THE PROFESSORS’ WIVES’ CLUB - by Joanne Rendell

Joanne Rendell is my guest today on the Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit Lit Blog Tour. Behind four professors, there are four great women…the only thing is, Manhattan University doesn’t know it yet. But it’s about to find out.

In her new novel THE PROFESSORS’ WIVES’ CLUB (NAL/Penguin; 2nd September 2008), NYU faculty wife Joanne Rendell tells of four professors’ wives who risk everything to save a beloved faculty garden.

With its iron gate and high fence laced with honeysuckle, Manhattan University’s garden offers faculty wives Mary, Sofia, Ashleigh, and Hannah a much needed refuge. Each of them carries a scandalous secret that could upset their lives, destroy their families, and rock the prestigious university to its very core.

When a ruthless Dean tries to demolish the garden, the four women are thrown together in a fight which enrages and unites them. The wives are an indomitable force. While doing battle with the ambitious dean, they expose the dark underbelly of academia – and find the courage to stand up for their own dreams, passions, and lives.

Advance Praise for THE PROFESSORS’ WIVES’ CLUB:

"As an NYU alum, I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes escapades at the fictional Manhattan U. in THE PROFESSORS’ WIVES’ CLUB. Joanne Rendell has created a quick, fun read about a wonderful group of friends."
Kate Jacobs, NYT’s bestselling author of THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB

"The four women in THE PROFESSORS’ WIVES' CLUB who risk it all in pursuit of life, love, and green space in New York City are smart, funny and real -- friends you'd want for life. Rendell doesn't shy away from tough issues, but her light touch and readable prose make this charming first novel a delight."
Christina Baker Kline, author of THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE

Joanne Rendell was born and raised in the UK. After completing her PhD in English Literature, she moved to the States to be with her husband, a professor at NYU. She now lives in a student dorm in New York City with her family. The Professors’ Wives’ Club is her first novel. Joanne’s second novel will be released by NAL/Penguin next summer (’09).

Joanne took the time to answer some questions. I was just in New York and sure wish I knew about Benny's Burritos before I left!

What was the inspiration behind the writing of The Professors’ Wives' Club?

I found my inspiration for my book at the bottom of a large glass of wine! I was out with one of my girlfriends who, like me, is a professor’s wife, and after our usual catch-up, the cabernet began to flow and we found ourselves gossiping about other faculty wives. We talked about a wife planning a boob job; another pregnant with her fifth child. The best piece of gossip came last, however: a professor’s wife who’d just run off with one of her husband’s grad students. The very next morning I started to hammer out my first ideas for the novel. As I typed, the more I realized what intriguing characters professors’ wives would make. Even if they aren’t professors themselves (which many are), most professors’ wives are deeply connected and invested in the university where their husband or partner works. Like my friend and me, they live in faculty housing, they go to the campus gym, often their kids go to the same daycare. Yet these women often have little power when it comes to university decisions.

I liked the idea of pitting these seemingly powerless women against a dean who in his little kingdom of the university has so much power.

What is one thing you’ve learned about the publishing industry since getting your first book deal?

I never knew that those tables at the big bookstores like Barnes and Noble were so darn important! Apparently those tables are officially called “coop space” and the bookstores charge publishing houses a lot of money to stack books there. If your book gets to sit on one of those tables, it is like it’s been awarded a three bed apartment on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park. It’s prime real estate.

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?

Join a writer’s group – either on or offline. Other writer’s can be fonts of infinite wisdom, not only about the craft of writing, but also about the publishing industry. Plus, writing can be pretty isolating sometimes and finding a community of like-minded souls can really help. I have a small group of writer friends who live in New York, like I do, and we exchange drafts and emails regularly. I’m also a member of Backspace (a wonderful online forum for writers), as well as various writer’s listservs.

Also, keep reading. Whichever genre you intend to write in – whether its mystery or literary fiction – make sure you know it inside out.

And keep writing. I really treat writing as a job. I sit down at my desk and tell myself I must write 500 words a day. I then get going. Often I trash a lot of what I write the next day, but at least I have words on a page to work with.

