My favorite season is here! I’m a cool-weather girl and always have been, and I’ll take fall over summer any day which probably makes me sound really weird (I’m especially fond of cold and rainy fall days. See? Weird). I’m really looking forward to my first fall as a full-time writer because as soon as it gets cold enough, I’ll be turning on the fireplace (yes it’s gas. Yes the real thing would be better). My writing chair is conveniently located right next to it and there’s nothing I love more than writing in front of the fireplace.

Anyway, this fall will also be insanely busy. Many of you have asked about Covet; I turn the manuscript in to my publisher on November 15th and the days leading up to that deadline are going to be intense. Not because I’m in danger of not making the deadline (the book is almost done), but because the revision stage (which will begin around October 1st) is all-consuming. I love the revision stage, but I have a hard time sleeping and/or concentrating on anything else which can make me appear reclusive and anti-social. Also ungroomed (if you see me at the grocery store at 10:00 p.m. in my pajamas with no makeup and a ponytail, please don’t judge).

Also, many of you have asked about the release date for Covet. I had originally planned on self-publishing Covet this fall. But because of all the wonderful things that have happened in the last six months I would have been hard-pressed to make that deadline, and had I not signed with Penguin I would have undoubtedly pushed the release back to winter 2013. I spend 3-4 hours a day working on things related to On the Island: answering reader e-mails, responding to tweets and Facebook messages, and fulfilling requests from my US, UK, and Canadian publicists (interviews, Q&A’s, etc…). On top of that, I still have to actually write. A year ago, when I stated that Covet would come out this fall I had no idea what fate had in store for me, and I’m eternally grateful for all the good fortune I’ve experienced. But it has required adjustments to my timeline and I hope you’ll understand my need to be flexible. Also, Covet will be released in hardcover and Penguin/Dutton will need time to make sure they have completed all the steps necessary to put the book on the shelves of bookstores everywhere. As soon as I have a firm release date, I promise I’ll share it with you.

After I turn in Covet I’ll attempt to take the rest of the month off from writing to enjoy Thanksgiving and my daughter’s birthday. But in December I’m launching right into another project that I’m very excited about. I can’t tell you about it yet, but I’ll provide all the details as soon as I can. Hint: there might be something this spring that will tide you over until Covet is released. It may involve another character from On the Island…

Okay, now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, here’s what’s going on in September and October:

Tuesday, September 25th – Skype chat with the RGV Book Junkies.
Wednesday, September 26th, Book Club – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, September 27th, Dallas Center Library – 7:00 p.m (presentation and signing).
Friday, September 29th – Sunday, September 30th, TFEIC event in Chicago, Palmer House Hilton (Saturday’s author meet and greet is from 12-4). This event will be epic! Read all about it here.
Thursday, October 4th – Chick Lit Twitter chat – 8:00 pm. EST (use the hashtag #ChickLitChat).
Tuesday, October 9th – Book Club – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 11th, 7:00 p.m. I will be at The Book Vault in Oskaloosa. Click here for details.
Tuesday, October 16th, Skype chat.
Sunday, October 28th – WOW (Wonder of Words) Festival, Des Moines. I’ll be giving a presentation at 5:00 p.m. Click here for details.

I’m not adding any more dates on the calendar for now, to allow for time to go through the editing process with my editor and also to enjoy my cold and snowy evenings this holiday season.

But as soon as January gets here, I’m ready to fill that calendar back up again 🙂

Tracey