Thursday, August 31, 2006

 

With Labor Day weekend just 24 hours away, and the forecasts calling for rain here all weekend, what a great time to snuggle up with a new book. Ellen Meister's new book, SECRET CONFESSIONS OF THE APPLEWOOD PTA is just right for fall, when all the kiddies are heading back to school and lunch boxes are being packed every morning (personally, I do mine the night before because I'm not exactly a morning person and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that I'd forget to make lunch altogether and end up sending my kids to school to starve all day).

Here's more about Ellen's new book:

When a Hollywood location scout comes to Applewood, Long Island and announces that the local elementary school might make the perfect backdrop for an upcoming George Clooney movie, the PTA’s decorum crumbles like a cookie from last week's bake sale.

Enter Maddie, Ruth and Lisa, three women who become the glue that holds the project together...and wind up forming a bond of friendship stronger than anyone had imagined.
A good thing, too, because each of them is about to come apart. Maddie Schein, an ex-lawyer trying as hard to fit in as she is to save her marriage, gets knocked off balance by Jack Rose, an old college friend hell bent on seducing her. Ruth Moss—rich, sexy and outspoken—has more to give and less to enjoy than most people think. Indeed, since her husband's stroke left him embarrassingly uninhibited yet completely impotent, she's more of a caretaker than a wife. And modest Lisa Slotnick, a loving parent who wants nothing more than to fade into the scenery as she tends to her children, must deal with the humiliation of being thrust before the spotlight by her scandalous, alcoholic mother.

When these three get together, a powerful alliance is forged. But is it strong enough to overcome the obstacles to getting the movie made in their town? And will their friendship be enough to mend their hearts and homes? Join them as they reach for the stars...and try to pull off a Hollywood ending of their own.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

 


This weekend my husband and I went over to my friend Hank's house. Hank is actually Hank Phillippe Ryan, an investigative reporter for the ABC affliate here in Boston. I met Hank last year when I came to Boston for some signings. She also happens to share my agent, who just sold Hank's first novel, PRIME TIME - very cool story about a 40-something TV reporter who discovers a link between a suspicious car accident and hidden messages in spam emails while juggling an on-camera world that values beauty more than journalism. I can't wait to read it.

Besides the fabulous dinner that Hank and her husband made for us (an amazing beef tenderloin with sweet potatos, string beans and salad - probably the best thing we'll eat for the next month and which will tide the unsophisticated palate of the O'Connells over for the next month of Kraft mac 'n cheese) it was a blast talking to Hank about writing (which, thankfully, she continued to email me about even after we left, so that when I arrived home at 1:30am there was a message with some of her thoughts) and life in general. Hank's book comes out next summer, make sure you look for it!

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