austen’s writing style immediately. Her books changed the way I perceived the behavior of everyone around me, and I spent the rest of freshman year trying to figure out which Austen character each of my friends and family members most resembled! Also like Ellie, I had a few (okay, a lot) of less-than-wonderful boyfriends, and I would have loved to have been given romantic advice from the author I most respected and the one who’d written one of my all-time favorite love stories."

For more info, visit Marilyn Brant's blog (click on her name above). Happy reading!

And more book recommendations to come…

Oooh, I've been waiting for this book to be published and now CROSSING WASHINGTON SQUARE has arrived in bookstores! Joanne Rendell is the lovely and talented author of The Professors' Wives' Club and is a frequent and very interesting contributor to the Huffington Post and Babble and other sites/blogs that I read every morning. My to-be-read pile of delicious novels on my bedside table is high, but this is sneaking in next. (Also, must say that every time I see the cover, I want that red coat!)

Some women follow their hearts; others follow their minds. In this “charming, witty, and cerebral” second novel from the acclaimed author of The Professors’ Wives’ Club, we return to Manhattan University, where two strong-willed women are compelled to unite their senses and sensibilities.

Professor Diana Monroe is a highly respected scholar of Sylvia Plath. Serious and aloof, she steadfastly keeps her mind on track. Professor Rachel Grey is young and impulsive, with a penchant for teaching popular women’s fiction like Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Devil Wears Prada, and for wearing her heart on her sleeve.

The two conflicting personalities meet head to heart when Carson McEvoy, a handsome and brilliant professor visiting from Harvard, sets his eyes on both women and creates even more tension between them. Now Diana and Rachel are slated to accompany an undergraduate trip to London, where an almost life-threatening experience with a student celebrity will force them to change their minds and heal their hearts…together.

Advance Praise for CROSSING WASHINGTON SQUARE

 “As readers spend time with these bright and engaging women, Rendell offers an interesting debate about the merits of studying popular fiction in an academic setting.” The Romantic Times

“Rendell’s second novel is thoughtful and open, with plenty of interesting academic debate for truly bookish readers.” Booklist

"For every reader who has ever wondered why nineteenth century novels about women are called ‘the canon’, but contemporary novels about women are called ‘chick-lit’ comes a charming, witty and cerebral novel about Rachel Grey, an Austen-worth heroine fighting for love and respect in the academic shark tank." Nicola Kraus, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Nanny Diaries

About the author: Joanne Rendell was born and raised in the UK. After completing her PhD in English Literature, she moved to the States to be with her husband, a professor at NYU. She now lives in faculty housing in New York City with her family. Visit Joanne’s website at www.joannerendell.com 

Can't wait to read Crossing Washington Square! I've been reading some great novels lately and will blog about them in the next few days. 

Enjoy CROSSING WASHINGTON SQUARE!

I am no Julia Child. Not even close. So not close that I've never cooked much at all, except for the very basic kid-friendly foods that my seven-year-old son will actually eat. (And yes, there really is a cooking course called How To Boil Water, and yes, I did take it several years ago!).

Yet, yet, yet, cooking is at the center of the novel I'm now writing (tentatively titled The Love Goddess's Cooking School). My main character is both teacher and student (Italian cooking), so we're learning together. This is the first time (and this book will be my tenth!) that I'm writing about "what I don't know." (Yet, it's very interesting how the very essence of the book, what it's really about, is what I know very, very well.) The desire to write about a woman who learns how to cook–and finds herself through the process–was so powerful.

I am loving the learning adventure involved. Through my research, which has me studying Italian cookbooks, cooking (and not fretting), reading food memoirs, visiting interesting markets and Italian restaurants to learn about ingredients, and reading up on Italy and Italian culture, I'm right there along with my main character, going through what she's going through in Camilla's Cucinotta, her late grandmother's little Italian cooking school and tiny storefront shop. It's amazing to me how this manuscript seems to be writing itself, very much the way my first novel did for me. I think because the core of it holds some deeply important truth that I want to uncover for myself, just like See Jane Date did. (Most people think See Jane Date was about dating, but it really wasn't. Just like The Love Goddess's Cooking School isn't really about the cooking. Even though it is. Isn't. Is.)

Anyway: I went to the bookstore and of course came home with Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Heat by Bill Buford, and Amarcord: Marcella Remembers by Marcella Hazan (whose Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is teaching me so much about the fundamentals). On order is Julia's My Life in France. And I just finished the marvelous Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking. 

Interestingly, though I like watching The Food Network on occasion, I haven't found "my show," someone who really draws me in (Nigella is my favorite). Someone sent me a link today to a wonderful YouTube sensation video series called "Feed Me  Bubbe," about an adorable and earnest Jewish grandmother (who sounds exactly like my late Jewish grandmother) teaching how to a cook something simple and wonderful, like marble mandle bread. I'd like to find the Italian version of that on the Food Network, an Italian grandmother, a stove and her secrets. That I'd watch every day. 

Any recommendations for books or shows or recipes, please, please, please email them to me at melissasenate at yahoo.com. (All one word, using at symbol.) Off to read more Marcella.