Notes from Danielle

March 2010 December 2009 March 2009December 2008November 2008October 2008September 2008August 2008July 2008June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008

March 2010

Dear Friends,

Ah spring, YES!!! Daylight Savings starts this month — I love the longer days. Spring officially begins, too, so even if we're still under snowdrifts, there is hope! But with any luck at all, we'll feel spring coming. Nicer weather, fewer clothes to put on when we go out, and the knowledge that winter is almost over.

St. Patrick's Day happens this month, too. There are no Irish bloodlines in my family so it's not 'my' holiday, but it's always a fun day! I hope that March will be a great month for you.

Love,

December 2009

Dear Friends,

December has always been a big month for us—my college kids come home. When my children were little, we were in a frenzy trying to get organized for the holidays: shopping, assembling bikes, putting up the tree, and baking brownies, which we give to friends. It can also be a hard time, despite the celebrations and all the traditions and hopes that go with it, and painful for some. Since we lost my son Nick, we feel his absence even more sharply at this time of year.

My wish for you is that your holidays are tender, joyful, loving, and that all your wishes come true. As the year comes to a close, I hope that it has been a good one, and if it fell short, I hope that the next one is all that you hope it will be! My heartfelt holiday wishes and much love to all of you.

Happy Holidays

Love,

March 2009

Dear Friends,

Officially, according to the calendar, March is the beginning of spring. I know it’s supposed to look that way, and it does in some parts of the world, but in others it’s still cold, even snowy, and still feels like the heart of winter. But I love the idea of spring just around the corner. In California, everything is turning green: lush grass and leaves on the trees. There is St. Patrick’s Day too, which my kids always loved when they were in school. We’re not Irish, so we've never made a huge fuss about it, but once, when the kids were little, we made a ‘leprechaun catcher’ out of a shoe box, which we painted green and covered with green m&m’s. It was very cool!

My new book, One Day at a Time, is coming out in hardcover this month. I had fun writing it and I love the story. It’s a happy book with some serious moments in it, dealing with the complexities of human relationships: sisters, mothers and daughters, men and women, older and younger, and some of the more unusual combinations that happen in romance. The fun begins when a famous (very famous!!) male movie star hides out at a friend’s house (to avoid a psychotic ex-girlfriend), and the house owner’s younger sister is there, grudgingly house- and dog-sitting. She’s the family black sheep and a law school dropout, who works as a dog walker in San Francisco. The movie star and the dogwalker fall in love, but the trick is to figure out how to make it work after the early days of their romance. There are two additional couples in the book as well, both with interesting relationships. In the end, people are people and love is love, whatever size, shape, or guise it comes in. I hope you love this book, and even have a few laughs.

Happy Spring!

Love,

December 2008

Dear Friends,

December is frantic for many of us dealing with holidays: going to parties, seeing friends, gathering with our families, and shopping for holiday gifts. Both Chanukah and Christmas happen in December, and all those family gatherings can be joyful...or stressful. I hope that yours will be joyful!

It is a poignant time for us all, when we wish not only for material gifts, but for people to share our holidays with, and a warm bond between us. It is a season of wishes and hopes, and sometimes even disappointments. Decorating Christmas trees, making things for people we care about, buying gifts for people we love, and receiving gifts from others. Sometimes we get just what we hoped for. And sometimes the real magic of Christmas is in giving, even if we get nothing in return. I hope your Christmas is full of great surprises.

Some of the treasures of Christmas for me have been small thoughtful gifts that are meaningful to me. Among them are a number of books I cherish, that have helped me, or touched me at times when I needed it most. A book can express something you don't quite know how to say to that person, or let them know how much they mean to you. Books can reach out to someone you love with a very special message, and even provide the escape, relief, or hope that we all need at this busy, stressful season.

I hope that as this year draws to a close, you will feel that it has been a good one. Whatever you wish for, I hope that all your dreams come true, and I wish you the happiest of holidays surrounded by people you love. And I hope the New Year will be filled with blessings, health, abundance and great joy! Happy holidays to you!

Love,

November 2008

Dear Friends,

November will be an important month this year, with the presidential elections. People all around the world are watching to see who we will choose, and what changes it will create in our dealings with other countries. It's an important decision for us to make.

And the month will end with one of our favourite holidays, Thanksgiving. A time for friends and families to gather and express thanks for the blessings in our lives, and for us to demonstrate gratitude and friendship. Like all holidays, it can be lonely too...I hope that your Thanksgiving will be warm and filled with an abundance of good people, great times, and delicious food! I'm always grateful that my children come home on Thanksgiving.

My book A Good Woman will be available in hardcover. It's a book that begins around the time of the First World War, and covers some important themes. I worked hard on that book, and I really hope you enjoy it.

May the holidays be warm and satisfying for you!

Love,

October 2008

Dear Friends,

This month, fall has really settled in. Crisper weather almost everywhere, and the kids have been back in school for a while. Of course the children's favourite holiday comes at the end of the month: Halloween, a great excuse to wear wild costumes and eat industrial quantities of candy! It's so much fun!

October is always a big writing month for me. My book Amazing Grace will be out in paperback, too. I love that novel and hope you will as well. It's about a modern day (fictional) earthquake in San Francisco and the lives it shakes up. I hope October will be a great month for you, and that you get all the candy you want on Halloween!