Keep learning about the craft. Even now, with one book published and another on the way, I continually go back to my books about writing. It is always good to remind myself what makes good dialogue, or how to transition well into a flashback seen, or how to pepper exposition into a chapter.


What and where is your favorite restaurant and why is it your favorite?

Benny’s Burritos in the East Village, NYC. My husband and I love the place so much we named our son after it. No kidding!

Children, Childish Husbands -- No Thanks

A recent article in the Washington Post describes the current thinking of many Japanese working women—why should I complicate my life by getting married and having children when my husband won’t help me raise them? Japanese women have been complaining about the poor quality of family life for years and years, and have dealt with it in a number of ways, including resignation (the stand-by Japanese phrase, shikata ga nai, which means there’s nothing one can do about it).

Karen Kelsky, in her book, Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams, wrote in 2001 of young Japanese women escaping Japan, and moving to foreign countries, often marrying Western men as their ticket out of a straitjacket society. This book and other observations were in part the inspiration for my novel, Midori by Moonlight about a Japanese woman who impulsively becomes engaged to an American English teacher and moves to San Francisco with him, only to find herself dumped a few weeks later. Other Japanese women who choose to stay in their native country are delaying marriage and postponing childbirth. The reason this is news now is because of the plunging birthrate in Japan and the graying of society. According to the article, Japan, with the world’s second-largest economy has the lowest proportion of young people under 15 and the highest proportion of people 65 or older.

Unlike some women in the United States, very few Japanese women want a baby at all costs and will simply not have one if they can’t find the right guy to marry. Out of wedlock births and adoption (whether by a single parent or husband and wife) are quite rare in Japan. Women basically have two choices: having a career and being financially independent, but remaining single and without kids, or getting married and becoming a full-time mother (to both children and husband). Throw in the classic overworked Japanese male and you have a recipe for disaster when it comes to keeping the population humming.

Prime Minister Fukuda (who just resigned the other day, but that’s another story) put together a task force last December on “work-life balance” that hopes to pressure companies to send their employees home at a reasonable hour to improve the quality of family life, finally addressing Japan’s addiction to overwork.

It’s a noble effort, but knowing how slowly things move in Japan, I don’t hold out much hope that anything will change this depressing situation anytime soon.

THE SMART ONE - by Ellen Meister

Today's guest on the Girlfriend's Cybercircuit Lit Blog Tour is Ellen Meister, author of the hilarious The Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA returns with THE SMART ONE (Avon A, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; On-Sale Date: August 5, 2008; $13.95; ISBN: 0061129623), a funny and sexy tale of love, family, and transcending the childhood identities that mark us all.

Beverly Bloomrosen has always been the smart one, the middle sister sandwiched between Clare, the beautiful and popular older one, and Joey, the rebellious rock-star younger one. But she’s hit a bit of a slump lately. Now 35, she’s embarking on a new career as an elementary school teacher and not exactly living up to her family’s expectations (“Maybe she can work her way up and eventually teach high school. That wouldn’t be so bad,” her mother helpfully comments). Bev has moved back into her parents' home on Long Island while waiting to see if a job opportunity in Las Vegas materializes, seeing it as her chance to start afresh…but before she knows it, life back at home starts to get very interesting.

Kenny Waxman, Bev’s childhood neighbor—and the boy who almost became her high school boyfriend until she found him in bed with Joey—returns. Now a successful comedy writer in Los Angeles, he can still make her heart pound…and the attraction is still mutual.

Things take a turn for the sinister when a pregnant woman’s body is found in an industrial drum buried in the Waxmans’ backyard. As Bev and her sisters begin to unravel some mysteries of the past, some secrets of the present are revealed: Bev learns that the perfect Clare may not be as perfect as her glamorous, well-coiffed suburban life may suggest, while rebellious Joey is still attempting to exorcise some of the demons that have haunted her for years. In the end, the curse of being the smart one may just turn out to be a blessing.

Writer Ellen Meister grew up in the heartland of suburban Long Island. She spent her early career in advertising and marketing, and later worked as editor for a literary magazine and published numerous short stories. Her first novel was Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA (Morrow/Avon, 2006). Meister lives in New York with her husband and three children. To find out more, visit her website at ellenmeister.com.

