Exactly 20 years ago on this very day, 8/8/88, I began my first day at work at Harlequin, the romance publisher. I was a very fresh-faced 22-year-old from New York City and had never seen a horse close up. Most people think women read romance novels for the romance, but I read them and loved them for the ranches and farms and cowboys. When I first started reading  category romances for work, 75% of them were set on farms or ranches, and I was crazy for that setting. I have no idea if cowboys in real life are like the cowboys in Harlequin romances, but I hope they are. 

I worked for the Silhouette Books division from 1988 to 1998, then left to be the editor of the New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley ("We'll solve any crime by dinner time!"), then  became the editor of Sweet Valley University (Jessica and Elizabeth were in junior high, high school and college simultaneously), and then I wrote my own novel, SEE JANE DATE, which Harlequin bought for their Red Dress Ink imprint in 2001. They bought six more, including my latest, QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRYING, which was published this past June. All these years later, I am still working for Harlequin as a freelance copywriter and editor. If you're reading a Harlequin book right now, turn it over to the back cover–there's a good chance I wrote that. 

Anyway, it's hard to believe it's been 20 years since that first day. That was a lucky day of 8s, and now this is another. We'll see what happens. At this very moment, I am writing a back cover for a Harlequin NASCAR romance, then will start chapter 8 of my new novel, THE LOVE BUS, which will start my new life with Simon & Schuster's Pocket Books (THE LOVE BUS–and I'm not sure if we'll keep that title–will be likely published late 09). I like how it feels to have one foot in the familiar comfy world of Harlequin and one in the shiny new. A good way to start 8/8/08. 

Happy 8/8/08 to you.

:) Melissa 

I love the cover of this novel. Every time I see it in a bookstore, I pick it up, even though it's already on my bedside table, patiently waiting its turn after Garden Spells and Reconstructing Brigid. And Evening Class by the joy that is Maeve Binchy. I went through a phase ten years ago where I read everything by Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher, and now I remember why. 

 DRIVING SIDEWAYS is the debut novel by the talented and very nice Jess Riley . Says one of my favorite authors, international superstar Marian Keyes, "Driving Sideways is a gorgeous novel. I loved it!" 

So what's it about?  

Cellular Memory: Is it possible for our organs to retain our energy if donated to another person?

Can we really channel someone else’s tastes in music, food, or hobbies?

And what happens if you’ve had a transplant and simply CONVINCE yourself this is true?

Jess used these questions as the premise of her entertaining debut novel Driving Sideways, which tells the story of Leigh Fielding, a twenty-eight year-old kidney transplant recipient who—six years, hundreds of dialysis sessions, and a million bad poems after being diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease—finally feels strong enough to pursue a few lofty goals she’s been mulling for years: find herself, her kidney donor’s family, and the mother that abandoned her over twenty years ago.

And what better way to do just that than a solitary road trip across the country? Well, maybe not entirely solitary, because Leigh suspects she may have inherited more than just an organ from her deceased donor. It’s this sneaking suspicion that takes her trip down some unexpected detours—and the juvenile delinquent who blackmails Leigh into giving her a ride is only the beginning.

Driving Sideways (Random House, May 2008) just went into its second printing and has been hailed as ‘hugely entertaining and genius’ by Marian Keyes, and “a hopeful and hilarious debut” by New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster. 

BIO: When she’s not reading or writing fiction, Jess Riley is reading or writing school grant proposals—which some would say are still pretty fictitious. Jess lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin with her husband and their neurotic terrier. Driving Sideways is her first novel, and she’s hard at work on her next.

Check out Jess Riley's website!

Happy Reading… 

Yes, that's a giant walking clam, which means it's time for the annual Yarmouth Clam Festival, a three day extravaganza that takes over my town (in a very good way) this weekend. I don't like clams, but I do love this festival and the carnival and the face painting and the cotton candy. 

Yesterday I finished reading (for the second time) Nora Ephron's wonderful collection of personal essays, I Feel Bad About My Neck, and she was talking about books that strike such a chord in her she has to actually put them down for a moment. In the past few weeks, three books have done that for me: The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum; Some Assembly Required by Lynn Kiele Bonasia; and Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos.  Next up on my TO BE READ pile is Janelle Brown's All We Wanted Was Everything and the always hilarious Lee Nichols' Reconstructing Brigid.

:) Melissa 

My favorite little person is six years old today. What I'll remember most about his 5th year was a moment in the emergency room. That morning, five months ago, Max got out of bed and crashed to the floor, unable to walk, unable to step down on his right leg. Prior to that, he'd been limping on and off for a couple of weeks. I'd attributed the limp to his being the world's most active kid–a fall off playground equipment, a sprain. But that morning, when he suddenly couldn't walk, when he was sobbing in pain and clutching his knee, I rushed him to the emergency room.

