Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I am celebrating the release of my novel, NICHOLAS. It's coming to bookstores in July, 2012.

This is a happy, but poignant moment for me. It will very likely be the last print book I ever have in stores—although I realize that ever is a long time. Things might change in the future, but I don't think they will. Which means that this will probably be my last hurrah as a print published author.

I had a good run. I started out when I had two babies back to back and suddenly needed to earn an income from home. But I didn't have a clue how to write a book or how to sell one. I simply jumped in and forged ahead, being absolutely confident that I could figure it out and succeed in a big way.

After four years of trying and seven completed manuscripts, I finally sold one to a New York publisher.

Over the following ten years, I wrote 23 novels for four different New York publishers. Along the way, I became a Waldenbooks, USA Today, and New York Times bestselling author. I won national awards and received tons of acclaim. Once, I was even picked as "Best Storyteller of the Year" by the trade magazine, Romantic Times. But none of that translated into huge fame or big sales.

When the economy imploded in 2008, the publishing companies went into freefall. Employees were let go and tons of authors were dumped.

At the end of '09, I was one of the first authors to lose my New York spot. And with the publishing industry in such disarray, I didn't see how I'd ever get it back. My writing career had been a stressful slog of starting over and trying again. When I was finally dropped by my last publisher, I simply lacked the energy to reinvent myself yet another time.

I actually quit for a year and a half. I shut off my email and took down my webpage. But a friend bugged me to try again. So I did.

NICHOLAS is the book I wrote once I started in again. I wrote it just to see if I could still write a novel, just to see if I wanted to write a novel again. The break did me a lot of good. It's the most critically acclaimed book I've penned in years, and I've had the most positive fan response in ages.

I've never pretended to be a great literary mind. I don't have any deep or probing thoughts to share, so there's never been anything remotely weighty about my books. They're pure entertainment, fun and fast-paced and a great way to pass the time while lying around the pool or flying on an airplane. If you haven't tried one of my novels before, NICHOLAS is a great introduction to my work.

It was released last year as an e-book by e-publisher, Samhain. So if you're dying to read it right away, you can download it immediately to any e-reader. But to my fans who love my print books, or who haven't made that e-jump that's so popular, or who simply want a book to hold in their hands, the book is coming. And it's coming in print to bookstores everywhere.

I hope all of you will join the celebration with me!