Today’s the day. The Secret Between Us is on sale in your favorite store! But of course, you’d have to be on another planet not to have already heard it from me. I’ve been talking about January 22 for months.

If you’ve read my recent blogs, you’ve had an inside look at the writing of The Secret Between Us. So what do I do in the one or two days before publication? You’re reading it. At this stage, with this book, it’s all about making sure that my website is perfect. That means changing every “Coming January 22” to “On Sale Now.” It means making sure that the links to online booksellers are functional, so that the book is easy for you to buy. It means writing copy for the eblast that went out to my mailing list this morning.

It means working with my brilliant web designer, Steve Bennett, to introduce several new things to the site – namely a Media Room and a new podcast. The Media Room is for – you guessed it! – media and offers a formal press release and cover photo for The Secret Between Us, plus an author photo. The podcast is for YOU. Have you listened to any of my podcasts yet? None of them run much more than three minutes, and you can select from things like the straightforward “My Niche” and “What is UPLIFT?” to the interesting “Writing About Daughters (When I Have None)” to the whimsical “I Hate Cooking.” To celebrate the publication of The Secret Between Us, we’ve posted a new one. It’s called “What I Would Do If I Wasn’t A Writer.” For a listen, click here.

Another important thing I’ve done in the last day to prepare for the pub of The Secret Between Us is to post news of a new contest at various points in the site. I’m asking readers to help spread word that THE SECRET is out. The contest part? Tell a friend about this book and have him/her send me a note through CONTACT mentioning The Secret Between Us and giving your name as the blabbermouth. Whoever blabs the most wins. The prize for the winner? A personal phone call from me, a signed copy of the book, plus a signed blow-up of this gorgeous cover. In order to qualify as the winner, you have to be on my mailing list, so sign up now. What’s in it for your friends? If they’re new readers who join the mailing list, they receive a signed copy of the book.

I'm also offering signed bookplates to readers who buy The Secret Between Us within the first two weeks of sale. If you buy it by February 5, send me a note telling when and where you got it, where I should send the bookplate, and how you'd like it inscribed.

Anything else today? I don’t think so. Whew. I’m exhausted already. And here I am, trying to focus on next year’s book, While My Sister Sleeps. Yes, I’ll be writing as always today. Wellllll, maybe I’ll spend a little while talking with my publisher or my agent, certainly with my web designer. But then it’s back to the grindstone. Hey, you all want a new book next year, right?