Love,

September 2008

Dear Friends,

Okay, it is back to school already, which means summer is over. With new notebooks, new erasers, new teachers and new classes, everyone is getting back to “real life” after the lovely, lazy days of summer. Hopefully you got some time in for a vacation (and to do some summer reading!). In September, all my kids are back to school (or work), and I go back to writing. I try not to work in summer when they’re at home, although sometimes I have to, anyway. But in September, I go back to work full-time, just like the kids.

I am always a little ambivalent about September because I’m sad to see the summer end and the kids leave for school and other cities, but at the same time I’m excited about work, new books, new projects, and all the excitement of increased activity in the fall. Also, the turning of the leaves and cooler weather reminds us that winter is coming. I hope it will be a good and productive winter for you this year, and for me, too!

Love,

August 2008

Dear Friends,

I no sooner settle down to enjoy the summer, when wham! It's over, or almost. Nowadays, college kids and even some high school kids have to be back at school by the end of August, especially if they play sports and have to start practicing with their teams. I still have three children in college, so our family summer always ends sooner than I would like. It's over all too soon, which makes our days together that much more precious. I hate having to wait a whole year for summer to come around again, and I'm very lucky that they still spend the summer at home with me. So back to school, and ready for the energizing activities of fall... but I will miss the lazy days until next year. I hope your summer was a good one, with time to relax, and even read!

Love,

July 2008

Dear Friends,

Yay! Summer’s here with one of my favorite holidays of the year! What better way to start off the summer than with a Fourth of July picnic or celebration with old people, young people, a combination of generations, a festive atmosphere and great food. Personally, I don’t like fancy food, so there is nothing I enjoy more than hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, corn on the cob, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream! Yum! And a fireworks show to top it off at night. And warm summer weather.

My new hardcover Rogue will be on sale this month, and I hope you spend some easy, relaxed time on your vacation reading and enjoying it. It’s a fun book, and I hope it gets your summer off to a great start!

Love,

June 2008

Dear Friends,

Here comes summer! Kids get out of school, summer plans are made, people start to think about vacation. In June, my kids come home, and I love it. I have a whole summer to enjoy with them, just like the good old days when I got to see them every morning, and tuck them into bed at night. I don't tuck them into bed anymore (they stay up later than I do!), but it sure is nice to have them home again.

It's Father's Day this month, which is a special holiday.

And BUNGALOW 2 is coming out in paperback. I hope you'll take it on vacation with you!

Love,

May 2008

Dear Friends,

Okay, I’ll admit it, Mother’s Day is my favourite holiday. With nine kids, I get celebrated by everyone, spoiled and...I don’t have to get another year older to get presents, like on my birthday! What could be better? I used to get macaroni necklaces, and tin can pencil and pen holders, covered with felt or fabric. I still use a tissue box that is an ancient relic, because one of my children made it for Mother’s Day about 20 years ago. I love it!

Even if you’re not a mother, or no longer have one, May is such a pretty month, with warmer, balmier weather, the promise of spring, and summer just around the corner!

Love,

April 2008

Dear Friends,

The beginning of April has always been a huge challenge for me.  Most of my children are terrible practical jokers and thoroughly love torturing me on April Fool's Day.  They call to tell me every imaginable horror,and of course I fall for it every year.  Each time, I swear that next time I won't answer the phone, but of course I do...and I fall for it again.  I'm sure this year will be no different!

On a more serious note, Passover will come in April.  It's an important holiday in the Jewish faith, celebrating the end of slavery and liberation of the Jewish people in biblical times.  It's a wonderful time to gather friends and family around the dinner table and enjoy one another.

I hope that, whatever your faith or activity, April will be a happy, peaceful month for you.  Just watch out for practical jokers like my kids on the first!

Love,

March 2008

Dear Friends,

March can be a blustery month, with spring seeming to embrace us one day and retreating back into winter the next. St. Patrick's Day is a major event to some, although as I mention every year, there is no Irish blood in my family, so I can't claim it as "my" holiday. But those who do seem to enjoy it a lot!

Easter also comes in March this year... I've always loved colouring eggs and having Easter egg hunts with my kids. Religiously, the notion of resurrection and being reborn is very meaningful to me. After the dark days of Lent, Easter is a time of hope!

My newest hardcover, Honour Thyself, will come out this month. I love the book, which is about a woman who pieces her life back together-with the help of those who love her--after a terrorist attack in Paris. It is as much about finding and honouring oneself as it is about healing in important ways. I hope you love it, too! And I hope that March is a great month for you.

Love,

February 2008

Dear Friends,

February is special because of Valentine's Day. Even in my childhood, I loved that day, making Valentines and giving them to friends. I still love getting them and giving them-flowers, candy, and thoughtful gifts from friends.

This year, my book Sisters will be on sale in paperback in February. I hope you decide that it will make a great Valentine's Day gift for someone you love. And I hope you get all the valentines you hope for and dream of this year!

Love,

January 2008

Dear Friends,

January always seems like such a great month to tuck in, get cosy, stay out of wintry weather, and get organized for the New Year. I don't like making resolutions because I always break them, but I love making plans for the coming year, cleaning out closets, tidying up after the holidays, and getting the year off to a great start. Keeping busy in January is a great way to avoid the post-holiday doldrums, and in most places, it's a great time of year to be at home.

On a much different front, I'm excited about a contest in America that Ladies' Home Journal is sponsoring as part of the promotion of my fragrance, Danielle. It's a short story contest called "Believe in Happy Endings," and if you're curious, you can find out more at www.lhj.com/dsbeauty. I've always been a fan of happy endings, and January is certainly a good time to think about them!

Love,