Redux: SOS for WRITER

Reminder: TODAY IS THE PUB. DATE OF PATTY FRANCIS'THE LIAR'S DIARY and she is in the throes of chemo for a virulent cancer. Her doctor have high hopes for her, but she won't be able to get out and promote her book. Please help. I bought a copy even though I won't have time to read it for ages. It's a good thing to do. Perhaps you might also want to send get well wishes to her on her website: litpark.com

When new music teacher Ali Mather enters Jeanne Cross’s quiet suburban life, she brings a jolt of energy that Jeanne never expected. Ali has a magnetic personality and looks to match, drawing attention from all quarters. Nonetheless, Jeanne and Ali develop a friendship based on their mutual vulnerabilities THE LIAR’S DIARY (Plume / February 2008 / ISBN 978-0-452-28915-4 / $14.00) is the story of Ali and Jeanne’s friendship, and the secrets they both keep.

Jeanne’s secrets are kept to herself; like her son’s poor report card and husband’s lack of interest in their marriage. Ali’s secrets are kept in her diary, which holds the key to something dark: her fear that someone has been entering her house when she is not at home. While their secrets bring Jeanne and Ali together, it is this secret that will drive them apart. Jeanne finds herself torn between her family and her dear friend in order to protect the people she loves.

A chilling tour of troubled minds, THE LIAR’S DIARY questions just how far you’ll go for your family and what dark truths you’d be willing to admit—even to yourself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patry Francis is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize whose work has appeared in the Tampa Review, Colorado Review, Ontario Review, and the American Poetry Review. She is also the author of the popular blogs, simplywait.blogspot.com and waitresspoems.blogspot.com. This is her first novel. Please visit her website at www.patryfrancis.com.

Praise for THE LIAR’S DIARY:

“Twists and turns but never lets go.”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“A quirky, well-written and well-constructed mystery with an edge.”—Publishers Weekly

“Outright chilling.”—New York Daily News

“Genuinely creepy…The unlikely friendship between a small-town school secretary and a flamboyant teacher proves deadly in this psychological murder mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A twisting ride full of dangerous curves and jaw-dropping surprises. This is one of my favorite reads of the year!”—Tess Gerristen, bestselling author of The Mephisto Club

“Francis draws and tense and moody picture of the perfect home and family being peeled back secret by secret…Four Stars.”—Romantic Times

THE LIAR’S DIARY
By Patry Francis
Plume Paperbacks / February 2008 / $14.00
ISBN: 978-0-452-28915-4
Readers Guide available at www.penguin.com

BARBARA STREISAND AND ME

My strong link with Barbara Streisand is that our eyes are the same color blue and that her uncle, Sydney Streisand, used to fix our rabbit-eared TV in my childhood home in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York. I just finished a wonderful bio of her, Streisand, A Biography (Little Brown and Company, 1997) by Anne Edwards. For all you lovers of The Secret, you'll be thrilled to read how Streisand, as a little girl in Brooklyn, knew just what she wanted out of life and demanded it and GOT IT!

Writer in Distress, SOS

The paperback of THE LIAR'S DIARY is due to come out on January 29th. The trouble is that the author, Patty Francis, was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. She's had several surgeries and her prognosis is good, but won't be able to do anything to promote her book. The paperback is already on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. If you can see your way to buying one, it would be a great blaessing and if you will, please tell your friends.

Circling Back, in stories, in life.

Chekhov said that the end of a story should circle back to the beginning in order to be satisfying. Notice how life seems to do the same?

January 9th was my son, Charles's, birthday. My brother, Barry, wasn't sure of the date. so he called Charles' work. Charles wasn't in.

"Hi, this is Charles' uncle," Barry said to Charles' assistant. "Would you mind telling me if it's my nephew's birthday?"

"We thought so," his assistant said, "but he said, 'No,' it's my uncle's birthday.'"

They began to laugh. Charles probably didn't want a fuss at work over his birthday and now he was caught.

It reminded me of years ago when my brother was in sports writing. He was featured on a question and answer radio show in Conneticut, trying to appear really professional.

One caller asked, "Excuse me, I have just one question. Is this my nephew, Barry?"

It was Uncle Davie from Hartford, Connecticut.

FOR KEEPS

For Keeps is a new amd vital anthology that was edited by Victoria Sackheim, a teacher at UCLA online. Another familiar name in the anthology is Caroline Leavitt, one of UCLA's fiction teachers. And my essay,The Teardrop, also included, was cited in a review in the San Francisco Chronicle. I'm breathing on my fingernails and rubbing them against my blouse. That's an old-fashioned way to show pride.