Day 164, self quarantine:
So in quarantine land, it’s the little things.
Like something unexpected that arrives in the mail.
Like a signed, personally inscribed advance copy of your good friend’s new book!
Happy pub day Ellen Meister! Ellen’s latest novel, Love Sold Separately, is available today here, there and everywhere:
Can I just say that this book arrived in a bright turquoise padded envelope that matched the book cover?
Again, it’s the little things.
Ellen is my fabulous friend of almost twenty years and a brilliant writer.
We met in NYC in 2002 when a bunch of us belonged to an online writing group, part of Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios, and those of us on the east coast decided to take our friendship to the real world.
Ha, back in 2002 that seemed so edgy and brave.
I mean, we couldn’t even really exchange pics online yet. We had to use scanners, and most people didn’t own one.
So yeah, a bunch of us finally met in person for dinner after yapping online for a couple of years...was the first time at Bubby’s in NY?...and we’ve been friends ever since.
Some of us are famous now.
For a lot in our group, just getting a short story published was exciting enough, but a few of us were sitting on novels.
All we needed were agents and a little luck.
Ellen had a novel, I had one, too, but as soon as she told me the premise of hers that night at dinner, I knew, 100%, that Ellen’s book would not only be published, it would be a hit.
The premise and title were, George Clooney was coming to the Applewood PTA.
It took a little more time than I thought, and her publisher’s legal department made her change the title because George, but yep, the book was a smash and the start of a very successful career.
And if you’re a Dorothy Parker fan, Ellen is your gal.
Love Sold Separately is a departure for Ellen because it’s a whodunnit and I gotta tell you, she totally fooled me, I did not guess correctly “who did it.”
But man, what a fun break from reality the book was. I took it to the beach with me on my birthday last week and between the sun and the surf and this book, it was just about perfect.
I had Gary take a pic of me reading, but first he took a pic of my thighs with the book in between and then I held the book up and he cut off Ellen’s name.
Oy. Maybe I’ll post one in comments for laughs.
Anyway, in this apocalyptic era of Donald and a deadly virus, Love Sold Separately is the perfect anecdote.
It’s smart, funny, and entertaining.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Dana Barry has nothing against rules. She just thinks they’re meant to be bent, squashed, and thumped into amusing shapes. So it’s no wonder when the struggling twenty-something actress is fired from her day job in retail. And now her life is a mess … that is, until she hears the Shopping Channel is auditioning. Relying on her nuclear eye for detail, knack for knowing what makes people tick, and sheer bravado, she lands the host job. Before you can say office politics, Dana is caught in the biggest drama of her life. The star host—a diva who terrorized the entire staff—is found dead. But Dana knows the prime suspect is innocent. The heat is on, and Dana thinks she’s ready for it … until she tangles with the tall, dark and smoldering detective in charge. It’s more fuel than she needs right now, as she’s trying to launch her Shopping Channel career. But Dana’s never been afraid to take chances … even when a single spark could ignite everything.”
So here’s something Ellen doesn’t know - one of my friends who sometimes comments on these posts is in fact a shopping channel host. I’m not going to out her unless she wants to out herself, but I will make sure she gets a copy of this book. I think she’s going to adore it.
Anyway, as a writer, I can tell you from first hand experience, nothing is more exciting than publication day. It’s kind of like having a baby. You create this thing and nurture it for months and months and then it’s born and you’re so damn excited and happy and at the same time you want to throw up because what if it’s not perfect and what if everyone hates it, and oh my god, why would anyone voluntarily go through this agony?
I know why.
Real writers do it because they have to. They have something to say, and hopefully there are people who want to read it.
I stopped submitting to agents for the most part because I can’t follow rules but I never stopped writing.
It’s my voice, it’s how I speak.
You know who has a fabulous voice?
Ellen.
You’re gonna love this book.
And all of her others!
I’m not encouraging this and you can go other routes via Ellen’s website linked above, but if Amazon is your jam, here’s the link:
Okay! I’m off to start day 2 of oycation staycation getaway week which means I get to call clients.
Yay.
All things considered, I’d rather be on the beach reading Love Sold Separately.
Rock on!