The Pajama Gardener

Holiday gift guide from the Girlfriends Book Club

2011-12-15T20:57:00.001-07:00

Ellen Meister and I are members of the Girlfriends Book Club. If you're shopping for holiday books, Ellen put together this list of some of our books with suggestions about who might like each of them. I'm adding a lot to my to-be-read pile!

LOVE FINDS YOU IN NEW ORLEANS by Christa Allan

Set to release in February of 2012 and available now for pre-order, this 1840s historical relates the story of a woman whose grandparents must consider whether to stop keeping secrets and reveal the truth they’ve known—a truth that will make the difference between a life of obligation and a life of choice.Unlocking the past could open the door to a new future, but is the present worth the cost? Introduced in the novel is the custom of plaçage, known as "left-handed marriages" among those forbidden legally to be together.

Who would like this book? Readers of historical fiction and Southern fiction.

For more information visit http://christaallan.com/

SAFE HARBOR by Judith Arnold

Childhood pals Kip and Shelley spent their summers on Block Island, swimming, biking, discovering the world together. Then real life intruded, bringing tragedy and heartache. Years later, they both wind up back on Block Island. Can the island's rugged beauty and their loving friendship heal their wounds? An award-winning novel when it was first released, SAFE HARBOR is available to as a reissued e-book to a new generation of readers.

Who would like this book? SAFE HARBOR is the perfect book for lovers of romance fiction.

For more information visit www.juditharnold.com

LITTLE WOMEN AND ME by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

A contemporary teen finds herself literally sucked into the Louisa May Alcott novel Little Women and discovers she must change a major plot point in order to get back out again. "...a consistently entertaining read that delivers a genuinely original heroine and frequently hilarious satire." ~ Kirkus Reviews

Who would like this book? LITTLE WOMEN AND ME will appeal to adult fans of Little Women and girls ages 12 and up.

For more information visit http://laurenbaratzlogsted.com/

THE BLUE HOUSE DOG by Deborah Blumenthal

Love heals the heart is the message of this heartwarming picture book about a boy who saves a homeless dog and vice versa. Cody had his own dog once, but his painful loss is buried deeper than the feeding dish he hides away in his closet. All that changes when he comes upon a four-footed friend needier than he is -- a sad, lost dog from a mysterious blue house and both learn to trust and love again.

Based on a true story.

Who would like this book? Dog lovers of all ages.

For more information visit http://deborahblumenthal.com

MOTHERS AND OTHER LIARS by Amy Bourret

How far will a mother go to save her child? Ten years ago, Ruby Leander was a drifting nineteen-year-old who made a split-second decision at an Oklahoma rest stop. Fast forward nine years: Ruby and her daughter Lark live in New Mexico. Lark is a precocious, animal loving imp, and Ruby has built a family for them with a wonderful community of friends and her boyfriend of three years. Life is good. Until the day Ruby reads a magazine article about parents searching for an infant kidnapped by car-jackers. Then Ruby faces a choice no mother should have to make. A choice that will change both her and Lark's lives forever.

Who would like this book? Anyone, especially book clubs who like a good moral debate, will like this smart, haunting, and gorgeously written debut novel that propels a whip-smart plot that will keep you thinking.

For more information visit www.amybourret.com

A SUMMER IN EUROPE by Marilyn Brant

It’s not where you go, it’s what you take back with you… On her 30th birthday, Gwendolyn Reese receives an unexpected present from her widowed Aunt Bea: a grand European tour in the company of Bea's Sudoku-and-Mahjongg Club. Gwen initially approaches her first trip abroad as if it's the homework she assigns her students, diligently checking monuments off her must-see list. But amid the gorgeous bougainvillea of southern Italy, something changes. She begins to live in the moment—skipping down stone staircases in Capri, racing through the Louvre and taste-testing pastries, wine and gelato. Reveling in every new experience—especially her attraction to a charismatic British physics professor—Gwen discovers the ancient wonders around her are nothing compared to the renaissance unfolding within...

Who would like this book? Romantics and lovers of travel fiction who might enjoy a grand journey of self awakening amidst the classic architecture and stunning vistas of Europe.

For more information visit http://www.marilynbrant.com

CHILDREN OF THE WATERS by Carleen Brice

Still reeling from divorce, Trish Taylor is in the midst of salvaging the remnants of her life when she uncovers a shocking secret: her sister is alive. After years of drawing on the strength of her ancestors, Billie Cousins is shocked to discover that she was adopted. Though Trish longs to connect with her long-lost sister, Billie's feelings of betrayal are waters too deep to cross. But when both women are forced to confront their demons, they begin to realize that each may have what the other needs.

Who would like this book? This is a contemporary story between two women who discover they are sisters. Great for fans of smart, moving women's fiction. Women in interracial relationships or with mixed-race children will especially like it. I've been told women with chronic illnesses may also enjoy it (one of the main characters has lupus).

For more information visit www.carleenbrice.com

AN APPETITE FOR MURDER by Lucy Burdette

Aspiring food critic Hayley Snow follows the man of her dreams to Key
West, FL. Instead of landing the job of her dreams as a food critic,
she lands in the police blotter, the main suspect in her now-ex's new
girlfriend's murder.

Who would like this book? Fans of Diane Mott Davidson's cozy culinary
mysteries will enjoy this book.

For more information visit http://lucyburdette.com/buy-the-books/

SLIM TO NONE by Jenny Gardiner

Abbie Jennings is Manhattan's top food critic until her expanding waistline makes staying incognito at restaurants impossible. Her cover blown on Page Six of the New York Post, her editor has no choice but to bench her—and suggest she use the time off to bench-press her way back to anonymity. Abbie’s life has been built around her career, and therefore around celebrating food. Forced to drop the pounds if she wants her primo gig back, Abbie must peel back the layers of her past and confront the fears that have led to her current life.

Who would like this book? SLIM TO NONE is the perfect book for anyone who's ever gone on a diet (or believes they should).

For more information visit www.jennygardiner.net

MY JANE AUSTEN SUMMER by Cindy Jones

A young woman who has squeezed herself into undersized relationships all her life hopes to realize her dream of living in a novel when she is invited to participate in a Jane Austen literary festival in England. She jumps at the chance to reinvent herself, imagining escape into Austen’s fictional world where bookish women are heroines. There, in the rich, promising world of Mansfield Park, Lily finds people whose longing to live in a novel equals her own. But real-life problems have a way of following you wherever you go and unless Lily can change her ways, she will share the fate of so many of Jane Austen’s characters who repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Who would like this book? MY JANE AUSTEN SUMMER is a fast-paced, romantic, and humorous book that will appeal to book lovers, especially those who can't get enough Jane Austen.

For more information visit www.cindysjones.com

ALL THE NUMBERS by Judy Merrill Larsen

An arresting, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful first novel. A recently divorced mother of two boys, Ellen Banks is just learning to make her way through the uncharted territory of single parenthood when the unthinkable happens. Determined to seek justice, and to mend the deep wounds in her family, Ellen must first heal herself, finding a way out of a grief that soon turns to defiance. This is an unforgettable journey of power and emotion, poignantly depicting a woman as she reckons with her own vulnerability and finds in the wisdom of motherhood, the redemptive grace to begin again.

Who would like this book? ALL THE NUMBERS is great for discussion so it's perfect for anyone in a book club or who just wants characters you'll argue with, worry about, and hope they make the right choices (and yes, I love connecting with book clubs!).

For more information visit http://www.judymerrilllarsen.com/

LITTLE BLACK DRESS by Susan McBride

Two sisters whose lives seemed forever intertwined are torn apart when a magical little black dress gives each one a glimpse of an unavoidable future.

Antonia Ashton has worked hard to build a thriving career and a committed relationship, but she realizes her life has gone off track. Forced to return home to Blue Hills when her mother, Evie, suffers a massive stroke, Toni finds the old Victorian where she grew up as crammed full of secrets as it is with clutter. Now she must put her mother’s house in order—and uncover long-buried truths about Evie and her aunt, Anna, who vanished fifty years earlier on the eve of her wedding. By shedding light on the past, Toni illuminates her own mistakes and learns the most unexpected things about love, magic, and a little black dress with the power to break hearts . . . and mend them.

Who would like this book? The story of the Little Black Dress weaves together bits of history, mystery, magic, and family, so I hope it appeals to readers who love women's fiction in the vein of Kate Morton and Sarah Addison Allen.

For more information visit http://SusanMcBride.com

THE OTHER LIFE by Ellen Meister

"A resonant story about the importance of mothers, both having one and being one ... making for a riveting tale of love and choices." - BookPage

Quinn Braverman has a perfect life, with a loving husband, an adorable son, and another baby on the way.

Quinn also has an ominous secret: she knows there's a portal to another life, one in which she made totally different life choices. But she's never been tempted to switch lives ... until a shocking turn of events pushes her to cross over, and she discovers the one person she thought she'd lost forever. Her mother.

But Quinn can't have both lives. Soon, she must decide which she really wants—the one she has ... or the other life.

Who would like this book? Anyone interested in the beautiful, heartbreaking and complicated relationships between mothers and daughters.

For more information visit ellenmeister.com

MOMFRIENDS by Ariella Papa

Momfriends is a story of three vastly different people who meet through motherhood and become friends through womanhood.

Ruth is almost at the end of her rope with her new baby when a knock on her door changes everything. Claudia's life is all about rules. Everything is going perfectly until a flirtation with colleague makes her throw out her rule book.

And Kirsten is an artist and a dreamer. What she discovers late one night confirms that her life is not everything she dreamed. Momfriends is about how people roll with lives they can’t control. And whether they choose to swim with the current or against it, it’s about the realization that everyone needs someone to throw out a life preserver once in a while.

Who would like this book? Momfriends makes the perfect gift for your best friend, the new mom in the neighborhood or the mom you'd like to invite over. It's an ebook so it's even easier to read and multi-task.

For more information visit ariellapapa.com

DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD by Saralee Rosenberg

In Mindy's yoga-obsessed, thirty-is-the-new-wife neighborhood, every day is a battle between Dunkin' Donuts, her jaws-of-life jeans, and Beth Diamond, the self-absorbed sancti-mommy next door who looks sixteen from the back. So much for sharing the chores, the stores, and the occasional mischief to rival Wisteria Lane.

It's another day, another dilemma until Beth's marriage becomes fodder on Facebook. Suddenly the Ivy League blonde needs to be “friended,” and Mindy is the last mom standing. Together they take on hormones and hunger, family feuds and fidelity, and a harrowing journey that spills the truth about an unplanned pregnancy and a seventy-year-old miracle that altered their fates forever.

Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead is a hilarious, stirring romp over fences and defenses that begs the question, what did you do to deserve living next door to a crazy woman? Sometimes it's worth finding out.

Who would like this book? DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD is perfect for anyone who loves to discover friendship in surprising places ... while laughing out loud on every page.

For more information visit saraleerosenberg.com

MIMOSAS, MISCHIEF, AND MURDER by Sara Rosett

“Charm, Southern sass, and suspense abound in the sixth delightful cozy mystery.” –FreshFiction.com

Super-organized Ellie thinks she’s prepared for everything when she and her family set off for an extended visit with her southern in- laws in Alabama, but the one thing she hasn’t planned for is cold-blooded murder. When the patriarch of the family passes away under suspicious circumstances, the quirky Avery family closes ranks and Ellie can't help looking for motives among the mourners.

Publisher’s Weekly called it “winning” and described it this way: “A rumor of hidden money, secret letters from a famous recluse, a fire, a threatening message, and a crazed gunman add to the cozy mischief.”

Who would like this book? Fans of mysteries and southern fiction will enjoy Mimosas, Mischief, and Murder.

For more information visit http://sararosett.com

BEAUTIFUL DISASTER by Laura Spinella

As a college student in Athens, Georgia, Mia Wells meets Flynn, an enigmatic stranger who pushes every boundary she knows. Their relationship is intense, passionate and, for Mia, life-changing, making it all the more painful when he vanishes. After finding the wherewithal to move on with her life and pursue her goals, Mia eventually marries. Twelve years later, Flynn mysteriously resurfaces, gravely injured. Mia is terrified that he will die, awestruck at the prospect of his survival. Flynn’s return ignites a powerful tale, a story that is greater than honor or friendship or the passing of time. More than a romance, this 2011 Penguin release was recently named Best First Book in the NJRWA Golden Leaf contest.

Who would like this book? BEAUTIFUL DISASTER is women’s fiction with a heavy thread of romance, making it the perfect book for readers who like relationship fiction that includes a thought provoking love story.

For more information visit lauraspinella.net

LOVE IN TRANSLATION by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga

After receiving a puzzling phone call and a box full of mysteries, Celeste Duncan, 33, 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. There she stumbles head first down the rabbit hole into a weird, wonderful world where nothing is quite as it seems.

