I am on top of the world today. Not only is it my birthday, but I just turned in my manuscript a month early. Let me just explain the inconceivable sense of relief and accomplishment inherent in that sentence. When you start a book, knowing you have a deadline to meet, the pressure, both creatively and professionally, can be intense. I usually like to estimate more time than I really need to write a book, in case I run into plot problems, or someone in my family gets sick. It also allows time to revise at the end, so that I can give my editor a more polished product. But with this current book, I had the opportunity to move up in the 2009 schedule if I could deliver early, so of course, I said, “No problem.”

What followed was pandemonium, a necessary flood of creativity, and a very messy house. I wrote the book faster than usual, which meant working evenings and weekends and missing some movies I really wanted to see in the theatre. (Thank goodness for DVDs.)

When I finished on the day I said I would, I was drunk with euphoria (and oh, how I loved the smell of the ink as my printer spit out 400 pages!). Now that I’ve taken it to the courier, I can emerge from under my rock. I can read the paper, go see movies, do laundry, and generally rediscover the world.

The thing that gives me mixed feelings, however, is that this book was the last in a multi-book deal, which means I am now officially unemployed. I’ll be submitting a new proposal to Avon, and if the fates are kind, I’ll continue to be a working writer. But right now, I have no deadline in sight, and that is both liberating and unsettling. How an author feels about this uncertain period between contracts can be a blessing or a curse. I think it depends on whether you’re a pessimist or an optimist.

Generally I’m an optimist, which mostly makes me feel good right now, because suddenly the possibilities are endless. I’m free to write something different if I so desire, just to see what might come of it. I get to dream up the concept for the next book, which will be the final book in my latest series. This is when creativity can really explode – when you have no commitment to any particular story idea (or contractual deadline), and you can imagine whatever you want.

Then of course, there are the financial ramifications. My experience in the past with signing a new contract has always been positive, because that’s when you get the “signing check” – usually the biggest portion of your advance, which is paid out in chunks as you deliver proposals and completed manuscripts in a multi-book deal. I love the signing check! All I need to do now is send out a new story idea…

In the interim, I’m happily attacking the massive laundry pile, and will be content to tackle seemingly mundane tasks over the coming weeks… even my taxes. I wonder if this is normal.

It’s happening to me now. I sort of knew it would. How did I know? Because dadblast it, I’m guilty of doing it myself. Guilty of asking authors . . . “So, which of your books do you like the best?”

Now, with my next book coming out in June, the question is targeted toward me and I realize how unfair it is to ask an author this question. I mean, please, it’s just like asking a mother which child she loves the best. Or which child she thinks is prettier.

To an author, our books, and characters are like our children. To show favoritism is like . . . well, it’s just so wrong on soooo many levels.

As mothers it’s our job to make all our children feel like they are our favorite—without ever really saying it. Right?

Okay, I’ll admit it, mothers aren’t blind. We do see things. For example I know that one of my children has a prettier nose than the other. But gawd forbid I ever say it aloud. I’d probably scar the child for life, they’d sign up to get a nose job, expect me to pay for it, and would be discussing this very issue to a therapist long after I’m worm bait. (Don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming up and I always rate some really nice gifts. And in case one of my own read this: Think Gucci purse this year.)

And besides the child who inherited my great uncle’s nose has gorgeous to-die-for eyes, which almost, well practically, makes the huge honker unnoticeable.

My point is that while my books, Divorced, Desperate and Delicious and Weddings Can Be Murder have some things in common—i.e. They’re both humorous, sexy, and have a bit of murder in them—they are unique in their own way as well. Sure, you can look at them and know they are related, that they were written by yours truly, but it’s not like they are identical twins are anything.

Divorced is more of a romantic suspense, where Weddings is more of a mystery. My heroine in Divorced, was so finished with men, she swore she was never going to have sex again (you can guess how that turned out.) Katie in Weddings, on the other hand, is desperately seeking the perfect man to make her life complete. And just when she thinks she’s found him, Mr. Not-So-Perfect comes along (hey, he probably even has a big nose) and she totally flushes her life plans down the John. The fact that she already accidentally flushed her engagement ring down John almost seems like a sign.

So while the books are different, they are both books of my heart. Each special to me in their own way, just the way my kids are. (Seriously, think Gucci, kids.) I’m just hoping that the readers feel the same way.

So here’s my question to all of you. Do you have a tendency to love every book from certain authors? If you are a writer, (and yep, I’m gonna do it again) do you have your favorite book, or are you like me and love all your books, big noses or not so big noses?

Below is my video for Weddings Can Be Murder, which will be out May 27th and the video for Divorced, Desperate and Delicious.

Please visit me at my websiteand my blog where I joined forces with five other Dorchester authors to explore the crazy/humorous side of life.

