Who are my favorite authors?  My favorite books?  I’m asked this by nearly every group with which I talk, and the answer is that when I’m writing my own book, I can’t read at all.  I do knit, which explains the yarn in books like Not My Daughter and Family Tree.

Once monthly, I attend Stitch Night at Iron Horse, a local yarn store owned by Debbie Smith, and she has just introduced something new to her knitters.  The project is called Stitching for Babies, and it entails making preemie and newborn hats, booties, and blankets for local Neo-Natal Intensive Care Units.  As Debbie puts it, “There is a real need for all those infants to be seen as babies, not just connected to tubes and monitor leads.”

When I broached this idea to my Facebook fans a few days ago, their response was overwhelming.  So I broach it to you now, and I’ll make it simple.  Let’s start with preemie blankets, the size of a nice hand towel, roughly 14” x 18”, just enough to lay over the infant, not to wrap. This is a quick and easy project, even for beginners.  You can knit or crochet or quilt.  Hey, quilters, you’re on your own for patterns, but knitters and crocheters will find a pattern for each below.

Yarn should be machine washable and dryable.  I recommend worsted weight, since it works up quickly but isn’t ultra-heavy.  Pick a color of your choice.  Here’s the Shell Preemie Blanket I just finished.  Clearly, I have the fuchsia heart of Not My Daughter’s Susan Tate.  I used Berroco Vintage, which is 50% acrylic, 40% wool, and 10% nylon, and I added the navy border when my skein of fuchsia ran out.

Send your finished blanket to me at PO Box 812894, Wellesley, MA  02482.  No need to block; Debbie will do that.  Each donated blanket will have the first name of the donor affixed.

Here are the patterns:

Crochet:  Shell Preemie Blanket (approx 14 x 18)

Chain 47 loosely with size H or I crochet hook.

Row 1:  In 5^th chain from hook, work 1 sc + ch 2 + 2 dc.  * Skip 2 ch, work 1 sc + ch 2 + 2 dc in next chain.*  Repeat between *s to last 3 ch.  You should have 13 clusters.  Skip 2 ch, work 1 dc in last ch.  Ch 3.  Turn.

Row 2:  Work 1 sc + ch 2 + 2 dc in each ch 2 loop (13 clusters) until 3 ch loop at end of row.  Work 1 dc in this loop.  Ch 3.  Turn.

Repeat Row 2 until piece measures roughly 17.5”.  At end of row, turn corner with 3 dc + 2 ch + 3 dc in 3 ch loop.  Continue with 1 sc + ch 2 + 2 dc down side to give 17 clusters.  Repeat corner pattern.  Work 13 clusters along bottom and 17 along final side.  If desired, repeat entire border once more.  Cut off yarn, weave in ends.

Knit:  Checkerboard Preemie Blanket (approx 14 x 18)

Cast on 59 sts with #7 or #8 needles (gauge is not crucial).  Knit the first two rows.

Row 1: K2,*K5, P5* repeat across to the last 7 sts, K7.

Row 2: K2, *P5, K5* repeat across to the last 7 sts, P5, K2

Repeat row 1 and 2 one more time

Repeat row 1 one time for a total of 5 row pattern then reverse pattern.

Row 3: K2, *P5, K5* repeat across to the last 7 sts, P5, K2

Row 4: K2,*K5, P5* repeat across to the last 7 sts, K7.

Repeat row 3 and 4 one more time

Repeat row 3 one time for a total of 5 row pattern then reverse pattern again.

Repeat this pattern sequence 10 times, then repeat Row1/2 squence once more. Knit 2 rows, bind off.  Weave in ends.

It’s been a while since I last blogged.  My apologies for that, but what with the publication of Not My Daughter and the promotional work it entailed, I’ve been distracted.  I also felt you’d heard enough from me in the days leading up to January 5 and deserved a break.

But I’m back — back writing, actually, because I spent the imaginative pre-dawn hours of December and January plotting my next book.  It’s an idea that came to me last June, on the very day I sent Not My Daughter off to my publisher.  Lots of other plot possibilities came and went during the summer, which is typically my time for new ideas, but this one wouldn’t let go.

You guys helped cement it. (more…)

I’m psyched!  Here’s the 3½-star (out of 4) review of Not My Daughter that just appeared in PEOPLE magazine.

“Calling to mind an ’08 news story about 17 girls thought to have made a pregnancy “pact,” this novel features three Maine teens who blithely orchestrate getting pregnant together. Refusing to name the fathers or to consider abortion or adoption, they are at once perplexing and heartbreaking – especially to their own mothers, who become primary characters. As the town erupts in outrage, the girls’ moms grapple with anger, sorrow and the nagging question: Where did I fail my daughter? It’s a topical tale that resonates with timeless emotion.”

