Happy New Year

Whether you ring in the New Year clinking glasses with friends and party music pumping or at home watching the televised Times Square ball drop with Chinese carry-out and a cat curled on your lap, in the words of my STROKES OF MIDNIGHT heroine, Becky Stone, I wish you a 2008 chockful of "fresh starts and "dazzling opportunities."

Happy New Year,

Hope

The holidays: all pumped up

Foremost, to all of you who've called "time out" from the holiday bustle to email me nice notes on my December holiday book, STROKES OF MIDNIGHT, thank you! Your kind words mean more to me than any critical praise. For those of you who missed my previous Christmas book for Harlequin Blaze, IT'S A WONDERFULLY SEXY LIFE, "Don't worry, be happy." ;) It may be long gone from brick-and-mortar bookstores, but you can still order the book online, including trusty ole amazon.com.

Fortunately STROKES OF MIDNIGHT is a two-day read, leaving oodles of time for tackling all those other great books waiting to be read. (Christmas started out as Twelve Days, remember). My personal pick is Claire Cook's LIFE'S A BEACH. Claire is the talented author of MUST LOVE DOGS as well as several other books celebrating not only romance but the quirky beauty of all our relationships. LIFE'A A BEACH is chockful of romance, to be sure, but there's also plenty of sister love-hate to go 'round as well as pets--you gotta love a heroine who names her cat "Boyfriend."

You can read my "review" of LIFE'S A BEACH at a wonderful new site/ezine: Writersarereaders.com.

P.S. Don't forget...My special holiday co-contest with fabulous fellow Harlequin Blaze author, Cathy Yardley draws to a close this Monday, December 17th, so please check back for the announcement of winners. In the spirit of celebrating the charms of giving *and* receiving, each winner will receive two extra sets of books to give as gifts.

PPS. I can't believe I left this out of my NYC posts. Check out the above photo of STROKES OF MIDNIGHT (center), my New York-over-the-holidays book taken, yes, in New York over the holidays!

Back from the Big Apple

Yes, I'm back from New York and though the impetus for the trip was work-related, you guessed it--I had a fabulous time. Following in the (spiked heeled) footsteps of my romance writer heroine of STROKES OF MIDNIGHT Becky Stone (AKA Rebecca St. Claire) I took an off-Broadway detour to Rosie O'Grady's for a drink and a nosh. Unlike Becky, I was spared the confrontational encounter with any "Elliot"-like bad boys though I definitely checked out the bar's dark-suited "inventory."

As to that dreaded "work" stuff, it wasn't dreaded at all but totally fun. Morgan Doremus and her hubby, Nick, owners of Pacific TV, graciously opened their Murray Hill filming studio to interview me. Prior to me sitting down with Morgan to dish on the book, they indulged me with a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility. The equipment room alone had more buttons and knobs and blinking lights than the console of the Starship Enterprise! Sitting down in front of the camera in the celebrity hot seat, my nose dusted with shine guarding powder and my posterior warming the same seat occupied by Jerry Seinfeld the month before when he stopped by to promote his blockbuster, "Bee Movie" was...well, pretty heady stuff.

My fifteen minutes of fame, winnowed down to ten, will "air" from the newly launched Romance Writers of America-NY website later this month. In addition to a few juicy not-yet-released Behind the Scenes details on the book, I include some hopefully helpful tips for aspiring writers on how to best use the Internet as a research tool to "keep it real" in our books. As they say, stay tuned...

I also hope you'll join me on Thursday, December 20th when I "sit down" with LifetimeTV.com "Romance Buy the Book" host, Michelle Buonfiglio, to dish on ENSLAVED and the future of unusual historicals. Visit my Media & Events page for details on how to sign up and participate.

Live from New York...!!!

