Our Spotlight Author for March 2005
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Dear Readers:
When I was younger, March was always my least favorite month of the year. It wasn’t just about the weather—which, here in the Northeast, is predictably monochromatic at best, ferociously snowy at worst. No, the problem with March, as I saw it, was that there was nothing to look forward to. The holidays and that glorious winter getaway vacation were a distant memory; blooming gardens, bare feet, and the beach were still a far-off dream. For me, the brightest spot in March used to be staying awake through the Oscars until the Best Picture award, indulging in a couple of green beers on the seventeenth, and perhaps microwaving some Easter Peeps if the calendar fell the right way.
A decade ago, I found myself pregnant and expecting my first baby, due March 26 th. He was born a few days early, and the world miraculously transformed overnight from a dismal, slush-ridden bog to a dazzling wonderland filled with joyful possibilities. Despite the bleak time of year, I never had a moment’s postpartum depression.
As I contentedly watched my son grow from newborn to toddler, each March became something to anticipate, rather than dread. My second child was born a few days before his brother’s third birthday, sealing the month as the most significant yearly milestone in our family. Every year, we host a birthday party that brings the entire family together, something that doesn’t happen often enough.
Fittingly enough, my first bestseller was also born in March. In 2001, my domestic suspense novel THE LAST TO KNOW unexpectedly landed on the USA Today Bestseller list, where it spent the entire month. It also cracked the Barnes and Noble Top Ten list for three weeks in a row, peaking twice at number 6. That giddy, glorious March was the first major turning point in my career. Since then, I’ve had a number of other bestsellers and achieved New York Times bestselling status under my real name, Wendy Corsi Staub.
This month, coming directly on the heels of my new Red Dress Ink chick lit novel MIKE, MIKE AND ME, I’m pleased to release my newest romantic comedy from Warner Forever. HELLO, IT'S ME has already garnered favorable reviews, was selected as a Top Pick by Romantic Times magazine, and is a featured alternate in both the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs.
Keep an eye out, too, for my upcoming romantic suspense novel, LULLABY AND GOODNIGHT, which will be released under my real name from Pinnacle Books in June, and, a few months later, for the second sequel to THE NINE MONTH PLAN. Readers informed me that it’s high time ladies man Dominic Chickalini settled down, and believe me, he’s met his match in Mia Calogera. Their story, BRIDE NEEDS GROOM, is coming in October from Warner Forever.
I always love to hear from readers, so drop me a line at corsistaub@aol.com and check out my website at www.wendymarkham.com.