Totally off the subject of books. . .but for the Corvette (or classic race car) enthusiasts in your life, check this out: THE QUEST.

My husband, Michael, has been working on this documentary film for the past year and a half. THE QUEST premieres on Friday, May 6, in Carlisle, PA, home of Corvettes at Carlisle, an annual Corvette confab which draws tens of thousands. The premiere is a fund-raising event, all proceeds going to the Chip Miller Foundation, which you can read more about on the linked website(s?).

Granted, I’m a bit biased, but, whether you’re a car aficionado or not, this is one of the most compelling stories I’ve ever heard. Michael has done a terrific job of relating it, visually capturing the defeats and triumphs of everyone involved in this real life drama, which is about much more than simply a car.

The event is open to the public, but seating will be limited. If you’re at all interested, I urge you to get your tickets well in advance.

At Leopolds with Ryan during the Savannah Book Festival

Sunday night is Oscar night, one of Michael’s and my favorite nights of the year. We’re especially excited this year because there have been so many exceptionally good movies. I’m pulling for the best odds picks. Natalie Portman for “Black Swan,” and Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech.” Both are brilliant performances. I also favor “The King’s Speech” for Best Picture. Educational, compelling, and entertaining. What’s not to like?

In years past, we’ve hosted watch parties. One year we went over the top and made it black tie, complete with a red carpet at the front door and a photographer flashing pictures as guests arrived. But we realized that while we were refilling wine glasses and monitoring the sandwich trays, we were missing “And the Oscar goes to. . .” We had printed ballots which everyone marked before the program, and at the end of the evening, the individual who guessed the most winners, won the pot. Since there was money riding on each announcement, the cacophony that followed prevented us from hearing the acceptance speeches. Bottom line – while these parties were fun, we missed a lot of the show.

So for the past several years, we’ve watched it with just the two of us and our dogs, Lucky and Chase. . . who aren’t movie buffs. They only rarely throw in their two cent’s worth.

Ryan and I are at the Savannah Book Festival and having a grand time!  If you’re in the area, I hope you get a chance to stop by.  

In the mean time, Leopold’s Ice Cream has decided to honor  the book festival with it’s very own flavor–what  a treat!  (Pun intended).  And they’ve temporarily renamed all their ice cream flavors after the novels of their participating authors!  From  now until Sunday, if you’re in the Savannah area, stop by Leopolds and order some ONE TOUGH CHIPPY (for TOUGH CUSTOMER) or PLAY DEAD BY CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP (for Ryan’s novel, PLAY DEAD).

Flavor of the month has taken on another connotation entirely–the LITERAL one!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the office, er house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse — and thank goodness for that!
The manuscripts were backed up (off-site even) with tender care,
Just in case my favorite computer geek wasn’t anywhere near.

The muses were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of line edits danced in my head.
And I in my chair, red pen at the ready,
Had settled with reading glasses, my hand nice and steady….

…a poet I am not! (And now you know why!)
I know many of you are gearing up for the holiday season either cooking, planning to cook and/or travel, and wrap and then, of course, clean up. Here at the office I’m doing my own version of Christmas prep–giving the first draft of my Fall 2011 book a final read through before I send it off to my editor, then close up shop and head home to enjoy the holidays with my family, all of whom are descending or preparing to descend upon us.  But first, I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a heartfelt and most sincere ‘THANK YOU’ for being such loyal and wonderful fans…and not just because you’ve picked up RAINWATER in droves–it jumped 5 spots on the Times list and will be back up at #11 the first week of 2011!  2010 has been a crazy, incredible, wonderful year with moving to Grand Central, the release of my first sequel, the paperback release of my historical fiction novel, Hardcover Mysteries and yes, Smoke Screen on Lifetime!  Thank you all so much for your continued support, and here’s wishing each and every last one of you a safe and peaceful holiday with family, friends and loved ones and a joyous, prosperous and book-filled 2011!

Sandra

Michael and I received a most unusual gift from our good friends Bobbie and Bill Marshall. Have you ever heard of opening a bottle of champagne with a saber? It was a

tradition begun by Napoleon Bonaparte. He said that in victory one deserves champagne and, in defeat, requires it. Not a bad motto! Anyway, he found a faster (not necessarily safer) means of opening a bottle — with a saber. There is a technique to it, but when done right, the rim of the bottle with the cork still inside comes off clean! I’d never heard of “sabering,” but, as you can see in the attached photo, it works! Michael did it on the first try!

Happy holidays to you all!

Sandra