Not knowing Japanese, Celeste finds a friend in her English-speaking homestay brother, Takuya, and comes to depend on him for help. As they cross the country following a trail after Celeste's family, she discovers she's developing "more-than-sisterly" feelings for him. But with a nosy homestay mother scheming to reunite Takuya with his old girlfriend, and her search growing dimmer, will Celeste find what she’s looking for in Japan?

Who would like this book? Love in Translation will appeal to armchair travelers who love a good love story!

For more information visit: http://www.WendyTokunaga.com

Most of the these books are available at your favorite bookstore. To buy online, visit the author's page for ordering links.

Holiday gratitude

2011-12-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

I was very fortunate to be invited to participate in a bunch of book events around the country this year. Those invitations were extra special because I didn't have a new book out in 2011. I'm hoping to remedy that situation soon (stay tuned). In the meantime I want to thank the event promoters, book clubs and readers who were so kind to me this year.

Thank you:

Me and Angela Reid of Imani Book Club in Atlanta.

Curtis Bunn and the National Book Club Conference. This was my first year participating and I hope I get to do it again in the future! Imagine readers so serious about books and authors they pay airfare, hotel and conference fees PLUS many of them have to pay for baggage for the books they bring with them for authors to sign or the ones they buy at the conference and take back home! An author's wish come true!

Deborah Burton-Johnson and the United California African American Book Clubs Fall Into Fiction. I so enjoyed participating in this 5th annual conference that brings book clubs from northern and southern California together! From the minute I stepped off the plane, I was treated so warmly by Deborah and her group.

BlogHer '11 in San Diego and BlogHer Writers '11 in New York. This group offers great conferences for writers and bloggers. If you get a chance next year, check out one of their conferences. And if you can't go, they host virtual conferences on their site. A liveblog of my panel "How to Pitch a Book" is archived here. A liveblog of my panel on "How to Turn a Book or Two Into a Career" is archived here.

Gwen Richardson and the National Black Book Festival in Houston. One of the great side benefits of these kind of events is you not only get to mingle with readers, but you get to meet other writers. At this event I got to meet Tananarive Due and Jacqueline Luckett.


Kim Riley, me, Keith Johnson (in back). R.M. Johnson & Bernice McFadden (in front).

Kim Riley and the Kansas City Book Lovers and Book Clubs Conference. The Kansas City Library supports their local book clubs with this event that brings in authors for a weekend of books and fun. And Kim and her volunteers were lovely hosts! This was the 3rd year and over 250 registered!

Lorene Cary and the Art Sanctuary Celebration of Black Writing in Philadelphia. What an honor to be invited by an author I so respect and admire! I participated in the tribute to J. California Cooper (along with Tina McElroy Ansa and Tananarive Due) in an event I will remember the rest of my life.

Denver Public Library. I kicked off the Scribes, Scholars & Storytellers series at the Blair-Caldwell Library.

Community College of Aurora. I participated in the National Day on Writing and met with a great group of students!

Me, Rosalyn Story, Deborah Burton-Johnson, Donna Grant & Virginia DeBerry

Academy for Life Long Learning. I taught a class on banned books and race to a very engaged group.

Pillars Book Club. Some of their members flew from Texas and Louisiana to have dinner with me in Denver!

With the lovely members of the Pillars Book Club.

Ivy League Book Club. Online book chat.

The Reading Cove Book Club. Skype book chat. Audio of our discussion is podcasted here.

I am honored and grateful to have participated in each of the above events and for the opportunity to meet readers and other authors--many of whom I now consider friends.

Thank you all for a great year! Happy Holidays!

à soupe de la semaine

2011-11-02T12:15:00.000-06:00

This week's lunch soup: Chicken, potato, vegetable.

Lots of spinach, but eating more veggies is part of my goal with lunch soup.

The recipe:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion
3 carrots
2 cloves garlic
2 skinless chicken thighs
3 cubes of chicken bullion (could also use a quart of chicken broth)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 bag frozen spinach
3 small red potatoes (because they were beginning to grow eyes & we needed to use them up)
Rosemary, basil, oregano, sea salt & black pepper to taste
Liquid smoke (a few dashes depending on the strength of your broth and your taste buds)

Tablespoon of lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a stock pot. Add onions and carrots and fry for a couple of minutes. Add chicken thighs. Brown on each side (a minute or two on each side). Stir in garlic for about 30 seconds.

2. Add chicken bullion and enough water to fill pot about 3/4 full. Bring to boil, add potatoes. Cover, reduce heat back to medium or medium high and simmer until chicken and potatoes are done (about 15 minutes).

3. When chicken is cooked, remove and cut off bone and shred with a knife and fork. Return chicken to pot. Add tomatoes.

4. Bring back to boil. Add spinach. When soup is boiling again (it will stop once cold foods are added), reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer as long as instructions on package of frozen spinach say to cook.

5. Add tablespoon of lemon juice (white wine would also work, but I love just a hint of lemon). So good! Adding a little acidity at the end of a dish is something I read about recently, and it was a real surprise what a big difference one tablespoon of lemon juice made.

Looks like about 5 servings.

Black bean, sweet potato & spinach soup

2011-10-09T11:29:00.000-06:00

It's definitely fall. On my second post of pot of soup to have for my lunches. This week's soup: black bean, sweet potato & spinach, adapted from this recipe and another one that I can't find.

Serves 6-8 and if the recipe is correct a serving (about 1 1/2 cups is 5 Weight Watchers points)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic
4 little peppers that hubby bought for another dish (1 red bell pepper would do)
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 quart vegetable broth
1 can black beans
1/2 bag frozen spinach
1 tablespoon brown sugar

sea salt, black pepper, cumin & lime juice to taste (I didn't measure this stuff)

1. Heat oil, saute onion and garlic till soft. Add sweet potatoes and stir to coat. Add broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender.

2. With a slotted spoon, remove about 2 cups of sweet potato cubes; set aside. Puree soup in batches until smooth. Return soup to pot, add sweet potato cubes and black beans, cook for 5 minutes.

3. Cook frozen spinach according to directions, then add to soup. Cook for 5 more minutes and serve.

FYI, LMN will be rebroadcasting Sins of the Mother, the movie based on Orange Mint and Honey, this weekend.

Greenwoman Magazine

2011-08-15T09:26:00.000-06:00

I'm a writer and a gardener, so imagine my delight when I found out about Greenwoman Magazine, a literary garden! The editor conducted an interview with me for their first issue, which is hot off the presses! Please check it out. You can purchase a hard copy or read it online. For a taste, go to this blog post.

Sneak peek of IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING

2011-06-30T08:22:00.001-06:00

The first chapter of the sequel to ORANGE MINT AND HONEY goes live on www.achapteramonth.com Monday, July 4th. Click here to buy now!

For fans who have been wondering what Nona, Shay and Sunny were up to, here's a taste from that first chapter. I hope after reading this you'll want to read the whole chapter (for only .99!) and, of course, I hope you'll stick with me chapter by chapter, month by month to read the whole book.

So here it is, and readers of ORANGE MINT will notice a change: this book is narrated by Nona, the mom (the character Jill Scott played in the movie "Sins of the Mother").

Only fools ask for their wishes to be granted. I thought I knew this. I couldn’t count the number of times I had so confidently uttered the advice Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it to some newbie at a meeting or one of the congregation in church. But I must be a fool because for years and years I prayed for my daughter to come back to me. I begged God to let her let me be her mother.

Now she has and most days lately I feel like strangling her. Or myself.

Luckily for both of us I’m too tired. By the end of the workday I don’t have the energy to lift my hands to her neck.

I harnessed my strength and opened the front door. Just once I’d like to come home to a clean house. But as usual the house was a mess of baby toys, dirty dishes, and piles of unfolded laundry. With stupid hope, I sniffed the air. No surprise, I did not smell any food cooking. My only greeting after a hard day’s work? The sound of a wailing baby, who sounded as cranky and hungry and tired as I felt.

After my oldest daughter, Shay—my granted wish, my answered prayer—and her baby came home from the hospital, she was scared to death. The first time changing his diaper at home, Sunny, my youngest daughter, and I gathered around the changing table for moral support, the three of us peering down at the naked cherub, his little thing wiggling happily. He might as well have been from another planet.

“What am I going to do with a boy?” Shay had asked.

As if I knew. But we’d figure it out. What other choice did we have? “What are we going to do with a boy?” I had corrected to demonstrate we were in this thing together.

But Shay was so panicked she didn’t even hear me. “What if I can’t do this?”

“You can do it. We can do it. Together.”

As if to test us, the baby peed in a high arc in the air.

“Ewww!” Sunny squealed as only a five-year-old can.

Shay scrambled to cover him with his diaper. “Oh my God!”

I had laughed. “It’s no biggie. Trust me, pretty soon you won’t even notice a little pee. Shoot, pretty soon you’ll be thankful it’s only pee.”

“Yuck,” Sunny said. “No way José.”

The look on Shay’s face told me she agreed, so I did what mothers had been doing since the beginning of time to reassure their daughters. I lied. A little.

“It won’t always be so hard. You’ll get the hang of things.” When first faced with the toughest job on earth a little denial is sometimes called for. “We’ll be okay,” I had said. “After all, if I could do it, and twice, you can do it.”

Shay and Sunny looked at me skeptically. But, bless her, Shay did not take the opportunity to remind me how badly I had raised her.

I took each of their hands. “In AA, we say that FAITH is an acronym for ‘fear ain’t in this house.’ If we have faith, we’ll be okay. I promise. We’ll be okay.”

That’s what I had said. We’ll be okay.

But today looking around the disaster area I used to call a living room all I could think was, This is so not okay.

Sequel to Orange Mint and Honey!

2011-06-08T09:23:00.000-06:00

It Might As Well Be Spring, starring Nona, Shay, Oliver, and Sunny is coming! Starting 7/4/11 you can download the first chapter for .99 at A Chapter a Month.com, a new service for readers started by author Victoria Christopher Murray (who be at the Tattered Cover this Friday night). A chapter of the book will follow each month for approximately a year.

Food!

2011-05-23T18:57:00.000-06:00

Today I planted a strawberry plant.

And started a container veggie garden with tomatoes & peppers

And a little mint (the pot with the blue froggie)

Thinning

2011-05-18T11:12:00.000-06:00

That's the theme for my garden this year. I'm digging up yarrow like crazy. And we still have lotsssss of it! It's lovely when it's all in bloom. When it's not in bloom it's less lovely and hubby hates it. So I'm trying to corral it a little.

Colorado yarrow mix

I'm also digging up and moving sedum, hens and chicks, blue fescue and some other ground covers to spread them around the bit. Lord knows we've got the room. There are plenty of places where it's been hard to get something to go. So hopefully moving around things that have proven they can survive in our south-facing yard will work, and we can actually have pretty things hearty enough to help keep down the weeds.

sedums

hens and chicks

Elijah blue fescue grass (the flowers are blue flax)

What are you doing in your garden this year?

Mother's Day movies

2011-05-05T10:44:00.001-06:00

Friday, May 6th Jumping the Broom premiers. It's written by Elizabeth Hunter, who also adapted my novel for the movie Sins of the Mother. The trailer looks great and I've heard good things about it from people who've already seen it. I will be first in line here in Denver, and I hope you too will go out and support this movie!

FYI, Saturday, May 7th at 9 pm EST Lifetime will be showing Sins of the Mother again. (Here's a recent interview I did about the book being made into a movie.)

Happy Mother's Day!

Not a Princess, But Still a Bride

2011-04-30T08:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, watching the hoopla about the royal wedding I think I put my finger on our fascination about it. None of the 2 billion of us watching will ever be a king or a queen. Even billionaires and world-famous celebrities will never wear Queen Elizabeth's tiara and share a kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. So on 1 hand it was a completely unique experience, a glimpse into a world I can hardly believe still exists.

And on the other hand, it was a completely ordinary event, as anyone who's been married can tell you. No matter how much wealth or fame or social status you have (or don't have), you still experience the same excitement, anxiety, butterflies in the stomach, and hope for the future.

I posted this essay a few years ago, but in honor of Kate and brides around the globe, I'm reposting. (Originally written for an anthology about getting married over 30.)

Not a Princess, But Still a Bride

Although Disney has started spinning out cartoons with dark-skinned heroines, it's still hard for a black woman to imagine herself as Cinderella, especially a black woman over 30. To me, the concept of a wedding as "your one special day" was bunk, a myth propagated by bridal magazines. Even if I was rich, I wouldn't want to blow my money on anything as silly and soulless as a fantasy wedding.

Or so I thought. When I was about to be married, I fell victim to the bridal-industrial complex, and the desire for a lavish wedding hit me like a craving for Enstrom's toffee. I didn't need a Vera Wang gown or a champagne fountain, but I wanted luscious food and beautiful flowers. I wanted everyone my boyfriend and I loved to be present to midwife our birth into something greater than we were separately. Unfortunately, we were broke. We had been living artists' lives, and the only thing that fit our meager budget was a small, courthouse ceremony and a potluck at our rasty little house with the hideous kitchen floor and running toilet.

