Adult Fiction, Essays & Stories

Posted on 07/24/2010 12:00 am by Melissa Senate
COMING OCTOBER 26TH:
 
THE LOVE GODDESS' COOKING SCHOOL
 
I'll have a cover to post very soon, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek at the back cover copy:
 
Camilla's Cucinotta:
Italian Cooking Classes
Fresh take-home pastas and sauces daily
Benvenuti (Welcome!)
 
Holly Maguire's grandmother was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine–a Milanese fortune teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can't make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that's why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla's Cucinotta, she's determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother's legacy. 
 
But Holly's four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla's chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter's heart. Juliet, Holly's childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can't find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend. 
 
As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla's essential ingredients of wishes and memories into every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed–and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.  
 
ADVANCE PRAISE!:
 
Tender, charming, and seasoned with a pinch of old-world magic, The Love Goddess’s Cooking School is a warmly rendered story of loss, heartache, and starting over. Melissa Senate has created a delightful cast of characters who learn about life, love, and the mess they’ve made of both while in, and out of, the kitchen." –Beth Hoffman, bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
 
"The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate reads like a recipe for reinvention, filled with hope and seasoned liberally with forgiveness. But the real magic here is Melissa Senate's writing, which laps rhythmically against your heart like gentle waves along the coast." –Claire Cook, bestselling author of Must Love Dogs and Seven Year Switch

 
THE LOVE GODDESS' COOKING SCHOOL will be published as an original trade paperback on October 26th by Simon and Schuster's Gallery Books. You can pre-order your copy from Amazon or any online bookstore right this minute!
 
And yes, there are recipes! Kid-tested by my eight-year-old son, particularly Camilla's Cucinotta Tiramisu.
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THE SECRET OF JOY
(published November 2009)
 

 

Rebecca Strand, a 28-year-old New York City paralegal in a divorce mediation firm, is shocked when her dying father confesses his long-ago affair–and the baby he'd turned his back on. This fragile connection to 26-year-old half-sister Joy Joyhawk is all Rebecca has left of family. And so with her lawyer boyfriend's protests ringing in her ears ("She's just going to want her share of his million-dollar estate!"), Rebecca drives to Wiscasset, Maine, with the 26 letters her father wrote to Joy (but never sent) every year on her birthday. Having no idea what to expect, Rebecca knocks on Joy Jayhawk's door.
 
Turns out Joy, the separated mother of a little boy (Rebecca has a nephew too!), isn't very interested in the "father" who turned his back on her existence from day one–or her "sister." But Rebecca is so determined to establish family bonds with Joy that she doesn't go home . . . and finds herself being welcomed into small life by some very loveable, quirky characters, including the Divorced Ladies Club of Wiscasset and a sexy carpenter named Theo . . . 
 
Booklist magazine calls THE SECRET OF JOY "Another warm, winning entry from popular chick lit author Senate."
 
Here's what one of my favorite authors, Claire LaZebnik (The Smart One and the Pretty One), had to say about The Secret of Joy: "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."
 
And the hilarious Caprice Crane, author of Stupid and Contagious and the upcoming Family Affair, said: "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." 
 
4 stars from Romantic Times Books Reviews magazine! "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.”

One of my favorite reviews said: "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

 
And this: "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
 
I can't wait to read all the reviews (with fingers crossed)!
 
One review I did very happily already read, because it's a site I visit every day, is: S. Krishna's blog. She is one my favorite and most trusted book reviewers and I often buy more books than i should after reading her reviews! i was thrilled to see a 4.75 rating and a rave review! 
 
Here's a link to an indepth interview on the craft of writing and the meaning of life (sort of) with the talented poet and author Lori A. May.
 
And a fun interview with Book End Babe Malena Lott. You can read about how I almost made it on the Oprah show when my first novel was published. So close!
 
I'm also on tour with the wonderful Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit, a group of authors who blog about new books, the writing life and everything you can think of. I'll post links to interviews as they go up, but here's one at Rita award-winning mystery author and Channel 7 TV news (Boston) producer Hank Phillippi Ryan's blog.
 
THE SECRET OF JOY is also a Simon & Schuster Book Club Pick! Get the Reading Group Guide, complete with suggestions for discussion questions and an interview with me here!
 
Click here to read an excerpt at the Simon & Schuster website!
 
Order from Amazon:
Order from Barnes & Noble
Order from Borders:
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 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRYING (Red Dress Ink, 6/08), is about very different twin sisters on a long and bumpy cross-country road trip from Maine to Las Vegas. Here's a peek at the back cover copy:

 A NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE LISTS 15 QUESTIONS COUPLES SHOULD ASK BEFORE MARRYING

 Ruby Miller and her fiance, Tom Truby, have questions 1-14 almost covered. It's question 15 that has the Maine school teacher stumped. Is their relationship strong enough to withstand challanges?
 
Challenges like . . . Ruby's twin sister Stella. The professional muse, flirt and face reader thinks Ruby is playing it safe. And that the future Mrs. Ruby Truby will die of bordeom before her first anniversary or her thirtieth birthday, whichever comes first.
 
And challenges like . . . sexy maverick teacher Nick McDermott, Ruby's secret longtime crush , who confesses his feelings for her at her own engagement party.
 
But before Ruby can plan the wedding that may never be, Stella announces she's pregnant by a one-night stand whose name might be Jake (or James? Maybe Jason?) and who lives somewhere under the glittering lights of Las Vegas. Ruby and Stella hit the road to find him–with a lot more than 15 questions.
 