This is long overdue and for that I should certainly apologize. I’m embarrassed that I’ve neglected you for so long, but I’ve been holding on to a couple of secrets and the time has come to share them. So do y’all want good news or the bad news first? I know I can hear some of you groaning. Okay we’ll go with the bad news. I’m leaving Avon and that means no 4th book in the Ladies’ Amateur Sleuth Society series. At least for the time being. That doesn’t mean there won’t EVER be one, I have full intentions of completing the series at some point in the future. Suffice it to say that I’ll find a way to make sure poor Charlotte gets her happy ending and that Jack’s identity is finally revealed. So many of you have emailed me to ask about this book and I so appreciate your support. It’s sad, I know it, I’m bummed too. But with every bit of bad news there is a silver lining. I think I mixed my metaphors with that, but you get my drift.

So onto the good news. I’m moving to Grand Central Publishing (formerly known as Warner Books) and home to so many great writers. I’m super excited. Along with this move will be coming a new and very exciting series for me. I can’t give you many details right now, but suffice it to say they’re coming, I promise. I just can’t wait until you meet these characters, I can honestly say I’ve never had more fun writing than when I dove head first into this book. Be looking for more details on here and on my website as they become available to me.

I hope you’ll be excited for me with this new endeavor. I can’t wait to tell y’all all about the books!

Come in and celebrate Shana’s RITA nomination for Blackthorne’s Bride! Party inside!

If you are saying, “RITA, what?”, then here is a link that might help with the explanation. Go, Shana!!! Go Blackthorne’s Bride! Yay!

Jaunty P. Quills here, showing off my new portrait. How do you like it? I had to spend many a dull hour posing for Margo’s nephew, the artist who did the drawing. It was tedious, but I think it’s a decent likeness.

Jaunty: Not to toot my own horn, but congratulations are in order for my new book, Temptation of the Warrior, which is out today-

Margo: Wait a second, I wrote Temptation of the Warrior. And I am pleased to announce that it is being released by Avon Books today!

Jaunty: Well, I helped, didn’t I? Who do you think posed for that cover? I’ve been so busy with sittings lately.

Margo: Um … It wasn’t you, Jaunty, and I am not divulging the abs … er, the name of the model.

Jaunty: I really like the way they positioned that sword handle.

Margo: Do you mind if we get back to the book?

Jaunty: Oh right. So, tell us about this warrior who gets tempted.

Margo: The main character is Merrick MacLochlainn, a warrior-sorcerer from a magical world. He and his brother, Brogan (from A Warrior’s Taking) have to travel to the world of non-magical people to find a couple of talismans that hold the power to defeat their mortal enemy.

Jaunty: What about the temptation part?

Margo: That’s where Jenny comes in.

Jaunty: Jenny? I have a new porcupine girlfriend named Jenny and she is hot! I can’t believe you named a character in your book after her! She will be so—

Margo: Sorry, Jaunty. I didn’t really name her after your girlfriend. I didn’t actually know you had a girlfriend.

Jaunty: Well, of course I do! Well, I didn’t for a long time, but I’ve been working on it and now I actually I have a few. Chicks are always after a suave dude like me.

Margo: Chicks?

Jauty:

Margo: I always knew you weren’t the most evolved—

Jaunty: What was that?

Margo: I said, the story revolves around the relationship that develops between Jenny and Merrick. Just when he arrives on England’s shores (having traveled through a thousand years’ time) he stumbles upon Jenny, who is being attacked by highwaymen. He comes to her rescue, but is injured – shot and conked on the head. When he comes to, he can’t remember who he is or why he’s there. He doesn’t even remember that he’s not supposed to use any magic while he’s in her world.

Jaunty: Why not?

Margo: Because his magical enemies will be able to track him down through his use of magic. It’s a skill that some of his people have.

Jaunty: Uh-oh.

Margo: Gypsies come along and chase away the highwaymen, but they’re pretty scary, too. So Jenny pretends that Merrick (who is unconscious at this point) is her husband, thinking they’ll leave her alone if she’s the wife of this tall, strong, handsome hunk of a guy.

Jaunty: Heh heh. A fake husband, eh?

Margo: I’m going to leave that whole scenario to your imagination, Jaunty. But I will say it poses some difficulties for Jenny … and not exactly what you think!

Jaunty: Ooh, my quills are quivering.

Margo:

Jaunty: This sounds pretty WILD!

Margo: No, that’s the title of my next book.

Jaunty: See how great I am – I named your next book!

Margo: I’m going to let this one go.

Jaunty: Now, let’s see … we’re calling it WILD because …

Margo: Because the hero of my next book was lost in Africa as a child, and returns home twenty years later. As you can imagine, he’s got quite a wild streak.

Jaunty: I’m trembling at the thought of surviving in Africa. Don’t they have big snakes there?

