Bethany Maines is a native of Tacoma, Washington, and debuted her first novel Bulletproof Mascara in 2010. She enjoys traveling and teaching karate to children, and holds a third degree black belt in the martial arts. Her day job has her working as a graphic designer, but between her careers and hobbies, Maines is working on a sequel to Bulletproof Mascara.
Bret Michaels was rushed to an undisclosed hospital after experiencing a severe headache Thursday night. Doctors discovered the rocker has suffered a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding at the base of his brain stem). Michaels, 47, is currently in critical condition, and reps have confirmed to People.com that the reports are true.
On Tuesday, May 4th at 6:00pm bestselling author Jennifer Weiner will be at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia to celebrate the paperback publication of her #1 New York Times bestseller Best Friends Forever. Jen will be signing paperback copies of Best Friends Forever and will read from her upcoming novel Fly Away Home, landing on bookshelves July 13th, 2010. Wine and chocolate will be served! WHO: Best-selling author Jennifer Weiner WHAT: Jennifer Weiner will be signing paperback copies of her #1 New York Times bestseller Best Friends Forever and reading from upcoming novel FLY AWAY HOME, landing on shelves July 13th, 2010. Wine and chocolate will be served! WHERE: Reading Terminal Market – 51 North 12th Street – PHILADELPHIA WHEN: Tuesday, May 4th at 6:00pm
Necklace of Kisses by Francesca Lia Block picks up from where YA readers left Weetzie Bat and her Secret Agent Lover Man. Now older, Weetzie and Secret Agent Lover Man, or Max as he is now referred as, are both suffering. Since 9/11, Max has lost all desire and hope, and Weetzie is struggling in the relationship. Deciding to flee to a magical pink hotel, she is on the search for her old prom date, to share the kiss she never had. While there, Weetzie meets a variety of characters through her kisses, including a kidnapped mermaid being forced to have plastic surgery and an invisible housekeeper. I haven’t read Weetzie Bat, the first novel that came out in 1989 about these characters, but I had done some research before diving into Necklace of Kisses so I felt prepared for what I was about to read. I was all wrong though, as I remained pretty confused throughout the duration of this reading. The plot is fast-paced, but sometimes too fast so I couldn’t feel like I was grasping what I was reading. I enjoyed the magical aspect of the characters and the hotel and the journey Weetzie was putting herself on, but with so many other confusions like characters popping in and out from beyond the grave and wherever else they were appearing from was just too much for me. The best thing about Kisses was that it was very short, it only took me two sittings to complete.
Q: Why did you decide to write romance novels? After reading my very first romance at age 11, I loved how it made me feel at the end--that all is good and beautiful in this world. I knew then I wanted to write my own stories, to make other people feel that way, if only for a short while Q: You have one book out now, Borrowed Stilettos. Are you currently working on another? I always work on more than one thing at a time. I'm working on follow-up to Borrowed Stilettos and also a romantic suspense novella. Among other projects. I write really slow (the darn day job gets in the way) so I can't tell you when to expect something new. Soon, I hope. Q: What do you hope readers take away from your writing? I just hope they can lose themselves in my world while they're reading. I hope my writing makes them smile. Q: How did you celebrate your first publishing deal? You know, I'm almost ashamed to say I didn't do anything special. It took a while for it to sink in. I think I celebrated more when I made the Golden Heart finals in 2008, because I'd just come off a long writing draught where I was questioning my sanity to keep pursuing this dream. Making the GH finals proved to me that writing is what I need to do--no matter how hard and frustrating this industry can be. Q: Are there any authors that you really admired, or kept their works in mind while you were writing? There are so many, but I have to give a shout out to Rachel Gibson and Charlene Teglia. Rachel, because she's the first published author I ever met (I met her right after she'd sold her first book), and I realized that published authors are just normal people (I was still a bit awestruck by her though). :) And Charlie because she and I started out writing around the same time. She sold to a small digital press back when nobody had even heard of such a thing, and she just kept going and going and going, like the little engine that could. And look at her now. So cool. If I could be half as prolific and successful as either of them, I'd be ecstatic. Q: It caught my eye that you are Zumba teacher. This was just offered as a fitness class through my place of employment, but I’ve never heard of it! Someone said it’s like dance- how can you explain it? Zumba is awesome. It's like a big, aerobic dance party with lots of Latin moves. You don't have to be a dancer to do Zumba (I'm SO not a dancer and I teach it). If you take a class, know you'll feel like a complete spaz and a dork the first couple of times, but stick with it. You'll love it. My sister lost 25 lbs just from doing Zumba several times week. Q: Besides writing and working out, what are some other ways you entertain yourself? Honestly, I don't have a lot of time for entertainment. Between my day job as fitness instructor and personal trainer, and my other job as writer, I'm a mom and a wife. Not much time for anything else. I do try to schedule a couple of girls' weekends each year with my sisters and another with my friends. Q: You have been married for 22 years! What is a piece of romantic advice you can offer? Marry your best friend and everything else will fall into place. Q: And what piece of professional advice can you offer to aspiring writers? Write what you love to read, even if it's not hot in the market right now. And don't ever, EVER give up. Q: What is or do you think would be your favorite place to travel? I'd love to see all of the United States someday. I've seen the East coast and the West coast, but really nothing in between. By the end of my life, I want to have visited each of the 50 states at least once.
Jodi Picoult is a best-selling author with 17 titles published. Picoult studied creative writing at Princeton, and excelled quickly, having two short stories published in Seventeen magazine while still a student. After graduating, she went on to work as a technical writer for a Wall Street brokerage firm, as a copywriter at an ad agency, as an editor at a textbook publisher, and as an 8th grade English teacher. She also received her Master’s degree in education before having her first child and writing her first novel. Picoult’s seventeen titles are: Songs of the Humpback Whale, Harvesting the Heart, Picture Perfect, Mercy, The Pact, Keeping Faith, Plain Truth, Salem Falls, Perfect Match, Second Glance, My Sister’s Keeper, Vanishing Acts, The Tenth Circle, Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, Handle With Care, and her latest- House Rules. Jodi Picoult currently lives in Hanover, New Hampshire with her husband and their three children.
Two of my favorite activities are fitness (no really!) and travel. Thanks to the April edition of Fitness magazine, I now know of an exercise machine that will combine both. The NordicTrack X7i is an interactive incline trainer that uses a Wi-Fi connection to provide multiple routes. The routes are retrieved from Google Maps, so you can get satellite, terrain, and street-level views of each course. So if I want to have a casual stroll through the streets of Italy or just show the hiking area down the street from where I live, I can type in the location and off I go with my interactive workout. One of the best features has to be that the treadmill will automatically adjust for elevation changes in the course. Travel the world without spending any money and get fit- a win win!