So on a warm, sunny gift of a day at the end of January 1999, we went to the courthouse. Our families flew in from Seattle, Chicago and St. Paul, all of us meeting for the first time. Full of good wishes for us, no one mentioned the bride was black and the groom was white. A few friends, my ex-boyfriend's mother and my aunt and cousin, who brought butterfly barrettes for me to wear in my hair, joined us at the courthouse.

Our relatives and friends didn't care that we were an interracial couple, but the staff in the judge's office seemed to disapprove. The judge we booked had an emergency and we had to wait for a different judge. When I asked his secretary, a black woman, how long it would be until he was available, she took in my caramel skin and almost-dreadlocked hair and said I wasn't on the schedule.

"But my boyfriend was just in here," I said.

She stared at me and said sarcastically, "You're his bride?" Then shot a mean look at the other clerk, who was also black.

As much as I wanted to tell her off, I wasn't about to justify my heart to her or to anyone, so I made sure she knew we were still waiting and sashayed back into the hallway to watch the drunk drivers, wife beaters and gang members go by.

When the judge was ready, we all went into a small courtroom. Our loved ones sat in the jury box and the judge joked "What's the verdict on this union?" The ceremony - unplanned and presided over by a man we never met - was so much of what I wanted to say that I cried and the "jury" sniffled along. At the end, when my husband and I kissed, everyone burst into applause, and suddenly a party at home seemed like a fabulous idea.

Sixty people attended, bringing more food than we could eat and more champagne than we could drink. Guests congregated everywhere, even the laundry room. My husband and his friends played jazz in the living room. Like Martha Stewart on ecstasy, I went from room to room, barefoot, clutching a plastic cup of champagne, offering food and drinks and hugging everyone.

I needn't have worried about our house. Our guests were too busy eating and talking to look down at the ugly linoleum. Nobody could hear the toilet running over the trumpet, saxophone, drums and bass. It was balmy for a January evening, but it was the music, food, laughter and love that truly warmed us, enchanting us as if we were in a fairytale.

But I wasn't a princess. I was a middle-aged black woman thrilled to be married to a middle-aged white man with a love for me as solid as the double bass booming in the background. I was a goddess with bare feet and butterflies in my hair. I was a bride, with all the giddiness and glory attributed to that word. And it was my one special day.

Authors who heart book clubs!

2011-03-15T18:01:00.000-06:00

The Fiction Writers' Co-op, of which I am a member, has created a list of authors happy to chat with book clubs in person, by phone or via Skype. Check it out!

Great_Book_Club_Suggestions

Sins of the Mother AKA Orange Mint and Honey wins NAACP Image Award!

2011-03-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sins of the Mother, the Lifetime movie based on Orange Mint and Honey, picked up an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding TV Movie and Jill Scott won an award for Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie! Congrats to Jill, Nicole Beharie (who played Shay), Damon Lee (producer), Paul Kaufman (director)! Thanks to Lifetime for treating my book with such love and care!

Me and author Bernice McFadden at after party.

Me, author Rosalyn McMillan and Terry McMillan before awards.

Books for Christmas

2010-12-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Over on White Readers Meet Black Authors, we're suggesting book ideas for the holidays. There's also give-aways!

Some 50+ authors who hang out on Facebook have joined together to promote one another's work. If you're shopping for books, check this out too.

Where you can find me online

2010-10-19T09:04:00.001-06:00

I recently started blogging at the Girlfriends Book Club along with a group of fine lady writers and at The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog. I'm still keeping the White Readers Meet Black Authors blog and am on Facebook and Twitter and SheWrites. So please check me out at those locations. As you can imagine, won't very much be happening here.

Be a hummingbird

2010-10-09T09:22:00.000-06:00

AuthorFest of the Rockies

2010-08-30T22:05:00.000-06:00

On Friday, October 2nd, I'll be speaking at AuthorFest of the Rockies. Below is an interview I did with TalkingBooks TV to help promote AuthorFest. I think I'm going to talk about "the writer's journey." About how the concept of "the hero's journey" informs my writing and maybe even my life.

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Book promotion and give-aways

2010-08-24T09:16:00.001-06:00

On my other blog I'm giving away a copy of Substitute Me by Lori Tharps. On the Girlfriends Book Club blog (which is a new blog of women authors), I'm giving away an advance copy of Playing the Hand You're Dealt by Trice Hickman. Head on over to both sites. Good luck!

Coast to Coast

2010-07-21T10:12:00.000-06:00

July 28 I head to San Diego for the National Association of Black Journalists' conference. I appear on a panel on July 29 with Andrea King Collier, Robin D. Stone and Victoria Rowell. After four (I hope) lovely days on the left coast and a few days back home I head east for BlogHer 2010 where I'll be on two panels one on publishing and one on creativity. Maybe even more than the panels, I'm looking forward to hooking up with writer friends while in New York. (I'm looking at you Stacy Patton, Denene Millner, Tayari Jones, Donna Hill and Bernice McFadden.)

If you're going to be at NABJ or BlogHer and want to hook up, let me know!

Look for pictures soon. But before I hit the road, I need to get some work done. So back to it.

Rose

2010-07-10T08:52:00.000-06:00

A Westerland rose. I took the picture with my iPhone this morning after hubby watered. I stood in the sun to try to block the light because it made the color look so pale. I love how this picture turned out.

They like me!

2010-06-30T10:21:00.001-06:00

I'd like to thank my agent.... Just kidding. I'm not going to go all Oscar-speech on you, but I learned yesterday that I am 5280 Magazine's Editor's Choice for best author in their "Top of the Town" July issue. I am quite honored! And I do want to thank editor Julie Dugdale and her crew for including me. (I also thank my agent because she rocks!)

Colorado's literacy legacy

2010-06-26T12:11:00.000-06:00

Cool story in today's Denver Post about some of the famous writers who have lived in or wrote about Colorado. Also includes a mention of one of the less famous: yours truly!

Another sin of another mother

2010-05-31T10:07:00.001-06:00

Did you know you can't copyright a title? So some titles get repeated. For example, "Sins of the Mother" has been in book form and movie form a few times. Victoria Christopher Murray's latest novel has that title. Victoria is a wonderful writer and a wonderful person so I hope you all go out and buy her book! Just know that it's not the book that the LMN movie "Sins of the Mother" starring Jill Scott and Nicole Beharie is based on. That's my novel Orange Mint and Honey. Different sin. Different mother.

Boomerang Book-Throwing Action!

2010-05-20T17:37:00.000-06:00

Springtime in the Rockies

2010-05-16T08:58:00.001-06:00

Or I should say near the Rockies. Denver is at the base of the mountains. While we are the Mile High City, we are not up in the Rockies. Anyway, spring here has been interesting so far. Today a high of 75 degrees. Last week, snow. Right after the snow, I planted sunflower seeds. Next up, pumpkin seeds.

Yesterday, I saw a swarm of bees! Yes, that big, brown bird's-nest-looking thing is not a bird's nest. It's a cluster of bees. Since seeing it, I've been Googling bee swarms and have learned that when the bee hive gets too crowded (that's the most common reason for swarms), about 60% of the bees will take off. They gather someplace like a tree branch around their new queen. (I haven't yet read how a new queen is picked.) They wait like this while scout bees go out and look for a hollow tree or some other suitable place to set up their new hive. It's really fascinating. Too bad The Secret Life of Bees used the bee imagery so much and so well or I'd feel this happening in one of my novels.

Going back to Cali

2010-05-14T11:59:00.001-06:00

People of Los Angeles, I'll be in your fair city June 12 reading & signing Children of the Waters at the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival. The festival was founded and is run (in part) by my good friend Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. If you can make it, come out and say hi!

What's cracking me up lately

2010-05-04T09:42:00.002-06:00

The whole video is hilarious, but the 19:00 point is when they review "Sins of the Mother" and wonder about the book it's based on. Skorpion, Makael, email me and I'll send you an autographed copy of Orange Mint and Honey because you are right: there is more to the story.

The Hand of Fate

2010-04-25T12:34:00.000-06:00

Do you believe in fate? Some days I do and some days I don't. The subject has been on my mind a lot lately and now comes Hand of Fate by Girlfriend Cyber Circuit writer April Henry and Lis Wiehl.

About the book

When the host of a popular radio talk show is murdered, the suspects almost outnumber his millions of listeners.

Outspoken radio talk show host Jim Fate dies he opens a package and releases poisonous gas while his polarizing show, "The Hand of Fate," is on air.

In the ensuing panic, police evacuate downtown Portland. Soon the triple threat of FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, crime reporter Cassidy Shaw and Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce begin piecing together the madness, motive, and the mystery that lie behind Fate’s murder.

While Lis has worked with Bill O’Reilly for years (often serving as the voice of reason or his liberal foil, depending on your point of view), the character is NO WAY based on O’Reilly.

This is the second in the Triple Threat mystery series, which has been optioned for TV. The first, Face of Betrayal, was on the New York Times bestseller list for four weeks! And in April 2011, readers can look for Heart of Ice, which traces the path of a destruction left by a sociopath - and based on a real-life case Lis prosecuted.

About the authors

April Henry grew up in a little town in Southern Oregon where the main industries were timber and pears. When she was was 12, she sent Roald Dahl a short story she had written about a six-foot-tall frog named Herman who loved peanut butter. He not only wrote her back - he showed it to the editor of an international children’s author, who asked to publish it.

Since then, April has written nearly a dozen mysteries and thrillers for adults and teens, with seven more on the way. Look for her young adult thriller - Girl, Stolen - in October 2010.

Lis Wiehl is a former federal prosecutor who is now a legal analyst for FOX-TV.

What the critics are saying

"Exciting... readers will identify with these very real women as they try to uncover Fate's killer, and each battles a personal demon—Allison her fear of miscarriage, Nic her fear of her daughter's criminal father, and Cassidy her prescription drug addiction.”

--Publishers Weekly

"The second book by Wiehl and Henry featuring the Triple Threat Club ratchets up the excitement and suspense to another level. Realistic characters with authentic dilemmas will appeal to a wide array of mystery lovers."

--Romantic Times, four stars

Win a $25 gift card!

2010-04-14T09:35:00.000-06:00

Sign up for Ellen Meister's mailing list and you could win a $25 gift card!

Ellen Meister has an exciting new book coming out next year and she wants to keep you abreast of the news. So she has a special offer ... sign up for her mailing list now and you will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $25 amazon.com gift card.

Just click here, fill out the form, and remember to click through when you get the confirmation email. That's it. Ellen only sends out a few updates a year, so you won't be bombarded. Besides, I think you'll want to hear about her breakthrough novel, THE OTHER LIFE (Putnam/2011), which is already getting great early buzz.

Pitched as "Jodi Picoult meets THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE," THE OTHER LIFE tells the story of a suburban mom expecting her second child who discovers that she might be able to slip through a portal to the life she would have had if she never got married. When a routine sonogram reveals unexpected problems, her grief lures her to escape to the life that might have been ... in which she discovers that she stayed with her neurotic ex-boyfriend, and that her mother, who committed suicide several years before, is very much alive.

"Gripping! A truly fascinating story of love, loss, and a magical place in between."
-Beth Harbison, New York Times bestselling author of HOPE IN A JAR

"Intriguing, stimulating, original, unpredictable, frightening, utterly engaging--THE OTHER LIFE reminded me why I love to read. Ellen Meister is a writer with a limitless future."

-Michael Palmer, New York Times bestselling author of THE SECOND OPINION and THE LAST SURGEON

"In her riveting breakthrough novel, THE OTHER LIFE, gifted storyteller Ellen Meister doesn't just peek in on a young mother who straddles between love and doubt, she blows it open with a story of one who straddles two parallel universes, each with its own perilous decisions. It is a brave and honest exploration of the precarious limits of motherhood that will make readers wonder if Meister followed them with a probe and felt their racing hearts and hopes. If you have ever second guessed the biggest decisions of your life (and who hasn't), THE OTHER LIFE is a captivating homage to the question, does love conquer all?"

-Saralee Rosenberg, author of DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD and FATE AND MS. FORTUNE

"Ellen Meister makes a big leap toward the literary in THE OTHER LIFE, a book where "What if" becomes the most powerful question in the world. This is the thinking woman's beach read, a love story to the modern family, written with a deep and lovely understanding of mothers and daughters and the sacrifices they'll make for each other."
-Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING

"THE OTHER LIFE is a provocative and unique tale of the road not taken. Ellen Meister puts a magical, masterful spin on one of my favorite questions: "What if?" What if you took both roads? You won't want to miss this one!"

-Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author of THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON

"I loved this emotional powerhouse of a novel that asks a daring "what if." and manages to be as charming and funny as it is thoughtful and moving. Brava, Ellen Meister!"
-Melissa Senate, author of SEE JANE DATE and THE SECRET OF JOY

Interview coming up on Saturday Mornings with Joy Keys

2010-04-11T09:38:00.000-06:00

Colorado Authors

2010-04-10T10:13:00.000-06:00

Meet me and dozens of other local authors at the Englewood Public Library Sunday, April 11. We'll be signing books, answering questions and generally schmoozing. Come join us. Details here.

Welcome Jenny Gardiner!

2010-03-22T21:59:00.004-06:00

Pet lovers, this one is for you! My friend Jenny Gardiner the author of the novel Sleeping With Ward Cleaver, is here to talk about her latest, a memoir, Winging It. I admire anyone who can write interestingly about their relationship with their animals. I love my cat to death and he certainly is a character, but a memoir about us would be boring as hell! Simon & Schuster describes Winging It as:

"A hilarious and poignant cautionary tale about two very different types of creatures, thrown together by fate, who learn to make the best of a challenging situation -- feather by feather.

Like many new bird owners, Jenny and Scott Gardiner hoped for a smart, talkative, friendly companion. Instead, as they took on the unexpected task of raising a curmudgeonly wild African gray parrot and a newborn, they learned an important lesson: parrothood is way harder than parenthood."

Jenny and I met 2 years ago at the VA Festival of the Book, from which I just returned. This year, I got to spend some time with Jenny and Girlfriend Sheila Curran (in the middle)!

Read our Girlfriends Q&A below and hear Jenny talk about Winging It here. Here's video of Gracie talking up a storm.

Q: What's been your biggest surprised about getting published?

A: I guess how easy it is to overlook the celebration of the achievement by dint of having to slog through the necessities of it all--the legwork of marketing and publicity, for instance. Part of that comes from the fact that you work SO hard to get to this publication date, but the publication date isn't like, say, Christmas morning, with huge amounts of immediate fanfare. The publication date is sort of like the bullseye around which many rings of activity have surrounded it. So there's not this "pop the champagne corks!" kind of moment that happens in and of itself. That said, I am sure there are those moments, and I hope to be able to enjoy them at some point--I mean the "I made the New York Times list!" moments. Or "My book was reviewed in People Magazine!" I guess those are more like "Holy shit!" moments, though LOL. Does that make sense?

And also I guess I'm surprised still whenever people see me as something more than I am simply because I've published books. I know it's well-intended, but I'm just me, the same person I've always been. So for someone I've know for years to view me as something differently simply because I've published a book sometimes throws me off a little.

Q: Is writing your main job? If not, what do you do for your real source of income and how does it impact your writing?

A: I've been so very fortunate to have been a stay-at-home mom, and by extension a stay-at-home writer. Although last fall I helped open and run a retail operation for about six months, working full-time. Mostly until now I've been able to rely upon my husband's income to help me establish myself as a writer. Alas, with our second child bound for college in a few months, I have to figure out how I can earn a large salary, so the brainstorming is underway. I've thought perhaps selling a kidney could be a useful source of income, but that is really something you donate anyhow. Then I thought, "Hmmm, maybe I can be a surrogate for someone!" But at my age, that's looking less and less likely LOL. It's a bit of a curse having been out of the working world for so long, though--there aren't a lot of decent-paying jobs out there as it is, let alone for a SAHM who's trying to get back into the working world. A lament for all parents who have given up careers to raise kids at home, something that is a real privilege in this day and age. I'd sure love to get two more published books under my belt and then I think I could manage to justify staying home as a full-time writer.

When I was working full-time, though, it affected my writing a lot. I don't know how people can have day jobs, kids and writing careers without imploding. It's a lot on one's plate!

Q: If you could ask any author (living or dead) any question what would it be?

A: I actually asked it, of Pat Conroy, who is a literary hero of mine and in whose company I was able to spend a lovely weekend during the Pulpwood Queens Girlfriends Weekend in January.
When you consider the brutality under which he and his siblings were raised (refer to his famous memoir, The Great Santini), it was remarkable to hear him speak about the family taking such care of his father in his latter years, ensuring that he died well. I was terribly curious to know how they could have even wanted to bother to reconcile themselves with a man who treated them so brutally.

He told me that after The Great Santini was published, his father spent the rest of his life trying to prove he wasn't that sort of man, and so became more the man he ought to have been. I found that very fascinating.

Q: What's the main thing you hope people take away from your book?

A: I think my book speaks to the importance of commitment and of not quitting. It's something I feel strongly about and I guess I think peripherally you can also take away the importance of not getting yourself into something that might be just too much to deal with, of not impulsively committing yourself to something you're not prepared to undertake. In our case that was with a parrot, who could live to be 90. But that could apply to marriage, parenthood, career choices, all sorts of things.

Q: Art or entertainment? Is one more valid or important than the other?

A: Certainly not. What is art for one is entertainment for another, and vice versa. I guess this goes to the whole 'literary" versus "commercial" debate in fiction, with one side occasionally debasing the other or whatever. I think just writing something that others will enjoy is the point of it--whether it is high art or Captain Underpants, well, I mean someone out there will appreciate it. And if it motivates someone who otherwise might not to then pick up a book, then right on.

Q: What comes most naturally for you to write, dialogue? plot? character? And what's hardest?

A: I really love to write dialogue, especially when easy, snappy dialogue comes to me. I'd say the plotting sort of can bog me down at times. Probably because I am a seat-of-the-pants writer, and prefer for things to just sort of flow as I go. I like to develop quirky characters, and have a lot of fun throwing them into situations that might exasperate them.

Book Promotion in the 21st Century

2010-03-16T11:28:00.005-06:00

I'll be on a panel with this name at the Virginia Book Festival this Saturday. I thought I'd create a resource list for attendees, and then I thought why not post it here for others who might be interested? So, here are great resources for promoting your book:

http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/ A guy in book sales at a publishing house discusses what happens after your book is acquired.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/ An author tells what has worked for him and what hasn't when it comes to just about everything regarding getting published and selling books.

http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/ An author shares really great information on book marketing. Same author runs http://www.authorbuzz.com/ a service you can use to promote your books to book clubs, librarians and booksellers.

http://www.booktour.com/ A free site that lets readers know when you have appearances in person, online or on TV or radio.

http://www.goodreads.com/ Goodreads is a social networking site for people who love to read. Great place for authors to "hang out" online. You can do contests and giveaways and promote your events there.

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/03/12/facebook-for-authors/ A tutorial for using Facebook to promote your book.

http://www.blackbookpromo.com/ Promotes books by black authors or with black subject matter to black readers and book clubs.

http://www.edc-creations.com/ Another great marketer of black books.

http://www.shewrites.com/ Excellent site for women writers with great information, networking and services to market your book.

http://www.authorsguild.net./ The Authors Guild offers easy templates to build and maintain a web presence.

http://www.bookpromotion101.com/bp101/ Bella Stander's Book Promotion 101 really helps.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/ Industry blog that helps keep authors up to date about book publishing.

http://mashable.com/2009/05/08/twitter-authors/ See how it's done by following these authors on Twitter.
(Though in Alice Hoffman's case it's more like see what NOT to do.)

http://twitter.com/carleenbrice Follow me on Twitter. http://www.facebook.com/carleen.brice Friend me on Facebook.

Winners!

2010-03-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the book clubs and readers who entered the viewing contest for "Sins of the Mother." Here's a slide show of the winners.

Free photo slideshow customized with Smilebox

My thanks also goes to all the authors who participated, generously donating their books:

donna grant and virginia deberry

Author or writer?

2010-03-10T09:12:00.002-07:00

(image from http://darkhourvampires.wordpress.com/)
I'm hanging up my author shoes for a bit and focusing on being a writer. What's the difference you might ask? To me, the author is about the business of writing, especially promoting. I've spent the last four years yakking, yakking, yakking about Orange Mint and Honey and two years blah, blah, blahing about Children of the Waters. I've blogged (this is my 600th blog post here! I've got another 118 over at my other blog), Facebooked and tweeted myself cross-eyed. I've talked by phone and internet to book clubs and reporters. I've flown (often at my own expense) coast-to-coast to attend book festivals, bookstore readings, industry meetings and book group affairs.

Right now, I'm eager to just write. That's what a writer does. Write and read and daydream about writing.

The irony is that before I got published I daydreamed about doing all this yakking and traveling and seeing my book in people's hands and the title in the newspaper (and on screen!). Those are all great things. Fabulous things! And I'll continue doing some of it. I've got a book club event tomorrow evening, another Sunday, next week I head to the VA Festival of the Book and later this month I do a local morning show. I'm grateful for every opportunity I get to try to sell one more book, especially in this economy. (For example, thank you to the OOSA Book Club for this profile.)

But truth be told I'm more interested right now in just writing. Not conferencing calling with my agent or doing interviews or trying to get one more person to pick up one of my poor little books.

Just writing.

So I'll be doing a little less blogging, Facebooking and tweeting for a while. A little less authoring and (I hope) much more writing.

Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant in Denver March 12

2010-03-08T15:18:00.002-07:00

Invite generated with Smilebox

Heidi Durrow in Denver March 11

2010-03-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Invite created with Smilebox

Kicking off Women's History Month with Hank Phillippi Ryan

2010-03-01T10:53:00.001-07:00

Happy March! We have tulip shoots peeking out from the mulch and I've seen a flock of robins so I'm all excited about spring. Also excited about going to the Virginia Festival of the Book and meeting lots of authors that I've only spoken with online! Of course, March is also Women's History Month, which we authors tend to like to celebrate by honoring women writers.

So herewith I present to you my Girlfriends Cyber Circuit pal Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of DRIVE TIME.

Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate. Her work has resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution. Along with her 26 EMMYs, Hank’s won dozens of other journalism honors. She's been a radio reporter, a legislative aide in the United States Senate and an editorial assistant at Rolling Stone Magazine working with Hunter S. Thompson.

Her first mystery, the best-selling PRIME TIME, won the Agatha for Best First Novel. It was also was a double RITA nominee for Best First Book and Best Romantic Suspense Novel, and a Reviewers' Choice Award Winner. FACE TIME and the new AIR TIME are IMBA bestsellers. DRIVE TIME, February 2010 from MIRA Books, just earned a starred review from Library Journal. Hank is on the national board of Mystery Writers of America.

Her website is http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com.

A little about DRIVE TIME

Investigative reporter Charlotte McNally is an expert at keeping things confidential, but suddenly everyone has a secret, and it turns out it may be possible to know too much. Charlie's latest TV scoop--an expose of a dangerous recalled car scam complete with stakeouts, high-speed chases and hidden-camera footage--is ratings gold. But soon that leads her to a brand new and diabolical scheme (incredibly timely!) that could put every driver in danger.

Charlie's personal and professional lives are on a collision course, too. Her fiancé is privy to information about threats at an elite private school that have suddenly turned deadly.

Charlie has never counted on happy endings. But now, just as she's finally starting to believe in second chances, she realizes revenge, extortion and murder might leave her alone again. Or even dead. Emmy and Agatha award winning reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan proves that when everyone has a secret, the real mystery is knowing when to tell.

Now on to the Q&A:

Q: Tell us about your book.

A: DRIVE TIME is about secrets. TV reporter Charlie McNally’s working on a story about a dangerous scheme that could absolutely happen…and let me just say, if you own a car, or rent a car, you’ll never look at your vehicle the same way after reading DRIVE TIME. In fact, after writing the book, I now get a bit creeped out when I go into a parking garage. That’s all I‘ll say.

Charlie’s also drawn into another frightening situation—this one at the prep school where her fiancé is an English professor. When Charlie learns a secret that might put her step-daughter-to-be in danger, and might also be an blockbuster investigative story—how does she balance her loyalty to her husband-to-be—with her need to protect the public?

So this is a tough one for Charlie. And she must make many life-changing decisions. Just when she begins to think she might be able to have it all—a terrific career and a new husband and a new life--revenge, extortion and murder may bring it all to a crashing halt.

DRIVE TIME just got a fabulous starred review from Library Journal. Just a snippet of the rave: “Placing Ryan in the same league as Lisa Scottoline…her latest book catapults the reader into the fast lane and doesn't relent until the story careens to a stop. New readers will speed to get her earlier books, and diehard fans will hope for another installment.”

And dear Robert B. Parker’s quote is on the cover—he says “I loved DRIVE TIME!”

Q: Growing up, did you ever think you’d be an investigative reporter?

A: Definitely—not. You know, I have a funny juxtaposition of desire to be in the spotlight—and sheer terror of being in the spotlight. I love my job in TV—and have to go live and unrehearsed al the time. Confession: I’m still terrified every time. I want to be perfect, and when you’re on live, you can’t possibly be. That’s one reason why I love investigative reporting—there’s more time to work, and dig, and polish, and produce, It’s like making a little movie, and I can make it as perfect as possible.

Anyway, my sisters and I used to create musical shows when we were all young, and perform for our parents in our back yard. I did acting in high school and college. I wanted to be a DJ on the radio for a long time! But I thought I would be an English teacher, or a lawyer for the Mine Workers union, or for awhile, a political activist.