Praise for THE SMART ONE:

"Wonderfully funny, irreverent and entirely unexpected. I loved it!"
- Jane Green, bestselling author of The Beach House

"A perfect beach read!"
- Booklist

"Character-driven ... fast-paced and features great dialog."
- Library Journal

Ellen took the time to answer a few questions...

What was the inspiration behind the writing of THE SMART ONE?

The inspiration for THE SMART ONE hit me from several different directions. I always wanted to write a sister story because that relationship intrigues me. This thought was floating around in my head when I got an offer on my first book, SECRET CONFESSIONS OF THE APPLEWOOD PTA. I was thrilled about the offer, but also in a minor panic about what it would mean to become a world-famous author. (I'll wait a few moments while you finish laughing.) Yes, I was terribly naive, and didn't realize I wouldn't even become a celebrity in my own house. Still, the thought passed though my head, and it made me wonder what it was about some people that made them actually covet fame. Was it something from their childhood? Something about the family dynamic? I knew, then, that one of the sisters in my next novel would have to be a character who sought--and achieved--fame. It's not a major focus of the book, but it was a spark that started to make the story gel.

The other big inspiration was a news story that happened right in my home town. A man moving out of his home opened a sealed 55-gallon industrial drum that had been in a crawl space since he moved in ... only to discover a mummified body inside. It was a young woman, nine months pregnant, who had been killed thirty years before. After she was identified as a factory employee of the home's original owner, who had since retired, the detectives went to Florida to question him. They wanted to get a sample of his DNA to test against the fetus's, but before they could serve a warrant for it, the man shot and killed himself.

This happened so close to home that it captured my imagination and wouldn't let go. How could something like this happen in an ordinary suburban home in an ordinary suburban town? How did the killer keep his secret for so long? And how did it affect the people around him?
Of course, I had no intention of writing a true crime story, so I simply used this macabre event as the inspiration for a discovery made by my three adult sister characters ... and it became the catalyst that drives the arc of their relationship.

How do you approach writing your novel? Do you outline the plot? Start with a character or...?

It's about 50-50 for me. I usually have some idea I want to explore about a character or a relationship. But at the same time there are always a few plot ideas rattling around in my skull. The concept for a novel takes shape when a character idea and a plot idea meet and fall in love.

What are you reading now?

I'm reading FATAL, a Michael Palmer medical thriller that was published several years ago. It's brilliant.

What is your writing schedule like?

I'm a morning person, and feel like I can do anything if I get a good jump on the day. So I wake up around 5 am--before the children rise--and get to work. After I send them off to school, I go back to my desk. If I can manage to resist the temptation to surf the 'net, I might actually get some work done.

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?

Keep at it … and remember that almost every successful writer has a long history of rejections.

Thanks for coming by, Ellen, and best of luck with THE SMART ONE!

HOTTER THAN HELL - by Jackie Kessler

Jackie Kessler is my guest today on the Girlfriend's Cybercircuit Lit Blog Tour. I must have led a sheltered life because I have to admit that I was not familiar with the term "incubus." But my trusty Random House Dictionary came to the rescue with this explanation: a demon supposed to descend upon sleeping persons, especially one in male form fabled to have sexual intercourse with women in their sleep. Ah! So that explains who's been visiting me late at night these past years. Ha! Well, enough about me and my incubus...

In HELL’S BELLES and THE ROAD TO HELL, Jackie has brought readers into an unforgettable Underworld populated by alluring demons and sexy devils. Now Daunuan, the most irresistible incubus of all, is facing one Hell of a challenge... So whose soul do you have to damn to get a promotion around here?

Daunuan was never the ambitious type. There's so much to love about his job just the way it is—mind-blowing sexual prowess, the power to seduce any human, excellent dental plan. But now Pan, the King of Lust, has offered to make Daun his right-hand incubus—a position other demons would give their left horn for. All he has to do is entice a soul destined for heaven into a damnable act of lust. Should take, oh, seven minutes, tops.

Then he meets his target, Virginia Reed. She’s cute. Funny. Smart. Unfathomably resistant to his charms. He can’t understand it. But Daun has centuries of seduction to his credit. He’s the best there is. Sooner or later he’ll transform this polar icecap of a female into a pool of molten desire, and every instinct tells him she’ll be worth the effort.

