Getting Around

Searching for Spice is getting around!

Please check out the blogs I've visited lately. I'm updating the list daily:
Robbie Iobst, Joy Dance
Patti Lacy
Double Booked
A Christian Writers World
One Step Closer
Fallible
Loop de Loops in La La Land
Marion, PraiSing Him
Portrait of a Writer . . Interrupted
TitleTrakk
Bold & Free

Please visit these blogs/sites. These book lovers have posted original interviews.

Another one off

Late last night I had the privilege of hitting the send button and emailing Out of Her Hands to Lorie Popp. She’s the wonderful, patient Tyndale editor who will make sure my words make sense.

The evening wasn’t without a few moments of terror because as I was writing my last edited sentence, my computer had “an unrecoverable hardware error that caused the operating system to stop functioning.” It went to a blue screen, made a scary noise, and moaned off. Yikes.

But that’s all behind me, and I’m enjoying a beautiful, somewhat snowy day. Ahh, April in Colorado. Don’t you think the sight of snow on daffodils is lovely?

The day has finally come!

It's April 1st, and the day I’ve always dreamed of is finally here—the official release date for Searching for Spice. Wow.

This morning I went to my Words For The Journey writers meeting which is held in my church, and on the way out I went into the bookstore to see if my book was on the shelf.

And it is! Look at that!

Check this out!

Look what was delivered to my house yesterday.


A friend asked, “I wonder what the clerk who filled your order thought about sending Searching for Spice by Megan DiMaria to Megan DiMaria?”

Good Friday

For the past dozen years, I’ve gone to an outdoor worship area at a local church on Good Friday to spend time with my Lord. It’s a beautiful spot, high above the plains, nestled in the pine trees, with an awesome view of the spine of the Rocky Mountains.

This year four of my girlfriends joined me. A sweet time with my Lord was even more special because I was able to share it with four wonderful women for whom I care deeply.

See the cross? At the base are nails and hammers. After you pray, you pound a nail into the cross and leave your sins, short comings, sorrows, idols, worries and fears at that site and leave that place feeling joyful and refreshed.

Yes, Good Friday is a sorrowful remembrance, but the joy of Easter is around the corner. It’s because of that blessed, empty tomb that my life is so full and rich. Thank you, Jesus.

A Day in the Life of Belle

Somehow it brings to mind the song, "but tomorrow may rain, so~I'll follow the sun."

And that's pretty much what my old dog does most of the time. Sleep.

New & Noteworthy!!

Look at that! Searching for Spice is right there on the top shelf with the new books at my local Lemstone Christian store.





Here's a photo of my book being sold for the first time.



And these are my friends Genevra and Jan. They were holding the entire stock of SFS. LOL. Now that Genevra purchased one, they're 50% down of the supply in town. No worries, I was told they'd order more.

Riiight there!

See where I'm pointing? Right up there after the pink book and before the blue one. Right between Vanessa Del Fabbro and Susan Downs & Susan May Warren.

That's where Searching for Spice will sit.

:)

That photo was taken on Monday night at the monthly HIS Writers meeting. That's the Denver branch of ACFW. Paula Moldenhauer was addressing the group as part of a round table discussion about preparing for conferences. Photos are courtesy of Pauline Fortuna of Fat Tuna Photography. She was on hand to take some head shots for writers who needed to update their author photos.

I've got a website!

I've had my domain name pointed to a blog for a few months, but now I've got a real-live website!

Check it out: http://www.megandimaria.com/.

It's pretty basic, but then, I made it myself. Expect it to evolve into something less green. :)

My Friends

I missed a lunch date with my girlfriends the other day. They were celebrating Searching for Spice. Sigh. I really wanted to join them.

I had to stay home for the arborist--our Aspens have leaf issues. So much for the glamorous life of a novelist. At least I got loads of laundry washed. :)

Sharon was surprised by what she read.

Tonya was moved to tears.

And Heather couldn't stop reading.

Of course there's no picture of Jan because she was behind the camera. She blogged about it though.

A Pleasant Surprise

It’s always a pleasant surprise to bump into a friend in an unexpected place. That happened to me when I was in my local library.

I was breezing through the building and stopped-up short when I saw Pink, a book written by my friend Marilynn Griffith.

The library has a display about fashion and beauty, and there was Marilynn’s book! It tickled me so much, I had to take a photo.

I highly recommend Marilynn's books. They're wonderful. Pink is one of the books in her Shades of Style series about high fashion and romance in NYC. This series is great if you want to stick with some new favorite characters for a while. Each of the books (there's four of them) focuses on one of the four friends represented in the series.