Margo: Big snakes are the least of this guy’s problems. He’s back in England against his will, and his grandmother wants him tamed so that he can claim his title.

Jaunty: How is she going to tame him?

Margo: With a tutor, the prim and proper Miss Grace Hawthorne. But that’s all I’m going to tell you right now about WILD. It will be out in January 2009, so we’ve got plenty of time to talk about it.

Jaunty: Oh right. I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. What about this Temptation book? Do you have an excerpt for us?

Margo: I sure do. Visit my website MargoMaguire and click on “coming soon” for an excerpt, and click on “news” to enter my contest.

Jaunty: I’m going there right now! What can I win?

Margo: A copy of Temptation of the Warrior. Good luck, Jaunty!

“Oh! You’re a writer!”

When people learn that I’m multi-published, most of them ask where I get my ideas. Some even want to offer suggestions for stories they don’t have the time or the confidence to write. But truthfully? I’m not in need of ideas. I’m bombarded with more than my share every day.

Sometimes a song on the radio will spark an idea. Or an article in the newspaper will catch my eye. Even a nearly forgotten memory will do the trick.

In fact, that’s how MULBERRY PARK, the book of my heart, came to be.

Do you remember those notes we used to write in school?

Dear Jimmy,
Do you love me? Mark the one .
Yes____ or No____

Well, that’s the kind of letter I’m talking about. But the one that tickled my imagination and sparked the inciting incident in MULBERRY PARK wasn’t written to a boy I had a crush on.

It was written to God.

When I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to my question through ordinary measures, like asking the adults around me, I sat down and wrote a letter to God, tucked it between the mattresses of my bed, and went to sleep, knowing I’d have the answer by morning.

Of course, God didn’t respond in the way in which I’d expected–with the pen I’d included in my letter and a big X in the Yes or No boxes I’d drawn. So, needless to say, I was disappointed.

In retrospect, and with a few years behind me–I won’t tell you how many–I now realize that I’d had His answer all along.
You see, my mother had already given it to me. I just hadn’t agreed. So I went around her—and over her head. I’d planned for God to clarify things and set her straight.

Two years ago, during an RWA conference, I was sitting in a hotel room, resting for a moment between workshops. I was a long way from home and waxing nostalgic. Memories are often linked, and as one flipped to the next, that letter to God came to mind, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if I wrote a story in which a child wrote a letter to God?”

Oh, wow. And wouldn’t it be cool if someone found that letter and wrote back, as if he or she were God?

Ooh. And what if the child began peppering that poor person with more notes…?

And there you have it–the start of MULBERRY PARK, my first women’s fiction novel.

God didn’t answer my question that night–nor did He eat the red licorice I left him. But He answered me indirectly, which is what He does in MULBERRY PARK.

When Analisa Dawson, a seven-year-old orphan, can’t find the answers she seeks, she takes a felt-tip marker and addresses God. Then she places her note in a flamingo pink envelope, decorated with globs of glue and glitter, and sets it high in a large Mulberry tree in the center of the park, believing the branches reach all the way to Heaven.

Claire Harper, a jogger whose faith was shattered by the loss of her son, finds the heartfelt plea and feels compelled to respond. That simple act sets motion to a miracle that touches the lives of nine different people, all strangers to each other, all lonely and hurting in their own way.

In the pages of MULBERRY PARK, the characters learn, as I have over the years, that sometimes God’s voice is a whisper in the wind, a peace within the storm. And that some of His biggest miracles occur when the heart listens and obeys.

The Jaunty Quills wish everyone a wonderful holiday!

I am a bargain shopper. I like to get a good deal whether it’s a lower price on an airline ticket or hotel room or simply a good price on an item in the grocery store.

But lately I’ve started to be more selective. I don’t care how low a price I can get on an airline ticket, I won’t fly out at 6 am (unless I absolutely positively need to get somewhere early, of course) because I’ve learned it ruins that day for me. I don’t care if X brand fruit cocktail is cheaper than Del Monte…if I’ve tried it before and didn’t like the taste, I’ll pay the difference.

Let’s talk clothes. Have you ever brought something on sale because it was a fabulous deal…and then never worn it? Do you see my hand in the air? Yes, I’ve done that…and that’s when that great deal isn’t one. I now try to ask myself if the only reason I like that shirt, pants, shoes, purse (you fill in the item) is because it’s marked down 75%. If that is the only reason, I walk away.

I’ve also started paying full price for items I really like. Suprisingly I’ve found I’m most satisfied with these purchases.

Right now I’ve got a summer purse that I got for a steal that now I’m not sure I like all that much. And I’m not sure I want to use it.

Please tell me I’m not alone. And if you have any tips on how to resist a bargain, I’d love to hear ‘em.

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