People ask me this question all the time: Isn’t it scary to write a second book, especially when the first one sold well?

Answer: Yes. Of course it is. It was only after writing a second book and then a novella that I could truly appreciate the freedom a writer has when they write their first book. No one cares because no one know you. They’re not familiar with your work or your style.

It’s a fantastic place to be.

I followed up a romance novel set on a beautiful, deserted island with a women’s fiction novel set in the suburbs.

There’s something to be said for author branding. It appears that I may be the author who includes a controversial element or moral decision that a character has to face.

And while I think author branding is important in some ways (my style will probably always be similar from book to book), what I vehemently want to avoid is being the kind of author who writes the same book over and over and over, sticking to the same structure because it’s safe.

When an author does this I find that by the third book or so I’m not as interested in picking up their next title. I want them to surprise me.

I know that with every book I write I will lose some existing readers but gain some new ones. I think that’s wonderful.

For example: I love The Eagles. But I don’t love every Eagles song the same. Sure, they all have that 70’s California rock thing going on, but there’s a difference between

It’s that time of year again. The December issue of O Magazine features Oprah’s favorite things. I made a list of my own for 2011: you can read it here. And now it’s time for a new list for 2012. My favorite things aren’t as cool as Oprah’s, but they won’t break the bank either.

1. Vitamin water zero. Only the lemonade flavor. I’ve tried some of the other flavors, but they’re way too sweet. Sometimes I like to stay hydrated and catch a buzz.
2. Old Navy yoga pants – okay, I know I said yoga pants last year, but I was speaking in general and now I’m about to get more specific. I mean, you could spend $47 on a pair, but why? And the Old Navy yoga pants have these great slanty pockets, which are deep enough that my cell phone won’t fall out. Bonus.

3. my iPhone/iPad – Oh, sure. I made a big deal about telling the kids that this was “Mom’s iPad” so they’d keep their sticky hands off of it. Lauren has downloaded about 74 apps and my screen saver is Hello Kitty. But it’s still MINE. My next computer might be a Mac.

4. Hoodies, especially if they have a pouch pocket in front. I no longer have a land line (thank God) so my cell phone is never far from reach.

5. Cafe Press

6. Leather iPad case with bluetooth keyboard.

7. GPS. I’m not sure how I arrived at any of my destinations before I started using GPS. I feel like I can get in my car and drive anywhere. I’ve been attending a lot of book club meetings (why yes, if you entice with me with the promise of wine, I will drive to your house even if you’re a complete stranger). My car didn’t come with GPS, so David gave me a Garmin GPS system for Christmas. It sticks to my windshield with a little suction cup thingie. The suction cup will, at some point in my journey, unstick itself and pop off my windshield, thus scaring the utter crap out of me. But other than that, I love it.

8. Blowouts. I SAID BLOWOUTS, PEOPLE. Stop snickering. It’s my favorite guilty pleasure. I have a lot of hair (just ask my husband because he said something the other day about pulling a bunch of it out of the shower drain). I don’t know how this happened, but my hair used to be straight and after I gave birth to two children it suddenly became wavy and now it’s almost curly, which I don’t understand at all, but whatever. I’m inherently lazy when it comes to my hair and since I like to wear it poker-straight, I’m more than happy to let someone else wrangle it for me. “You’ll have to drink a teeny-tiny cup of this formaldehyde. Me: Okay

9. Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm.

10. Corksicles – It doesn’t take much to get me excited. Corksicles are especially helpful if one is, say, lying on the couch on the patio and is too lazy to walk fifteen steps inside to the wine fridge.