Melissa Senate

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