Chatting with a soldier during "Operation Thriller II"

This Christmas season has special significance for me because of the USO tour.  While celebrating and partying with friends and family, I can’t help but think of the many men and women in our military who will be far from home.  During that week in Afghanistan, I came to appreciate the scope of their sacrifice.  Amid all the hustle and bustle, please take a moment to think of them and their families, and if you have an opportunity, thank one personally for their service.  Photos of the tour are now posted on Facebook and my website.

I hesitate to share with you the second event that gave Christmas special significance, because it’s an unhappy story.  It does, however, snap into focus what’s important.  The tragedy took place three blocks from my home around 1:00 in the afternoon.  The police investigation is ongoing, but this is basically what happened.

A twenty-seven-year old man driving an SUV was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run with two vehicles.  Fleeing that scene at a speed of 85-100 mph, he came to intersection where other cars were stopped for a traffic light.  He caused a seven car collision.   Two of the vehicles involved were cut practically in half.

One man died in the crash.

Diners in the nearby McDonald’s who witnessed the accident rushed out to help.  One of them was an eighteen-year-old high school student.  He ran up to the SUV to check on the driver, who’d caused the accident, and on his twin children who were in the vehicle with him.

The driver shot and killed the student.

The investigation that followed this incident took hours.  The major thoroughfare was closed for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.  Police had a complicated chain of events to piece together, but ultimately the SUV driver was arrested.  His children were among those who suffered injuries and had to be transported to the hospital.

Two bodies were taken to the morgue.

Later, while listening to the news reports, it occurred to me that when those two victims woke up that morning, they had no way of knowing that it would be their last day.  For as busy and difficult as my day had been up to that point, I was suddenly very grateful for every moment of it and ashamed for complaining about what amounted only to temporary inconveniences.

One footnote that makes this story even more heart-wrenching: The eighteen-year-old, who died trying to be a Good Samaritan, had a brother who lived in New Orleans.  He had been shot and killed four days earlier.

Don’t sweat the small stuff has become a cliché that’s lost some of its punch from overuse.  But it’s a lesson we should live by.  I shared this not to make you sad, but to stress the importance of being merry.  Life is precious, and this is the season to truly celebrate it.

Thank you for another year of support.  You continue to be so good to me, and I wish I could give each of you a big hug of gratitude.

Be safe, be well, be joyful!

The worst thing about the USO tour to Afghanistan? It took me a week to get over the jet lag.

The best thing? The memory of it will last a lifetime.

And, yet, it seems like I’ve woken up from a surreal dream. It was a whirlwind trip, covering a LOT of territory in a short amount of time, that, a week and a half after returning home, I ask myself often, “Did that really happen?”

For example, Michael and I landed at the Asheville, NC, airport the other day. He spotted a couple of helicopters parked on the tarmac and remarked, “There are your Black Hawks.” Of all my experiences on the tour, flying in the Black Hawks over treacherous mountain ranges was probably the most exhilarating. It even sounds harrowing, doesn’t it? Of course, for me, clambering in and out of them in full gear was the real challenge! And although I did it, it seems like something that happened to another person while I watched.

Experiences such as that seem especially distant this week, when I’m surrounded by grandsons and into the full swing of Thanksgiving. Months ago, when I noticed on my calendar how quickly the feasting holiday would follow the USO tour, I tentatively suggested a catered Thanksgiving dinner. You know, order it ahead, pick up the turkey and all the trimmings the day before. Nuke it and serve.

The idea was met with a chorus of protests that would have rocked a Greek amphitheater.

So, tradition prevailed. The meal that everyone expects will be on the table at 2:00 EST. (Two hours before the kickoff of the Cowboys’ game, also a tradition.) Three days before, I’ll go grocery shopping with my daughter, Rachel, taking with us the list we’ve been compiling for days. (I always forget something like brown sugar or nutmeg, which aren’t staples.)

I’ll bake the cornbread for the dressing two days ahead, so it can “dry out,” as my mother used to say. Which makes no sense because then you just make it damp again by adding chicken stock to it. But who am I to argue with such a hard and fast dressing-making rule?

One day before, I’ll chop, slice, dice, boil. I’ll bake a pecan pie (my one and only of the year) and mix the ingredients for the Sweet Potato Souffle (from the recipe book of Savannah’s Mrs. Wilke’s Boarding House) so it’ll be ready to put in the oven an hour before the meal. I’ll make the ambrosia (Ryan’s fav) and put it in the fridge. I’ll cook the bacon for the “barbecued” green beans and make sure I’ve got enough potatoes for the “mash.” Victoria, my daughter-in-law, would never forgive me if I omitted that English staple. Son-in-law,Pete, has put in a special request for pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. Michael’s happy with anything so long as it’s chocolate.

Thanksgiving morning, I’ll mix the dressing while watching the Macy’s parade. Everyone will be made to sample it in order to tell me what it needs. More salt? More sage?

