Back to the Land of the Living...

To all of my loveliest of lovelies,

A little birdy mentioned {a.k.a. has been harassing me} that I really needed to rouse myself from my slumber, emerge from my dark, secret hidey-hole, and come online to quell the rumors, quaff the speculation, and quiet the fears. To let you all know that I have not:

a) died a horrible death in any way, shape, or form

b) gone flying off the earth as a result of a hitherto unrecorded shift of axis on our beloved planet

c) locked myself in my bathroom and, unable to free myself or to gain the attention of my Call of Duty-playing son, taken up permanent residence

d) hitched a ride with a space alien

Or even:

e) ascended to a higher realm, leaving y'all {I'm in the South now, I should probably get used to this} selfishly behind

I am okay. Most of the time. I think.

I don't even know what to say by way of explanation. Life, illness, personal crises . . . they all take their toll, especially when you try to ignore the toll it is taking and push through it by gritting your teeth, over and over again, until there is just no more energy left for anything. Sometimes, you have to pull back, lick your wounds, and with any luck, allow yourself to heal. And that, my loves, is what I have been trying to do, desperately, all year.

I think I'm ready now.

It's time for me to get back in saddle and reclaim the life I love. The writing . . . it's there. It has not forsaken me. Maggie and Company have been whispering to me all along, assuring me all was okay, that they would be there when I was ready. And they are. I'm pushing to complete IN CHARM'S WAY {please, please don't groan, sigh, or stamp your feet with exasperation that it is so behind schedule -- I have put quite enough pressure on myself as it is, LOL}, and . . . I think it's good. Quite good, in fact. I know you were looking for a publication date of this fall, but obviously that didn't happen. The reason the book shows a 2025 release date is that it was removed from the schedule to remove the pressure from me. Just as soon as I turn it in, it will find its way back onto said publishing schedule, and all will be well.

Just a few asides:

If you have emailed me or messaged me, I'm very sorry but I have not {again, please don't smack me} read it. My online presence has been woefully, um, lacking {just restating the obvious, ahem}. Email, FB, blogging . . . I just didn't have the brain power or the energy to address any of it.

MadelynAlt.com has indeed been compromised. I'm working on that, too. It will be back, better than ever, soon, but for now I think I had better reserve myself for IN CHARM'S WAY, no?

Yes, I have moved. I'm now in the greater Charlotte, NC area. No, this does not mean Maggie will be moving away from Stony Mill. Yes, this was a good move.

So, thank you all for your kind posts here, your worrying, and for quite frankly noticing that I hadn't been around. I now know that should I ever fall in the bathtub and get eaten by my beloved pets, someone will notice. Yay! ;> I have said before that I have the best readers in the world, and I will keep saying that until I no longer have breath to say anything. You all are awesome, phenomenal, super-stupendous people, and I am proud to have the connection to you through my whimsical scribbles and imaginings. It's quite an amazing thing, when you think about it. To me, at least.

Much love to ALL,


Mad {madly!}

A New Year . . . And Two New Releases

Well, here we are in 2011 {!!} already, and bright and early this year we are officially on Bewitching Watch for not one release, but two from the Bewitching Mysteries! Book 7 in the series – HOME FOR A SPELL – was released in hardcover on January 4th, and right alongside it was the mass market paperback release of Book 6, A WITCH IN TIME. Which means, if you missed AWIT in hardcover or were waiting for it to come out in paperback, now is your chance!



I have to say, 2010 was a year of changes for me. Recapitulating, restructuring, revelations, a lot of hard work, and in the end, the greatest of rewards. It wasn’t an easy year, but wow, how starry bright the world looks right now! What are some of the things I have been up to? Historic home remodeling, world travel, worrying and fussing to previously unrealized levels, packing, putting the newly finished home on the market, moving one son with me to meet my husband in South Carolina {final ETA yet to be determined}, and suffering the separation of pets and family. My Christmas holiday season included two trips to Charleston, two stops in Morristown, TN, one dead alternator, a quick trip back to Indiana to return Number 3 Son, back to Charlotte, and then a flight to NYC, a whirlwind survey of northern New Jersey, and then a return flight to Charlotte. And it’s not over yet. My husband’s National Guard unit has a trip overseas coming up next month. After that? Who knows!

On the book front, I am finishing up Book 8, which has just been given the title IN CHARM’S WAY. And, I hope to have some good news for you soon about further releases in the Bewitching Mysteries. Cross your fingers that the PTB luuuuuuuuurrrrrve the sales numbers they’ve been seeing!

And to all of you who have been recommending my books to their friends, relatives, and perfect strangers in the bookstore aisles, you have my undying gratitude and forever love! Honestly and truly. You are all the bestest of the best!

That being said . . . Happy 2011, dearhearts!

Forever,


Mad {madly!}