Hi All,

The famous Snow Flake on Fifth Avenue, the annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center (breathtaking!), the 75th year anniversary of the legendary Rockets, and Jack Frost nipping at...well, everything I "own"...Yes, you guessed it. I'm in the Big Apple soaking up the holiday vibe and walking the walk albeit in slightly more comfie shoes of my STROKES OF MIDNIGHT heroine, romance novelist Becky Stone. So far I've skipped: a) the not so nice editorial news Becky receives at the book's beginning (whew!), b) the totally medicinal martini she understandably quaffs afterward (replaced with a very good glass of shiraz), and c) the shoe-shopping splurge at Saks (drats!). I also haven't managed to collide with any 6"4 blue-eyed blond-haired Max-like hunks on Avenue of the Americas--but hey, the trip's not over yet. ;)

I hope you'll stay tuned for the next update on my self-guided tour of the city at this most magical time of the year and please do look for STROKES OF MIDNIGHT in brick-and-mortar and online bookstores.

Happy (Shoe) Shopping,

Hope

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whether you live in an area where Jack Frost is already nipping your nose or you're reaching for the sunscreen to ward off a Caribbean style sizzle, whether you're spending the day en famille sitting down to a traditional family feast, or plopping down solo on the sofa to watch either football or a rented "chick flick" or better yet, to savor a soul satisfying *romance* novel, I wish you a day filled with peace, happiness, and newly discovered treasures both large and small.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Hope

The Big "It"

I'm feeling a little bit proud today--and a lotta bit sore. Yesterday I ran the U.S. Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC along with about 30,000 other like-minded folks (that's folks, not fools). It was my third marathon, my second Marine Corps Marathon, and overall just a lovely fall day.

Oh, by the way, yes, I did finish. :)

My time, 4:22, isn't record-setting, but it is respectable. Despite spotty training and a pre-race fall up some concrete steps crossing U.S. Route 50 to the Start point, I shaved off a minute or two from my time thirteen years ago--a particular point-of-pride because well, Girlfriend's not getting any younger. ;)

Though the wonderful spirit of the event is alive and well, a lot of other things have changed since my first marathon. Back in 1994 there were no cell phones on the course. Hooking up with cheering family members and friends at the various mile markers, and yes, finish line, required more ingenuity and a goodly dose of luck. There was also no GPS tracking based on a clever little clicker affixed to one's shoelaces. Today thanks to technology each runner receives his or her true finish time, no need to guestimate the minutes lost waiting to cross the Start line--and yes, with thousands of runners, you don't all cross when the gun goes off.

There were a few wheelchair entrants back in '94, mostly graying Vietnam vets with shorn off legs, massive arm muscles, and shoulders as wide as the proverbial football field. Yesterday, there were a lot more, beautiful young men and women from the current conflict with legs missing but hearts whole. Everytime my aching body suggested it might be okay for me to slow down, to if not quit at least walk it in, one of those brave former soldiers invariably came into my view (when Marines call out "make a hole," I now know to get to the right or left--fast!), and I knew being a slacker simply wasn't an option.

Today I'm sore. No, not pleasantly sore, but sore-sore, hopped up on Motrin "as we speak" but in a good mood nonetheless. The pride of accomplishing my goal more than makes up for some stiff limbs and blistered feet. If running 26.2 miles was easy, then everybody would be doing it, right?

What's your big "It" with a capital "I"? Whether your It is completing your first marathon or one-miler, typing The End on your first manuscript or your fiftieth, wracking up yet another milestone for success or picking yourself up and trying again after the Universe has dealt you that really big, brutal Boot in the Face, if you haven't already done so, take a moment to brag on yourself, even if the voice saying "You go, girl" is silent except for inside your head.

And in the words of my STROKES OF MIDNIGHT heroine, Becky Stone, here's wishing you an autumn filled with "fresh starts and dazzling opportunities."

Hope

Travel Whirlwind

Hi Everyone,

Since my last post, I've been in a travel whirlwind, not the violent force of nature sort of "whirlwind" that brings to mind the tornado that landed poor Dorothy out of Kansas and smack into Oz (though I've had my moments) but rather the fun albeit hectic kind that brings new friends met, old friends reunited, and myriad new creative sparks well... sparking.