Check this out!

It looks as though even 23-year-old men are captivated by Searching for Spice.

Either that or someone is just trying to "get in good" with the girlfriend's mom.

That's okay, Scott. I like you whether or not you read my book. But if you really want to read it . . .

Laughing Out Loud

Today I laughed so hard with a friend of mine that we both cried.

My prayer for you this week is the you're so tickeled with something that you laugh until you cry. It's good for the heart and soul.

Pictured are my friends Heather and Jan. They're always good for a hearty laugh.

Thank God for friends, thank God for laughter.

Still Celebrating

Yesterday I went out to celebrate receiving my ARCs with Jan. She's been a wonderful friend and encourager since we met four years ago at a writers group she founded. The group folded, but our friendship thrived. She's not in the 2004 photo because she was taking it. I'm sitting on the right side.

We went to Starbucks (where else?), and took turns taking photos of each other. We were practically giddy. At one point, a lady at a nearby table suggested she take a photo of the two of us. In case you're wondering, I'm holding a bookmark. :)

Jan is one of those girls who will chat with anyone, so everyone within a 200 yard radius now knows about Searching for Spice.

If you’re curious about Jan's version of yesterday’s fun, go here.

Oh Happy Day!

I was delighted to find a box of ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) of Searching for Spice waiting for me when I got home today.

Actually, I didn’t find them as much as I was surprised by them. My daughters opened the box, took one out and hid the box. When I sat in my usual seat to turn on my laptop, one of the girls asked, “What’s that book next to your chair?” When I turned to look—there it was!

I jumped up screaming, they screamed and the rest of the night was a happy blur. We even went out to buy a celebration pie for dessert.

My lovely Liz warmed my heart when she leafed through it, beaming her gorgeous smile.

Even our dog Belle decided to give it a read.

The Countdown Begins!

My delightful friend Jan from Bold & Free made a countdown ticker for me, counting down the days until Searching for Spice releases. Isn’t she a dear?!

I embedded it on the left side of my blog, but it’s too cute not to put it into a post.

Thanks, Jan!

The Sunny Side of the Street

Grab your coat and get your hat, leave your worry at the doorstep.

Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street.

Can't you hear that pitter pat and that happy tune is your step.

Life can be so sweet on the sunny side of the street.

I’ve had this song running through my brain for days lately when I’ve driven down my street. You see, I live on the sunny side of the street. I often work on my laptop in the living room, and last week I heard the sound of my neighbor breaking up the ice on his driveway while ours was bone dry. That’s what you get for having a south-facing house in sunny Colorado.

My front lawn is on the right in the photo. The sunny side.

Of course there’s a downside. One year during the holidays I thought a live wreath would be lovely on the door. After about three days it was a pile of pine needles on my front porch.

Happy winter to you!

Where Do You Write?

Hi, friends. I'm sitting in my local Panera Bread, getting down to work. Of course, the first order of business (after this post!) is to get to my critique partner's work. Then on to my stuff.

I meet with a group of local writers on Friday mornings to write--no talking!! And most of the time that's the way it goes.

We had been meeting at a tea cafe, but we've decided to mix it up. Next week we're going to a funky coffee bar, and we plan on visiting the coffee shop of our local Christian store too.

I've found these weekly field trips to be great for my productivity. There's no dog to let in and out of the house, no laundry that's calling to me, no dishes to be done (they'll still be there when I get home), no nothing to think about except writing.

So, where do you go when you want a change of scene to write?

PS: What a treat I got today when I arrived at Panera this morning--my friend Kay was already there, writing away. She's not one of the writers in the group, so it was neat to meet up with her anyway. Write on, Kay!

Beautiful Blogger Award

My lovely friend Jan awarded me with this award. She is one of those wonderful friends who is always going out of her way to do something sweet.

Thanks, Jan.

So What Are You Reading?

Today I visited Ane Mulligan’s blog and decided to play a game that she’s playing over at her place.

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages), or whatever book you are currently reading.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

Okay, here's mine from Bygones, by Kim Vogel Sawyer:

Might give her the wrong idea too.
She trudged up the stairs and went to the kitchen sink to wash the remnants of coal dust from her hands. Outside the kitchen window, the sky look bleak, like the color of an old iron washtub.

I'm curious about what Angie, Jan, Tonya, Heather and Marion are reading. Come girls, let's play!

Anyone else want to play? Leave a comment so we can hop over to your blog to see what you’re reading right now.