If all goes well and according to plan, the rolls will come out of the oven at 1:55. We’ll hold hands and say grace and sit down to eat — in twenty minutes — what has taken days to prepare.

This year, I’ll say grace and enjoy these family traditions with a new perspective: That of truly being grateful to be surrounded by those I love. Because thousands of brave men and women, members of our armed services and civilians working alongside them, will be away from their kin and the aromas that make their mouths water for some of mama’s cooking.

I want them to know that they are still in my thoughts and prayers, on Thanksgiving Day, and every day until (as the USO motto says) Everyone Comes Home.

So, what family traditions are you looking forward to…or planning on breaking?!

May 23, 1990 was a landmark date for me. On that day, I was notified that MIRROR IMAGE, an original paperback for Warner Books, would appear on the following Sunday’s New York Times bestseller list at #8 and become my first Times bestseller. Celebration followed. It stayed on the list for five weeks, and that was a monumental leap for my career.

This month Grand Central Publishing, the former Warner Books, will re-release MIRROR IMAGE in paperback, with a gorgeous glossy new cover. If you missed this book in 1990, I hope you’ll read it this time around. A woman who survives a plane crash is mistaken for another passenger who died. While she’s bandaged, mute, and immovable, someone, believing her to be the other woman, imparts a deadly secret. To protect herself, she must keep that secret. But that means sacrificing her own identity and taking on the dead woman’s life, family. . .and husband.  Hmm…I still love this plot!

RICOCHET the movie, based on my book by the same title, was recently filmed in New Orleans, substituting for Savannah. It will air on TNT on November 30th. It stars John Corbett, Julie Benz, Gary Cole, Kelly Overton, and Haaz Sleman. I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days on the set, and, while most of the time I was in the way, I managed to mix and mingle with this excellent cast. Screenwriter Donald Martin incorporated much of my dialogue from the book into the script. It’s thrilling, hearing pros like these giving voice to lines of dialogue that I’ve written.

John is a sweetheart – exactly as I hoped he would be. He’s also got a wicked sense of humor. Julie is gorgeous. Kelly, as we discovered while there, is the god-daughter of one of my best friends! We had no idea. Small world! I got to watch them film a “nude” scene with Gary, although he was actually wearing a pair of shorts under the sheet. In the next day’s scene, he was wearing only a bathrobe. I teased him, saying, “I haven’t seen you fully dressed since I got here.” To which he replied, “Hey, you wrote it.” Sadly, I didn’t get to meet Haas because he wasn’t in the scenes they were filing while I was there. I understand he’s such a sweet guy to be playing such a nasty villain as Savich. But that’s a tribute to his acting ability.

Remember I had a “cameo” in Lifetime Network’s SMOKE SCREEN? Only one line, but, in my opinion, it was brilliantly delivered … I was hoping to have a cameo in this movie as well. I was even promised one. But, unfortunately, there was no part for me in the scenes they were filming. However, they needed a detective to be in the background of a scene in the judge’s house following a shooting. The detective is questioning Gary Cole (in his bathrobe), who’s playing the judge. Well. . .

They picked my husband to be the detective! We’d been trying our best to stay out of the way of these very busy people, and several times they’d had to ask us, patiently, to please stand aside. So when the assistant director came up to me and asked, “What’s your husband’s name?” I immediately thought, “Oh dear, what did he destroy?”

“Why do you need to know?” I asked.

The a.d. said, “He’s going to be in the movie. Wardrobe!”

And in about ten minutes, they had transformed Michael into a detective. He even had a notepad and a shiny badge attached to his belt. (They also gave him a play pistol, but they took it away from him when he started twirling it like a cowboy and asking about his motivation. The director told him his motivation was to get it right the first time so they could wrap the scene.) So. . .watch for him. He really did look HOT playing a detective!

Soon I’ll be traveling to New Orleans, a great destination any time. But this trip will be super-special because I’m going to visit the set of RICOCHET, the movie for TNT based on my novel.

I’ve read the script, written by Donald Martin. He followed the book very closely and actually lifted a lot of my dialogue. If you’re familiar with the book, you’ll notice how closely his script adheres to it.

The cast is fantastic! John Corbett (The United States of Tara, Parenthood, Northern Exposure) plays Duncan Hatcher, the detective who’s in a moral dilemma about upholding his integrity as a homicide detective, and yielding to the temptation represented by Elise, played by Julie Benz (Dexter). Rounding out the lead roles are Kelly Overton (Tekken, In Plain Sight, Three Rivers, All My Children) who plays Hatcher’s partner, Dee Dee, and Gary Cole (True Blood, Chuck, The Closer, Entourage, Dodgeball, American Gothic) as Elise’s husband, Judge Laird.

I think it’s going to be a terrific movie and I can’t wait to visit the set – where I’m slated to do a cameo. We’ll see! I’ll touch base when I get back, and I hope to have photos to share with you.