Thanks Winnipeg. It was good to see you...

At McNally Robinson's last night there were a lot of faces I hadn't seen in years and a few new ones too! Fellow writer and blogger Seeley Deborn was one of them. Seeley moved from the west coast to Winnipeg just days before my reading and yet she still managed to make it out. What a sweetheart, huh? Check out her blog at http://seeleydeborn.blogspot.com/

As I flew home earlier today, a lot of you were still on my mind, mostly because it was such a quick trip and I would have loved to have had more time to talk to everyone individually.

Thanks to Jim ( my father-in-law) for arranging lunch the day of the reading and to Roberta and Tom, for taking me out for dinner that night. Kendra, I sure hope you're feeling better soon. My heart goes out to you, kiddo. Alle, Brianna and Rayan, I'll be pacing my office trying to figure out how to fit you into the next book as walk-on characters. And, yes, Dean, even though I would have ZERO say in casting or anything else relating to it, I'll pass your name along if/when movie rights are ever sold for any of my books. Leave it with me!

A huge hug for Linda Holeman (one of my mentors and all time favorite authors) for making me such a lovely dinner the night I arrived and for introducing me at my reading the next night. Stop by her website at http://www.lindaholeman.com/ and check out all her work, inc/her internationally acclaimed novel The Linnet Bird (sold in 15 languages) which was was followed by Moonlit Cage, the 2nd in a trilogy set that will be complete in spring of 2008 when Linda's 3rd, titled Chutney Mary, set in 1870s Punjab, will be published.

Two final notes: First, take a few seconds to pop by Mia King's blog at this link http://miaking.wordpress.com/. Mia's debut novel Good Things has been doing incredibly well and she just announced an interesting contest you might want to jump in on!

Secondly, Romance Junkies gave The Penny Tree a wonderful review I had to share -- The Penny Tree is a touching story of a failed marriage and the family involved. Holly Kennedy has done a wonderful job of illustrating the impact a child’s illness can have on a family, and how love isn’t always enough to save a relationship. The mystery of the ad-taker’s identity gives a note of hope and anticipation for something wonderful, keeping the story from being overly sorrowful. Emotional and thought-provoking, this would be a good choice for a reader’s group discussion.