A few weeks ago I made my first visit to Toronto, Canada, where one of my wonderful publishers, Harlequin Enterprises is headquartered. It was a thrill to tour the HQ offices and meet the amazing publishing pros who literally make it happen, including Publisher and CEO, Donna Hayes. My traveling buddy was fellow Blaze author, Cara Summers who was working on edits for her twenty-eighth novel. Way to go Cara!

This past weekend I was an invited speaker at James Rivers Writers' annual conference in Richmond, Virginia. Held at the Library of Virginia, the conference took "Electrify Your Writing" as this year's theme. Not only did I leave electrified--I was flat out star struck. Fellow panelists included Pullitzer winning poet Claudia Emerson ("Late Wife"), internationally bestselling author Eric Van Lustbader (selected to continue Robert Ludlum's beloved Jason Bourne series), and bestselling romance author, Sabrina Jeffries. Small wonder I'm still seeing stars.

On Wednesday I head to Florida for the Amelia Island Book Festival. This year's four-day long festival will be located in the heart of downtown Fernandino Beach. Featured programs will include "Rock n' Roll Readings," (how cool is that!) and a Meet the Author luncheon on a local cruise ship. Yours Truly will be participating as a speaker on a number of panels, including one where I'll get to dish on one of my favorite soap box topics--pets in books!

Anybody else traveling this fall?

Whether your feet are firmly planted at the home hearth or on the teeny tiny foot space of a plane carrying you to some exotic locale, here's wishing you an October as refreshingly delicious as that first bite into a Golden Delicious apple purchased from a roadside stand...

Hope

Celebrating a Life Well-Lived

Last night my friend, Barbara, passed away. I say "passed away," not died, because it's my personal belief that energy never really dies but instead changes forms. And hers is a big spirit, huge. Something so wild and beautiful and free doesn't ever die. It just doesn't.

I'd say Barbara was my best friend, but I'm not in the habit of ranking my relationships. Suffice it to say we were tight. She wasn't only a girlfriend in the peer sense. She was--and is--a mentor, a soul mate, and yes, my very dear friend.

When I got The Call from her son, also my friend, it was creeping up on one AM. I was still up, though, if not wide awake then certainly wired, writing. Because the manuscript for my next book, UNTAMED, the finale to my Men of Roxbury House series is late. Not egregiously late or shockingly late, not the kind of writer's blocked lateness that results in pushed up pub dates and editor frenzy, but a week late. And at the moment, I don't really care.

I shut off the computer and met a small group of my friends at a local bar still open in our otherwise roll-up-the-sidewalks early-to-bed small town. We had a drink, a drink for Barbara, and then we went back to our friend Tim's house and had another round in the timeless quiet of his 1800's living room.

But mainly we talked. Barbara's three adult children who have been her round-the-clock caretakers for the past three weeks shared something of what that had been like, including some of the moments of dark humor involved in physical dying. But mostly we celebrated life, Barbara's life, and the profound ways she had touched us as parent, mentor, lover, and friend. In the course of the next two hours, her one musician son shared the song he'd written for her and then our musician friend, Tim sang the one he'd written, too. We cried some but we laughed even more as well as smiled at all the many memories. Above all we celebrated a life, Barbara's life. A Life Well Lived.

Sitting there last night amongst dear friends, it struck me that it's not the deadlines met or missed, the bestseller list rankings, the contest wins or losses, the sales numbers on our latest release or the sundry other successes and failures that define a life. All the must-do's and should-haves that fill and sometimes clutter our days aren't what we remember or even care about. In the so-called end, it's how our lives touched others, how their lives touched ours, that matters--period.

Bon Voyage, Barbara. Congratulations on a Life Well Lived and deepest thanks for all you've done to teach me how to better live mine.

Love,

Hope

Got...ENSLAVED? Countdown to contest closing.

Hi Folks,

We're counting down to the finish on my end-of-summer Got...ENSLAVED contest. Just six more days before the contest closes on 9/1, so if you've seen ENSLAVED out and about, or elsewhere online, please email in.

"Alert readers" continue to email me their ENSLAVED sightings, including readers from other countries. Recently added to the list of early release sightings are Chapters book store in downtown Montreal and online at The Book Depository (www.bookdepository.co.uk).