What Max loves more than anything is novelty. The moment I carried him into the hospital, he perked up. Everything was interesting to him, even the cot he got to lay on while waiting for the doctor. So when the nurse came in with a little chart of 5 cartoon faces, ranging from very sad to very happy, and asked him to rank how much he hurt, Max picked the happiest face, the biggest smile. 

That's my son, Max.

He started off the year in doctor's offices, specialist's office. A diagnosis: Perthes Disease, a degenerative hip condition.  Ordered non-weight-bearing, Max was prescribed a wheelchair, crutches, at-home traction 20 hours a day for 3 weeks, and physical therapy (which is the only part he hated because someone was making him move his hurt "leg." A month later came the Petrie cast, which looks something like a torture device: a cast on each leg, from upper thigh to foot, with a 2 foot-wide bar between the knees to keep the hips abducted. He spent 3 months in that. 4 months in a wheelchair.

Late last month, just after he finished kindergarten (and I bow before his teacher and the administration of his amazing school), the cast came off. Now, he wears a brace 24/7, except for swimming and biking and bathing. He is restricted from: running, jumping, climbing, sliding, hopping. But he can ride a bike and swim, two of his favorite things to do. And, he can walk. Right now, he is mastering stepping up and down stairs (after 3 months in a double-leg casts, the legs don't bend easily).

He is six years old today and doesn't seem to care in the slightest what he can't do; he's always been focused on what he can do, which has taught me the biggest lesson of my life (and I have learned some whoppers over the years).

A footnote: last year's winner of the TV show Survivor, Earl Cole, also had Perthes a child, also wore the casts and braces. He won a million bucks for racing around that island. Max, too, will be racing around again in a couple of years.

So: I wish my dear Max the happiest birthday today. He is (to use his favorite adjective): awesome.

:) Melissa

I just bought this book and can't wait to read it. While my very soon-to-be six-year-old digs around periwinkles and hermit crabs at our favorite tidal beach this afternoon, I'll be starting MOONPIES AND MOVIE STARS by the very talented and very kind and very funny Amy Wallen, who happens to look like a movie star herself. This novel (and check out the praise below!) chronicles the journey of a group of spunky Texas ladies from their small town to the glittery streets of Hollywood in her enchanting and funny debut, MOONPIES AND MOVIE STARS. Ruby Kincaid has her hands full these days.  In addition to running the bowling alley after the death of her husband, Rascal, she has the daunting task of caring for her two boisterous grandchildren, since her daughter Violet disappeared without a trace four years earlier.  It’s 1976 and Ruby and her nearest and dearest in Devine, Texas are watching their favorite soap opera at the bowling alley when they see Violet in a Buttermaid commercial.  Expecting it will only take a little motherly guilt to rein in her wayward daughter, Ruby loads up the Winnebago and heads for Hollywood to try and bring Violet back to the Lone Star State. 

Along for the ride are Imogene, Violet’s over-bearing and pretentious mother-in-law (who’s ready to assume the title of “celebrity-in-law”), and Loralva, Ruby’s wild sister who is itching to visit Tinsel Town because it’s where all the game shows are taped – and nothing’s going to stop her from making it to her favorite, The Price Is Right.  Rounding out the group are Ruby’s grandchildren Bunny and Bubbie who are confused, sad, and excited at the prospect of finding their mother.  They give Ruby the courage she needs to track Violet down and try to make things right.

While MOONPIES AND MOVIE STARS is great fun and a lot of laughs, it is also a poignant story of dreaming big, finding home, and coming to terms with family. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amy Wallen has studied with a number of acclaimed writers, including Janet Fitch (White Oleander).  She has taken those talents cultivated in the workshops of these great writers and brought them to her own creative writing classes at UC San Diego Extension.  Amy also hosts an open mic night in San Diego, Los Angeles and New York called Dime Stories Live, in collaboration with the national public radio show airing this summer.  This is her first novel.  Visit her on the web at AmyWallen.com.

Praise for Moon Pies and Movie Stars! 

“With a pitch perfect ear for comic dialogue and fine sense of the absurd, Amy Wallen writes herself a place on the porch swing of great Southern writing, as she follows the misadventures of three determined Texas ladies sworn to find a runaway daughter…”
  –Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander

“[S]pirited and honest… Wallen capably illustrates that it is not only possible but also compelling to be funny, captivating, and compassionate, all in the same book.”
-Los Angeles Times

 “A delightful and exhilarating journey, kind of like being on a tour bus
guided by Eudora Welty on speed.” –Mary Gordon, author of Pearl

“Wallen launches a funny, touching, and bittersweet ride in search of family, but what her characters find is bigger than Texas and better than MoonPies.” –Booklist

Enjoy it! I will be going on a hunt for Moonpies. I assume they have the scrumptious treats in Maine. Here, we have tons of Whoopie Pies, but I haven't seen Moonpies since I was a kid. YUM.

