Archive for May 6th, 2009

Marian Keyes, author of many novels, has written on her blog that she has finished her current novel The Brightest Star in the Sky: “Right, so listen, like I said, I’ve finished The Brightest Star in the Sky and I’m really really thrilled with it and I don’t think I’ve ever said that before about anything I’ve written. It just worked out so lovely, it’s a very sweet book, I mean, obviously being me and the melancholic miseryguts I am, there is some darkness at the heart of it, but I have to say, there’s an overall lightness to it, an upbeat, hopeful feel. Yes, in all fairness, I’m proud of it and I hope you’ll enjoy it. It’ll start coming out in October – first publication is in Ireland and then UK, Australia, New Zealand, then it won’t be until the new year in US and Canada, then the translated versions depend on how long the translating takes. So I say I’m finished, but I’m not really. It’ll go to the copyeditor and she’ll come back with a million queries, then I’ll go into a slump, then I’ll come out of the slump and do the changes, then there will be more, then eventually it’ll be typeset and Himself and myself will proofread till black dots are dancing in front of our eyes and we can’t walk straight, then finally, FINALLY, it’ll be done and then I’ll wake in the middle of the night, gripped with the horrors, that this book is utter shite and that the printing presses must be stopped IMMEDIATELY, then Himself will yell, ‘You always do this! Pull yourself together for the love of God!”

Taken from her blog here. Marian says it’ll be out in October. No word on a cover or synopsis yet.

Heather McElhatton, author of Pretty Little Mistakes, returns with her second novel Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single. It’s released on June 1st and its synopsis reads:

Body conscious, cubicle-working, and love lorn in the Minneapolis suburbs, Jennifer Johnson is your average American woman. So it’s totally understandable when she freaks out after learning her ex-boyfriend is getting married, as is her younger sister, Hailey. To add insult to injury, this means she’ll have to wear an Asian-inspried kimono bridesmaid dress, which shows every curve and dimple plus more. Approaching thirty, single, and still unsatisfied with her career as a copywriter for the family-owned Keller’s department store, like any woman would, Jen begins to obsess about finding a boyfriend, losing weight, and perhaps chasing her dream job. When Brad Keller, heir to the Keller’s business, comes into the picture, it looks like Jen’s luck just might be changing. But, as often is the case, in reality, things are never quite as glossy beneath the surface and life’s decisions aren’t always about following your dream. We’re with Jen every step of the way from her daily struggle to eat or not eat a Cinnabon to her decision to ruin the kimono with Drano, and finally, to her chance to define her ‘happiness’.

It sounds a great read. Her debut novel, Pretty Little Mistakes, also sounds interesting as it has 150 different endings - I’d love to see how Heather has done that.

The Yorkshire Pudding Club is the debut novel by Milly Johnson, and what a stonker of a debut it is too. Elizabeth, Helen and Janey are all in their late thirties, and happily settled in their careers and in their relationships.

However, their lives are thrown into madness when after a visit to an ancient fertility symbol, all 3 women find themselves ‘with child’!

Helen is thrilled to be pregnant after trying for a while, Janey is in shock as the baby will reck all plans of furthering her career, and Elizabeth is completely thrown, scared she won’t love her baby and scared of being alone.

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