:-) Hope

Latest ENSLAVED sighting...

Multiple copies of ENSLAVED (turned face-out, no less!) were sighted in the romance aisle of a Books-A-Million in Pensacola, Florida as of August 14th. Many thanks to Lucile for reporting in. Good luck, Lucile, in the end-of-summer Got...ENSLAVED Contest.

:) Hope

Got...ENSLAVED Contest Closes 9/1

With temperatures soaring, at least here in Virginia, it's hard to believe fall is right around the corner but it is. Soon school bells will once again be ringing and back packs will be filled with crisp new textbooks to be cracked open--and closed.

Along with those harbingers of autumn, my summer "Got...ENSLAVED? Contest" closes on 9/1. So, if you've happened upon one of the advance copies of the book, don't forget to drop me an email with "Got...ENSLAVED?" in the subject header to make things nice and simple. I'll add the location to my growing list and enter your name in the contest pool.

Hope

Got...ENSLAVED? Latest Sighting

Copies of ENSLAVED have been sighted most recently at the Barnes & Noble in Daytona Beach, Florida. Thanks to Lucile F for emailing the info. Lucile, good luck in the "Got...ENSLAVED?" summer contest.

Hope

Back from RWA in Dallas...

Hi All,

I'm finally rested up from the Romance Writers of America Conference held in Dallas and ready to dish. The conference kicked off on Wednesday evening with the Readers for Life Literacy autographing. Think 450 romance authors packed into the Hyatt's grand salon signing their books and chatting up readers. That was enough to steam up even the most Arctic air conditioned of rooms.

Instead of my normal slinking to the hotel bar post-signing for vino and fried munchies, I joined fellow authors Kathryn Caskie and Sophia Nash on a out-of-hotel foray to Cowboy Red River, a "real live Texas cowboy bar" complete with mechanical bull. Romance Novel TV came along for the proverbial ride, film crew in tow. Courage bouyed by a very large and very strong Texas style Margarita, Yours Truly climbed aboard the about-to-be bucking beast. Maybe it was the tequila, maybe it was the white Stetson borrowed from a cute cowboy called Ray, or maybe it was just my stubborn Irish pride, who knows, but bumps and bruises aside, I managed to hold my seat for the full eight seconds. For those of you tempted to remark that eight seconds isn't all that, I say this--Try It. ;)

That was, of course, only the first of my four days in Dallas. Other highlights include dancing to "Love Shack" at the Harlequin Party on Friday night with about-to-be Rita winner, Julia Quinn, dishing with RNTV emcee Sophia Nash on "the red carpet" at the Saturday night Golden Heart and Rita Awards ceremony and gala, and sipping champagne with Kathryn Caskie, Nocturne author, Pam Poulsen, and romantic suspense writer, Terri Ridgell in the Hyatt lobby lounge while the rest of the hotel guests evacuated in response to a (false) fire alarm--think the orchestra playing on the deck in "Titanic."

Okay, enuf about me. Anyone else go?

I'm sure I'm leaving out lots of fun times and events, but summarizing four action-packed and star-author studded days into a single post would make for one book length blog. That said, I hope you'll check back for pictures from the conference to be posted. In the meantime...

Happy Trails,

:-) Hope

Got ENSLAVED--latest sighting

Copies of ENSLAVED can be found at Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks stores in Mesa, AZ. Thanks to Joy I of Mesa, AZ for emailing the information.

Got (a copy of) ENSLAVED? Email me the store name and location with "Got ENSLAVED?" in the email subject header, and you'll be automatically entered in my special summertime contest. The winner will be announced in early September.

And please check back in a day or so for the dish--garnished with the occassional "naughty bit"--from the Romance Writers of America conference in Dallas.

Hope

Off to RWA...