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY, READING & SIGNING!!
Saturday, June 7th at 2pm at Books, Etc, in Falmouth, Maine. Come join me for a reading, discussion, signing, and delicious cake!   

Not only is QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRYING the title of my new novel, which will arrive on a bookstore shelf near you on Tuesday, May 27th, it's a variation of the title of the "most emailed" New York Times article of 2006: Questions Couples Should Ask Before Marrying (Or Wish That They Had). A simple list of 15 questions, ranging from finances to sex to religion to friends to expectations. "What does my family do that bugs you to death?" "TV in the bedroom?" "Will you be willing to move to New York City or a one-stoplight town for my career?" "You'll stop buying shoes, right?" It's a good list, a practical list, but when it comes right down to it, I think the very last question, #15, is the most important because it is THE question. If this, would that, what about, blah, blah, blah . . .  But let's say you and your intended are in agreement on most of the questions, the ones most fundamental to you. Then let's say during the course of your marriage, one of you says/does/wants something different. This is where #15 seems to be the most important question: Can the bond between the two you survive whatever challenges you might face? 

Such a serious question! And can you really know? I was so interested in exploring that. And so I sent my main character, Ruby Miller (with her sparkling diamond engagement ring and the New York Times article folded in her purse) and her very different twin sister, Stella, on a very long and bumpy road trip from Maine to Las Vegas, where a ceremony by an Elvis impersonator may or may not await her. If Stella has anything to say about it (and Stella's in the car with Ruby for 3,000 miles), the answer is: no way. Stella doesn't think Ruby really loves her buttoned-up fiance.

But Stella (a professional muse and "Face Reader," has her own very important questions to ask, regarding the whereabouts and what-abouts (I think I just made that word up) of a certain guy whose name she isn't sure about. And by the end, both sisters are asking all sorts of questions–of each other and about life and love, about what they want, what they need, who they are.  

I know authors are not supposed to have favorites when it comes to their own books, but I must say, QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRYING is tied for favorite with my first book, See Jane Date. 

You can find the book in bookstores, Target, Amazon or any online retailer or basically wherever books are sold. Here's a link to read an excerpt (on Amazon). 

P.S. In Maine today, it's 61 degrees. Tomorrow it will be 71. And on Monday, 81. Then back to the 60s for next week. Crazy. Until I moved here I had no idea that you can't go swimming in the ocean until very late July unless you want to freeze.  

Happy long weekend… 

Looking for a fun novel to take to the beach this Memorial Day weekend? Here's one to pack in that bag: 

SECRETS OF THE HOLLYWOOD GIRLS CLUB by Maggie Marr

Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club "Marr's prose is fast and sharp, and she keeps the plots flying."
   —Publishers Weekly

Life at the top of the A-list is fabulous, but it's a long way to the ground if you fall—and the cameras are always waiting to publicly humiliate you if you do. Jessica, Mary Anne, Lydia, and Celeste have stayed at the top by sticking together. The last time they collaborated on a project, the film was a huge success, launching ueber-agent Jessica's boutique management company, making Mary Anne the hottest new screenwriter in Hollywood, landing Lydia the top spot at Worldwide Pictures, and solidifying Celeste's position as the queen of Tinseltown. But this time, as these powerful movie mavens are called to the set, each of them has a lot more to lose.

At thirty (ahem . . . thirty-six), actress Celeste Solange is starting to feel her age. Tiny lines are beginning to appear near her eyes, and she's wondering how long she can hold on to her A-list status. But that's not her biggest problem—not by a long shot. A compromising DVD she made with her husband during the wild early days of their marriage is making the rounds, threatening to break out onto the Internet and ruin her image and her career. So Celeste turns to her girlfriends for help—good thing they're some of the most powerful players in town.

Mary Anne, Lydia, and Jessica have troubles of their own. Mary Anne has started seeing Holden Humphrey, the hottest leading man in Hollywood, and everyone in America is watching—including his crazy young stalker, who wants Mary Anne out of the picture. Lydia is busy running a studio, putting out fires, and playing politics with the big mouths and big egos of the entertainment elite, and now someone is trying to blackmail her. Jessica is juggling a family, a demanding career, and an even more demanding list of clients. And meanwhile, publicist Kiki Dee seems to have a hand in all the secrets . . . and she's willing to do anything to keep her spot at the top of the Hollywood PR machine. Can the Hollywood Girls Club hold their lives together and get a film made amid all the craziness?