Tara Road

Last night we watched the movie Tara Road, based on the book by Maeve Binchy. She’s been one of my favorite authors for years. I’m certain I read the book a while back, and I plan to read it again.

The movie was a delight. Not a light-hearted flick, but one where you were able to cozy up to the characters and really to get love (or hate) them.

But the best part of the DVD was the interview with Ms. Binchy. I loved hearing what inspired the story, what her vision of the characters were and other insights she shared. I recommend both the movie and, of course, the book!

We've Come a Long Way, Baby

I want to go here. It’s somewhere in Ireland, probably in Limerick.

The photo was taken in 1907, when my grandmother, her mother and sisters went to visit family. Isn't the little dog in the photo cute? No wonder I love terriers, it must be in my DNA.

My grandmother is standing, second from left and her mother is sitting in front of her on the left. Those women were born in 1880 and 1848. My great aunts are the two ladies standing on the right. What a different world they inhabited from the reality I experience today. My grandmother passed away a few months before I was born. I’ve often thought what it would be like if she could experience one day of the present time with me. Where would I even begin to explain the advances in culture and technology to her? Just an interesting thought I had.

Another thought—my great grandmother was only a little over six years older than I am now when that photo was taken. Yowsa. I hope I age better than great-granny!

I made a copy of this photo and sent it to my cousin Jeanne, who is into genealogy. Although we’ve never met in person, we’ve emailed and shared family history. Who knows, maybe all of the information Jeanne’s sharing will somehow, someday end up in a book.

PS: If you look to the far left side of the photo, you'll see the horses a** that my dad said he always knew was in the family.

New Voices Ad Campaign

This is the advertisement that Tyndale created to promote new authors. Isn't it great?! (The color may be a bit funky because I printed the pdf and then scanned it to a jpg.) So far this ad's been in a library journal and some trade journals. Look for it in the March edition of Today's Christian Woman.

I'm so very grateful to be an author for such a wonderful organization. As one author friend told me, "Tyndale knows how to sell books."

(If you click on the image, it will open larger in your window.)

Watching the Super Bowl?

Are you getting ready to watch the Super Bowl? Naah. Me neither. And to be honest, on the years that I've watched it—it’s only for the commercials.

Here’s a random thought. I went to a Pampered Chef party on Friday night, and I realized that I could never be a Pampered Chef representative. The woman who entertained us, informed us and whipped up a delicious dinner salad for us was wonderful. But here’s my point: She had to repeatedly say a few phrases that I could never spit out as gracefully as she did. “Hard-anodized aluminum,” and “tri-ply clad stainless steel.”

Nope. There’s no way I could say those tongue twisters with such ease. So I guess I’ll stick to being a writer.

Stringing Words

I remember when my family would speak in complete sentences when we communicated. But for the past several days, since brainstorming titles, we’ve fallen into a bizarre pattern.

Daughter to me as we pass on the stairs, “Coming Unhinged.”

My response, “Hold on, Honey.”

And last night when my dear husband kissed me goodnight, he said, “Which Way is Up?”

Ahhh. Brainstorming titles is something else.

If you have any good title ideas, please leave your suggestion as a comment. Thanks.

Help! (Please)

I heard back from my editors at Tyndale about book # 2 which was turned in earlier this month.

You know what they say about great minds—thinking alike and all that. Well, it seems that one of the threads in my plot somewhat mirror upcoming releases by Angie Hunt and Karen Kingsbury.

So guess which author will be doing a major rewrite? Me.

I’m not panicked and not worried. The reason for the rewrite isn’t because the story is bad or my craft is lacking. If you think about it, I should feel good that my mind is running in the same direction as these best-selling authors.

Besides, I trust God will give me more words.

Right now we’ve got to come up with a new title. All Shook Up is out.

Want to help me brainstorm? If any of my blog readers come up with the winning title, I’ll mention you in the acknowledgements and send you an autographed copy.

I had tied All Shook Up to this verse: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38. I would still like to figure out a way to use this verse.

Another verse I’m considering is: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

The story line is that my character’s looking forward to a quiet, status quo existence, but her college son’s (unacceptable) girlfriend comes into the picture, stirring up trouble in the family, and her beloved father-in-law is also dating, and my poor character feels that changes she can’t control are coming much too fast and furious at her.

If you want to tie that idea to another verse, then have at it.

Please, any help is greatly appreciated.

So You Wanna Be A Writer?

Let me tell you, if I had $10 for every person who’s told me that they want to write a book/can write a book/have the perfect story for a book, then I could pay off my mortgage.

