And yes, it’s true that my definition of “freezing” may be quite different from that of my fellow Debs who live in bona fide “freezing” temperatures, but you have to remember that these little sugar cane houses aren’t built for cold weather. There’s no heat, no A/C, no double pane windows. I can see into my garage (correction: car port) from my kitchen by looking under the gap beneath the front door. So when an unexpected storm passed through a couple of weeks ago (leaving a nice dusting of snow atop Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa), it left in its wake two sick kids and one sick husband. And me, trying to not freak out (and I’m not doing a very good job in that department, let me tell you).

So clearly anything I make this holiday season needs to be EASY. As in, easy peasy lemon squeezy. As in, so easy my 7 year old daughter could do it (if she wasn’t sick and if she was allowed to use the oven, which she’s not). This recipe has become one of my favorites and was given to me by a prominent local foodie, Joan Namkoong, for my upcoming novel, SWEET LIFE (Berkley, September 2008). It’s guaranteed to warm you up this holiday season plus the sugar hit will put you in joyful mood as you pick up discarded tissues all around your house.

Mango Crisp
Serves 8

• 5-6 cups firm, ripe mango, sliced (if you can’t get mangos, you can easily substitute with ripe peaches, nectarines or plums)
• juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons raw white or turbinado sugar

TOPPING

• 1 cup unsalted butter, frozen for 10 minutes
• 1½ cups flour
• 1½ cups quick cooking oatmeal
• 2 cups raw white or turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Place fruit in a 9” x 13” baking dish or deep pie dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sugar; mix together.
3. Mix flour, oatmeal, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl.
4. Quickly and carefully grate butter by hand or in a food processor. Toss grated butter with flour mixture using two table knives (or cut cold butter sticks into 8 to 10 pieces and blend into dry ingredients with a pastry blender) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Once butter is evenly incorporated, place mixture on top of fruit. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until top is browned and crisp. Remove from oven and cool.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

• “I’m going to write my next book in three months’ flat!”
• “I’m going to write my next book right after that!”
• “My writing career is off to a great start!”
• “I love being able to write whenever I can!”
• “I love that my kids are growing older and don’t need me all of the time!” (Okay, this is not entirely true since my oldest is 7 and youngest is 22 months, but you know what I mean)
• “I’m finally a bona fide author and can enjoy the craft, plus make some decent money!” (Again, not entirely true yet but hopefully will be soon)

So here I am, kind of in a writer’s la-la-land when the news comes in (“This just in – literally!”). I am pregnant with #3. Not book, but BABY.

Don’t ask me if this was planned, because my response will be something like, “Ummm … what do you mean exactly by planned?” Does, yes we were open to it but not sure if it would happen, suffice? And what about not expecting it to happen, well, now when we kind of have a few things going on, like editorial deadlines?

My brain is officially mush and I have the same amount of energy as a slug. I got the final edits into my editor for book #2, SWEET LIFE (Berkley Books, Sept 2008 – aka THE ALOHA DIARIES before we changed the name), and it’s gone off for copy edits. This happened before sperm met egg. But now my husband’s second book, THE SEVEN PERSONALITIES OF GOLF (Stewart Tabori & Chang, Sept 2008) is due at the end of the year (what does his deadline have to do with me being pregnant? Refer to the “my brain is officially mush …” and picture him preparing meals and vacuuming while also trying to run his golf academy and write his book). And I was supposed to get a synopsis and sample chapters for book #3 to my editor by Thanksgiving (not!). So then I asked if December would be okay (not not!). Finally I asked my agent to intervene and play the “my client is pregnant and a basket case” card until I can pull it together. Really. The fact that I am even writing this post is somewhat of a miracle.

So I actually went into a bit of a slump. OK, it could be the hormones (I am 39, after all – my hormones are ALL OVER the place, not to mention the pregnancy kind of kicked it into high gear) but I know it is more than that. Sometimes our best-laid plans about how our books will do or what our writing career will look like can throw us for a loop. Honestly? I was a wee disappointed, not to mention discouraged (the latter a result of my “brain mush” state) that the thought of writing my next book now feels about as fun as running 26 miles in high heat.

But I like to think that even though I can barely manage to bathe myself a couple of times a week, that there is an infinitely creative purpose and process in store for me with baby #3 and book #3. Of course, I have no idea what that could be, but I have learned that it does work out. It does.

So if you get thrown for a loop with your books or your writing process, have your breakdown (if necessary), voice your fears and concerns (even the unpopular ones), and then, well, roll with it, baby. Expect it to be a great ride, even if it wasn’t the one you planned to get on. Leaving room for possibilities can be one of the greatest creative experiences of all.

Well, that’s easy. In fact I can sum up the last two months in one little word. Genius.

About two days after my book hit the shelves I got my first reader email. From a complete stranger. Even better, they said that they really loved it. Wow. Especially since before You Had Me at Halo was released, I’d spent a lot of time honing my mind control techniques to encourage people to buy it, I just hadn’t given much thought to what they might do with it next, so the idea that someone might read and enjoy it was a completely lovely surprise.