Just a quick note before I dash off to Dallas for this year's Romance Writers of America conference. Each year, the RWA conference kicks off with a multi-author (think 450-strong) Readers for Life Literacy autographing, the proceeds benefiting a major literacy-related charity housed in the host city. While the conference programs are for registered attendees only, the book signing is open to the public and heavily publicized. I'll be signing copies of VANQUISHED as well as THE HAUNTING and chatting with readers, fellow authors, and media in the Hyatt grand ballroom.

In between "work," there will be publisher parties galore as well as some hours logged in the lobby lounge sipping wine, eating far too many bar munchies, and catching up with writer friends I only get to see a few times a year. The conference wraps with the Awards Ceremony and gala on Saturday where everyone puts on the Ritz to celebrate the Rita and Golden Heart winners (and console the other finalists) with champagne and chocolate. :)

At some point during the conference, I'll be blogging from the RWA media room set up in the conference hotel. To read the blog in progress, go to rwanational.org after Wednesday and follow the links.

Once I'm back, I'll be posting pictures and tasty tidbits from the conference week. Also on the horizon is my blog on "Hope and Susan's Excellent Adventure," a post-Independence Day roadtrip to Roanoke, WV and Blacksburg, VA with my buddy, Susan. (Hint: If Susan lets me, there may even be a pic posted from that adventure, too).

In the interim,

Happy Trails--and Happy Reading,

Hope

Happy Fourth!

Happy Independence Day,

Hot dogs slightly charred and hot off the grill, ice cream that melts before you take that first anticipated swipe from the cone, watermelon that for whatever reason tastes more succulent than it does on any other day of the year--Fourth of July conjures a bevy of visceral as well as cognitive memories for most of us. And of course, no Independence Day celebration would be quite complete without fireworks (the safe public displays, if you please, at least for Yours Truly).

ENSLAVED, too, is taking off with a bang. This seems a good time to thank all of you who have taken the time to email me with your preview copy "sightings." So far we have Joseph-Beth Booksellers (josephbeth.com), overstock.com, Borders stores (by order and in some cases already shelved), a Barnes & Noble (somewhere?), and a Books-a-Million in Mobile, Alabama (Pinebrook Shopping Center on Airport Drive). And of course, if anticipation is your thing (think the old Heinz ketchup jingle about "making me wait...") you can always preorder a copy at amazon.com.

To thank readers, and to celebrate the summer sizzle, I am running a special blog contest from now through September. Please check back at www.hopetarr.com after the holiday for details on how to chime in and win.

In the interim, eat a hot dog slightly blackened around the edges and sloppy with relish and mustard and chopped onions. Go for not just an ice cream cone but a double dip. Seize the chance to lay back on a blanket, let the evening coolness wash over your sunburnt face, and savor the bliss of a perfect fireworks constellation while snuggling someone you love.

Have a great Independence Day...

Got... ENSLAVED?

Hi Everyone,

As many of you know, my new historical romance, ENSLAVED is now available for direct order through Borders Bookstores or online through Independent Publishers Group. You can also pre-order the book at amazon.com.

The sequel to VANQUISHED, ENSLAVED is slated for worldwide release in October 2007. That said, about 2,500 copies of ENSLAVED shipped early and have already found their way onto bookstore shelves--and into eager readers' hot little hands.

Sightings so far include Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH (www.josephbeth.com) and Books-a-Million, Pinebrook Shopping Center on Airport Blvd., Mobile, Alabama. I've also heard from a ton of people who've ordered it through their local Borders store.

Do you have a copy of ENSLAVED? If so, I'd love, love, love to know where you got yours, be it a chain bookstore, an indy bookstore, a library or well... anywhere.

Over the summer months I'll be building a list of "Early ENSLAVED Sightings" to track the progress of these renegade books. So if you could take two ticks (AKA moments) to post to this thread, you'll be helping out by letting other readers know where they can find the book.

To reward "informants, " I'll be running a special "Get... ENSLAVED Sneak Peak End of Summer Contest" in addition to my regular monthly contest. The winner will be announced on September 1st. The prize will be a signed copy of Book #1 in my "Men of Roxbury House" trilogy, VANQUISHED, a signed cover flat of ENSLAVED as well as the winner's pick of my backlist titles.

