Megan Crane, who wrote ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, which I loved, has a
new book out! Not only does it have a fabulous cover (not that you should
judge a book by its cover), but a great premise as well. The book is already
in my "to be read" pile, which at this point is hovering precariously on the
point of falling over and smothering me.

But before I get on to a little recap of the story, here are Megan's answers
to the two all-important questions:

Q: What song would you love to find out was written about you?
A: "Save A Prayer" by Duran Duran. When I was in junior high, in fact, I
believe I once got carried away and claimed that the song was written for
me. Because grown international pop stars often penned famous ballads for
thirteen year olds in suburban New Jersey... Obviously, this claim was met
with widespread derision by all the other girls who knew it was about them.

Q: If you were going to be the inspiration for a song, what would its title
be?
A: "Your Neuroses Are Charming, Not At All Alarming."

And now, here's a little about Megan's book:

EVERYONE ELSE'S GIRL is a smart, sassy story about a quintessential "good
girl" who discovers she may not be so good after all. EVERYONE ELSE'S GIRL
is a welcome addition to the newly minted 5 SPOT imprint launching this
fall.

Meredith McKay has gone to a lot of trouble to create the picture-perfect
life for herself-far away from her troublesome family, thank you. When her
father's car accident forces her back to her hometown, however, she soon
discovers that there's no running away from family issues-there's only
delaying the inevitable.

Can anyone sort out a lifetime of drama in one hot summer? Throw in a hot
guy from back in high school with an axe to grind, a best friend turned
enemy turned soon-to-be-sister-in-law, and, of course, the sometimes
irritating/sometimes delightful members of her own family, and Meredith is
on her way to figuring out that a trip through the past is the best way to
move forward.

With one revelation after another coming to light, Meredith must reexamine
all the things she's ever believed, including the truth about herself.
Could it be that she isn't the picture-perfect good girl she always thought
she was? EVERYONE ELSE'S GIRL is a funny, poignant reminder that a trip
through the past is usually the best - and only - way to move forward.

My publicist, Susan, thought I was crazy to actually be afraid of snakes slithering into the plumbing. So when I read a news article on Sunday I just had to send it to her as proof that it's possible. Apparently, a NJ family discovered a 6 foot python had somehow made it's way into their pipes and decided to settle in their toilet. Imagine their surprise! See, it does happen. And in New Jersey, of all places? She made me feel so crazy I decided to see if my fear was really irrational after all. And here's what I found:

- KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - At first, the family thought their daughter was hallucinating when she told them that a python had stuck its head out of the toilet.But after deciding to investigate for themselves, they too saw the 8-foot yellow and black python peering from inside the traditional squat toilet, The Star newspaper reported Monday.

- A man in St. Petersburg, Florida lassoed a snake that was poking its head out from his toilet. It turned out that the snake was a six-foot-long African rock python. (There's a photo to go along with this news item, but I'm so freaked out by snakes I can't even post it).

So, here I'm worried about a little old garden variety snake, and there are pythons running amock in our plumbing? Who's crazy now?