A New Year . . . And Two New Releases

Well, here we are in 2011 {!!} already, and bright and early this year we are officially on Bewitching Watch for not one release, but two from the Bewitching Mysteries! Book 7 in the series – HOME FOR A SPELL – was released in hardcover on January 4th, and right alongside it was the mass market paperback release of Book 6, A WITCH IN TIME. Which means, if you missed AWIT in hardcover or were waiting for it to come out in paperback, now is your chance!



I have to say, 2010 was a year of changes for me. Recapitulating, restructuring, revelations, a lot of hard work, and in the end, the greatest of rewards. It wasn’t an easy year, but wow, how starry bright the world looks right now! What are some of the things I have been up to? Historic home remodeling, world travel, worrying and fussing to previously unrealized levels, packing, putting the newly finished home on the market, moving one son with me to meet my husband in South Carolina {final ETA yet to be determined}, and suffering the separation of pets and family. My Christmas holiday season included two trips to Charleston, two stops in Morristown, TN, one dead alternator, a quick trip back to Indiana to return Number 3 Son, back to Charlotte, and then a flight to NYC, a whirlwind survey of northern New Jersey, and then a return flight to Charlotte. And it’s not over yet. My husband’s National Guard unit has a trip overseas coming up next month. After that? Who knows!

On the book front, I am finishing up Book 8, which has just been given the title IN CHARM’S WAY. And, I hope to have some good news for you soon about further releases in the Bewitching Mysteries. Cross your fingers that the PTB luuuuuuuuurrrrrve the sales numbers they’ve been seeing!

And to all of you who have been recommending my books to their friends, relatives, and perfect strangers in the bookstore aisles, you have my undying gratitude and forever love! Honestly and truly. You are all the bestest of the best!

That being said . . . Happy 2011, dearhearts!

Forever,


Mad {madly!}

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World... And I really mean it!

There once was a woman named Mad

Whose home was looking rather sad

It sagged where it shouldn't

Lift spirits? It wouldn't!

It was making her feel really, well, kind of bad...

Color and life it was most certainly lacking

So she set out to do a bit of spackling

"A bit" turned into "A Freaking LOT!"

Months passed by, nerves were shot

She had zero free time for internet yakking...

Spackle and dust became her life

Each new project filled with strife

Old houses, well, they take a lot of care

{Weary remodelers, beware!}

Project stresses can run especially rife!

Plaster walls come crumbling down

and leave owners with big frowns

Hardwood floors look lovely, so true

but bring on refinishing blues

Spackling, sanding, painting, more sanding... Yikes! Zounds!

But words are Madly's great love

Storytelling fits her like a glove

She's ready to put down her tools

To get back to ghosts and ghouls

And other mysteries, as below and above...

HOME FOR A SPELL comes out at New Year

Yes, there are more Bewitching books, never fear!

I have some doozies planned for you

Stay tuned, my lovelies! If you only knew!

Oh, the things that will be coming out, my dears!

Home For A Spell, Hardcover release 1/4/11

ISBN# 0425238679

Available for pre-order now!

Meanwhile...

If you know of anyone looking for a castle...

A charmer in the heart of the great Midwest...

In an Indiana town that is as Mayberry as, well, Mayberry...

A town with tree-lined streets...

And ice cream socials and pancake breakfasts at the local fire station...

And a drive-in restaurant that still puts on sock hops some Saturday nights...

And where Friday night varsity games draw numbers that give most local churches attendance envy...

Let me know...

Because Castle Alt is going up for sale! Woot!

Do You Gabble?

Today, I received this via email in a list of items predicted to soon become extinct:

9. Hand-Written Letters. In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?

As a writer, this saddens me, even as I guiltily tuck away my oft-buzzing cell phone. . . and that doesn't even begin to address the emails and MySpace/Facebook messages I receive. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not about to give those glorious modern conveniences, either. But like a lot of writers I know, I also have a long-time love of beautiful pens, inks in beautiful colors, and special papers that allow pen and hand to glide across it like glass. Writing letters was once an excuse for possessing such luxuries of the handwritten word. Will it be long before these things fall by the wayside as well? Should I be glomming on to all the Waterman pens and Clairefontaine stationary I can find?

I've heard rumors that even cursive writing is to fall by the wayside. Quelle horreur! How many of us {especially young girls} worked to develop a style of script that was uniquely our own, oh-so-long-ago?

What about you? Do you still write letters? To anyone? Ever? Do you, too, mourn the loss of these things, or am I alone in my quirks?

As for me, journaling by hand will still require the special papers, pens, and ink. Thank goodness. If not for that, I promise you I would have had the most beautiful grocery lists in Indiana. :-)

Love to all on a very blustery Midwestern spring {Yes!} day,


Mad {madly!}