In the meantime...

Happy Summer Reading -- and Sighting

Hope

Back from Book Expo America...

Hi Everyone,

I'm back from Book Expo America. For those of you not familiar with BEA, it's the U.S. answer to the London and Frankfurt Bookfairs and I do believe it's even bigger -- around 30,000 participants at this year's event held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.

Big clue to the incredible vibe of this year's event: the Expo was in New York City -- now, can that *ever* be bad? ;)

I went up on trusty ole Amtrak the night before expecting to have a good trip, a productive trip, a pleasant trip...

What I had was a *great* trip.

I launched my venture on Thursday evening with dinner a-deux with my good buddy, uber talented historical romance novelist, Kathryn Caskie. We chose Zagat top pic, Gotham Bar & Grill on 12th in The Village. Determined not to be idle, we mapped out our Expo plans over a lovely bottle of shriraz and top tier (aka yummy) fare of hard shell crabs (me) and filet (Kathy).

Friday was a "work" day. After a short waiting stint sipping designer H20 in the Green Room (and no, I didn't see anyone terribly famous, more's the pity), I kicked off with a traditonal autographing for my new historical romance release, ENSLAVED (Medallion press). Later, I had midday coffee talk with talented historical fiction author, Will Hutchison, and then an in-booth signing at the Harlequin booth during "Sexy Hour" with Cara Summers and bestselling author, Carly Phillips.

But there's more...

That night, Kathryn Caskie (Kathy to me) and our good buddy, historical romance author, Sophia Nash, met up at New York's famous Webster Hall for The Rock Bottom Remainders "Still Younger than Keith" charity concert. At the VIP reception to kick off the concert, we clinked glasses with literati heavyweights Mitch Albom, Frank McCourt, Amy Tan, Stephen King, and my personal fav, humor columnist turned children's author, Dave Barry. If you have two ticks, check out our candid pics on my Snapshots page. And yes, consider the rumor confirmed, Dave Barry really did pronounce the three of us "hot." I believe the word "babes" was also used," but well, I don't want to get anyone in trouble at home. ;)

As you may expect, all this autographing and gladhanding can really wear a woman down. Fortunately, I got to unwind on Saturday evening at the Harlequin party held at a swank Midtown club. Harlequin always does it right and this year's fete was no exception. Guests were greeted at the door with champagne and chocolates and the night got even better from there. Over canapes and champagne (yes, more), I caught up with authors Jane Porter ("Flirting with Forty"), Candice Poarch, and Rebecca York as well as had the opportunity to say thank you to Harlequin's talented and hardworking editorial, marketing and sales staff.

Come Sunday, all this nose-to-the-grindstone hard work was really taking its toll. The chocolate consumption alone had me at "sixes and sevens" as Sophia might say in one of her Regency-set historicals. I wound down with a signing of THE HAUNTING in the Romance Writers of America booth at BEA along with Niki Burnham ("Goddess Games") and Silhouette author, Anna DePalo.

A few days of post-Expo R&R in the West Village set me to rights. Come mid-week, I was homebound on that Amtrak train, maybe not exactly fresh as a daisy but certainly touting a big ole smile.

Okay, so enuf about me. Anybody else go to BEA? As they say, inquiring minds...

Hope

You get what you need...

Last Friday my local Athenaeum threw a book launch party to celebrate the release of my Harlequin Extreme Blaze contemporary romance novel, THE HAUNTING. The book is set in downtown Fredericksburg, VA, the 40-block historic district, to be exact. So was the party. Not in the heart of Manhattan where I'd always imagined my book release party would be, if indeed I was fortunate enough to have one but in Fredericksburg, the small town where I've made my home for the past six years--and counting.

Fredericksburg is very much a character in THE HAUNTING much like Manhattan in the Candace Bushnell bestseller, "Sex and the City." I jokingly refer to THE HAUNTING as "Sex in the Itty Bitty City" to some people's amusement and others' chagrin.

If you haven't already guessed, I'm a huge "Sex and the City" fan--the television series, that is. I faithfully watched the episodes when they were first broadcast on HBO, and I watch them in re-run most weeknights.

