Well!

That was interesting. Hello to everyone new! Apparently we had so much traffic we pfffted out the server. I had to move over to a brand-spanking new unlimited server. So hopefully that won’t happen again.

Thanks to everyone who emailed letting me know about the problem and also offering to help!

Work is going well over here. I love it when the book suddenly MAKES SENSE. Writing is such an odd thing, you really do have to “trust” the process and let it go where it takes you. Sometimes it takes you right back to where you had planned, which is funny because you think “Oh! But I had that idea anyway!” But you still have to go on that journey.

xoxo
Mel

Hi all,

Sorry I have been MIA—it’s been all Blue Bloods 4 all the time, with a dash of Angels on Sunset Boulevard 2 and Girl Stays in the Picture 2…I guess I am a sequel-writing machine! As terrible and cheesy as that sounds—yikes! Let’s say a series-writing machine. That sounds better, doesn’t it? We are very late on the fan mail, I am so sorry – about four months’ late…please be patient, we will answer them all but it will take a while to get back to you. But it is so wonderful to hear from everyone and when I have a pub date for Van Alen Legacy I will share it with all of you ASAP. I don’t want to reveal the expected date quite yet because I am still working on the book and I want to make sure I make my deadline and then hear from my publisher before getting everyone’s hopes up. But I think it will sometime in October.

Life has been hectic with trying to get the books done and the life lived—the house maintained, the kid stimulated (I snuck in reading Caitlin Macy’s Spoiled in between—there’s a culminating line in one of the stories that goes “YOU HAVE TO STIMULATE CHILDREN!” Which I find kind of hilarious to quote), and the marriage on an even keel. Oh! And get the books written too while you’re at it, right?

I swear I have never been as tired as I am now that I am a working mom. And I like being a working mom. I like my work. And I like being a mom. And all moms work—even if they don’t work outside the home, there is just so much involved in having a steady, stable life that encompasses a happy family, good friends, and successful careers. Sometimes it feels like we are just on this tightrope-balance-beam and one little wobble in one direction (for instance: ignoring your family so you can write, or ignoring your books so you can be with your family) will send the whole enterprise crashing down, and you are left with, choose one: a broken home, or your career in shambles, or your house in disrepair.

Everything takes so much energy! And so much of it has to be happy and positive—I WILL get this book done and it will be GOOD, I AM NOT TOO TIRED to read to my child AND later talk to my husband in a meaningful way and not just recite the whole litany-of-chores-list wherein conversation is just made up of, “Did you send the renovation plans to the contractor?” “Do you know the light in my office isn’t working?” and “It’s trash day!”

Good god. No one prepared me for this. Which is a bit of a lie…since my parents were big on, you know, parenting. In that, growing up, there were a lot of lectures on how to: choose and keep a husband, how to negotiate a deal (my former investment banker dad is my go-to guy for every book advance), how to be happy (those weren’t lectures, my parents taught us that by being happy themselves). But I don’t think I quite was ready for the whole having to do everything and make sure dinner is healthy and organic please, by the way. And while you’re at it, make sure the kid is in the right ballet class! Aahhh!

My husband tells me I am driving us crazy in my quest to have this full and happy life, in that the aspiration towards my goal is actually killing it, and to be happy you’ve got to let go a little. As in: so the kid ate M&M’s today. Let’s not beat ourselves up over that. Or: so the book is late. I did not make September. I could cry about it or I could put my head down and keep working. We are just doing our best and I need to cut ourselves a break.

So that’s what’s been going on here. But I am really really happy with the book, much happier than Revelations or even Masquerade. I wrote Blue Bloods so long ago I don’t remember how I felt: relieved, I think, but also really apprehensive. I had no idea if I had pulled it off. But this new one I think it is THE BOMB. And also is very satisfying, to read AND write. And I’m looking forward to writing Wolf Pact, and the new Blue Bloods trilogy, with new characters and new drama…and lots of other new projects I can’t talk about just yet.