(My mother, though, says she always knew I would be a television reporter—but I think that was just her way of rationalizing that all I did as a pre-teen and teenager was read books and watch TV.)

I knew from my first Nancy Drew that I loved mysteries. Nancy was my first best friend—I was a geeky unpopular kid, and it was such a relief to go home and hang out with Nancy. She was smart, and made it be okay to be smart. She was confident and inquisitive and resourceful. I loved that. But being a TV reporter was not in my sights. Little did I know!

Q: How did you get started in that type of journalism?

A: I got into TV by chance. I had worked as a radio reporter (hired because, as I informed the radio station, they didn’t have any women working at the station! Hey. It was the seventies.) But after a few years working in Washington DC (on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide and then for Rolling Stone Magazine,) Rolling Stone closed its Washington office and I needed a new job.

I went back home to Indianapolis, and applied for a job as a TV reporter. It was 1975. I had covered politics in Washington, and the news director of the station figured he could teach me to be a TV reporter. (This was incredibly risky—I had never taken journalism and didn’t know one thing about TV. But I wasn’t afraid and I knew I could do it.)

Problem was, I should have been afraid! I quickly learned I had no idea what I was doing. I went home every night for the first two weeks, sobbing. Because I thought I would never understand it. Soon after—it hit me--oh, I get it! And I have adored it ever since. I took a chance, and found my calling.

I started as the political reporter (and was also the movie reviewer, of all things! At age 26.) At various times I’ve been the medical reporter, a weekend anchor, and an on the road feature reporter. When I came to Boston, I was the funny feature reporter--cat shows, sports features, poems, and anything quirky or funny. They used to call me “something out of nothing productions,” because I could find a story in anything.

But starting in 1988, I covered the presidential election, doing long elaborate think pieces. It was terrific. And then I told my news director I didn’t want to be the funny one anymore. I wanted to be the serious one. And from that day on, I've been the investigative reporter.

And I love it every day.

Q: Reading about all the things you’ve done as a reporter... like being chased by criminals, confronting corrupt politicians, etc, is almost like reading a novel. Have any of these experiences found their way into your books?

A: There’s a huge been-there-done-that element to the books—I’ve wired myself with hidden cameras, confronted corrupt politicians, chased down criminals…been in disguise, been stalked, and threatened and had many a door slammed in my face. I’ve had people confess to murder, and others, from prison, insist they were innocent. So when that happens to Charlie, it’s fair to imagine me. Although the plots are completely from my imagination, those are real-life experiences!

Q: How did the character of Charlotte ‘Charlie’ McNally come about?

I have NO idea. She was born when I got a weird spam in my email. It was what looked like lines from a play by Shakespeare. I thought--why would someone send a spam like that? And it crossed my mind--maybe it's a secret message.

I still get goose bumps telling you about it. And I knew, after all those years of wanting to write a mystery, that was my plot. And that turned out to be the Agatha-winning PRIME TIME. But Charlie? Well, I knew I had a good story, but who would tell it? A television reporter, of course. And she just instantly popped into my head. Named, fully formed. I knew her perfectly.

The other characters were more difficult to get to know. But now, Charlie surprises me a lot! And I love when that happens.

Q: Is she anything like you? Has she ever done anything you wouldn’t do to get your story?

A: When my husband talks about Charlie, he calls her “you.” As in—when “you” are held at gunpoint, when you track down the bad guys, when you solve the mystery… and I have to remind him, “Sweetheart, it’s fiction. It didn’t really happen.”

But a couple of things: I’ve been a TV reporter for more than 30 years. (Yes, really.) And so it would be silly, in writing a mystery about TV, not to use my own experiences. Think about it—as a TV reporter, you can never be wrong! Never be one minute late. Never choose the wrong word or miscalculate. You can never have a bad hair day, because it’ll be seen by millions of people! It’s high-stakes and high-stress—literally, people’s lives at stake--and I really wanted to convey that in the books.

And everything that TV people do and say in the books is authentic and genuine. (Of course, Charlie can say things I can’t say, and reveal things I can’t reveal.) We’re both devoted journalists, and over-focused on our jobs.

But Charlotte McNally is different, too. She’s single—I’m happily married. She’s ten years younger than I am, and so is facing different choices and dilemmas. She’s braver than I am, certainly. Funnier. And a much better driver.

Q: You’ve got four books under your belt, you’ve won an Agatha, and been compared to Lisa Scottoline. Will there come a time when you say goodbye to journalism to focus full time on your fiction?

A: Ain't that the question! I still smile in delight every time I see my Agatha teapot. And when the starred review in Library Journal for DRIVE TIME compared me to Lisa Scottoline, well, I burst into tears. But I still love my job in TV. So--you could ask me that question every day, and every day I'd have a different answer. And I guess the bottom line is: who knows?

Q: Any plans to write a non Charlotte McNally novel?

A: Yup. Absolutely. It's in the works. You heard it here first.

Talking about bad habits

2010-02-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Blogging over at The Debutante Ball about the upside of bad habits. I think there just might be some.

Also, FYI, "Sins of the Mother" airs again tonight Saturday, February 27 on LMN. Check your local listings. And if you don't have LMN, watch it online.

Online after party

2010-02-25T08:41:00.001-07:00

Beginning at Noon EST today, February 25 I'll be chatting online about Orange Mint and Honey and Sins of the Mother with the RAWSISTAZ Literary Group. Go here after 11:45 a.m. EST to join in.

Extra extra!

2010-02-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

'Sins of the Mother,' starring singer/actress Jill Scott and newcomer Nicole Beharie, became the second most-watched movie in the history of the Lifetime Movie Network during its Feb. 21 premiere.

The film, based on Carleen Brice's best-selling novel 'Orange Mint and Honey,'was also the second highest rated program in key woman demographics in the network's 12-year history -- bested only by the 2009 'Natalie Holloway' movie.

Read the rest here.

More Sins of the Mother news

2010-02-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

Will be available online beginning February 25. Also on Thursday, I'll be chatting online with the "reading and writing sisters" of the RAWSISTAZ book club. Join us if you have questions or comments about the movie or Orange Mint and Honey.

The ratings are in!

2010-02-22T13:23:00.001-07:00

"Sins of the Mother" (based on Orange Mint and Honey) was the 2nd highest rated movie on LMN EVER! (Only the Natalee Holloway movie did better for them). THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!

The movie will repeat on LMN Feb. 24 and Feb. 27.

Music and movies and moms, oh my!

2010-02-21T06:06:00.004-07:00

"What's your theme song?" That's the question that begins the relationship between Shay and Oliver in Orange Mint and Honey and "Sins of the Mother." (Go here for bonus scenes)

Shay gets to talking about her "spiritual fairy godmother" Nina Simone, whose birthday would be today if she were still alive. Luckily, her music is still with us.

I always have a soundtrack running in my head, even more than just one theme song. Right now, it includes the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone.

Since Lady Jill Scott stars in the movie version of my book, there's a whole lotta Jilly from Philly in my head to. Especially this one.

Finally, today is the anniversary of my mother's death. I had planned to write a whole post about the eerie coincidence of the movie being scheduled to premier today, but I find myself really too emotional to go there. But I will share with you this song that came out the year she died. It's been on my mind all week.

So tell me: what's your theme song?

Speak up

2010-02-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

If you watch "Sins of the Mother" this Sunday night, let LMN know what you thought. If you want more movies like this one, let them know. Leave a comment on their message boards.

Sins of the Mother Watch Party Checklist

2010-02-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

Do you have LMN, the Lifetime Movie Network?
Have your marked your calendar for Sunday, February 21st at 8 pm EST?
Are you stocked up on treats? (Go here for yummy orange mint recipes)
Have you invited your friends? (Planning a party of one is great too!)
Is your camera all charged up? (send me a picture of your viewing party and you could win prizes!)
Did you read the book? (It's not too late to read Orange Mint and Honey before the movie!)

The reviews are in!

“…With great acting all around, including Mimi Rogers as Nona’s sponsor, this adaptation of Carleen Brice’s novel, Orange Mint and Honey is one dramatic powerhouse of a TV movie. It’d be a sin to miss it!“—NATIONAL ENQUIRER, Best Bets on TV

"As a reformed alcoholic mother trying to reconnect with her tightly wound, emotionally stunted daughter, Jill Scott (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency) delivers a performance that makes you forget you knew her as a singer first." — ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“The magnificent Jill Scott shines as a former mess of a mother struggling to make amends to the daughter she abused…“—TV GUIDE, Hot List

More on recipes

At the link above, you can find a delicious recipe for orange mint mojitos, but it's kind of complicated and I have since figured out you can do it much easier. Make a pitcher of regular mojitos and add a dash of orange juice or orange liqueur and some orange slices along with the mint and you're good to go.

I recently discovered rosemary popcorn. You have to pop it the old-fashioned way on the stove, and add some rosemary to the oil before you add the popcorn. It's tasty!

Shay is a pajama gardener!

2010-02-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Well, she's not gardening, but I'm loving that the logo for the movie is Shay out in Nona's garden in her pajamas!

I heart book clubs, part 16

2010-02-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

To you, Mom

2010-02-12T08:19:00.004-07:00

Monday is the anniversary of the day my mother was born. Every year around this time I get a little melancholy, but this year is even more emotional. My mom LOVED TV. Loved it, loved it, loved it! She had 2 subscriptions to TV Guide, one for the bedroom TV and one for the living room. She loved to read too. She is the reason I loved to read. So I can't even imagine how thrilled she would be with a television movie based on a book that her daughter wrote.

(This is one of the last pictures we took together. I was about 25 and she was around 41. She was visiting me here in Denver, and we were about to go out on the town. We hit a comedy club, then went to a dance club and heard a band. She flirted from the audience with the lead singer while I whined about wanting to go home. "You can sleep when you get old," she told me. Dig my glasses! And I'm pretty sure those are freckles above my lip, not a stache!)

My mom took me to the club (once telling a bouncer, "I'm her mother, would I lie about her age to get her in a bar?" Answer: yes). Jill Scott's mom took her to the ballet. Jill, who plays the mom in the movie, pays tribute to her own mother.

Speaking of mothers, mommies might like this interview with me about the book and the movie on the Sun Kissed Mommy blog.

Catch me on From Cover to Cover chatting with authors ReShonda Tate Billingsley and Pat Tucker. On Monday evening I'll be on the Black Authors Network talking with Ella Curry and the Go On Girls Book Club!

What do RuPaul & I have in common?

2010-02-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Besides being tall.

This is why I have this stuck in my head.

Month of a Lifetime!

2010-02-04T08:43:00.007-07:00

So much going on this month. Black History Month, of course, (Lori Tharps has some excellent suggestions about how to celebrate). I have a guest blog post at The Divining Wand. Please check it out.

Sade's new CD will be released!

Valentine's Day!

My niece Candace's 21st birthday!

What would have been my late mother's 63rd birthday!

And February 21st, which is not only the world premier of "Sins of the Mother," but is also the anniversary of my mother's death and the late great Nina Simone's birthday.

If that wasn't enough to keep me excited, several Girlfriends Cyber Circuit authors are touring this month! First up is Judi Fennell, with a great contest to promote her book Catch of a Lifetime!

About Judi:

Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did--right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she’s still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends’ books.

A three-time finalist in online contests, Judi has enjoyed the reader feedback she’s received and would love to hear what you think about her Mer series. Check out her website at www.JudiFennell.com for excerpts, reviews and fun pictures from reader and writer conferences, and the chance to “dive in” to her stories.

Contest

To celebrate the release of each of her books, Judi Fennell and the Atlantis Inn and the Hibiscus House bed and breakfasts are raffling off three romantic beach getaway weekends. All information is on Judi's website.

Now on to our Q&A:

Tell us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it.

Catch of a Lifetime is the third book in my Mer series, this time about middle sister and Human-loving, Angel Tritone. She's determined to convince her brother Rod (hero of Book 2, Wild Blue Under) that she's perfect for the Director position of the Mer-Human Coalition he's establishing to help curb the pollution and global warming issues facing the entire planet. Things don't go quite as planned when she has to outrun a shark and ends up on Logan Hardington's fishing boat and is seen by his six-year-old son, Michael.

Logan Hardington, who ran away from the circus as a teenager, wants Normal in his life. But when a surprise son he never knew about shows up, Normal starts falling by the wayside. Then a beautiful naked woman shows up on his boat and it's all he can do to keep Normal part of his vocabulary. But when she proves to be a mermaid and his son goes missing, Logan realizes that Angel definitely is not the catch of a lifetime.

Or is she?

Which do you most like writing--dialogue, action, or description?

I write mostly dialogue first then go back and layer the rest in. I can hear the characters talking, so that's the easiest for me. It directs the scene for me, so once I have that down/know it, I know the rest of the scene.

Do you think about writing series or do you prefer stand alone titles?

