Okay. So I’m two-thirds of the way through While My Sister Sleeps, and I’m working 12-hour days and, between you and me, am slightly exhausted -- and now here come three new releases to discuss. I’ve put this blog off for a while because it’s tough shifting gears. But it’s time. Those of you on my mailing list will have received notice about these books, but I’ve promised more info, so here it is.

First, to clarify, "New Old Books" are old books of mine that are being published in new formats. Suddenly will go on sale in hardcover for the first time on April 1; For My Daughters and A Woman Betrayed are on sale in trade paperback now. BTW, these trade paperback releases are based on the success of Family Tree in trade paperback. This format -- hardcover size with a soft cover and much lower price -- has become a reader favorite. I’m no exception. I love this format.

But getting back to the topic at hand, let me tell you more about each of these books.

First, because it’s an all-time favorite of mine, For My Daughters. Like so many women in the '90s, I read and loved The Bridges of Madison County. I was bothered, though, by the fact that Francesca had her wonderful affair, then returned to her family without missing a beat. The psychologist in me felt that a small something in her would have changed and given her away. For My Daughters addresses this issue. Ginny St. Clair has always been cool and distant to her three daughters, and they to each other. The summer of her 70th birthday, she abruptly invites them to help her settle into a newly-purchased, flower-strewn mansion on the rocky Maine coast. Annette, the good mother of five, hard-edged Caroline, a Chicago lawyer, and Leah, the twice-divorced youngest sibling, arrive at the estate, each aghast to find the others -- but no Mom. Though the three grimly assume battle positions, enforced proximity fosters grudging respect and the opening of minds. For Leah, there’s also a scalding affair with the groundskeeper, echoing the forbidden love between a gardener and the mistress of the house half a century before.

I cry every time I read For My Daughters. I have no daughters, no seventy-something mother. But I do have sisters, as do many of my readers, for whom this book has resonated as well.

Second, A Woman Betrayed. Owning a restaurant, two wonderful children, and a twenty-year marriage, Laura Frye has it all. When her husband mysteriously vanishes, she fears he’s been victimized and is lying dead in a ditch. As time passes without the recovery of a body, it becomes apparent that he harbored secrets Laura never imagined. As her world crashes around her and she works to rebuild her life, she discovers new strength, new independence, new love.

A Woman Betrayed reminds us of the old maxim that the wife is the last to know. But why is that? Weakness? Absolutely not. Laura is a strong woman who is optimistic and trustful. Her husband takes advantage of that. But he, interestingly, is the sleeper in A Woman Betrayed. I wrote him in a way that suggests life isn’t black and white. Jeff isn’t all bad. Enough said …

Finally, Suddenly. This book tells of four friends who are partners in a pediatric practice. When one dies suddenly under conditions that suggest suicide, the others are devastated. Told largely through the eyes of Paige Pfeiffer, this is a story of self-examination as each of the characters look long and hard at their own lives. There is growth here -- and much on a happy note, not the least being the arrival of the baby their friend had been in the process of adopting. We never do know whether Mara’s death was an accident or not, but the lives of her friends have been forever changed. Mara’s legacy is sealed.

My original title for this book was “Mara’s Story.” Gotta tell you, I still like it best!

BTW, I love the new cover of For My Daughters. What do you think?

Let me know think about these new old books, and, in the meantime, enjoy! Me, my nose is back to the grindstone.