Romantic Comedy News

I receive several e-mails a week asking about future books in Simon Pulse's romantic comedy line.  Over the last few years, the line has featured some fantasic authors, such as Jamie Ponti, Erin Downing, Aimee Friedman, Nancy Krulik, and Micol Ostow (and that's just a start!)  To date, I've contributed four titles to the line (Royally Jacked, Spin Control, Do-Over, and Scary Beautiful.)  However, in the last few years, I've been busy with other projects, which means I usually answer those "when will you write...? e-mails with some variation on "Someday."

I'm happy to announce that "someday" is now here!  I just agreed to write a fifth romantic comedy for Simon Pulse. The book is tentatively titled NOT MY BOYFRIEND--tentative, because titles often change while a book is in production--and it's the story of a teenage boy who asks his best friend's younger sister, a talented athlete, to pretend to be his girlfriend. The pair think the charade will be simple, but find it forces both of them to question their offbeat views on romance.

The book is slated for a December 2011 or Spring 2012 e-book release, and I couldn't be happier.  As more detailed release info becomes available, I'll post it here and to my bulletin board.

Bonus book news:  If you're a fan of Jennifer Echols, then you'll be thrilled to hear that she's also agreed to write another romantic comedy.  Her story, DOUBLE DATE, will also be released in Spring 2012.  It's about two best friends who can't figure out which of the guys flirting with them is interested in which girl.  Worse, the girls don't want to admit to each other that they're interested in the same guy.  Jennifer will also be posting updates on the story to her blog, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, thanks so much for all your e-mails requesting more romantic comedies.  I'm happy to oblige!

Great Company

Royally Crushed is now available in bookstores everywhere!  Not only do I have the photographic evidence, the book is keeping very good company:

That's Royally Crushed in the dead center of the Bellingham, MA, Barnes & Noble New Teen Fiction section.  (See the princess holding the frog?)  A couple books to the right of Royally Crushed is the newest from one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Echols.  (Tip:  Forget You is phenomenal.  Grab it if you haven't already!)  Above my Royally Crushed and to the right is Lauren Oliver's Delirium (check out the way the cover reflects in the photo.)  Also on display are Clarity, The Vespertine, Anna and the French Kiss, Matched, Vixen, and a bunch of other great reads.  Needless to say, several of these titles went home with me.  I also signed all the store copies of both Royally Crushed and one of my earlier titles, Sticky Fingers.  So if you want an autographed copy, the Bellingham Barnes & Noble is your spot.  I visit the store frequently, so I'll continue to sign books as they arrive.  (Thank you, Bellingham B&N!)

If you have a sighting of Royally Crushed, send your photos my way--I'd love to see them!  In the meantime, don't forget that there is a FREE bonus story called Reality Check for fans of Val Winslow, the main character in Royally Crushed.  You can get your free read right here.  It's my way of saying thank you to those of you who take the time to visit your local bookstores and libraries.  Without your love of books, it wouldn't be possible for so many great stories to end up on the shelves.

All That's Good In The World

After whining about all that's wrong with baseball, I figure I ought to balance that with all that's good in baseball. Or--hey, why not?--things that are simply good in the world.

In baseball land:

• Mark Buehrle's perfect game. Doesn't matter if you're a White Sox lover or hater, whenever a pitcher pulls this off, it's something to cheer.

• The Rockies are moving into positive territory. I don't believe their sudden uptick in the win column is related to firing Hurdle (sorry, I'm still grumpy about that.) Whatever it is that's going right at Coors Field, I hope it keeps right on going.

• Matt Holliday is now 1,000 miles closer to me, having been traded from the A's to the Cardinals. As I've previously stated, Matt is My Next Husband After Jacoby Ellsbury (and, presumably, after my actual husband.) It may be time for a road trip to St. Louis. Plus, St. Louis has the added attractions of a great ballpark and Albert Pujols. What's not to like?

• I got to add another ballpark to my Been There, Done That list this month! While visiting D.C. for the Romance Writers of America's annual conference, I managed to hop the Metro to catch last Saturday's game between the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. Beautiful, easily accessible ballpark, friendly employees. I saw lots of players tossing balls to kids in the stands, which earns a team serious brownie points. And best of all, I had great seats, right behind the Nats' dugout.

• Tonight, I'll see the Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles at Fenway. Any day at Fenway is a good day. (Assuming the Sox win, of course!)

And in the real (aka: non-baseball) world:

• I've been writing like mad (thus my relative silence on the blog front.) I've gotten TONS of e-mails asking me what I'm working on. As soon as it's in the can, I'll spill. Until then, I'm superstitious. But suffice it to say that I'm in a happy place with the writing, and I hope readers will be excited about the results.

• Writing has also been happy for Hakeem Bennett of Brooklyn. His essay about heroes won the Stone Arch Books national essay contest, landing him a spot in a Superman comic. I think it's incredibly cool that DC Comics rewards great writing this way. Congrats, Hakeem!

• I had the chance to meet LOTS of readers last week during the Romance Writers of America's booksigning for literacy in Washington, DC. Thanks to all of you who turned out. I love getting the chance to talk about various characters (Val and Georg from the Royally Jacked series still generate the most questions) and to hear what books you're carrying around with you right now. Huge thanks to author Jennifer Echols, who not only stopped by to chat, but who took this shot while I was getting set up for the event:



If I had proper cropping skills, I would. But there you go. It was still a lot of fun, even with those exhibition-hall type ceilings!

Got more happy news? Cool stuff happening in your neighborhood? An AAHHHHH moment you saw on TV? Put it in the comments! It's finally summer at my house (in other words, the rain has stopped at long last!), so I'm in the mood to hear all about your Big Happy.