Melissa Senate

What is the secret of joy? For one, it's the bright and shiny new title of my upcoming novel (will be published this November) about half sisters who meet for the first time–one hoping to establish family bonds, one who thinks DNA is overrated. More to come, including an excerpt and the cover! Check out the Books page for more info. 

The secret of joy is also having your friend say: "I'll drive you to and pick you up from your emergency root canal appointment tomorrow morning." This time, I will be blissfully knocked out and unaware. Last root canal I foolishly went with a hundred shots of novacaine. Now, I know better. Bring on the wooziness!

Well, first THE LOVE BUS (my upcoming novel–this November) became THE OPPOSITE OF ME. But another author beat us to that title, so now my editor has come up with a great new title that completely fits the book in so many different ways (thank you, brilliant editor). Everything about it is right and it feels special to me.  Just waiting for confirmation that it's a definite go–I'll post it on Monday and change it everywhere I've already changed it. 

Titles are so tough. I accidentally came up with the title of my debut novel, SEE JANE DATE, by adding it in a long list of possible ones to replace my working title THE FLIRT NIGHT ROUNDTABLE (what was I thinking??), but next to SEE JANE DATE I added: just kiddng! Everyone loved it and thought it was perfect, and it really was the perfect tltle for that book.

Just came back from the Portland Public Library, which is worth the schlep from my tiny town. I took out a collection of stories on motherhood aptly titled Mothers and started reading the first one by Mary Grimm, and it was so GOOD that I had to stop so that I could save it for tonight when I could really savor it, instead of read it quickly while waiting to do something else. (Motherhood is like that.) Also took out The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg, who by the way, wrote one of my favorite books on the craft of writing, along with Carolyn See's Making A Literary Life and Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird and Stephen King's. I have tried and tried to read Elizabeth Berg's novels, all of which sound so appealing, yet for some reason, I've been unable to connect. I love her non-fiction, though. Same goes for my beloved Pam Houston and Anne Lamott. Not sure why that is. 

Have a great weekend!

My six-year-old took this picture of me a couple of months ago and it's my new favorite. I think I look very happy. A budding photographer, Max is!

I haven't blogged in a loooong time. Mostly because I've been waiting, and when I'm waiting, I can't do anything else but wait. What I was waiting for was feedback from BOTH editors on BOTH manuscripts that I delivered. My teen novel and my women's fiction (a new editor and new house, at that!). My teen editor emailed me her editorial/revision letter last week, and she is a brilliant goddess. I can't tell you how good it feels to know that the stuff that comes pouring out of my brain and fingertips onto the computer screen/paper, over 300 pages of it, will be lovingly and carefully and brilliantly read by someone who will guide me in writing a better, stronger book. So, lots of work ahead, but good work. Now of course, I'm waiting to hear on my women's fiction novel, but luckily am too busy revising my teen novel to fret about the wait. All good. Did any of this make sense?

I've been reading like crazy. The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch; Shelter Me (God, I LOVED this book); All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, How To Talk So Kids Will Learn (this is the only parenting book anyone with a kid needs–pure brilliance). I just ordered a memoir about a woman who moves to tiny New England cottage with her teen daughter to raise some baby chickens. 

Anyway, now that I'm incredibly busy revising and have no extra time between 8:20 and 3:10 (mom hours = my work time), I will be doing plenty of blogging. That's just the way life is. 

Melissa