Meanwhile, he has to deal with a plague of rogue demons Hell-bent on taking him down, sent by an unknown enemy with a serious grudge. And one other problem: the dawning realization that he’s falling in love—that unholiest of four-letter words—with the woman he’s about to doom for all eternity...

HOTTER THAN HELL is Book 3 in the Hell on Earth series published byKensington/Zebra Books and debuts on August 5, 2008.

Jackie Kessler is the author of the Hell on Earth series, published by Kensington/Zebra Books. She has two spin-off Hell stories as well: one, “When Hell Comes Calling,” will appear in the LILITH UNBOUND anthology (Popcorn Press, 2008) edited by bestselling author Elaine Cunningham. The other story is an erotic novella, “Hell Is Where the Heart Is,” to appear in the upcoming RED HOT VALENTINE’S DAY anthology (Avon Red, January 2009). Jackie is also the co-author of BLACK & WHITE, a dystopian superhero novel about two superpowered women—once best friends, now on opposite sides of the law—who must join forces to fight the Big Bad Evil (bwahahahahaha). BLACK & WHITE will be published by Bantam Spectra in July 2009.

Jackie was kind enough to answer some questions...

Name three songs that would be perfect for the soundtrack of your book.

“The Diary of Jane,” Breaking Benjamin (acoustic version). This song moved me so much, I nearly named the female lead “Jane” instead of “Virginia.”

“When You’re Evil,” Voltaire. Oh yeah. Hey there, Daun, how’re you doing?

“Waiting for the Night to Fall,” Depeche Mode. The music, the lyrics—a palpable sense of waiting, of building to something bigger than you.

What is one thing you’ve learned about the publishing industry since getting your first book deal?

You can’t measure your success based on any other author’s experience. (Close runner up: you really need a sense of humor.)

What are you reading now?

Rereading THE DRESDEN FILES by Jim Butcher. Currently on book four, SUMMER KNIGHT.

What is your writing schedule like?

Usually, I write first thing in the morning, before my day job, and then at night, when my Precious Little Tax Deductions are sleeping. (Yeah, I get very little sleep.)

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?

To paraphrase author Cindy Procter-King (Head Over Heels), there are three things you need to get published: talent, persistence, and timing. While it’s difficult to write to the market, you absolutely can hone your craft and develop a thick skin. Write. No matter what, write. And never be daunted.

Thanks, Jackie, and good luck with the book!

MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT SUMMER READING CONTEST: WIN A $25 AMAZON GIFT CERTIFICATE!

The first thirty entries received that include their mailing address with the correct answers to the questions below will receive MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT bookmarks. ALL entries received by SEPTEMBER 1, 2008 with the correct answers will be eligible for a drawing of two lucky winners of $25 Amazon Gift Certificates.

Click HERE to send in your entry. Write your mailing address and answers to questions in the Message box. Addresses will not be used for any other purposes than for this contest.

Winners will be notified and announced during the first week of September on the News page at www.WendyTokunaga.com.

MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT Summer Reading Contest Questions:

What is the name of:

1. Shinji’s girlfriend?

2. The American TV soap Midori becomes addicted to?

3. The guy Midori meets whose obsession is marrying Japanese women so they can get green cards?

Good Luck!

DRIVING SIDEWAYS - by Jess Riley

Jess Riley, author of the debut novel, DRIVING SIDEWAYS, is my guest on the Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit Lit Blog Tour. Jess got the idea for the book because of her fascination with cellular memory. Is it possible for our organs to retain our energy if donated to another person? Can we really channel someone else’s tastes in music, food, or hobbies? And what happens if you’ve had a transplant and simply convince yourself this is true?

Driving Sideways tells the story of Leigh Fielding, a twenty-eight year-old kidney transplant recipient who—six years, hundreds of dialysis sessions, and a million bad poems after being diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease—finally feels strong enough to pursue a few lofty goals she’s been mulling for years: find herself, her kidney donor’s family, and the mother that abandoned her over twenty years ago.

