Diary: Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day
Saturday, May 9
Boston—It’s Mother’s Day weekend and I take a 7:30 am flight from Miami to Boston, grateful to have two days to spend with my daughter, Randy, and six year old grandson. Randy’s first book will be published next spring and we have a lot of booktalk to catch up on. It rains – it pours! —all weekend.
On Saturday afternoon I take my grandson to see “Lost in Space.” After half an hour I want to leave, thinking this is not an appropriate movie for a six year old. It’s scary. But E. will have none of it. “If you’re scared,” he says, “close your eyes and I’ll tell you when to open them.” He protects his popcorn, worried that I’ll eat more than my share.
That night he accepts my invitation to have a sleepover at my hotel. He tells me this isn’t a real slumber party because we have no flashlights and we don’t stay up all night whispering. I love having him to myself for a few hours. In the morning Randy joins us for Mother’s Day breakfast at the hotel.
Then we go shopping. I need a silver necklace for TV appearances. Randy needs a purse. E. is bored. So we hit bookstores instead. This is great fun! First we look for Summer Sisters. If they have a number of copies I introduce myself – ask if they’d like me to sign them. Everyone is pleased and friendly. These are the people who grew up reading my books. I do PR for Randy, letting them know about her upcoming book. She’s only a bit embarrassed.
I think a lot about my mother. May 10 would have been her 94th birthday. She died ten years ago.
Monday, May 11
Back to business: 5 AM wakeup call for quick interview on early morning TV news. The host says she read Smart Women, my last adult novel. So when she asks about the Vineyard, I say I wrote most of my new novel there. But I refer to it as Smart Women, not Summer Sisters!
Breakfast alone in the hotel dining room. It’s luxurious to have time for a real meal without having to talk to anyone. I gorge myself.
Phone interview with Bergen Record, local North Jersey paper – about upcoming booksigning – which feels like years away. Between now and then I have to finish Boston and do Toronto.
6PM Book Signing at Rizzoli in downtown Boston. It’s raining harder than ever for the third day in a row. The wind is howling. But about 25 loyal fans who grew up on my books are waiting. I hadn’t expected anyone to come out on a night like this. My best friend’s daughter, Anne Weaver, who once managed this store, is also there. The book is dedicated to her mother, Mary. Later, Anne joins Vicki, our author-escort, and me for dinner.
10PM Live radio. The David Brudnoy Show. Am so tired by then I’m sure I won’t be able to manage a coherent sentence but David is a wonderful host and I love being on his show. Come away so up I have trouble falling asleep.
Tuesday, May 12
We spend much of the day doing drop-ins at bookstores. I enjoy meeting the people who actually sell the books. They’re a young, intelligent group and each of them has a story to tell about Margaret, Forever, or Fudge. There’s no pressure to perform during these visits. I wish the book tour could be this relaxed all the time.
3PM – Live radio by phone – the Warren Pierce Radio Show from Michigan.
Have to leave the hotel at 6PM for a talk and signing at Borders Books in Framingham. It goes well, I think. There’s a good crowd, more adults than kids, though I’ve figured out how to talk about Summer Sisters to a mixed age audience. There’s a baby in a stroller right up front, being fed baby food as I speak. A future reader, I hope. Sign books until close to ten, then drive back to hotel. Too tired to pack…will get up early – by 6AM – instead.
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Also See:
… an adult book with universal appeal.
—Seventeen Magazine
Judy Blume’s … sexy, grown-up version.
—Publishing News
(England)
Email
We love SUMMER SISTERS! It’s a gorgeous and unputdownable read for anyone who’s ever had a friend, who’s ever been to the beach, anyone who’s a girl or who’s ever met one. Daring and honest and terrific.
—Nicky & Amanda
Garrison, NY
I just finished Summer Sisters…WOW…the fifteen year hiatus was worth the wait for this one. This story takes me back to Cape Cod vacations spent with my summer sister. Thank you for a true ocean treasure by creating the tale of Caitlin and Victoria!
—S.R., Syracuse, NY