Nice, huh?  And filling the whole lower third of the page, including a view of the cover? Thank you, PEOPLE Magazine.  A writer can’t ask for more.

But we do.  Every writer wants to be reviewed.  Why?  Three reasons. (more…)

Rarely does a week go by when I don’t meet with a book group, and oh, the luxury of it.  I can visit anywhere in the country from the comfort of my home, talking by speakerphone with a group of readers, all of whom have read my book.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

But I’m not in a book group, some readers cry, which is why I’m doing a live chat on Tuesday, January 12, 9-9:30 pm (EST) right here on this blog page.

But still, you say,  you want to talk with me on the phone like those other book groups?  Okay.  Form a book group of your own.  Even for one night, one meeting.  How to do it?  (more…)

Since you’ve so kindly indulged my going on and on for months, I’ll make this blog short and sweet.

My new book, Not My Daughter, is now on sale!  I hope you enjoy it.  As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

If you’d like a personalized bookplate for your copy, give me the info and it’ll be on its way.

If you’d like to take part in a live online chat to discuss Not My Daughter (or any other BD subject), be right here at this BLOG page one week from tonight, Tuesday, January 12, from 9:00-9:30 PM (EST).

And finally, if you haven’t put your name in for the sweepstakes, please do so now.  With $1000 in book gift cards up for grabs, it’ll be worth your while.

That’s it.  ‘Til Thursday.

Actually, that’s the second piece of my 2010 news.  The first is right there on my home page – the offer of an autographed bookplate for your copy of Not My Daughter.  I’ll sign up to three bookplates per person, one for each of three copies of the book.  Just follow the link to the order form, give me the pertinent info, and I’ll take it from there.  I pay postage and handling.  The only cost to you is whatever you pay, wherever, for Not My Daughter!

And here’s the online chat part.  I recently attempted a live chat through my Facebook page, but it was unwieldy having to constantly refresh the page to see new remarks.  Simultaneously, my brilliant web designer Steve successfully experimented with a live chat through the blog page of another of his cients.  I attended that chat, thought it was terrific, and signed on.

So mark your calendars for January 12, 9-9:30 PM (ET), and set a bookmark for the blog page on my site, which is where the chat will take place.  That’ll give you a week to read Not My Daughter, which goes on sale January 5.

I talk with reading groups all the time, but this option opens things up to include those of you aren’t in a reading group.  Absolutely everyone is welcome.  Let’s give it a try!

BTW, the focus may be on Not My Daughter, but you can ask me … anything.  January 12, 9-9:30 PM (ET).  I’ll give a direct link when we get close to the date.  Details will also be on Facebook and Twitter.  Join me, please?

I’ve made New Years’ resolutions for as long as I can remember.  There have been times when I’m so busy that I don’t think of it until the last minute, and then it’s often guilt that spurs it.  I mean, if I don’t make a New Year’s resolution, doesn’t that imply I think I’m perfect?

I certainly am not.  (more…)

There’s a reason why I set my stories in New England.  I love New England.  Sure, I’ve lived here all my life, still I love it.  Doesn’t that say something?

Maine holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, only the most recent of which is that it’s the Not My Daughter setting.  Here’s a little history of Maine and me. (more…)

It started as a contest.  When I was in New York last September brainstorming a promotional plan for Not My Daughter, my publisher suggested running it on my website at the time of publication.  The goal was to tell people about this book, and the original idea called for a mother-daughter contest, with the prize being an all-expense-paid mother-daughter getaway weekend.  After all, Not My Daughter is about mothers and daughters, right?

Then I got to thinking.  Granted, with my readership being 97% women give or take, 97% of my readers either are or were daughters, right?  But moms?  Not all have children, and of those who do, not all of those children are daughters.  Hey, I have only sons.  So what would I do if I won?  My mom’s been dead for years; I couldn’t take her.  I quickly realized that if we wanted people to actually enter this contest, we had to cast a larger net.

Let me inject something here.  (more…)

If you’ve followed my countdown blogs, you’ll know that Mountain Colors, a Montana company that specializes in hand-dying yarn, has produced a colorway to honor Not My Daughter.  After reading early excerpts of the book, the masterminds behind Mountain Colors, Leslie Taylor and Diana McKay, designed Spring Eclipse, a breathtaking mix of fuchsia, copper, plum, sapphire, forest green, and teal, named after a colorway created by my characters, Susan, Kate, Sunny, and Pam, who have their own yarn-dying business in Not My Daughter.

"Spring Eclipse" from Mountain Colors

Getting to know Leslie and Diana has been a joy for me.  They are incredibly warm and wonderfully creative, representative of the best of the community of knitters that has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.  What is it about knitting that’s so appealing?  (more…)