Amazon.com has named Turning Thirty-Twelve as one of their “Great Romances”!

What a great week that book has had! I also found out that a review for it will appear in the November edition of Romantic Times. A 4 star review! My thanks goes out to Donna Brown for the beautiful write-up!

Here’s what Donna had to say:

****

RT Rating: 4 stars
Category: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Publisher: BOOKSTRAND
Published: June 2009
Type: Contemporary Romance

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Snappy dialogue, plot twists and endearing characters enhance this wonderful story of middle-aged angst. There are laugh-out-loud moments and tearful ones too, generally caused by Jackie and Mark’s children from their former marriages.

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Summary: When Jackie Delgado discovers her blind date is the father of one of her students, she almost doesn’t go. Not only is she suffering empty nest syndrome with both sons now in college, she’s battling low self-esteem from her divorce. But her several dates with widower Mark Brennan are a big success, aided by his matchmaking daughter. The chemistry between them is electric, so Jackie is confused when he backs off.

Mark has issues of his own. He’s still mourning the wife he lost to cancer two years earlier, which hinders the strong feelings he has for Jackie. Can they work through their problems and leave the past behind? Then an unexpected pregnancy hits a little too close to home. (BOOKSTRAND, Jun., 204 pp., $14.99) HOT

—Donna M. Brown

I was honored to have Turning Thirty-Twelve be the book discussed for September by the Edwardsville Book Club.

I have to give the credit to my cousin, Susie Schaefer, because she’s a club member, and she recommended my book for them to read. I really wanted to be with them when they met to discuss my book. But, alas, they met on Thursday, and this was parent/teacher conferences week at my school. I had to settle for talking to them on a speakerphone.

What a great group! Such a lively discussion! I learned so much, and I truly value the constructive criticism as well as the wonderful pats on the back they gave me. It was especially flattering that so many of the members said they normally don’t read romance, but that they really enjoyed Turning Thirty-Twelve.

Hopefully, the next time they get brave enough to take on another of my books, I can make the trek to meet them.

I had a blast as the guest on BlogRadio this morning!

My thanks to Chamein Canton who stepped in as temporary hostess. She asked some wonderful questions and helped ease any fears I had. I truly enjoyed participating in the show!

The archived broadcast is available if you’d like to listen…

I’m going to be a guest on Blog Radio tomorrow! The program is titled “Who you calling old?” and is supposed to be a discussion about using older heroines in romance. Specifically, the host wanted to talk about Turning Thirty-Twelve.

I’m both thrilled and terrified about this appearance. Thrilled because I could use a personal day from school. And terrified because I want to sound like a confident and intelligent author.

Maybe I should just be myself instead…

Here’s the skinny:

Call-in Number: (646) 652-4073
Show: 9/14/2009 10:30 AM
Who you calling old!
Guest: Talking with Sandy James author of Turning Thirty Twelve
Length: 30 min
Description:
Join us we chat with bestselling romance novelist, Sandy James about her latest novel, Turning Thirty Twelve. Sandy, who has been happily married for over 25 years has a talent for penning novels that delve into life and love over forty. Her novels prove that Still a Chick Lit is here to stay.

I had a really nice interview with Long and Short Reviews! Be sure and stop by the Contest page as well. We’re giving away signed copies of Turning Thirty-Twelve and Murphy’s Law!

My writing has come full circle.

I finished writing my first novel. Again. This story was the one that started me on this publishing odyssey. How did it all begin? I read a book. It was written by a fairly well-known author, and what intrigued me was the fact it was about a married couple. In romance, the norm is that when the marriage occurs, it’s time to move on to the happily ever after and end the story. So I was really excited to see a story where marriage was already in place when the story began.

Much to my disappointment, I quickly lost interest. As far as plot or characterizations, I can’t even remember my opinion. No, what turned that novel into a “wall-banger” was the way the heroine was portrayed.

The author went to great lengths to let the reader know that the heroine was almost forty, but that she still looked like a teenager. I seriously have a dent in the wall where I threw the book. I sat down that very day and started writing a story about a married couple where the heroine has all the faults and foibles of a person who is close to forty. Once I started writing, I was hooked for life.

I still consider that story idea one of my most innovative. Unfortunately, I didn’t know my craft. As I learned the proper way to write, I worked on tweaking and editing that story, giving it at least three major overhauls. Then I put it away, figuring it would always be my “practice” story. The one that got away…

A few months ago, I decided to see if I could give that story the treatment it deserved, so I pulled up all the files and hit “delete.” That took a lot of guts because I knew it would be gone forever. But I did it! Then I started from scratch, trying to do justice to what I consider a beautiful idea for a romance about a married couple.

I finished that story a few days ago, and I couldn’t be prouder. Not only is it the first manuscript I’ve completed in a while — although I can justify that with the fact I was editing FIVE books this past year! — I really think I have a winner with this book. If I can count this as a “new” manuscript, that means I have finished ten complete stories since I started writing in December of 2005.

And that makes me smile.