Celebrate August (and support an author this month)

Today is August 1st, an auspicious day. August is my birthday month, E.'s birthday month and our anniversary month. In the decade I've been with E. I've come to see August as the month that reminds us to celebrate things--ourselves, our love, sunshine, fun, etc. So...though the horoscope at Astrology Zone is suggesting we actually have an intense, potentially complicated month ahead of us, I am already optimistic. Also in August, my 14-year high school reunion (yes, you read that right--14 years, that was the soonest we could make it happen). THAT should be a trip. I intend to take my camera and blog about it for sure.

And if all of that wasn't exciting enough, today is the first official day you can find my friend Ellen Meister's debut novel, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA on bookshelves. Ellen and I have been buddies for a few years now. She came through for me as a friend at a time I desperately needed one, and has opened her home to me more than once. She was gracious enough to host my little sister and I when we came to New York in June, despite that she was writing her second book and conducting the lives of her three busy, creative children. She made us all dinner, packed us food for the plane and drove us to the airport at 5 am on a Sunday morning. That, people, is beyond the call of duty. She's an amazing person.

Now, you may think the lives of authors are all glamour, but trust me, book sales depend upon word of mouth as much as marketing. You won't be disappointed by the read, I promise you. So go get it, and support an artist.

As for her book, I'm going to buy my copy at the local independent bookstore. If you have an indie bookstore left in your town, go there and ask for a copy if this is your kind of book (and even if it isn't):

"It's every woman's fantasy to have a film-location crew select her hometown for the next movie starring a major cinematic sex symbol (in this case, George Clooney), and when Applewood, Long Island's elementary school, is deemed a possible site for Clooney's upcoming flick, the members of the upscale community's PTA go into hyperbolic overdrive to turn fantasy into reality. As members of the PR committee, it will fall to Maddie, Ruth, and Lisa to polish Applewood's somewhat spotty reputation when the producers come to town. Accomplishing such a massive public-relations coup would be difficult enough, but add Maddie's failing marriage, Ruth's clandestine affair (with the school superintendent, no less), and Lisa's alcoholic mother to the mix, and you have women facing challenges that make the typical Saturday morning PTA bake sale look like a piece of cake. With sexy characters, sharp dialogue, and snappy pacing, Meister's sassy, saucy debut novel could well turn into a movie of its own."
— Booklist