And what better way to do just that than a solitary road trip across the country? Well, maybe not entirely solitary, because Leigh suspects she may have inherited more than just an organ from her deceased donor. It’s this sneaking suspicion that takes her trip down some unexpected detours—and the juvenile delinquent who blackmails Leigh into giving her a ride is only the beginning.

DRIVING SIDEWAYS (Random House, May 2008) just went into its second printing and has been hailed as ‘hugely entertaining and genius’ by Marian Keyes, and “a hopeful and hilarious debut” by New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster.

Here are some other great blurbs:

“Smart and funny without being forced, sentimental without being maudlin, Riley’s funny, picaresque vision of America will make readers wish they could go along with Leigh on her next trip.”
--Booklist

“Brilliant…Jess Riley proves herself a huge new talent.”
--Kristy Kiernan, author of Catching Genius

DRIVING SIDEWAYS was also selected as a Target “Break-Out Book” for display June 19, 2008 – August 9, 2008

When Jess isn't reading or writing fiction, she'd reading or writing school grant proposals—which some would say are still pretty fictitious. She lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin with her husband and their neurotic terrier. Jess is currently hard at work on her next novel, but took some time off to answer a few questions:

Name three songs that would be perfect for the soundtrack of your book.
I actually put together an iMix of songs that comprise the soundtrack of the book. It’s a roadtrip story, so I felt I had to—what roadtrip is complete without a soundtrack? But if I had to pick the top three, I’d say “Driving Sideways” by Aimee Mann (of course), “Girl on the Wing” by The Shins, and “Missed the Boat” by Modest Mouse.

What is one thing you’ve learned about the publishing industry since getting your first book deal?
How different publishing is from the craft of writing. When it’s just you and your story unfolding, that’s a craft. It’s art. After your book is sold, that art becomes a commodity, subject to change based on economic indicators. Depending on how your publisher is positioning you, decisions will be made to maximize appeal to a certain audience and sell books. It’s a business, and you can’t get sentimental or attached to things like covers, titles, or even certain scenes in your book. (Wow, that sounds really harsh!) But really, it’s best to adopt a very professional attitude when it comes to publishing. Your book is now a product, and you are its best advocate in the market. All of that said, I still believe in the power of language and stories … I adore the writing and reading side of it all. The promotion and marketing end of things, not so much!

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum, The Girls by Lori Lansens, and a galley of Cancer is a Bitch (*or, I’d Rather be Having a Mid-Life Crisis) by Gail Konop-Baker. I love them all!

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?
Learn everything you can about the craft, about making your novel the best it can be, first. Then move on to the agent querying stage. If you pitch agents too soon, you might burn some bridges. (I learned this the hard way with my ‘practice’ novel.) And never give up! It can be a heartbreaking, discouraging process, but the more you write, the better you’re getting, and with a little luck (plus your innate talent *grin*), your perseverance will land you that book contract you dream of.

What and where is your favorite restaurant and why is it your favorite?
Oh, great question! My favorite restaurant is Water City Grill, just a few blocks from my house. I love the atmosphere, my husband loves the Friday night perch, and they used to have the BEST roasted vegetable alfredo lasagna. I’m thinking of begging them to put it back on the menu. I’m a vegetarian, and it’s hard to find many options at local restaurants (other than a baked potato or fries and an iceberg lettuce salad). So when I find a restaurant with SEVERAL delicious vegetarian entrees on the menu, I spend a nice chunk of change there on a regular basis. And they have fabulous martinis.

Think I'll just set off on my own road trip and mosey on over to Jess' Web site and join her for one of those martinis.

MOONPIES AND MOVIE STARS by Amy Wallen

Amy Wallen, author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, MoonPies and Movie Stars is my guest today on the Girlfriends’ Cyber Circuit Lit Blog Tour. Her delightful first novel, described as “Eudora Welty on speed,” has just come out in paperback.

Ruby Kincaid has her hands full these days. In addition to running the bowling alley after the death of her husband, Rascal, she has the daunting task of caring for her two boisterous grandchildren, since her daughter Violet disappeared without a trace four years earlier. It’s 1976 and Ruby and her nearest and dearest in Devine, Texas are watching their favorite soap opera at the bowling alley when they see Violet in a Buttermaid commercial. Expecting it will only take a little motherly guilt to rein in her wayward daughter, Ruby loads up the Winnebago and heads for Hollywood to try and bring Violet back to the Lone Star State.

