smokin' hot news

Hi guys. Been quiet here, yes? Well, I've been busy. I have some milestones to report.Wait, milestones sounds too sanded down. Too grab and go. This last week? Let's just say that if a calendar had a heat sensor to measure bad and good news (freezing to burning), we'd be calling on those wildfire experts. There'd be helicopters dropping fire retardant all over our house.

To start: my son got married to his college sweetheart last weekend. It was an absolutely phenomenal event that included family and old friends-many of whom flew in from various cities around the country. The bride's extended family arrived from Brazil and Japan. Up at the altar, the couple was flanked by formally-attired attendants (including my younger kids). For many of their friends, this was a "first" peer wedding, and so there was this joy surrounding them, like the first time you take your kid to Disneyland? Before they're all jaded and have figured out Fast Pass and are "over it"? My son and his bride were completely present and elated--not to mention adorable. Love was in the air. Faces contorted in hours-long grins. We wore out the dance floor. There was branded cocktails:

• Sammy: Firefly sweet tea vodka and lemonade
• Tammy: Prosecco with a splash of elderflower syrup

Yes, their names really are Sammy and Tammy. Well, their nicknames, anyway.

And meanwhile, a couple of days before the wedding, a quick glance at my iPhone announced an unexpected email from my agent. It seems the pub deal with Diversion Books was changing. Turns out they want to put out a physical paperback as well as the ebook. Would that be okay with me? It means that the pub date would be pushed back...was I available to hop on the phone and discuss ASAP?

Now, there is only one circumstance (other than death) that would cause me to suggest "next week" for such a call. And that would be the wedding of my first born.

But we did have that call early last week, and I am pleased - no, thrilled - to announce that RAISING CHEER will be published January, 2014 as an ebook and an original paperback.

So, after all these years as a bridesmaid, I finally get to wear white. Literarily speaking.

Stay tuned for more specifics - they'll be coming soon.