On Target

Today's t-shirt: Information Week magazine's 1997 road tour, a relic from my technology PR days. I had this whole long story to tell associated with something that happened the day I got that shirt, but it turns out it was the wrong year. I guess that means I have two of these shirts, or else I have my years all mixed up.

I have really big news today that has me very excited. I've found out that Target will be carrying Once Upon Stilettos. It's an odd dream, but I've dreamed of having a book in Target. That exposes me to a whole new audience of impulse purchasers. It also means something when Target decides to carry a book, since their book selection is so limited. Plus, they keep titles around for a long time if they're selling. So, if you know someone who still hasn't been hooked on this series and who might not have gotten around to visiting a bookstore, you can now tell them they can find it at Target. I don't know when the book will start appearing in stores. I guess that means I'll just have to visit Target regularly for a while. Bummer.

I reached the halfway point in book four yesterday, and there was much rejoicing. It's a really good twist that comes at that point. One sure way to avoid a sagging middle in a book is to have something major that totally turns things upside down happen at exactly the middle of the book. It's not quite the event I'd planned for the middle, but I think it'll work and make the last half of the book a real roller coaster ride (or else I'm going to have to cut a lot from the beginning, which does happen far too often).

I had a huge Twilight Zone moment while writing last night. I realized that I'd come really close to pinning down approximate birthdays for both Owen and Katie, and giving a definitive age for Owen (so far, as far as I can recall, we just have Katie's estimate that he looks like he's around 30). It's nothing that really matters in this book and happens in throwaway lines that might not even make the final edit, so I wanted to be sure this was the way I wanted things to be before I set it in stone. After all, I wouldn't want to mess myself up for future books if I decide that something in particular should happen on Katie's birthday, or if I discover that Owen's under a curse that will turn him into a frog when he turns 30. So, just for curiosity, I pulled out a couple of old horoscope books that I got back when I was writing romances (they're good for helping you find areas of conflict between people).

And then I got shivers. Until this book, I hadn't even thought about when these characters' birthdays would be or what their signs would be. I just created characters. And then when their approximate birthdays came up in those throwaway lines in this book, it was more to do with timing in relation to the story. But the descriptions based on their signs were eerily accurate, and the description of their relationship possibilities pretty much mapped the way I've been writing their relationship. I don't know much of anything about astrology or horoscopes, so I generally can't even tell you what the major characteristics of each sign are supposed to be (other than to know that I may be the least Leo-like Leo there is, aside from the hair), so I don't think I could have been doing it subconsciously. I guess I was really on target (hee! Pun intended).

In case you're interested, it appears (unless I change it, but now I probably won't) that Katie is a Taurus and Owen is a Cancer. If you're into astrology or have any of those reference books, check it out and let me know what you think. During the events of the first two books, she's 26 (as stated in Once Upon Stilettos), and now it seems that Owen is 29. She probably guessed him as being older because he's kind of an old soul. He would have been one of those 14-going on-40 kids.

I'm going to another booksigning tonight, this time for Emily Giffin, bestselling author of Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I finished reading Something Blue last night, and I plan to get Something Borrowed tonight. I'll do a full book report when I've read both books (they weave together in what looks like it will be an interesting way).

And speaking of books, I've got another Out of the Blogosphere entry, this time another fun chick lit time travel from Marianne Mancusi, author of A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court. Her new book is What, No Roses? TV reporter Dora Duncan is facing yet another Valentine's Day Massacre when she has to travel in time back to the Roaring Twenties to stop her ex-boyfriend (who stood her up last Valentine's Day) from messing up the space-time continuum (gee, ex-boyfriends ruin everything). More more info on Marianne and her books (she also has a vampire series for young adults), visit her web site.