I think in series, mainoy because I like reading them. I like getting to know the author's world and meet the characters before their stories. As a writer, it's nice to use the world you've created - you don't have to go back and create a whole new world and world rules, just some new scenes and build on what you'd already created. It's nice for the readers to become invested in your series, too. I have people emailing me, asking about Mariana and Pearl's stories - stories that aren't contracted yet, but are definitely in the "churning in my brain" stages.

What's next for you?

I've turned in book one in my next series, pitched as "I Dream of Jeannie meets Indiana Jones." And it was a blast to write! I Dream of Genies hits the shelves January 2011, followed by Genie Knows Best, and Leave It to Genie.

Costco Book Signing

2010-01-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

I'll be signing copies of Children of the Waters and Orange Mint and Honey on Saturday, Feb. 6th at the Costco in Aurora, CO. If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by and say hey!

Saturday, February 6, Noon-2 p.m.
Costco
1471 South Havana
Aurora, Colorado 80012

Here are some links to some recent reviews and news:

Waiting for Bambino, a blog about adoption, reviews Children of the Waters. And the folks at Color Online will be hosting an online discussion of it on Friday, Feb. 6th.

Jill Scott recently appeared on Chelsea Lately discussing "Sins of the Mother"

Hearts for Haiti-Denver fundraiser

2010-01-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

In response to the devastation caused by the recent earthquakes in Haiti, grass-root organizers including members from the Haitian community, invite you to the fundraiser: Hearts for Haiti “Haiti Cherie."

Please join us in support of this momentous cause!

Sunday, January 31, 2010
*3:00pm-6:00pm*

Location:

Funky Buddha
776 Lincoln St.
Denver, CO 80203
6:00pm-close *Eat, dance, and socialize*

Edwidge Danticat, Nicole Weaver and I are donating autographed books for the silent auction.

On Friday, January 22, 2010 several members of the Haitian community stood in support of the Hearts for Haiti Fundraiser and The Lambi Fund of Haiti at the Colorado State Capitol. On this day, state lawmakers passed the Joint House Resolution regarding the tragic earthquakes in Haiti. In part, the Resolution urges Coloradans to provide immediate and long term donations and support to humanitarian organizations who aid with relief for the victims in Haiti.

The Lambi Fund of Haiti in association with Be R.E.A.L. is promoting the Hearts for Haiti Fundraiser “Haiti Cherie”. In addition to striving to raise vital funds for Haiti we seek to embody Haitian culture through music, food, and dance. It is essential that we join the international community in helping to rebuild the grief-stricken country while celebrating the life, culture, and beauty of the Haitian people.
Joint House Resolution

Movie pictures

2010-01-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

New trailer

2010-01-20T16:36:00.003-07:00

Please watch this trailer for "Sins of the Mother" and see what a great job Jill Scott and Nicole Beharie do as my characters Nona (a recovering alcoholic) and Shay (her daughter).

Here's a promo for the movie!

2010-01-20T08:49:00.002-07:00

Sins of the Mother is almost here!

Book Talk, Creativity and Family Matters

2010-01-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

I'll be on Anjuelle Floyd's Blog Talk Radio show "Book Talk, Creativity and Family Matters" this Saturday, January 23rd. Noon PT, 1 pm MT, 2 pm CT and 3 pm ET. The call in number is 347-215-7740. Call in and ask us some questions and contribute to the conversation! As the title of her show suggests, we'll be talking books, writing and all kinds of things. You can also listen in online by clicking the above link.

Coming to a TV screen near you!

2010-01-15T10:48:00.002-07:00

Attention: There's a new air date for the movie.

It will now be shown Sunday, February 21st

instead of Super Bowl Sunday.

Received a DVD of "Sins of the Mother" today! Watch for it on LMN Sunday, February 21st! It's a really wild thing to see my name on the screen. This is the scene in which Shay is being told she needs to take some time off from school. Shay is played by the radiantly beautiful and talented Nicole Beharie. She is fantastic! Jill Scott plays her mother Nona and is terrific, as well. If you watched "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" or saw her in "Why Did I Get Married?" you already guessed at that, I'm sure.

Hello Highlands Ranch!

2010-01-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

I'll be at your library tonight (Thursday, Jan. 14) at 7 p.m. I'll discuss and sign copies of Children of the Waters, which will be sold by Tattered Cover. Please come out and join us. The snow held off (thank God!) and I promise we'll have fun!

Guest blog on The Divining Wand

2010-01-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm guest blogging on The Divining Wand about the contest in support of "Sins of the Mother" based on my novel, Orange Mint and Honey. Check it out. Larramie (who I call a literary fairy godmother for how kind she is to authors) is also giving away Melanie Benjamin's Alice I have Been. Leave a comment on her blog post by 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 13 and you could win!

I can Skype!

2010-01-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

Book clubs, if you want me to visit with your group via Skype, email me. If it works with my schedule, I am there!

'Jill Scott Preps Two New Films, Marvel Cartoon Series, Intimate Apparel Bra, Album Release and... -- NEW YORK, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ --

2010-01-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

'Jill Scott Preps Two New Films, Marvel Cartoon Series, Intimate Apparel Bra, Album Release and... -- NEW YORK, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ --

Tracking word count

2010-01-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

is one way to motivate yourself to write. Inkygirl is holding a 1,000 words a day challenge and a 500 words a day challenge and a 250 words a day challenge. Check it out.

iPhone users check this ap

2010-01-06T08:09:00.001-07:00

Children of the Waters is an iPhone ap! (it and Orange Mint and Honey are also both available via Kindle and Kindle for iPhone, fyi)

Facebook peeps, we're doing a 32-day writing challenge to write every day for the first 32 days of the year. Happened spontaneously based on this essay by Ann Patchett. It's not too late to join us and share in the encouragement!

Events!

2010-01-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

2010 is going to be busy! I've got lots of events in the Denver area this spring, including a signing at the Highlands Ranch Library on January 14th and a signing at Costco in Aurora on February 6th. If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by and say hi! Please check my website for more details.

Also, if you're in Denver, you should know that Heidi Durrow and Donna Grant and Virginia DeBerry are coming to the Tattered Cover Colfax. Heidi will be here March 11 with her debut novel The Girl Who Fell From the Sky and the Dynamic Duo Donna & Virginia will be here March 12 to promote their latest, Uptown. Mark your calendars!

Contests! Win autographed books and more!

2010-01-02T10:06:00.002-07:00

Host a watch party for "Sins of the Mother" and you could win a signed copy of Sins of the Father by Angela Benson and more!

Autographed books from authors Bernice McFadden, Marisa de los Santos, Therese Fowler, and others! Jill Scott CDs! And plenty of orange, mint and honey goodies!

Check my website for contest rules and details.

In Denver, if your book club or social network gives a donation to The Delores Project you could win a visit from me (bearing goodies of course) at your watch party. Go here for more details about my Denver contest.

Dealing with doubt

2009-12-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

I received a message on Facebook the other day from a writer. Part of what it said follows:

You are really encouraging and inspiring. It takes discipline to write a novel and so many times I started and stopped, started and stopped, (listening to voices saying I can't do it, it's too hard, I'm not good enough, etc.) My goal in 2010 is to finish my draft and the arduous process of rewriting, etc.

I wrote back to tell this writer that I still hear those voices. I thought I would share here what I told her:

You know what's funny is that people think because I'm published I don't hear those voices. Not true! Even with 2 novels under my belt while I'm looking at my current work in progress I'm hearing all that same stuff about how I'm not good enough. I'm not disciplined enough. It's too hard. I've gotten myself in over my head. I'm not talented enough. The trick is to keep going any way. My tips for coping with those voices are praying, crying and listening to uplifting music to pump myself up before I start work. Jill Scott's song "Try" is a good one.

That got me thinking. "Try" isn't the only song I listen to. I posted some suggestions a few years ago. Here's a few new additions I've added.

"They said no you can't. We said yes we can."

"Keep your head up high. Believe in you, believe in me."

"I don't worry cause everything's gonna be alright."

"Well let the sun shine on your face And don’t let your life go to waste"

"I'm ready to go right now!"

Alicia Keys is a fan!

2009-12-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled upon her talking about Orange Mint and Honey on her website! How cool is that?!!!! Join her community and see what she had to say! Here's part:

"First let me say, this is the reason I love to read. This book has so much character and a wealth of soul. I love a book that can take u through a person's insecurities, vulnerabilities, issues and life because we all go through it!I love Shay. U can immediately understand her. Her pain, her anger, her depression, her unresolve. I love how it opened up with her messy room and her talking to Nina Simone. I felt her loneliness, confusion and unrest.Taking the journey with her back to her mother's house made me feel a little scared for her. It's hard to forgive sometimes and as u can see she's not forgiving easily. And why should she???"

Quote of the day

2009-12-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

Just got a card from a writer-buddy with this great advice:

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Christmas Eve!

Bootleg eggnog latte recipe

2009-12-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

I made this up yesterday and I'm really digging it. I don't think I've said here that I started Weight Watchers a couple months ago. I've lost 13 pounds so far. The eggnog latte at The Coffee Shop That Shall Not Be Named is 11 Weight Watchers points. For one grande! My drink is probably not even a full point since a whole cup of soy milk is 2 points.

It's not exactly the real thing, but it works for me. Here's the recipe:

strong coffee
generous splash soy milk (as much milk/cream as you may usually like in your coffee)
1 pk Splenda
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg
splash vanilla extract
splash imitation rum extract

Tasty!

Encouragement from a fellow writer!

2009-12-20T13:59:00.003-07:00

Some of my writer-buddies and I have been kind of blue lately. If you have too, read this from LaConnie Taylor-Jones:

Authors, we are sixteen days away from a New Year. Forget the challenges you grappled with in 2009. Instead, concentrate on the opportunities that await you in 2010. Wrap yourselves in your dreams. Constantly remind yourselves that you will not respond to failure. Continue to bob (adversity) and weave (the threads). In the end, a custom-designed quilt (your story) will emerge.

Go here to read the rest (and lots of other uplifting & interesting info. Blogging in Black is looking great lately!). It's balm for a writer's soul!

How you like me now?

2009-12-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

What do you think of the new template? Unfortunately, I lost a lot of links and stuff from my sidebar. But I like it. I like it so much I just might get back in the habit of blogging, instead of Tweeting and Facebooking!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome Wendy Nelson Tokunaga!

2009-12-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Feeling a little stressed or overwhelmed? The holidays will do that, won't they? Myself, I'm not doing much shopping or any traveling, so I'm not feeling really stressed. I am feeling a little...sad though. This time of year can be hard when you've had losses. I know I'm thinking of my mom, my grandfather, my Uncle Charles (who passed away this fall), and my cat Hazel who died 2 weeks ago. I'm also thinking of friendships that seems frayed right now.

And after Season 3 of "The Wire" (I'm behind, I know) just about sent me to bed for a week (talk about frayed friendships!) and "Everybody's Fine" made me cry all weekend, I don't want any more serious or sad fiction for a while.

As always, one of my girlfriends to the rescue! This time it's Wendy Nelson Tokunaga. Her second novel Love in Translation is out and it looks like just the kind of fun, light-hearted read I could use right now.

About the Book:
After receiving a puzzling phone call and a box full of mysteries, 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. This overwhelming place where nothing is quite as it seems changes Celeste 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?

My Q&A with Wendy (she gives inspiration to aspiring authors!):

Q: What inspired Love in Translation?

A: 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.

Q: If you weren’t writing, what would you be doing instead?

A: I’d be singing. Before I started writing fiction I wrote songs, sang lead and played bass guitar in my own bands. Later on I got into singing Japanese karaoke. And further down the road I took voice lessons from a great Japanese jazz singer. I learned so much from her and was able to take my singing to a whole new level. I began to sing jazz standards with my husband accompanying me on keyboards. We play low-key venues once in a while but usually we just practice for fun at home.

Q: Who do you picture in your mind when you write?

A: I guess I picture the character, but not usually in a specific physical sense. I imagine his or her persona in some tangible way, which acts as a reference point to keep me going.

Q: What's been your biggest surprise about getting published?

A: I don’t know if it would be categorized as a surprise, but I think that something completely unexpected has been the experience of getting published at a time when everyone and their dog is predicting the imminent death of the book and the publishing industry as we know it. I find myself half the time scoffing at such news and the other half worrying about it.

Q: Is writing your main job? If not, what do you do for your real source of income and how does it impact your writing?

A: Writing is my main job, but I also do manuscript consulting to help novelists and memoirists get their books in shape to send out to agents or to help revise them when they’ve received nothing but rejections. This dovetails nicely with my own writing and I really enjoy reading other writers’ works and helping them make their stories the best that they can be.

Q: If you could ask any author (living or dead) any question what would it be?

A: I’d love to ask Mark Twain if he could meet me for dinner and share a good bottle of wine so I could soak up all his wit and knowledge. And I have read that he was quite the cat lover so I think that would make it even more fun.