During the program's last season on the air, I gathered with girlfriends every Sunday night to drink Cosmos (what else) and nosh on themed snacks as we counted down to the final episode. Like the ubiquitous spin doctors who rear their "talking heads" post-televised Presidential speech, we'd hang around afterward to dissect the underlying truth of that night's episode, which invariably held far reaching implications for our own less-than-perfect romantic lives.

Most devotees of any TV program have their personal favorite episodes, and I'm no exception. I have a few. I actually thought the producers did a great job with the final episode and though it's probably not politically correct to admit it, I really liked that Carrie ended up with Big. Heart of gold aside, Aiden was always a little too earthy for me and as for Carrie's other main love interest, fellow author John Burger--"Burger"--well, he always struck me as a whiny wimp. I mean, dude, your book tanked. Get over it and write another one. (All joking aside, Burger would never make it in romance fiction. We romance writers are made of sturdier stuff.)

The mention of Burger brings me to one of my top favorite episodes, the one where Carrie's publisher throws her a posh Manhattan style book release party. There is a Cosmo bar, an enormous blow-up poster of the book cover featuring Carrie looking fabulous in short black coat dress and f-me-pump designer high heels, and the two Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum publisher reps cooing over our girl as though her book's the greatest thing to roll off the press since Gutenberg invented it. For her part, Carrie sports a chic shorter 'do, a killer party dress and even more killer designer shoes--either Jimmy's or Manola's, we're not sure.

But all is not exactly paradise. Friend Samantha's face is an angry orange from a chemical peel gone bad. Other friend Charlotte is down-in-the-mouth about...something and Miranda is characteristically sarcastic albeit supportive. The guest of honor is dateless. Love interest John Burger shows up to wish Carrie well but despite the quantity of lingering looks exchanged, he leaves to go home to his girlfriend. Standing on the balcony staring onto the crowd, Carrie admits to herself she isn't just alone. She is lonely.

She ends the night solo in a cab headed for home. The female driver learns she's published a book and insists on stopping for a celebratory hot dog. The hot dog vendor, equally impressed with her accomplishment, refuses to let anyone pay. Sitting in the backseat of the cab with a sloppy hot dog in hand, Carrie suddenly realizes the night isn't just kind of perfect--it really is perfect.

My book release party was held in a converted third floor artist's studio with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto Caroline Street, downtown Fredericksburg's main drag. Despite the conspicuous lack of traffic noise--okay, lack of traffic in general--I could almost imagine I was in a trendy converted warehouse in the Manhattan meat packing district. There wasn't a Cosmo bar but there was some really nice wine and nice noshes to go with it and best of all, a bevy of good friends who turned out to celebrate with me along with a sprinkling of new faces who, like the cab driver in the "Sex and the City" episode, stopped in not to curb my enthusiasm but to share in it.

At the book signing earlier that day, I'd sold out of books, the book store's copies and finally my own personal inventory. The party was the proverbial icing on the cake. Like Carrie, I didn't have a date. Afterward, though, instead of going home alone in a cab, I went out with a group of friends to Bristro Bethem, our favorite downtime restaurant, where the owners Blake and Aby treated us all to a champagne toast.

It wasn't exactly as I'd imagined my book release party to be--it was a hundred times better. Like the song says, "You can't always get what you want but you get what you need."

What times in your life turned out differently than you'd envisioned--only as good or better? Are there events you look back on with the 20/20 wisdom of hindsight and thank the Universe, God or so-called "dumb luck" for *not* letting you have what at the time you really, really wanted? Is there "someone" or maybe a collective of someones working 24/7 to save us from the hubris driving our all too frequently blind human desires?

Wishing you a springtime blossoming with needs fulfilled and dreams exceeded...

Hope

Resolving to Believe...

Okay, so we're three weeks and counting into a new year, and I can't help wondering how many of us made New Year's resolutions for 2007--and how many of us have kept them.