Apart from hearing from readers, the two other highlights so far have been the fabulous Publisher’s Weekly review I got where they said ‘It’s The Lovely Bones meets Bridget Jones in this fluffy take on what happens after death.’ I know – that’s the sort of thing a girl could dine out on for the rest of her life!!! Also, thanks to being part of a blog touring group called Girlfriend’s Cyber Circuit, I ended up getting a shout out in the New York Times, which was beyond exciting.

Promotion wise, the thing that worked best for me (apart obviously from the extensive subliminal mind control techniques I mentioned earlier) was doing blog tours. I probably did about thirty all together and they were incredibly diverse; with me talking about everything from about how Georgette Heyer affected my writing (a lot) through to having to write song lyrics to promote my book.

The main downside to the whole thing is that I’ve completely lost the ability to focus on anything that isn’t my book. And I mean anything. In the last two months my family have suffered through numerous burnt dinners, my critique partners have hardly seen me and my work in progress is completely covered in cobwebs. This is a slight problem since I actually want to make a career from this writing business, but I’m hoping that things will settle down soon. As for what’s up next. I have a young adult book coming out and I’m still waiting to hear back on my next women’s fiction project about a stressed out bride’s adventures when she discovers that the world is due to be destroyed four days before her wedding. Oh, and there might possibly be some superheroes involved as well…

So, to celebrate the fact that I’ve survived the first two months of being a published author, I’d like to give away a copy of You Had Me at Halo to someone. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and you’ll go into the draw. Good luck!

My greatest fear is that PMS does not exist

and that this is the real me.

There was a picture, too, of a slightly-crazed, intense-looking artsy-type woman sort of getting in your face.

Needless to say, I bought the card and am now looking for the perfect frame to put it in.

Some of my greatest life lessons happened in the past year. Here I am, about to turn 39 (birthday is 9/27 if anyone wants to send a card, flowers or chocolate), married to a great guy, mother of two great kids, living in Hawaii, first book published, co-owner of a very cool golf academy that people love, and I am just now learning to love the person staring back at me in the mirror.

Hello!

I spent a nice chunk of my life making excuses for who I am or situations that I’m in- “I’m not normally this messy,” “I’m not normally this crazy,” “I’m not normally this nosy,” “I’m still battling those last 5-10 pounds,” “I’m not really that smart – anyone can do it,” … get out the violin! Perhaps one of the reasons I’m finally coming to terms with this is because I’m getting older and too tired to come up with excuses. I like to think it’s because I’m becoming more aware, more me.

So here’s how all this ties into this week’s topic: publication has been one of my greatest teachers this year. Sure, I have the teacher I’ll never forget (Joseph Mancini, my creative writing instructor at Georgetown University summer school, and possibly the only person who acknowledged that I had any sort of gift with writing), but the actual experience of publication has taught me A LOT.

As much as I love being published (I have an ISBN! I’m in the Library of Congress! People have actually read my books and like them!), I’ve accepted that it doesn’t define me. Okay, for a moment there I let it define me, but as with all things external, it never works to let things outside of you tell you who you are. Instead, it’s the other way around. This is who I am, and, among many other things, I write.

Next, if you’ve ever really wanted to grasp the concept of not giving a **** about what other people think, publication will pretty much help you get there. Does my editor love me? Do my friends think I’m a good writer? Will my local bookstore carry my books? Will my local bookstore re-order my books? Will my local bookstore hand-sell my books? What if my family hates my book and thinks I’m a lousy writer? Do the reviewers love me? Do they really, really love me? I’ll give you fair warning that it may take a while to buck this one, but in the span of 2-5 months (starting a month before publication), you’ll get an opportunity to turbo-charge through this issue.

And finally, if you’ve ever grappled with the question, “What should I do with my life?” and thought that publication would be the answer to that question, well, I’m here to say that maybe writing WILL be your life, but maybe not. Maybe it’ll be just a part of it, and that’s okay, too. It doesn’t mean you won’t be successful, or that you won’t hit the NYT Bestseller list or have your book made into a movie – all those things can definitely happen. But how fabulous would it be to have that AND everything else, too?

Now, I’m settling into my life and body, which includes, among other things, being an intense creative with occasional bouts of PMS (refer back to the card at the beginning of the post) as well as a published writer (okay, okay – it is still very cool). And I hope that your writing journey, regardless of where you are in it, leads you to some brilliant ah-ha moments, too.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this past year, and I’d like to leave two thoughts with you – my version of a legacy, so to speak:

1. Theme Songs
2. Huli Huli Chicken

First, about the theme songs: if you haven’t already found a theme song for your debut novel, think about getting one. For GOOD THINGS, my theme song is Imogen Heap’s “Goodnight and Go.” I literally see the movie trailer for the book when that music plays. It got me excited and passionate about the process, about getting published, about having written a book that, despite my insecurities, was a good read. It’s one of those weird things – you know you wrote something good, or good enough, and then there’s the moment of doubt where you’re so sure it’s absolute crap that you’re mortified it is actually going to be published and then it will be in the public domain and everyone will confirm what utter crap it is (that, and your publisher will come knocking for the advance you’ve already spent). So, get a theme song. It’ll keep you sane.