Along for the ride are Imogene, Violet’s over-bearing and pretentious mother-in-law (who’s ready to assume the title of “celebrity-in-law”), and Loralva, Ruby’s wild sister who is itching to visit Tinsel Town because it’s where all the game shows are taped – and nothing’s going to stop her from making it to her favorite, The Price Is Right. Rounding out the group are Ruby’s grandchildren Bunny and Bubbie who are confused, sad, and excited at the prospect of finding their mother. They give Ruby the courage she needs to track Violet down and try to make things right.

While MoonPies and Movie Stars is great fun and a lot of laughs, it is also a poignant story of dreaming big, finding home, and coming to terms with family.

Amy has studied with a number of acclaimed writers, including Janet Fitch (White Oleander). She has taken those talents cultivated in the workshops of these great writers and brought them to her own creative writing classes at UC San Diego Extension. Amy also hosts an open mic night in San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York called Dime Stories Live, in collaboration with the National Public Radio show airing this summer. She is currently a Writer-in-Residence at the New York State Writers Institute on the campus of Skidmore College.

Amy took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions for me.

Name three songs that would be perfect for the soundtrack of your book.

Patsy Cline’s CRAZY
Waylon and Willie’s MAMMA’S DON’T LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE COWBOYS
The theme to the Price is Right.

What was the inspiration behind the writing of MoonPies and Movie Stars?

I started with a monologue I wrote in which I was imitating my grandmother. She was a wild and crazy woman who owned a honky tonk (beer joint), hair salon, café, convenience store/gas station and various other businesses in a a small town in Texas. The character and story grew into something that was only a slight resemblance to her, but my aunts and cousins could see her in there after all.

What is one thing you’ve learned about the publishing industry since getting your first book deal?

It’s a revolving door of editors. But mainly I’ve learned to focus on my writing and not get caught up in the business side. That’s why I have such a great agent. I’m the writer and that’s what I should be doing at all times.

How do you approach writing your novel? Do you outline the plot? Start with a character or...?

Most definitely character is what gets me started. But plot is what gets me through to the end. Just like reading, I’m dying to know what happens to my characters and I don’t know until I write all the way to the end.

Who are the top three writers who have influenced your writing style?

Roddy Doyle, an Irish writer who writes humorous and poignant novels about the hardworking, never get a break Irish. Janet Fitch of White Oleander was my writing teacher and mentor for at least 4 years while I was writing MoonPies and Movie Stars. Mary Gordon who wrote Pearl and many other wonderful books has been my writing teacher and mentor for many years also and she has always referred me to Flannery O’Connor when I get stuck or have a question. She’s always been right.

What are you reading now?

Manuscripts from students at the NY State Summer Writers Institute where I’m a writer-in-residence for the next few weeks. I have 4 student manuscripts I’m reviewing. The one I just finished had beautiful language and a gorgeous tale. Very dark with an ironic narrator, which I love. I just finished reading Rachel Shukert’s memoir called HAVE YOU NO SHAME. I reviewed it for the LA Times. It’s hilarious and a must-read.

What is your writing schedule like?

Anytime and all the time. Stephen King said in his memoir and book about writing that a writer should be reading every chance they get—the bank line, while they chop onions, in the shower, etc. I try to do that, or if I forget my book, I rework scenes in my head.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Read. I’m also an avid walker and hiker, but I use that time to mull over my story’s scenes and situations in my head. I push through to the next thing I need to sit down and write. That way the page may be blank, but my head is spilling over.

What is your advice for those who looking to get their novel published?

Write the best damn thing you can possibly write, then revise it again, and again, before you even think about sending it out.

What and where is your favorite restaurant and why is it your favorite?

Mexican. Rancho’s vegetarian restaurant in South Park San Diego Because it’s always fresh, I love Mexican, and it’s near my house. And they make the best avocado enchiladas.

Thanks, Amy! Check out her Web site at:

www.AmyWallen.com