Grace Hammond, the main character in my new novel, happens to love ice cream. (Don’t we all?) My publisher in Germany, part of Random House, held a huge promotion for my book, in conjunction with 82 ice cream parlors in Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and five other cities. The ice cream parlors sold their ice cream in paper cups with the Sommer der Sternschnuppen (Summer of Shooting Stars) book cover motif on them and gave our free excerpts of the book.
Well, my second novel, The Rules of Love & Grammar, just came out this Monday in Germany (the title there is Der Sommer der Sternschnuppen or The Summer of Shooting Stars) and I’m VERY excited to report that by Wednesday it was number 25 on their paperback bestseller list. On May 31 the book will be published in the U.S. and I’m really looking forward to that.
The book has been out of my hands for weeks now, while my publishers in the U.S. and Germany have been doing what they do to get it ready to send it out into the world. It’s kind of like going through an “empty nest” syndrome for me, similar to how people feel when their kids go off to college. So I’ve been thinking about my third novel.
Because a bicycle plays an important role in my new novel, I’m always keeping an eye out for cool looking bikes, and this is definitely one. The Brazilian Court Hotel, here in Palm Beach, is offering these Lilly Pulitzer-inspired Martone bicycles to guests, as part of a special package or to rent separately. What a great way to pedal around the island!
Photo: Brazilian Court Hotel
Der Sommer der Sternschnuppen or The Summer of Shooting Stars, the German translation of The Rules of Love & Grammar, will be on sale April 18. It can be pre-ordered now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound. It has an earlier publication date than the English version (which is coming out May 31), so if you can read German you’ll get a jump on everybody else. My publisher in Germany, Blanvalet, did a wonderful job on the cover. I just love it.
Yes, here I am, proudly displaying my author badge at the entrance to the Miami Book Fair, which is an amazing annual event. Mitch Kaplan, who started the fair and runs it every year, is a true book lover if there ever was one. He also owns Books & Books in Coral Gables, Miami Beach, and other locations. The store in Coral Gables has nine thousand square feet, with endless rooms of books, a café, and a restaurant in an open air courtyard, all in a gorgeous, historic Mediterranean building. If you’re in the Miami area, don’t miss it.
My book is number 1 on Germany’s mass market best-seller list! I’m pinching myself to make sure this is real, but I know it is because my editor there, Eva Schubert, has been tracking the book’s progress ever since it hit Germany’s best seller list, at number 44, in April.
Here is part of the message Eva emailed to me this morning:
“Dear Mary,
This is a very special moment for me: I’m about to
give you the best news an author could possibly receive from her editor:
YOU’RE NUMBER ONE IN GERMANY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Move over John Green, Elizabeth George and many, many more ….”
I love this photo of Eva (right) with Nicola Bartels, Publisher, and a “Number 1” blueberry pie.
I met the author, Jim Patterson, and his wife, Sue, a number of years ago when our children were young and began attending school together. Sue and I became friends after being room mothers at school, working on the book fair committee, and getting involved in the kinds of things you do when your kids are small.
Five drafts into the writing of The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café, I mentioned to Sue that I was working on a novel. When I described the plot, she said it sounded like a story she’d love to read, and offered to look at my manuscript. I immediately accepted. About a month later, after I finished the fifth draft, I dropped a copy at the Pattersons’ home. Soon after, Sue told me that not only had she read it, but she’d passed it on to Jim to read as well. Trust me when I tell you I was close to