I will be on the main Target stage at the Los Angeles Festival of Books in a few weeks! Come see me! I’ll be talking about the Blue Bloods series and giving a sneak read from Van Alen Legacy. Check the Events page for more details. And for those who want to know about my Book Expo appearance, I will be promoting Van Alen Legacy but I don’t think we will have galleys at that point. Oh and I’m doing some appearances in Houston in June because the lovely winner of the Blue Bloods shopping spree lives there and we’ll be lunching and shopping and I’ll be appearing in a couple of bookstores.

Thanks again for all your patience and I just love hearing from everyone, so keep those emails coming!

And here’s a photo of Mattie I took yesterday in front of our house. She can pedal now!!!

xoxo
Mel

This blog has been so neglected of late. I blame the Twitter. But thought I’d post a photo of where I’m going this weekend:

Oh yeah. Those are my pedicured feet toasting in the sun by the pool in the Riviera Hotel. Those are the gorgeous San Jacinto mountains in the background. It’s going to be ninety degrees this weekend, and I plan to do some tanning (with the SPF of course!), a lot of rewriting, some spa-ing, some kid-in-the-pool splashing, and some hanging out with dear friends.

xoxo
Mel

I just updated the FAQs.

A lot of you want to know when the new Blue Bloods novel, THE VAN ALEN LEGACY is coming out.

I would love to answer this question with a concrete date but right now I will refrain because we put out a date and it’s not going to happen in September, which kills me. The good news is, the book is awesome and it’s my favorite so far. The bad news is we have a new pub date for the book, right now we are shooting for sometime in October. I will let everyone know when the date is confirmed. I wanted a little more time and not to feel rushed in bringing out this major part of the story, so publication has been delayed for a month. I think it’s best for the book and my sanity. Sometimes what the schedule dictates and what a writer is capable of doing in a set amount of time doesn’t quite meet, but we are working towards October.

Thanks everyone for your continued patience! You guys don’t know how much your enthusiasm means to me. See you in October! I will be putting out a few sneaks, and am happy to share that the first chapter of The Van Alen Legacy will be published in the paperback release of Revelations, which is set for July 22. Also, all three books will be available in a gorgeous box set at this time as well!

Accck. Stress. The interesting thing about writing is that when I’m writing, I’m not stressed. It’s the outside world that causes stress, but internally, in the story, I’m in a good rhythm. Now it’s back to work!

xoxo
Mel

One of my dearest BFFs, Karen Robinovitz, with whom I co-wrote two books, How to become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files, just launched her latest “baby”: Purple Lab! Her own make-up line, which combines her love of science AND fashion—(Karen was pre-med in college and majored in Biology!).

I’m just so, so, so SO proud of her and of her new product—the first is Huge Lips Skinny Hips, which is a lip plumper with hoodia (an appetite suppressant). Her make-up line is super chic and infused with so much good humor—as Karen says – it’s not about starving yourself for goddssakes! It’s the kind of thing where at a cocktail party, maybe you don’t WANT to eat ALL those crabcakes, and your liplgoss can help you just say no! As a bonus, who doesn’t want yummy plump lips?

I think all the colors are AMAZING, and I love the names: Lychee Martini (my favorite! the drink AND the gloss!) and Worship Kate (Moss, we used to have endless discussions about her style) and Love Your Thighs (I’m still trying!) and Kitty Poledancer (Karen’s nickname, the woman can work a pole!) and Red Sole (for the Loubs!).

Karen is one of my favorite people on earth because she is a true, original character: a kook and a mensch—she’s a supercalifashionista who will lend you her Imitation of Christ togs off her back (as she did to me and to any of her very many friends—I can barely let my clothes go to the cleaners, let alone let anyone borrow anything! So I’m always amazed at how generous she is). Like me, she’s a gay man in a girl’s body (which makes us what? transgayn-ders?) and is so enthusiastic about life and her energy is transcendent.

