On April 30th, I completed my ninth novel. Yes, ninth. Seven have been published, one sits under my bed, and this ninth one will be in bookstores in March 2008. I've also just agreed to write two more books, and I'm working on a proposal for a third. I'm so excited to have future books to look forward to that I'm actually looking forward to settling down and getting busy. Ha.

Somewhere in this fantasyland of mine, carpool, laundry, and grocery shopping don’t exist.  Neither does recalcitrant children, irritable husband and ADD puppy.  I must force myself to think I live in this fantasyland because the reality of writing on a deadline while life constantly interferes is, in a word, simply horrible.  I’m a week past deadline and I’m just now starting to get my brain cells back in order so that I can tackle all the yucky stuff that has been accumulating on my desk:  bills (ugh!), summer camp registrations, fan mail, mailing list additions, and the general hoopla of paperwork that happens in a family of four with two active children.  I swear if I have to fill out ONE more medical form listing my kids’ past vaccinations I’m going to have a fit.  And it won’t be pretty!

Still, I do it.  Because I can, because it fulfills me in ways that folding laundry never could, and because my children won’t need me at their beck and call (hopefully!) forever and my soul finds it important to cultivate that which makes it sing.  And that would be my writing.  I figure if my hectic schedule hasn’t killed me yet, it’s making me stronger.  Right?

During the last few months as my deadline got closer and closer and the blank pages seemed longer and longer, I had a nasty little crisis.  The main characters in the book are avid sailors—yet I had never been on a sailboat in my entire life and my entire knowledge of sailing consisting of knowing that the boat floats in water and the wind pushes the sails.  Period.  Pretty scary, huh?  You bet!!  By sheer luck,  I found not only a person knowledgeable in the ways of sailors and sailboats, but also willing and generous enough to share his time educating me.  I went on a sailing lesson and am looking forward to going again.  We even chartered a boat (with crew!) for our vacation this year and we will cruise the British Virgin Islands for a week this July.  I guess that’s another reason why I write—because it introduces me to interesting and kind people I never would have met otherwise, and to experiences I never would have considered.

My writing career also makes me very popular with my neighbors, friends, and relatives.  In THE MEMORY OF WATER (March 2008), you will find characters who have identical twins in my real life—including my sailing mentor, two of my neighbors, my brother-in-law and a young girl whose parents won a school fundraiser/auction to place her in the book.  It’s a secret graduation gift so I can’t release her name yet, but she’s the young librarian in the book and the younger sister of one of the main characters.  How fun is that?

Now it’s back in the gym for me as I try to fight the “post book bulge” (similar to post-partum pudginess) and try to look good in my bikini as I sit on the deck of our boat and ask the “deck boy” to bring me another Martini.  Have I mentioned how much I love summer??

Speaking of summer, make sure you check out my book recommendations as I promise to keep it updated—especially since I usually have more reading time in the summer.  My 15-year-old daughter also has young adult recommendations for the teen in your life.  I don’t know about you, but I would much rather my teens read quietly to themselves than mouth off!  I plan to spend LOTS of time in bookstores this summer to feed her habit (and to give me endless hours of peace and quiet).  My son, bless his heart, will be in non-stop camps.  Assuming I can dig out the registration forms that are buried on my desk and turn them in on time…

Since I don’t have time to blog, this is the closest I’ll get to it so I’m making a little promise to myself to not be a stranger to this column.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll have something interesting to say EVERY month!

Have a great summer everybody, and happy reading!

Best regards,

Karen