Hello February! And hello to no-pressure-newsletter now that Great Thoughts' Great Readers singled me and Randy Susan Meyers out. 

 

Hubby and I said goodbye to January while celebrating our birthdays (a day apart). Mine's after his, so if there's such a thing as birthday overkill, that would be my birthday every single year. But we did enjoy lots of love and friends and family and cake (did you see the gorgeous cake above? All proceeds go to South Florida food banks) and wine and flowers. I've become OBSESSED with flowers lately. Perhaps I'm channeling Avery Beckett?! You'll get to know her soon.

 

As I write this, the northeast is blanketed in snow and Miami's temps dipped into the 40s and 50s. Hunkered under my blanket, I'm thinking about the fabulous reunion I had with my childhood girlfriends, then meeting Lisa Barr and Zibby Owens at Books & Books where we were met by legendary owner, Mitchell Kaplan. The ARCs arrived for WHEN WE LET GO, and these beauties will go to advance readers (bloggers, reviewers, etc.). If you're a reviewer, looking for a copy, please contact my publicist Ann-Marie Nieves. 

 

WORDLE. Anyone? Yeah, Steven and I have become rather competitive in our daily games. If you're not playing, we highly recommend. 

 

Fiona Davis. This brilliant New York Times bestselling author recently released her gorgeous new book THE MAGNOLIA PALACE (update: just hit the NYTimes bestseller list!) while also sharing a surprising medical diagnosis with Good Morning America. Read her essay of strength and courage here. The entire book community joins me in holding Fiona in our hearts.

 

Lastly, I was recently introduced to Scout & Cellar wines, and for someone who was experiencing the red wine headache, these clean-crafted wines really made a difference--and tasted great! The wine is free of synthetic pesticides and chemical additives and has fewer than 100ppm of total sulfites. Sounds good to me. I'm telling you this for a reason. Wink wink. Cheers to a warm and wonderful February.

 

 

This is not a COVID update. You read correctly. This is a mask update. While everyone is tired of the mask, I'm secretly attached to mine. Here are my reasons:

I don't expect anyone to click on the video. This is already my LONGEST newsletter to date, and I get it. Our time is valuable! But it's for an organization that impacts young girls, and to me, there's nothing more important than giving back to your community. For more information on Women of Tomorrow, click here. And for those who don't have WOT in their neighborhood, consider finding a similar organization in your area. Writing books is gratifying, but nothing beats making a difference in someone else's life.  

 

Five big stars if you've read this far! In honor of birthday overkill and my friend Fiona Davis and her beautiful new book, I'll be giving away three copies to three winners courtesy of my favorite booksellers at Blue Door Books in Cedarhurst, plus a bottle of Scout & Cellar wine to go along with it. Must be 21, choice of red or white. CHEERS!

 

To be automatically entered to win, all you have to do is tell me who you're rooting for in the Super Bowl or what your thoughts are on Brian Flores and the latest saga out of Miami or on Tom Brady's retirement. 

I CARE, so tell me! 

Winners will be chosen Monday, 2/7. U.S. ONLY.

 

If you're not a football fan, just follow me on Instagram because over there I'm giving away these FOUR books to ONE lucky winner!