Q: What's the main thing you hope people take away from Love in Translation?

A: That opening up to new experiences and even different cultures can enhance your life and make you discover things you never knew about yourself.

Q: Art or entertainment? Is one more valid or important than the other?

A: Both can be equally important. But definitions of “art” and “entertainment” are so subjective. I guess as writers we hope that our works fit into a nice combination of the two.

I'm a two-hit wonder!

2009-12-04T08:44:00.002-07:00

From AALBC (where there's lots of good info and reviews on books!):

"Carleen Brice has returned to the literary scene with her second novel, Children of the Waters and she's making another huge splash in literary fiction. Her clear and compassionate writing voice has given way to a novel full of love, loss and family connections. It's the story of two sisters who were separated for many years due to deception and circumstance....

This story examines several themes; adoption and racial identity, family and reconnecting, opening up to change, accepting who you are and the importance of love between mothers, daughters and sisters. Brice was able to pull it all together in a novel where plot and characterization were fully developed to create a perfect pitch. Believable characters that the reader could empathize with and a very believable storyline made Children of the Waters a very enjoyable read. Carleen Brice proved with this novel that she is no "one hit wonder"."

Go here for the whole review (warning: lots of spoilers).

LMN Movie airs February 7!

2009-11-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

The moment we've been waiting for: the LMN movie "Sins of the Mother" based on Orange Mint and Honey will air on Sunday, February 7th. Mark your calendars. Tell your friends. Watch parties, anyone?

The Gardening Writer

2009-11-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Cool comics for writers over at inkygirl.com

Welcome Melissa Senate!

2009-11-23T10:40:00.001-07:00

I'm excited about Melissa Senate's latest The Secret of Joy for what will be obvious reasons for anyone who's read my book Children of the Waters. Half-sisters who find each other! In addition, I'm excited because Melissa has been a real joy to me, filling me in on what happens when your book is made into a TV movie. So I'm thrilled to let you all know about what promises to be a good book written by a good person. Definitely on my holiday book-buying list! (Maybe even as a little sumthin sumthin just for me.)

Check out what Melissa says is the inspiration for the book:

"Several years ago, I received an email out of the blue that said: I think you might be my half-sister. I was. Am. It took me a long time to decide to take that little (huge) nugget and write a novel to help me figure out the answer to some burning questions, such as: if you haven’t seen or heard from your biological father, or any member of his family, since you were little (or, in Joy’s case, never at all), is his child from another relationship really your sibling? Or just a stranger? Does the word father or sister or brother mean anything without back up? I had a ton of questions and set out to uncover how I felt through a fictional character, but it’s interesting to me that I flipped everything on its head in the writing of the story. Nothing but the basic questions that are proposed in the novel are autobiographical. Just the questions! And I surprised myself quite a few times during the writing of this story with how I felt about certain things. Amazing how writing fiction can teach you so much about yourself."

Introducing THE SECRET OF JOY (Simon & Schuster trade paperback, $15.00) by Melissa Senate, the “warm, winning” new novel from the bestselling author of See Jane Date and Love You To Death.

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Joy-Melissa-Senate/dp/1439107173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258292510&sr=8-1

What would you do if you discovered you had a half-sister you never knew existed?

28-year-old New Yorker Rebecca Strand is shocked when her dying father confesses a devastating secret: he had affair when Rebecca was a toddler—and a baby he turned his back on at birth. Now, his wish is that the daughter he abandoned, Joy Joyhawk, read the unsent letters he wrote to her every year on her birthday. Determined to fulfill her father’s wish, Rebecca drives to a small town in Maine—against the advice of her lawyer boyfriend who’s sure Joy will be a “disappointing, trashy opportunist” and demand half her father’s fortune. But when hopeful Rebecca knocks on her half-sister’s door, Joy—a separated mother who conducts weekend singles tours out of her orange mini-bus—wants nothing to do with Rebecca or the letters her father wrote to her. Determined to forge some kind of relationship with Joy, Rebecca sticks around, finding unexpected support from Joy’s best clients—the Divorced Ladies Club of Wiscasset—and a sexy carpenter named Theo . . . .

The Secret of Joy is a Simon & Schuster Book Club Pick! For more information, check out the Reading Group Guide:

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Secret-of-Joy/Melissa-Senate/9781439107171/reading_group_guide

Praise:

"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

Author’s Bio:

Melissa Senate lives on the coast of Maine with her son and their menagerie of pets. She’s the author of eight novels (seven women’s fiction and one young adult) with two on the way. Visit her website (http://www.melissasenate.com) for more information and she’d love if you became her friend Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MelissaSenate) and followed her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/melissasenate).

"Precious" Premiere

2009-11-13T08:40:00.005-07:00

My review of the movie is over at my other blog. Here's a few pics from last night. I went to the premier at the Denver Film Festival with author friends J.D. Mason (w/yellow bag) and Kim Reid (black & white dress).

Also pictured are Nina Henderson Moore (in black with silver jewelry) and Tamara Banks (in red and brown).

(Got a few compliments on my t-shirt!)

Welcome Jessica Brody!

2009-11-11T09:32:00.001-07:00

I'm looking forward to reading Jessica Brody's new book Love Under Cover. I'm lucky: I'll even get a signed copy because Jessica will be reading at the Tattered Cover tonight. If you like FREE BOOKS, check out Free Book Friday, Jessica's site where authors giveaway free books.

About 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?

A captivating new novel from the bestselling author of The Fidelity Files.

Available November 10, wherever books are sold.

Praise:

Currently in development as a TV series by the executive producer of Crash!

"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

"Those who enjoyed Brody's debut will be eager to catch up with Jennifer, but newcomers will be intrigued, too...an honest, witty portrayal of modern love." - Booklist

“With her usual smart, deft, and witty prose, Brody delves deep into the psychology of a woman who tests the fidelity of strangers for a living but struggles with commitment in her own life." - Joanne Rendell, author of Crossing Washington Square and The Professors’ Wives’ Club

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

A Q&A with Jessica:

What was your inspiration behind Love Under Cover?

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.

What is the most memorable first line you've ever read in a novel?

There’s a very powerful young adult novel called The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams that I read last year. It’s about a fifteen year old girl who grew up on a polygamist compound and it opens with this: “If I was going to kill the Prophet,” I say, not even keeping my voice low, “I’d do it in Africa.” I read that line and didn’t put the book down until the end. I knew from that line that it was going to be a heart pounding read. And it was.

Which scene (or scenes) in your novel did you love writing? Why?

I love writing any of the scenes with Jennifer’s friends. They’re all fun in their own way. Zoë has a terrible road rage problem and she has a habit of talking on the phone while driving so those conversations with Jen and Zoë on the phone are always really entertaining for me. I get to channel my inner turrets patient. Sophie is totally neurotic. I love going over the top with her.

And John is the flamboyant gay boy from West Hollywood who is always quick with his sarcasm and wit. Sometimes I don’t know where his remarks come from. I must be channelling my inner gay man because I’ll write something that he says and think, “That’s really funny. Where the hell did that come from?”

Which 'craft' book has inspired or helped you the most throughout your writing career?

SAVE THE CAT, by Blake Snyder. It changed my life. People tell me my books read like movies. Well, that's probably because SAVE THE CAT is actually a book for screenwriting. But I've found it translates exceptionally well to novels. A well-told story is a well-told story, regardless of the medium and a fast-moving story keeps the pages turning. Blake Snyder lays out a simple (yet effective) step-by-step beat sheet of how to tell any story and I'll never write another book without it! He's very well-respected in the industry and I know many writers (screenwriters and novelists alike) that utilize his books. Plus, the book is extremely funny and entertaining to read!

Since becoming a writer, what’s the most glamorous thing you’ve ever done?

When my first book, The Fidelity Files, came out in France last year, my French publisher actually flew me out to Paris to promote it! It was a dream come true! I speak French almost fluently so I was able to conduct all my interviews in French, which was both nerve wrecking and exciting at the same time. Paris has always held a special place in my heart. I was a French major in college and I lived in Paris my junior abroad. Plus, I spent a month in Paris in 2005 finishing the novel so it was all very magical and kismet to be back there to see it in French book stores!

Book club chat Tuesday

2009-11-07T10:27:00.001-07:00

I'll be chatting about Children of the Waters over at the Rawsistaz site on Tuesday. If you have any questions, feel free to pop in.

The middle...again

2009-11-01T16:45:00.004-07:00

I've written here before about how writing the middle is the hardest part of writing a novel for me. But I'm realizing something: it's not just writing where I don't "get" the middle. It's everything.

I'm doing Weight Watchers. In my life I've either been a guilt-ridden food Nazi or a carefree glutton. Never spent time somewhere in the middle, where you mostly watch what you eat but also know life's too short to never have a margarita or a chocolate chip cookie. I've noticed WW is triggering my BE GOOD button, making me want to "beat" the points system by not eating them all. I have to force myself to dip into the weekly additional points WW allows. But force myself I will because I'm no longer interested in the pendulum swinging back and forth. There's got to be something between brown rice and water on one hand or death by chocolate and burgers on the other! Right? Right?

So I'm going to try dividing my points in such a way that every other day there's a little wiggle room for a treat. I'll see how that works. Cause the once-a-week-pig-out doesn't feel real great and neither does letting those points go unused. It's not sustainable over the long haul.

Oh shit. It's balance again. Or my lack thereof. Again. I am an all or nothing person. Either I'm totally obsessed with my current work or my netbook is collecting dust. What about opening it and working on it some, a little bit every day? Or working fiendishly Monday-Friday and taking the weekends off?

No wonder the middle is the hard part of the book for me to write! I'm comfortable being way over on one side or the other, the beginning or the end, hot or cold, black or white, and don't get me started on fucking "blue dog Democrats." (If you're a Dem, be a Dem for God's sake!)

I can see I've got my work cut out for me. Maybe I'll start a new blog about my challenges finding balance. Yeah, and I'll turn it into a book and a movie! And I'll do speaking engagements all about balance and the middle! My WHOLE life will be about being in the middle!

Yeah, I've got my work cut out for me. I am such a Gemini.

Welcome Marilyn Brant!

2009-10-18T09:40:00.004-06:00

The Girlfriends Cyber Circuit is on fire lately! I noticed According to Jane by my fellow GCC-er Marilyn Brant was doing well on Amazon before it was even released at the end of September, and there's already over 35 reader reviews. Good on you, Marilyn. I haven't read the book yet, but the synopsis makes me think of my own first novel. In According to Jane, the main character gets dating advice from the spirit of Jane Austen. Sound familiar, Orange Mint and Honey readers? (For those who haven't read OMAH, the main character gets advice from the spirit of Nina Simone.) So this is another one (sigh, such a terrible problem) to add to my to-read pile.

If you like romantic women's fiction, you should check this one out too. Here's the synopsis:

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. . .

Read a sample chapter and check out this Q&A and get to know more about new author, Marilyn Brant:

Q: Tell us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it.

A: 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.

Q: Which scene in this novel did you love writing? Why?

A: One scene I had a lot of fun with was the bar scene in the first chapter where my main character runs into her ex-high-school boyfriend for the first time in four years. It was a situation I had never experienced personally, but I could imagine the comical possibilities so clearly and feel and the frustration of my heroine as if I’d been the one standing there, facing the jerk and his latest girlfriend, while Jane Austen ranted about how “insufferable” he was.

Q: If you could ask one author (in all of history) for one piece of advice, who would you ask and what you would want to know from them?

A: Oooh, getting to be like my main character here! If I could have asked Jane Austen for advice before I was married, it would have definitely revolved around which type of man was the right one for me. (She would intuitively know the answer, I’m sure.) However, even without Jane’s help, I was fortunate to find “my Darcy.” Now, I would ask her for her thoughts on the crafting of a perfect novel. What were the qualities she felt a great piece of fiction should possess? What was she consciously trying to achieve with her novels?

Q: What is your author fantasy?

A: I’m secretly, unrelentingly ambitious, even when I have no right to be. Of course I want to hit the NYT bestseller list and get a movie deal. Also, I’d like an Oprah invitation and a few RITAs. However, these are not quite enough to satisfy every daydream I’ve ever had. I’d greatly enjoy winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony and an Olympic gold medal (in both ice skating and gymnastics). The fact that I’m pathetic on skates and terrified of the uneven bars is, in no way, a deterrent from these unrealistic fantasies. My simple ability to *imagine* them, makes them almost real. Furthermore, I like shiny things (although I don’t like to dust them), so I hereby promise that if I win ANY heavy golden statuettes--ever--I will dust faithfully. Especially that Grammy award. Really.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I get to visit a number of book clubs that chose my debut novel, According to Jane, as their monthly book pick--wildly fun!--while also starting the production/promotion process all over again for my next women’s fiction project. That second book is done, but we’re still working on finding the right title. It’s a modern fairytale about three suburban moms who shake up their marriages and their lives when one woman asks her friends a somewhat shocking question… That comes out in October 2010.

