OMG! I'm on TODAY!

Mama takes Manhattan, y'all. I got the chance to go on the Today show and talk about my latest funny mystery, MAMA GETS HITCHED. Anchor Tamron Hall couldn't have been nicer, and I got to sit next to country star Martina McBride in the make-up room.

I kept feeling someone was going to tap me on the shoulder and say, "Hey, you! You're not supposed to be here!''

Here's the link, if you'd like to watch.

Mama Demands Doo-Dads

I shopped for wedding doo-dads today. Not favors for my OWN wedding, understand. Favors for a woman who doesn't really exist, and a ceremony that won't ever happen. The things authors do for their fictional characters!

With the launch of MAMA GETS HITCHED right around the bend, I've got weddings on the brain. And why wouldn't I? I just spent a year writing a mystery novel set around the Wedding of the Century in tiny (fictional) Himmarshee, Fla.

My Mama character loves weddings. So much so that she's tying the sacred knot for the 5th time. But what's a Bridezilla to do when her caterer winds up dead in the VFW kitchen even before they pass out the first pig-in-a-blanket? Daughter Mace must find the killer, or Mama's Special Day could turn especially deadly.

At some signings, we'll do fun, book-and-wedding-themed events -- women in fashion-mishap bridesmaid frocks, men in pastel tuxes and boutonnieres. I haven't actually found a Pomeranian ring-bearer, complete with satin tux and top hat, like the book's Teensy. Give me time, though. Mama would insist on nothing less.

Long Time, No Cyber-See

What kind of a shameless, self-promoting author am I?

Not a very good one, apparently. It's been months since I've gotten around to updating my blog. In my defense, I HAVE been writing. I'm about halfway through my fourth Mace Bauer Mystery, MAMA SEES STARS. Woo-hoo!

But the big news tonight ... the reason I felt compelled to post ... is that the galleys are ready on No. 3, MAMA GETS HITCHED. It's up and available for pre-ordering with a simple click at Amazon or my publisher, Midnight Ink (Ah, yes ... there's that blatant self-promotion coming out: BSP, for short.)

The cover's another winner. I've been so lucky: Incredible designs for each of my three titles. They just keep getting better. Take a look at the cover, pictured above, and tell me what you think. (Nice touch: My name on the whiskey bottle!)

So forgive me a bit of BSP this evening. I'm a bit like ''Mama,'' who is convinced it's not at all tacky for her fifth trip down the aisle to have a Gone With the Wind-themed wedding -- complete with parasols and Southern belle gowns for her bridesmaid-daughters, and satin top hat for the Pomeranian bearing the rings. Like Mama and her nuptials, I've deluded myself into thinking it's not at all tacky to be out here in cyberspace, blowing my BSP horn.