Maggie's Newsletter

March 15, 2011

Is it Spring Yet?

That was the title of my most recent blog over at Storybroads, our group blog site, and it’s pretty much the first thought on my mind every day lately.  We here in the Northeast have been getting slammed with winter.  Every week, another storm.  Single digit nights, teens by day, and only rare occasions when the sky clears enough for a glimpse of sunshine or moonlight.

But I always get impatient for Spring by February.  And it’s almost February, so I’m just about on schedule.  Winter will pass just as it always has and always will.  Spring will come, and with it, some very very exciting things for me.

First, of course, the exciting thing you’re probably here to learn more about.  My next vampire novel, TWILIGHT PROPHECY, will hit the stands on April 19th.  I’m wildly excited about that. 

Also, THE HEART OF WINTER, an anthology with Day LeClaire and Linda Winstead Jones is on sale NOW!  Don’t miss it.

But the great news just keeps on coming.  And this part is probably not what you came here to read about, but I’m just so excited I can hardly contain myself.  I hope it’s not bad luck to talk about it before it happens.  Ooooooh.  Okay, here it is.  Daisy, our female English Mastiff, is two years old, and finally old enough to breed.  We still need to have one last visit to the vet to ensure everything is tickety-boo (as a woman I adore loves to say) and then we can let them breed.  She should be coming into season any time now.  Mid-February most likely, meaning we’ll have puppies by spring!  Maybe mid-April.  I know I’m jumping the gun, but the very thought of it makes me almost giddy.  The only problem will be parting with the little darlings when the time comes.  But we’ll be extremely selective about who gets our babies.  And they will all know “sit,” “shake” “lie down” and will be well on the road to potty training by the time they go to their new homes. 

If that’s not enough reason to be excited, I have plenty more.  One I can’t talk about yet (it’s a daughter’s news, and I need to wait until she’s ready for me to share it) and the other, the ongoing excitement of my daughter Stacie’s wedding preparations.  The big day will be August 27th.  And our plans are really coming together.  We’ve landed a huge coup in booking the band Solar Funk Society (http://www.reverbnation.com/solarfunksociety) for the reception, and we’re overjoyed.  Before joining the band, lead singer Shelly Harris was in the DJ business, and she DJ’d three of our family weddings.  It’s become a tradition.  We just couldn’t do it without her.  We all whooped for joy when she and the band said yes.

This weekend, Stacie and three of her four sisters (the fourth has to work) are going on our first dress shopping expedition at Alfred Angelo.  I’ll let you know how that goes.  It’ll be a fun afternoon, that’s for sure.

Okay, back to books.  I’ve been working very hard, very steadily, and I have, just this past week, finished TWILIGHT FULFILLED, which comes out in October 2011.  And then, the vampire series is going on hiatus.  I’ll never say it’s over, and I admit to shedding a few emotional tears as I finished the book.  But I’m very eager to try some new things, and the series is 20 stories in length now, including novellas and one online read.  If nothing else, it’s a good time for a break.  I’ve got a really incredible new idea.  Actually I have several of them, but there’s one that seems to be pulling me most strongly, and it’s going to be phenomenal.  I’ll talk about it with you when I can.  It’s still too early.  Suffice to say I’m over the moon with excitement.

What else?  Oh, over on my Health & Fitness yahoogroup, we’re in the second week of our Valentine’s Day challenge, where we’re all making daily changes to see how much healthier and more fit we can be by Valentine’s Day.  To join just send a blank email to this address: maggies-health-and-fitness-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 

We’ve made a big change over at Facebook.  I now have an official Fanpage.  The Friend page had to go private, as we were near the limit on friends, and would soon have had to turn people away.  We had no choice.  The friend page is now for relatives and people I know personally, and the fanpage is for everyone else. All that’s changed is the address.  Instead of “Friending” me, you will “like” me.  I’m posting all the same stuff there, so it’s mainly just a change of semantics.  And now we won’t have any maximum user number limit to worry about.

The new page is here: www.facebook.com/MaggieShayneAuthor

Well, that’s about it for now, folks.  I’m going to be working hard to put together a new doggy video that will go up wherever we advertise our litter.  The video will be titled, Dozer & Daisy; A Love Story.  I have lots of fun ideas, and I’ll definitely post it here for all my dog loving friends.  Yeah, I’m a little nuts about my pets.  A lot of us are!

Maggie