Happy Leap Day. Since childhood, I've been a little obsessed with Leap Day. Now as an adult, I think it's because today, the 29th of February, has almost a magical quality to it. Meaning, that since the 29th only visits once every four years, I almost expect Leap Day to bring something spectacular with it.
I remember as a kid, being incredibly concerned about anyone born on Leap Day, they are affectionately called a 'leaping' although I think a 'leaper' sounds cooler, but perhaps that's too close to 'leper'...I digress. I wondered, if a leaping felt somehow cheated, that their actual birthday only showed up every four years. Or if, a leaping, felt all the more special on their true birthday since their actual birthday came only on their 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th, 24th...you get the point, birthdays.
I've never met a leaping...or I don't remember meeting one. I just know I would run this over in my mind when I was...let me do the math....6, 10, and probably not 14 as I was much to busy being worried about boys...
So Happy Birthday to all the Leaping's out their...(see Leaper's does sound cooler). Enjoy this special day. And I hope to see February 29th at least the next 10 maybe 12 times it rolls around...
How much do I love email newsletter day? A whole lot! Like perhaps as much as French fries. Why? Well a few reasons.
First, the hits to this site and my blog skyrocket...through the roof...and I love that. I spend everyday at my computer alone, putting words together. And sometimes I go for months...MONTHS without anyone reading what I've written. So when I think that people are actually coming to this site and reading my blog..well it makes me happy.
Second? I hear from so many people. It's suddenly like holiday card time. All my good friends and acquaintances shoot me an email telling me they got the newsletter. I then email them back asking about their lives, they respond...you get the drill.
And finally, of course, is the intended outcome of the email newsletter, people buy books! I of course, like most obsessive, neurotic writers, on the email newsletter day periodically check my Amazon sales number, holding my breath each time hoping that the number continues to drop, because that means people are buying my books! And really, as much as my editor and publisher love me, my smile, my charm, and my wit, I'm meant to write books that people will buy.
So in honor of my fabulous day yesterday...and ALL OF YOU who made it so fabulous. Today I am having a contest.
Yes a CONTEST. Which means winners get FREE stuff. What is the free stuff? Well obviously something near and dear to my heart. I am giving away to two lucky winners a signed copy of the paperback Hollywood Girls Club. But that's not all...oh no...one Grand Prize winner gets...signed Hollywood Girls Club hardcover, paperback and an advanced copy of Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club. So now that we know the prizes...What do we have to do to get them?
Hmm...
So the contest is, in honor of SECRETS of The Hollywood Girls Club. I want to know what is the biggest, baddest, funniest secret you've ever kept? Now I don't need names, dates or details that will harm friends and/or family. Please feel free to change those details to protect the innocent....(or not so innocent as whatever the secret may be). But what I am looking for here, is something that makes me say...oh my...or forces me to laugh out loud... So ladies...and the four men who read my blog get cracking. Leave your secrets in the comments section or if you're feeling particularly secretive, send me an email at maggiemarr@mac.com
xo Maggie
PS every good girlfriend keeps at least one good secret.....
Hollywood Girls Club makes it's paperback debut today! And the cover? Just as lovely as the hardcover:
I love, love, love the bigger star. I've gotten a ton of questions about the ladies on the cover...are they or aren't they THE Hollywood Girls Club...and the answer is hmmm...maybe? So funny that the cover designer found that photo and added it. Actually two of the women look like younger versions of my mental image of Lydia and Mary Anne...but the one w/the short hair...sometimes I think Beverly Birnbaum with her hair pulled back, a long time ago before she cut off all her hair. Anyway; Cici, Lydia, Jessica and Mary Anne are ready for their paperback premiere today....Pick up a copy at Amazon,Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore. A BIG BIG thank you for buying the book and reading Hollywood Girls Club! I am grateful for every single reader and would love to hear your thoughts about the book! Much love, xoMaggie
So I gotta' admit I was ambivalent....okay not even looking forward to Sex And The City.. the movie...because I love the girls and I was afraid the Movie couldn't live up to my memories of being oh...twenty-ish and watching the show. But after seeing the trailer my ambivalence disappeared as fast as a pair of Manolos at Bergdorf-Goodman's spring sale:
I am ever so excited that like much great women's fiction the film is about friendship, sex, and the roller coaster ride that is any woman's life.
So when I write a lot...which I'm doing now. I find that my appetite for words becomes voracious...I become a Wordeater. And this weekend I ate a whole lot of words. (And I'm still consuming.)
Before Friday, I'd never experienced the fun ride that is Stephanie Plum, telling myself Janet's books weren't for me, they are too light, I wouldn't enjoy them, I don't read mystery...but I had a mass market paperback of One For The Money on my shelves and pulled it down, thinking that I'd just read one chapter.
Well flash forward and it's Saturday afternoon and I am finished with One For The Money and realize ...I LOVE mysteries and unlike Janet's longstanding fans I need not wait a year for the next Plum...oh no, not I...there are 14 of them I can read...or I think 14.
And gotta say, I like them, I like them a lot. But three Plums in three days left me with a tiny hint of indigestion, too much of a good thing. I'm waiting a month before I start number four.
So now I've moved on to one of my all time FAVORITE writers; Carl Hiaasen. Could the man be more brilliant? And sexy? Pu-lease! Take a look at that smile. I'm reading Nature Girl (pg 34) and so far so good.
Again..the man can establish more detail about a character in one line than I can in 3 pages. Writer Envy? Oh yes...I have it again.
Say it with me folks... O-BA-MA! One more time... O-BA-MA! Come on, it feels good... O-BA-MA! Little bit louder... O-BA-MA!
Super Tuesday in four days. A much more eloquent woman than I, someone who, like many Americans, made the ultimate sacrifice to this great country. She lost not only an uncle but a father in service to America. Read about Caroline Kennedy's decision to support Barack Obama here.
I am an attorney, author, and independent producer. My Hollywood adventure began as a motion picture literary agent (after pushing the mail-cart!). Since then I've written for film, TV, and ghostwritten multiple celebrity books, (sorry can't tell you which celebrities). I am blessed to share my LA life with my outrageously good-looking husband (seriously--I get older and he gets better with age) and my fabulous children.