Friends, if you want to write a book or feel led to write a book—start writing. It’s not rocket science and it’s not a great mystery. Granted, you’re not going to pen The Great American Novel your first time out of the shoots, but the craft of writing is a skill that can be learned--provided you have a good story to tell.

Now that I’m (nearly) published** I’ve had the unusual experience of people looking at me a little differently than if I said I worked as an accountant for my living. More than one person has said, “Wow. Now I know a famous author.” Tee, hee, hee. That phrase, famous author, cracks me up. My response: “I’ll only be a famous author if you tell everyone you know to buy my book.” And maybe not even then.

My point is, don’t live with regrets, live with dreams. I dreamed of being a published author, and I made the effort to learn everything I need to learn to pursue that dream. Dream big and put legs on that dream. Who knows? One day you may reach your goal.

Hey, do you want to know one of the reasons why I call myself a prisoner of hope? Because I dared to dream. And to tell the truth, I'm still dreaming . . .

**Searching for Spice releases in April. FYI: That’s only 69 days from today!!

My 29th anniversary day ~ sunny and warm

This was January 13th. Who knew we would one day enjoy a tropical anniversary? We got married on a cold day in a blizzard in NY.

Excuse the end of the video. LOL - I thought I had turned off the camera. Fortunately I had a professional pedicure before leaving on vacation. :)

Beach Friends

I was fully prepared for a wonderful time on my vacation, and of course that includes plenty of good beach books.

Doesn't She Look Natural by Angie Hunt is wonderful. Some of the phrases Angie wove into the story took my breath away. What fun.

My friend Maureen Lang sent me an Advance Reader Copy of On Sparrow Hill. It's a sequel to Autumn Leaves, and Maureen once again seamlessly wove two plots and two time periods into a spellbinding book.

The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren was recommended to me by my friend Paula Moldenhauer. I trust Paula's picks, so that was another book on my Christmas list. This book kept me content on the long flight home.
PS: I'm glad that was an American tourist under Lisa's book and not one of the European gals, if you get my meaning. :)

Home Again

This is my 2008 beach photo. The thin line above the horizon is a strip of caution tape. It seems the beach there has been damaged by recent weather conditions. Instead of a gradual slope to the water, there was a 15 foot drop. Yowsa.


Despite that, we had a fabulous time.

See that palm tree in the center of the photo? The next morning it had fallen down to the beach. You can see the root balls from other fallen trees and the stump and stem of a palapa. Ahh. The sound of chain saws in the morning--what a wonderful memory.

The management got on the ball by the end of the week and were making greater efforts to save the beach.

But now I'm back to real life. Thank God I have a wonderful life.

Have a Nice Week

In the wee hours of the morning, I’m leaving for a week in paradise.

I just sent book # 2 off to Tyndale. Whew.

That’s a photo of me on the beach with my girls. Unless I’m married to you or I gave birth to you, that’s about as much of me in a bathing suit that you’ll ever see. I'm in the middle of the photo, if you're wondering.

This photo pretty much sums up what I expect to be doing for the next seven days. Relaxing under the palapa with a good book and loved ones.

I’m walking, yes indeed, I’m walking . . .

Remember that song?

Yes, I’m walking and writing and walking and editing and walking and reading emails and walking and researching on the Internet and walking miles and miles per day on my nifty treadmill desk.

I know I said I’d give an update in a month or five pounds, but all the walking I’ve done in the past several days may have been negated by one lunch. Today I was running errands, and all I could think of was 365 Organic Chocolate Truffles (available at a Whole Foods store near you). Yes, that was my lunch today. Let's see, servings size 3 pieces, calories per serving 170--I can't even tell you how many of those delicious, melt-in-your-mouth candies I ate. Mmmm.

That image looks exactly like my tennis shoes and my legs. Now I can say I have a body double that’s a model or I can say I’m a body double for a model. Same difference.

Sounds like I’m getting punchy. Probably too much sugar. Back to work. Editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking and editing and walking . . .

Woo hoo!!!!!!

The birthing process is finished. (I’ve just written The End in book #2 of my Tyndale contract.)

My baby, All Shook Up, arrived safe and sound at 8:06 PM Mountain time, weighing in at a hefty 111,028 words and 462 pages.

Now the editing begins. I'd like to take it down by at least 5,000 words before I send it in to my editor.

All Shook Up will make her public appearance this October. I'll let you know what the final title will be as soon as I find out.

Mother is fine. I’m going to celebrate right now!! I wish I had chilled some champagne.