RECOMMEND- Benvenida to ADIOS

{Blogger won't let me upload the cover- Sorry!]

I first 'met' Barb Ferrer through an online writer's group on which I mostly lurked. Then the Universe granted me the pleasure of meeting her in person at a writer's conference in Phoenix. What a hoot- I think we were laughing most of the time we spent together.

So having met her in person, I of course made a mental note to buy her debut book. I'm really glad that I did. ADIOS TO MY OLD LIFE is a really fun read. I can't say enough good things about Ali's story. I easily indentified with the heroine and genuinely engaged in her story, anxious to find out what would happen next and enjoying every minute of the ride. Maybe it helped that I'm an American Idol fan already, but it was great fun to get a behind-the scenes look at the talent show and the contestants. Towards the end of the book, it doesn't seem like Ali will get the happily ever you expect, but more satisfying is that she gets the happy ending she deserves.

BACK COVER BLURB- Does a seventeen-year-old from Miami have what it takes to be the next big Latin superstar? And does she really want it?As a talented singer-guitarist with a dream of going pro, Alegría Montero is getting fed up with the endless, boring parade of quinceañeras and other family party gigs. She's longing for something bigger. And Oye Mi Canto -- a new reality TV show that's searching for the next Latin superstar -- is definitely that. Ali figures she'll never make the cut, but auditioning seems like a good way to get her overprotective father to take her ambitions seriously.

To Ali's complete shock, she passes her audition. Next thing she knows, she's dealing with wardrobe fittings, cameras, reporters, vocal coaches, and websites designed by lovestruck fanboys. She's also dealing with jealousy, malice, and sabotage among the contestants, all of which has her wondering: Is it really time to shoot for the stars and try to win the whole competition, or is it time to say "Cut!" and become a normal teenager again?

BOOK REVIEW- "...readers will enjoy this fine contemporary tale that focuses on the price of fame. "- Harriet Klausner

A Pair of Real Winners

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steph and Di won!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so very happy for these two ladies- Diane Perkins on the left and Stephanie Feagan on the right. This is a picture of them at the RWA conference in Atlanta, holding their RITA Award statues.

These are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet and I'm very proud to call them friends.

After CPA Whitney ‘Pink’ Pearl blows the whistle on her firm’s biggest client, Marvel Energy, she gets canned, has to testify to the senate finance committee and acquires an anonymous stalker with a penchant for leaving dog bombs in her path. To avoid any of the stinky CPA scandal sticking to her, all she’s gotta do is turn over one measly disk that has all the incriminating memos between her ex-boss at the firm and the CEO of Marvel.

Trouble is, it’ll be at least two weeks before she can get her hands on the only disk that hasn’t been pinched. In the meantime, she’s got a crazy IRS agent, the Dog-Doo stalker and a lot of pissed off Marvel employees breathing down her neck. Not to mention a very hot, bad-boy attorney and the chairman of the senate finance committee. Who knew how loud that whistle would be?

Go and visit Steph's website to see her other books

The stakes are high in Cyprian Sloane’s latest game--to reform his reputation as a wagerer, womanizer, and worse--and thumb his nose at the father who’s always despised him. The prize is nearly in hand when Sloane encounters seemingly respectable Morgana Hart, a baron’s daughter, who engages in fisticuffs in Hyde Park and embroils him in her scheme to train young women to be courtesans. The lively and lovely Morgana proves the biggest risk of all, even more dangerous to Sloane’s quest for respectability than the violence of Regency underground threatening to close down her Courtesan School. Morgana makes Sloane long to be the rake again--with her.

Go and visit Diane's website for her other books

The Rumors of My Demise

Are completely untrue. However, when I got to the house in Italy where we spent our vacation, I did think I'd died and gone to heaven. Take a look:





















The 6 bedroom, 6 bath renovated farmhouse sits on 50 acres (!) of hayfields, olive groves and vineyards. The weather was perfect the whole time we were there: 86*F-90*F with no humidity. The food was great, the wine was better and the people were wonderful.

I didn't want to leave, not when, despite having never been there before, I felt like I'd come home. The only question now if not if I'll go back to Tuscany, but when. Ciao!