Best-selling Author Debbie Macomber Lives At 1105 Yakima Street

“The books in Macomber’s contemporary Cedar Cove series are irresistibly delicious and addictive.” Publishers Weekly Review (44 Cranberry Point)

1105 Yakima Street

by Debbie Macomber

_This is the story of Cabot Cove resident Bruce Peyton, his daughter Jolene and her step- mom Rachel. Jolene and Rachel shared a wonderful friendship before Rachel and Bruce fell in love and quickly married.
_Suddenly, everyone’s life is in turmoil … Rachel is pregnant and out of the house, Jolene is jealous and upset, and Bruce doesn’t know what to do first … or next. When’s Rachel confides in Nate her former suitor the complications escalate.

“Readers new to Macomber’s considerable narrative charms will have no problem picking up the story, while loyal fans are in for a treat.” BOOKLIST Review (6 Rainier Drive)

_Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author with over 100 million copies of her books in print. She has become a leading voice in women’s fiction world-wide.
_Her Cedar Cove series (1105 Yakima Street is book #11) written over the past eleven years is regularly reviewed by Publishers Weekly, Romantic Times, and the New York Journal of Books.

“Macomber deftly combines sweet romance and a breath of suspense without losing the homespun charm that’s been delighting readers for years.” Romantic Times Review (92 Pacific Boulevard)

There is also a Debbie Macomber spin-off Cedar Cove Cookbook.

Mini-Writers Workshop (Follow the Rules of the Genre and The Series Novel) - Readers know what they like! and romance readers are particularly loyal to their genre and favorite authors. They purchase these genre-specific novels (and the authors who write them) because they deliver.
_While all satisfying stories have great characters, a compelling opening line, an interesting plotline and proper ending, genre novels come with their own specific guidelines (no, not formulas). But beware: break the contract, lose the sale.
_Writing the series novel comes with certain guidelines … and the necessity of creating a series bible. General advice is that the series character should be interesting and compelling and not change or die (unless the series is to end!). While each book will have a specific story question(s) to answer and must be able to stand alone, tying up loose ends isn’t important. These dangling ends are what help sell the next novel in the series.
_In the Cedar Cove series the community is the continuing character and provides the author with endless story possibilities.
_If you have an idea for a great romance (and book one in a possible series) it is important to really know the rules, and the authors’ who regularly deliver.
_Do your research … before you write your first or next draft. For those interested in love this can be a welcoming market.
_Romance readers are always on the look-out for the next creative genre-true novel.

A copy of this novel was provided by Harlequin Publishing House for the purpose of review. My comments are my own.

Libby's Books

Libby Malin is the author of the soon-to-be-released romantic comedy FIRE ME (Sourcebooks) and the 2005 chick lit novel LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT (Harlequin). Writing as Libby Sternberg, she’s the author of four teen mysteries, the first of which was an Edgar finalist. A Baltimore native, she now lives in Lancaster, PA. More info about her can be found at www.LibbysBooks.com

What is a day like for a professional writer?I usually rise early (by six) and linger over coffee and chatting with my husband before he goes to work, reading the Wall Street Journal (our son writes for the Asian edition) and watching morning news. By eight, I’m ready to tackle the day’s tasks. If I have any freelance writing assignments, I might start on them, either organizing the work or actually beginning to contact folks I need to interview for articles, etc. Because I bill by the hour, I carefully note the time spent on these tasks in an ever-present ledger.
_If I’m writing a book, I might carve out several mornings where I start work on that project—my best writing time is usually in the morning. If I’m on a deadline—for example, if I have a full manuscript due to an editor by a certain date—I make sure to stick to a daily page quota.
_I usually quickly review what I wrote the day before, maybe tweaking it but not doing a full-fledged edit, and then plow forward.
_If I stall, I try to figure out why. If it’s because I’m unsure of direction, I might write in one direction anyway, just to get something on the page. I will write notes to myself in ALL CAPS, things like INCREASE TENSION BETWEEN CHARACTER X AND Y or something similar that I know will need to be included.
_If I’m in the editing stage of a manuscript, things move pretty quickly and I can find myself at the computer almost all day, with short breaks, usually because I’m too excited about the project to leave it.
_I will make notes on paper as I go – characters’ names and descriptions (I don’t want to have one start the novel with blue eyes and finish it with green!), important plot points and maybe even timelines (to make sure I don’t include eight-day weeks).
_I usually do at least three edits. If I have a book about to be released, I devote a portion of my days to actual promotional tasks, such as writing blog entries for the “virtual tour” set up by the publicist, cleaning up my personal mailing lists and preparing a mailing of promotional postcards, setting up a book-signing, etc.
_Finally, in the afternoons I will read….but not for pleasure! I read manuscripts for a publisher, making recommendations for purchase. So I’ll set up my laptop in my sunny living room, put a small notebook and pen nearby to jot down observations, and start reading!