Pictures from Vancouver

2009-10-13T10:55:00.001-06:00

It's not every day that an author gets to stand with her characters. This is me with Nicole Beharie (Shay) and Jill Scott (Nona). More pictures from Vancouver are here.

News from the set

2009-10-09T05:29:00.000-06:00

Hey gang. I'm in Vancouver visiting the set of "Sins of the Mother" (aka Orange Mint and Honey) When I get home, I'll be writing about it for The Defenders Online and hopefully I'll get some good pictures! I'll post a link when the story is up.

Happy Pub Day Shauna Roberts!

2009-10-04T12:25:00.003-06:00

Monday is a happy day at The Pajama Gardener. One of my very best blog friends, Shauna Roberts, publishes her first novel! Like Mayflies in a Stream is part of a series of historical novels about ancient peoples--the book is a highly researched and well-written story about Mesopotamia during the time of Gilgamesh (in a similar time as The Red Tent, and, unlike The Red Tent, this book will appeal to women and men). It begins with quite a bang: boy meets lion. Actually, a hungry lion desperately searching for food during a drought meets a village full of humans!

I was lucky enough to score an advanced copy, but I'm still buying a copy. I hope you will too. Shauna is good people and a great writer. She blogs at her own place and also at the group blog Novel Spaces. Support this brand new novelist and this small press.

Huge congratulations to Shauna!!!

Welcome Hank Phillipi Ryan!

2009-09-25T09:37:00.002-06:00

I'm going to Vancouver to visit the set of "Sins of the Mother," the LMN movie based on Orange Mint and Honey! (Stay tuned for pictures and stories.) Thinking about what to take with me to read. Do you ever get a taste for a certain kind of book? Right now I have a taste for light-hearted, something fun. Air Time by Hank Phillipi Ryan just might be next up on the menu.

Air Time Summary

Star reporter Charlotte (Charlie) McNally enters the glamorous and high-stakes world of high fashion . . . and soon discovers when the purses are fake, the danger is real.

To break her latest big-money blockbuster, Charlotte must go undercover—but what if the bad guys recognize her? This savvy TV journalist must face more than her fear of flying when her inside scoop on designer duplicates suddenly turns deadly.

Carrying a hidden camera and dressing to deceive, Charlie finds she's not the only one disguising her identity. Nothing—and no one—is what they seem. And that means nothing—and no one—can be trusted. In her high-risk job and in her suddenly steamy love life, how can she tell the real thing?

Charlie is forced to make some life-changing—and life and death—decisions. With only a split-second to act and with her own life in the balance, Charlie knows if she chooses wrong it will be the last decision she ever makes.

Real-life investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan devises a scheme so timely and innovative you'll wonder why someone hasn't tried it. AIR TIME takes you behind the scenes of TV news—and reveals what can happen when a savvy, sexy journalist turns from hard-working reporter into becoming a killer's target.

“Sassy, fast-paced and appealing. First-class entertainment.” **Sue Grafton

“I love this series!” **Suzanne Brockmann

“AIR TIME is a fun, fast read with a heroine who's sexy, stylish, and smart. I loved it." **Nancy Pickard

I'm especially interested because Hank is a reporter herself. According to her bio: Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is currently on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate, where she's broken big stories for the past 22 years. Her stories have resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in refunds and restitution for consumers.

Hank was kind enough to answer some questions for readers of The Pajama Gardener. Here's our chat:

Q: Charlotte (Charlie) McNally is an investigative TV reporter, and so are you! What qualities do you share with Charlie, and how are you different?

A: When my husband talks about Charlie, he calls her “you.” As in—when “you” are held at gunpoint, when you track down the bad guys, when you solve the mystery . . . and I have to remind him, “Sweetheart, it’s fiction. It didn’t really happen.”

But a couple of things: I’ve been a TV reporter for more than 30 years. (Yes, really.) And so it would be silly, in writing a mystery about TV, not to use my own experiences. Think about it—as a TV reporter, you can never be wrong! Never be one minute late. Never choose the wrong word or miscalculate. You can never have a bad hair day, because it’ll be seen by millions of people! It’s high-stakes and high-stress—literally, people’s lives at stake—and I really wanted to convey that in the books.

And everything that TV people do and say in the books is authentic and genuine. (Of course, Charlie can say things I can’t say, and reveal things I can’t reveal.) We’re both devoted journalists, and over-focused on our jobs.

But Charlotte McNally is different, too. She’s single—I’m happily married. She’s ten years younger than I am, and so is facing different choices and dilemmas. She’s braver than I am, certainly. Funnier. And a much better driver.

Q: Charlie has some exciting adventures in your mystery series—going undercover, confronting some really bad guys. Tell us about some of your adventures as an investigative reporter.

A: There’s a huge been-there-done-that element to the books—I’ve wired myself with hidden cameras, confronted corrupt politicians, chased down criminals . . . been in disguise, been stalked, and threatened and had many a door slammed in my face. I’ve had people confess to murder, and others, from prison, insist they were innocent. So when that happens to Charlie, it’s fair to imagine me. Although the plots are completely from my imagination, those are real-life experiences.

Q: Your job sounds very demanding. How (and when) do you find the time to write? Do you ever take a vacation, and, if so, what do you do with your time off?

A: Short answer—no. I don’t take vacations anymore. We used to! We love Nevis, a tiny island n the Caribbean with empty white beaches and nothing to do. We love to go to western Massachusetts, to Tanglewood, to go to plays and the symphony and museums. We love to go to Cape Cod, to Truro, to sit on the beach with pals and read, then go out to wonderful dinners. All in the past. Now, I write. And Jonathan lounges in the back yard. Luckily, we have a lovely yard, with a pool and beautiful gardens.

Q: Charlie is afraid of flying, and the airlines are constantly losing her luggage. When you write in Charlie’s voice about these dilemmas, you sound like you’re writing from experience. Is this true?

A: Sigh. Yes. I am a luggage-loss magnet. If they can lose my bags, they will. It’s almost funny. Almost. As for fear of flying, yes, I am afraid. (Although not as much has I used to be. I’ve worked very hard and tried a lot of things to get over it.) I was once covering a very bad plane crash, in a major airport, and was in a room with a lot of the bleeding and upset survivors of the crash. I often wonder if that bad energy someone affected me.

Q: Since you write about what you do, do you ever have ethical dilemmas of your profession that cause conflicts between Hank, the author, and Hank, the journalist?

A: Ah, no. The closest I’ve come to an ethical dilemmas trying to make sure that no one is the books is a representation of a real person. I’m careful about that. There’s no real Franklin. Or Josh. Or Penny. (Is there a real Charlie? Well, that’s possible . . .)

Sounds like Air Time would give you a nice break whether you were on vacation or curled up in bed!

Jill Scott to play Nona!

2009-09-16T20:34:00.003-06:00

The great, lovely, talented, fabulous Jill Scott is going to play Nona is the Lifetime movie version of Orange Mint and Honey called "Sins of the Mother"!!! Read it in Variety.

Win a copy of Children of the Waters!

2009-09-14T08:28:00.001-06:00

Free Book Friday is a site that gives away...you guessed it...free books! This Friday, they'll be giving away 3 copies of Children of the Waters. Go to the site, leave a comment and you're entered to win! Good luck!

Joe Wilson, listen up!

2009-09-10T11:05:00.000-06:00

Welcome Joanne Rendell!

2009-09-09T16:25:00.007-06:00

I'm introducing authors all over the place! Got interviews up at my other blog, and over here I'm pleased to tour the Girlfriends of the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit. This week, please welcome Joanne Rendell, author of several novels, including Crossing Washington Square.

1. New readers want to know about your book! In 2-3 sentences, can you tell us the basic premise?

Crossing Washington Square is a story of two very different women and their very different love of books. Rachel Grey and Diana Monroe are both literature professors in the old boys club of Manhattan University. While this should create a kinship between them, they are very much at odds and when a brilliant and handsome professor from Harvard comes to town and sets his sights on both women, sparks really fly!

2. What was the inspiration behind your latest novel?

The idea for Crossing Washington Square evolved over a few years. As someone who has lived the academic life (I have a PhD in literature and now I’m married to a professor at NYU), I’ve always loved books about the university – novels like Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys, Richard Russo’s The Straight Man, Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, and Francine Prose’s Blue Angel. But what I noticed about such campus fiction was the lack of female professors in leading roles. Even the female authors like Francine Prose's and Zadie Smith’s novels focus on male professors. Furthermore, most of these male professors are disillusioned drunks who quite often sleep with their students! I wanted to write a novel with women professors taking the lead and I wanted these women to be strong and smart and interesting – instead of drunk, despondent, and preoccupied with questionable sexual liaisons!

3. Who’s your favorite character and why?

That’s a tough one! My knee jerk response is to say Professor Rachel Grey because, out of the two female leads, I identify most with her. Rachel teaches chick lit in her classes and has to defend her work and the genre to her stuffy colleagues who think only the classics and literary fiction should be studied. As a grad student, I would be reading classical literature and poetry by day, but then secretly read popular women’s fiction at night (Bridget Jones’ Diary, I have to say, is one of my all time favorite books!). Rachel is also flawed and emotional, yet good and honest and brave. I like that about her. Every time I revisit the book, however, I like Professor Diana Monroe more too. She’s super smart and has great poise and grace as a teacher. She’'s the kind of uber-professor that every academic secretly wants to be. She’s also pretty darn scary in her austerity and brilliance. But she has a vulnerability too and her life started out pretty tough and therefore, every time I revisit the book, I like her more.

4. What is one of the nicest compliments that you have ever received about your book(s)?

One of the nicest compliments I've gotten for Crossing Washington Square (so far… I hope there are more to come!) was from Lawrence Grossberg who is a distinguished professor at The University of North Carolina. He is a very big deal in the world of academia and I was so excited that he not only read it, but also said the book “admirably reveals the hypocrisy of an academic culture that claims to want to understand people and the world they live in, but refuses to take seriously the forms of culture that matter to them.” The book is not just for “high fallutin” professors, of course! But it was exciting for me that a distinguished professor liked it.

5. What’s next for you?

I'm working on final edits for my third novel (which was bought by Penguin last fall). The novel tells the story of a woman who thinks she might be related to the nineteenth century writer, Mary Shelley. On her journey to seek the truth and to discover if there really is a link between her own family and the creator of Frankenstein, Clara unearths surprising facts about people much closer to home – including some shocking secrets about the ambitious scientist she is engaged to. The book is told in alternating points of view between Clara and the young Mary Shelley who is preparing to write Frankenstein.

When real life becomes a cartoon

2009-09-08T14:38:00.002-06:00

Tell me this isn't the same broad!

It's funny when it's on The Simpsons, but in real life it makes me want to slap somebody!

Happy Labor Day

2009-09-07T08:42:00.002-06:00

Prince - Let's Work
Uploaded by halloaluile. - See the latest featured music videos.

Happy September

2009-09-01T11:24:00.001-06:00

AWP coming to Denver in April!

2009-09-01T09:04:00.002-06:00

This will be my first time at a AWP Conference and that's because it's coming to Denver next April. (Great opportunity for local writers.) You can register for early bird rates between now and December 15.

Anybody else planning to be there?

Dreamy journals

2009-08-29T10:43:00.004-06:00

I just found these gift books by Blue Mountain Press. PEACE features quotes from Gandhi. DREAM has quotes from MLK Jr. LOVE is Mother Teresa. BELIEVE is Desmond Tutu (who also wrote the forward for the books). There's lots of white space in these books so I'm going to use them as journals and let my words mingle with the inspirational words of these giants.

I was lucky enough to find these in the Bargain Books section at Borders for $1.99 each!

Here are some of the quotes:

"Be kind to each other--I prefer you make mistakes in kindness, than that you work miracles in unkindness." - Mother Teresa

"Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The law of love governs the world. Life persists in the face of death. The universe continues in spite of destruction going on. Truth triumphs over untruth. Love conquers hate." - Mahatma Gandhi

On the radio

2009-08-17T12:15:00.002-06:00

oh, oh, oh, oh on the radio. (With apologies to Donna Summer) Just wanted to let y'all know I was on the Tavis Smiley Show over the weekend. And the Tattered Cover podcast of my reading of Children of the Waters is now online.

Color Online: Children of The Waters: Yin and Yang of Family

2009-08-11T14:40:00.000-06:00

Color Online: Children of The Waters: Yin and Yang of Family

West Side Books

2009-08-10T08:42:00.003-06:00

This Sunday, August 16th at 6 p.m. I'll be reading and signing Children of the Waters at West Side Books, 3434 W 32nd Avenue. Would love to see you there!

P.S.

Check out my other blog's online store: t-shirts for sell!

Denver Botanic Gardens

2009-08-06T09:18:00.003-06:00

Went to the Denver Botanic Gardens yesterday. Here are more photos.