HOMETOWN GIRL — book 4 in The Chesapeake Diaries —
will be available September 27th!!!!!

Dear Readers ~

So raise your hand if you’re ready to wave bye-bye to summer. Hmmmm...oddly, I see no hands. Me either. I know the calendar says September, but I’m having a hard time believing it. We had such extremes of heat and rain here in Chester County, PA: the most days over ninety degrees (I think that was for July) and the rainiest August on record. In one single week here, we had an earthquake, a hurricane, and a tornado.

For us, it was a summer of hellos and goodbyes: We welcomed our first grandchild (Baby Cole!) one week, and the next, one of our closest friends passed away. There were weddings — two!- and funerals — also two, since my mother passed very suddenly just last week.

In short, it was a summer filled with all the highs and lows that make life, well, life — and now it’s done and we’re moving into one of my favorite seasons. I can’t say that I’m ready for fall, but October follows September just as August follows July — there’s no point in pretending it won’t this year. And maybe I am looking forward to those wonderfully cool, crisp country mornings and the return of the apple cider from the near-by Amish farm. Maybe...

Something else I’m looking forward to? The release of my THIRTIETH book — yes, that would be number 30 — when HOMETOWN GIRL is published on September 27. Now, I am aware that compared to a lot of other authors, thirty books is a drop in the bucket. But I never imagined that I’d write and publish half that many, so I’ll take thirty and be darned happy!

HOMETOWN GIRL is the fourth book in my Chesapeake Diaries series, and is Brooke and Jesse’s story. Jesse’s relatively new to town, and is pretty sure he’s found THE ONE. The girl of his dreams. His happily ever after. Unfortunately, the object of his affection, Brooke Bowers, has absolutely no interest in falling in love again. Having lost her husband in Afghanistan, she’s okay with dating now and then. But even that’s strictly on her terms, since she won’t go out with anyone more than once. One and done is her motto. All Brooke really wants is to get her cupcake business off the ground and raise her son, Logan, in St. Dennis.

Jesse, of course, has other plans...

Click here to read an excerpt from HOMETOWN GIRL.

Meanwhile there are weddings and an Enright family reunion of sorts — yes, Jesse is one of those Enrights (if you’ve read DEVLIN’S LIGHT, WONDERFUL YOU and/or MOON DANCE, you know which Enrights I’m talking about!). So there’s a lot going on in St. Dennis these days — you can catch up with characters you’ve met before and say hello to some new ones.

I’m hoping you enjoy your visit to St. Dennis this time around — and for those of you who’ve emailed me and asked if there will be more books in the series, I’m happy to say that HOME FOR THE SUMMER will be book number five, available in early summer 2012. Watch this space for more information.

Of course, if you want to make certain that you never miss a new book, you can send me an email and we’ll add your name to the list of readers who receive e-postcards before each new release so that you can keep track. If you’re on Facebook, please stop by my wall and say hello (and friend me if you’d like). I’ll be running several give-aways on my Facebook page over the next few weeks, so keep an eye open for announcements so you’ll know when to enter and what you’ll win.

Until next time ~



P.S. In honor of Brooke’s new business venture — aptly named CUPCAKE — I’ll be sharing a few of her recipes here from time to time. We’re going to start out with one of Steffie’s favorites: Brooke’s White Christmas Cupcakes. Enjoy!

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