Her beauty company is an extension of her personality—it’s all so Karen and so fabulous and fun and I’m just smiling right now remembering how we wore Gucci (gifts from the designer) to our book launch and walked down the glass staircase at the Paramount hotel to a huge crowd of cheering people and how I had never felt like such a rockstar in my life (and never have again). She brings a touch of much-needed glamor to everything she touches and I count myself lucky I experienced it firsthand.

But now you can too!

Go buy her lipgloss! Get your huge lips and skinny hips!

xoxo
Mel

I haven’t blogged in a while. But I am twittering! My god, I might never blog again. Twittering is addictive! Or is the verb, tweeting? Tweeting is addictive? How about Tweety Birding? When you twitter as a   cartoon character…

My friend Tom just updated his blog with a cute but “eerie” photo of his better half, Drew.

Which inspired me to post a photo of my better halves. (Thanks Tom! And Drew!) Mike and Mattie at the Farmer’s Market. Mattie trying to pry off Nemo stickers and Daddy helping. Isn’t that dress she’s wearing the cutest? I bought it at Yolk in Silverlake. Which is next to LA Mill, which has the best coffee in LA.

xoxo
Mel

My French publisher, the fabulous Albin Michel, who pubbed all four Au Pairs books (The series is called “Un été pour tout changer” in France – the Summer that Changed Everything, and the other books have fun titles like “Fabuleux bains de minuit” (Fabulous midnight baths according to Babelfish, but I bet it means something more slangy in French) for “Skinny-Dipping”, “Une Saison en Bikini” (easy enough to understand: Bikini season!) for “Sun-Kissed” and “Glamour toujours” (Glamour Always) for “Crazy Hot) and is also my publisher for the Blue Bloods series, or Les Vampires de Manhattan en Francais, just emailed to say that Les Sang-Bleu (Masquerade) sold out of its first printing and just debuted on the French Bestseller List!!

Woohoo!

Rock on, Livres Hebdo! (That’s what their list is called.)

So now I can call myself an International Bestseller, right? I mean, that’s TWO countries. Any more countries have lists I can be on? Email now or forever hold your peace.

Now that I can put photos on my blog (Thanks webmaster Adam!!), I can show you what the French covers look like, aren’t they gorgeous???

Here’s Blue Bloods:

Masquerade: (or Le Best-Seller!)

And here’s a sneak peek at the French cover of Revelations. Or Les Sang d’Argent (Silver Blood).

Nice right??

xoxo
Mel

Two days late but hopefully not a story short!

Sorry I forgot – I blame mombrain. Supposedly you lose half your brain with each child.

THE VAN ALEN LEGACY
A BLUE BLOODS NOVEL

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek! More sneaks to come….The Van Alen Legacy comes out September 1, 2009!

xoxo
Mel

Dudes, I am twittering away like a manic bird over on my twitter page. Follow me as I journey through writing, motherhood and shopping!

www.twitter.com/melissadelacruz

First pass pages of GIRL STAYS IN THE PICTURE just came in! They look magnificent!! So cool!

And I’m in the trenches on BLUE BLOODS IV: THE VAN ALEN LEGACY and almost ready to hand in the first draft of THE STRIP, the long-awaited sequel to ANGELS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD.

I can’t believe I have three books in three different stages. Thank god I have only one child. Or “Thank Gods” as they say on Battlestar Galactica. That always makes me crack up a bit. Isn’t the new season amazing? We are in denial that it is the last one.

Tomorrow we are celebrating V-D day and I will have a special Van Alen present for all of you. Another TINY peek at the new book. (But not as tiny as the other one.)

We are going to the Foundry on Melrose. It is supposedly one of the 75 best restaurants in LA, and well, we can’t eat at Mozza all the time. (At one point we were going twice a week!) So we are kind of eating our way through the 75 Best List. I kind of wanted to go to Sona but I was too lazy to change my rez. I hope it’s good!

xoxo
Mel

Oh yeah! Seven weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List!

Join me in doing the dance of joy.

xoxo
Mel