And after three thousand miles, a stowaway relative and hitchhiking teen lovebirds bound for an Elvis wedding chapel, the  Miller sisters might get some answers.  
 
4 1/2 stars from RT magazine! And a 2008 nominee for Reviewer's Choice Award in the chick lit category.
 
Check out an excerpt on Amazon (and hey, feel free to order it while you're there!) 
 
 
LOVE YOU TO DEATH (Red Dress Ink, 12/07)

 
Abby's worst ex-boyfriends are on someone's hit list. Friends, familiy, coworkers–and a hot Portland police detective–think that someone is Abby herself!  
 
WHEN DID ABBY FOOTE'S LIFE BECOME AN EPISODE OF LAW & ORDER?
First, a former boyfriend (who dumped Abby in the most humiliating way imaginable) is found murdered the day his engagement is announced.
 
Then two other ex-boyfriends report attempts made on their lives right after breaking up with her. Coincidence? Detective Benjamin Orr, of the Portland Police Department (and Very Probing Questions and Incredibly Delicious Face), doesn't think so. Neither do Abby's friends, family, coworkers and other exes–who are suddenly shaking in their shoes.
Soon enough, everyone is sucking up to her as though the Abby they know and supposedly love to death is capable of posioninig their drinks….
 
Is someone trying to frame her? Who? And why? She has to find out fast. Because by-the-book Ben is bound to break her heart. Which makes him next on someone's list.

"Melissa Senate is definitely one of my favorite chick lit writers. Her books are funny and fast-paced and always make you feel good!"
–Sarah Mylnowski 

"Readers will cheer Abby every step of the way as she fights to clear her name and find her prince for whom the glass slipper will finally fit."
–Publishers Weekly

4 stars says RT Bookclub magazine

Buy from Amazon

THE BREAKUP CLUB (2006 Red Dress Ink)
Four coworkers at a New York City publishing house (a not-so-happily-married mom, her single sister, their goodlooking boss, and a runaway bride) reluctantly form a support group for the broken-hearted when they're assigned to work on a high-profile celebrity memoir about perfect love. "Senate's latest has her trademark quick pacing and sympathetic, loveable characters." –Booklist
 
 
 
THEODORA TWIST (2006 Delacorte Press — Young Adult)
A teen-queen movie star's reputation is at an all-time low, so her agent sends her back to her hometown to film a reality TV show to prove she's just a regular American teen. She lives with a regular family and has to do everything sixteen-year-old Emily does, like actually care about everything. "Senate sets up a tantalizing plot, and the plot is equally entertaining." –Publishers Weekly
 
 
 
WHOSE WEDDING IS IT ANYWAY?
Eloise is offered a free $100,000 wedding by her employer, Wow Weddings magazine. Too bad she has no say in her own "ultra-modern" wedding . . . including the guest list, which suddenly includes her estranged family. "Senate creates multi-dimensional characters, an interesting plot, and some curious twists in this fast-paced spin-off to her international bestseller SEE JANE DATE." –RT Bookclub magazine
 
 
 
THE SOLOMON SISTERS WISE UP (2003)
Three very different sisters (one single and pregnant, one who catches her husband cheating, and one who can't commit to anyone) end up living in their father's apartment as he plans his wedding to a woman younger than all of them. "Senate scored high with See Jane Date and now she presents another winner that will have readers cheering for the warm, witty, and loveable Solomon sisters as they wise up, find love, and learn to love each other." –Booklist
 
 
 
SEE JANE DATE 
To avoid a blind date, book editor Jane tells one tiny white lie about having a boyfriend . . . and then has to date every single guy in New York to find him. "Senate's prose is fresh and lively. See Jane Date retains its fizz to the end." –Boston Globe 
 
 
 
 
 
             
SEE JANE DATE (DVD of TV MOVIE!)
SEE JANE DATE (THE MOVIE!)  (2003)"Based on a novel by Melissa Senate, this made-for-cable romantic comedy stars Charisma Carpenter as Jane Grant, a New York bachelorette with a moderately successful job at a publishing company. At the behest of her Aunt Ina (Linda Dano), Jane must find a suitable date to escort her to her cousin's wedding in four weeks. Our heroine experiences a number of romantic misadventures with a steady parade of "Mr. Wrongs" (one of whom is played by Joe Millionaire's Evan Marriott) before hitting upon a man who might be "the One" — and then again, might not. Making Jane's task all the more difficult is the presence of her former high school nemesis Natasha Nutley (Holly Marie Combs), now a soap opera diva whose autobiography Jane has been assigned to edit." –New York Times                   

 

ANTHOLOGIES

EVERYTHING I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY  BLUME (May 2007, Pocket Books, Editor: Jennifer O'Connell)  Essay: Me, the summer I turned twelve. Oy. Buy from Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIE: THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE IN YOUR TWENTIES (January 2007, Warner Books. Editor: Emily Franklin) Essay: Me, othe loss, in every possible way, of a great guy Buy from Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

FLIRTING WITH PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: FRESH PERSPECTIVES ON THE ORIGINAL CHICK LIT MASTERPIECE (2005, BenBella Books. Editor: Jennifer Crusie)Short Story: Charlotte as a 21st century woman making the same choice for the same reason.  Buy from Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

AMERICAN GIRLS ABOUT TOWN (2004, POCKET BOOKS) Short Story Who's sending a recently-engaged woman voo-doo bride dolls with sharp pins and anonymous nasty notes about what her fiance is doing when she's not around? Buy from Amazon