In Baltimore where I grew up, I attended an Episcopal private school from grades six to twelve. Every Friday, we broke from classes mid-morning to attend chapel, held in the cafeteria with we students filing in and sitting cross-legged in rows on the sticky floor. I have to confess I spent most of those chapel sessions zoning out, day dreaming about what I wanted to do and be in that faraway place known as my grownup future.

One chapel talk, just before Lent, though, has stayed with me all these years. The speaker was one of the teachers on staff, a spare, slender, neat woman who seemed ancient to me at the time and who was, I'm sure now, no older than thirty-five. The topic was Lent and her point, at least one of them, was that Lent shouldn't always be a call to give up something, to deprive ourselves of some supposedly guilty pleasure. Maybe Lent, she suggested, was a time to *add* something to our lives heretofore missing. In her case, she resolved to honor the season by cooking a tasty, healthful dinner for herself each night. It seemed she was a single woman and eating dinner solo wasn't something she looked forward to. Instead she grabbed a quick bite or sometimes skipped the meal altogether. Her thought was that perhaps cooking dinner for herself during Lent would become habit-forming, an act of self-love, an affirmation of her Divinely given human worth.

This year I made a New Year's resolution, my first in years. It was just a small thing, really, a starter resolution. I resolved to start working out with my hand weights and exercise mat 2-3 times a week rather than once every week (or sometimes every other week). So far, I've kept my resolution. Now instead of a guilty binge work-out that leaves me reaching for the Motrin, I work out, feel great--and then actually am able to lift my arms the next day to dress myself. ;) Can I keep it up? There's no guarantee but, for now, I think I can.

Some resolutions, New Year's and otherwise, maybe are meant to be broken. Certainly the ones that leave us feeling cranky, deprived, even bitter rather than good about ourselves are best left by the proverbial wayside.

How do we handle it when the things we once dreamed for ourselves don't fit anymore--a relationship turned toxic, a job that no longer challenges us to create or grow, a daily routine that once made sense but now feels like a stint in federal prison.

Can we outgrow our resolutions sort of like that circa 1980 sweater with the shoulder pads and the glitter and leather patches that used to look so cutting edge cool but now seems just really sad and dated? When a dream grows old and frayed, is it time to put it aside and try on something new?

Recently I caught up by phone with a friend who moved away to Alabama. Before Pam left town, we used to hang out over dinner at her house, open a bottle of decent red wine, and have the most amazing one-on-one conversations. Pam is a big believer in making wish lists and creating vision boards. The latter are big pieces of foam board or just plain poster paper with photographs and magazine clippings and sundry small items that symbolize much more--basically what Back in the Day we used to call a collage. The purpose of the vision board, however, is to create a visual representation of how we wish our life to be--and then not just to wish it but to see and feel it. The vision board operates on the premise of the Law of Attraction. Seeing is believing. Believe it, and the good stuff will come. On the flip side, if you don't dare ask, if you don't dare dream, you don't get.

On New Year's Eve I bought a big bright red hunka foam board from the office supply store. It cost about $8 with tax, a small investment in the future. Right now it's propped against the wall in my spare bathroom still sheathed in its shiny clear wrapper. I'm promising myself, resolving if you will, that this week I'm going to change that. I'm going to set aside a night when I'm home, open a bottle of decent red wine and sit down with magazines and books and scissors and glue and tape and, of course, my piece of big red foam board. I'm promising myself I'm not going to rush things. I'm not going to make a task of this. I'm not going to beat myself up if my vision board ends up looking like a third-grader's C+ science fair project rather than a display object of beauty. (Did I mention I've never been "crafty"?). Instead I'm going to set aside the night, sip my wine, think about how amazingly fortunate I am to have gotten this far in life--and then I'm going to dare to dream and dream big. As in B-I-G. I'll let you know how it goes.

As for my friend, Pam, she's ramping up to make a whole new vision board. She's already achieved most if not all of the goals represented on her old one, including a great new job, great new living situation, and brand new car. If that's not inspiration for the rest of us, I don't know what is.

May 2007 bring the realization of all your dreams, no matter how large or small...

Hope