So now let’s talk about huli huli chicken. Huli huli chicken is basically barbecue/rotisserie chicken, Hawaiian-style, marinated in sherry, ginger and shoyu (a type of Japanese soy sauce). If you come to Hawaii, you’ll see it being cooked, and sold, by the side of the road. It’s a staple in the Hawaiian diet. So what does this have to do with you?

There are going to be times when the chicken just won’t huli – in other words, things aren’t going to go as planned, or, worse yet, you’ll feel like things have been completely shot to hell,. That’s okay. Well, it’s not okay but my suggestion is that you make your peace with it, because it will be okay in the end, even if it feels lousy in the moment. If anything like that happens to you, open your mind, put your chin up, and keep on dancing.

That’s all the pearls of wisdom this Deb can muster. I know it probably wasn’t quite what you were expecting, but life so rarely is. Good luck, future Debs and friends of the Ball who are looking forward to your future debuts. I wish you well.

I remain,

Debutante Mia

In general I tend not to do the group thing. For me, it’s just a lot of work; I tend to get easily frustrated. I do much better one-on-one, or in *really* large groups. So when Deb Kristy invited me to join The Debutante Ball, I was, oh, a tad apprehensive.

But the amazing group of debut authors she had put together, along with her own bubbly and fantastically enthusiastic personality, pretty much sold me before I finished reading her email. I don’t remember where I was when we first walked on the moon, but I remember where I was when Deb Kristy invited me to join the grog. In Chico, at my in-laws, in the small home office by father-in-law willingly shared with me whenever I needed to write. It was the summer of 2006, and it was hot.

Having the grog as my virtual support group this past year has been a wonderful experience. I honestly think that one reason everyone has had such great success with their books is due in part to the energy we’ve had as a group. With over 200,000 books published a year, publishing is a tough game to get into.

But I’m reminded of a game, Red Rover Red Rover (send the publication naysayers over!). With the six of us on one side (arms linked, looking tough and haggard), we went into our debut year as a force to be reckoned with. We found strength in numbers, but also friendship. And since writing is a lonely business, I think that’s pretty damn good.

But you know how it goes – with every ending there is a new beginning. The reason this hits home today is because I am wading through edits of book #2 (wading being the operative word here – picture yourself in big rubber boots trying to get through a knee-high puddle of muck and you’ve got it), which will be sent to my editor in a few short days. Already book #3 has started to write itself in my head. A year ago today I couldn’t see this far ahead, and now, suddenly, I’m here.

What I didn’t expect was how hard it would be to move forward. I’m so close to the end of this book, and yet it’s like I’m dragging my feet. I have never been more distracted than I have been these past few days. The big wide writing world is out there, and I have to say that leaving the debut turtle shell is kind of tough. In theory, it’s not (“Bring it on!”) but in reality? Yikes.

I’ll get there, like we all do, and then there will be something new around the corner, like there always is. But at the moment? The place I’m in feels almost … itchy. I’ve got lots of nervous energy boiling up.

But I’ve learned that one of the best ways out is through, so I’m off, wading through the muck just a little bit longer, a bit nostalgic about what’s past and a bit anxious about what’s ahead. Who knows … maybe I’ll pick up a snazzier pair of boots and see if that helps.

To go off topic here for a minute, why is it that the anxiety to meet a deadline is met in part by all this emotional eating? It’s probably just a chick thing, too, which is even more infuriating. I’ve been tracking the progress of novel #2 by word count (which means nothing and everything), but maybe I should have charted my weight instead. I honestly think I am about 10 pounds over where I was when I started at the beginning of May. That’s, what, two months? Egads.

Here are my comfort foods, which I know probably doesn’t even technically qualify as “food.” But short of putting them in my acknowledgments, they did help me cross the finish line and therefore deserve some mention. Here they are, in no particular order:

• Chocolate, pretty much in any form, although Reese’s Peanut Butter cups managed to rise to the top of the list
• Kona coffee (I actually don’t drink coffee all that often, but I certainly made up for these past two months)
• Potato chips
• Doritos (original – none of that ranch flavor or anything else will do)
• Cheese puffs (from the health food store and Cheetos)
• Spam musubi(I know – there’s really nothing more to say about this one)
• Powdered donuts (I think I even did a post on this)
• McDonald’s Happy Meals (hamburger)

Of course I did manage to have three (okay, two) square meals a day and got my fruits and vegetables (occasionally) so it wasn’t like I was gorging on this stuff 24/7. But I’d be kidding if I didn’t say they didn’t have a place in my diet these past few weeks.

What do you eat when you’re in deadline mode?