That's life in Hollywood—where the right friends, and the secrets they know, can make or break a career.

Click on Maggie's name above to visit her website, read an excerpt, her blog and for more info. Read her bio–what a background this very talented author has!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday weekend! 

If you missed the very cute TV movie that was made of my first novel, SEE JANE DATE, you can see it next Saturday, May 17th at 1pm on the Hallmark Channel. Here's a trailer (there's a weird 15 second commercial for msn first). I still love the fact that Antonio Sabato Jr. plays the heartbreaker when I had the huge Calvin Klein underwear poster of hot Antonio on my college dorm walls.

Anyway, the movie is adorable and is also available on DVD. Several fun TV actors star, such as Charisma Carpenter as Jane,  Holly Marie Combs of Charmed, Linda Dano of soap fame, Joshua Malina, Cameron Mathison, and the very first Millionaire guy, who has a hilarious cameo. In another six degrees of separation moment, I've recently discovered that Cameron Mathison of All My Children and Dancing With The Stars fame, suffered from the same rare childhood degenerative hip condition (Perthes Disease) that is now affecting my son. Cameron Mathison recently danced his heart out on Dancing With The Stars, proving like Earl Cole, the recent winner of Survivor Fiji, who also had Perthes Disease as a kid, that it's all about perseverance. 

And in QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRYING news, I just saw two very nice reviews, including this one from RT Bookclub Reviews magazine (4 1/2 stars): "Senate's relatable story involves two sisters struggling to secure their past. Senate broaches heavy topics of single motherhood, abandonment and true love and does so with a flourish of witty, complicated and realistic characters, subtle humor, and emergent relationship." 

You can check out an excerpt of QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRYING (and pre-order too!) on Amazon. If you go to the Barnes&Noble.com page, please note that my novel is NOT a Christian novel, despite the category at the top of the page. I and my publisher just can't seem to get B&N to change it to Women's Fiction.

The other nice review was from the famous Harriet Klausner and she said all kinds of nice things and gave me 5 stars.

Okay, off to Mother's Day dinner with my dear son, who made me the cutest card in his kindergarten class (10,000,000 stars!) 

I love cozy mysteries, especially when they're part of a series. Sara Rosett's new book in her Mom Zone series is next on my to-be-read list, so here's the scoop on what sounds like a really fun book:  

 Getting Away is Deadly

By Sara Rosett

GETTING AWAY IS DEADLY is the third book in the mom lit mystery series about a military spouse who runs a professional organizing business.

It was the perfect vacation until murder rearranged the itinerary

With swollen feet, pregnant Ellie joins the nation’s tourists in seeing the sights in Washington D.C.  But a fatal incident at the Metro station convinces Ellie that something is rotten in the capital city. Should she do the safe thing and pack her bags? Not likely when too many people are telling lies, hiding secrets, and acting suspiciously.  Luckily, Ellie Avery is just the right woman to clean up the most mysterious cases of murder—even if she has to brave the most dangerous byways in the corridors of power . . .

Reviews for Getting Away is Deadly:

Publishers Weekly:  “…sparkling….”

The Mystery Gazette:  “Fans of amateur sleuth mysteries will relish GETTING AWAY IS DEADLY as the tale contains a delightful whodunit that serves as a tour of Washington DC.”

Getting Away is Deadly will appeal to fans of Jill Churchill,

Ayelet Waldman, Leslie Meier, and Rett MacPherson.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas, Sara Rosett has always loved to curl up with a good book. Her marriage to an Air Force pilot has taken her to central and southern California, Texas, Washington state, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Maryland. Sara has worked as a credit processor, a reporter for two Air Force base newspapers, and a researcher and writer for the Citizen Ambassador Program of People to People International. Currently, Sara and her family live in Maryland where she combines full-time parenting with writing. Her work appeared in Chicken Soup for the Military Wife’s Soul, Simple Pleasures of Friendship, Simple Pleasures of the Kitchen Romantic Times Mystery Scene, Mystery Readers Journal, The Writer, and Georgia Magazine. Please visit her website, www.sararosett.com.

      Website: http://www.SaraRosett.com

      Blog: http://www.RosettWrites.Bravejournal.com

Happy Reading! 

My bedside reading pile is so high. SO many novels I'm dying to read, like Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner, and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, and the new Elizabeth Berg with the fun title. I'm in the middle of reading Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout, who wrote one of my favorite books (Amy and Isabelle). And a wonderful novel I recently finished, which is part of the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit tour, is MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga.

Enjoy!