December 2007 Dear Friends, Christmas greetings from snowy Pennsylvania! I hope you've had a lovely 2007, filled with lots of great reading. My year was filled with plenty of writing "firsts:" my first nonfiction, The House That Cleans Itself, which came out in July, and my first standalone mystery, Whispers of the Bayou, which is just about to hit the shelves. Both were very interesting but unique experiences. It's been fun to see how much attention The House That Cleans Itself has gotten from the media. It must be the title—because everyone who sees it says, "Yeah, right, I'd like one of those." Fortunately, I've been given the opportunity to explain how the system works on numerous radio and television interviews around the country this fall. (I was also quoted in the November issue of Woman's Day Magazine, which was a real thrill for me—and my proud mom.) With more and more converts all the time, it seems that the House that Cleans Itself system is "sweeping"—no pun intended—across the country and around the world. It's even being translated into German! As for Whispers of the Bayou, there's always a bit of nail-biting in those last few weeks before a new book comes out, but I'm thrilled to say that the first review is in, and it's a doozey! RT Book Club Magazine gave it a "4-1/2 Star Top Pick!" rating and said, "Intricately detailed and exquisitely plotted, Clark's latest book is fantastic." I doubt I'll get a better Christmas present than that! To read more about the book, be sure to check it out on my website. Get your copy of the book at your local Christian bookstore, my website, or wherever books are sold. I know the holidays are a busy time, so I won't make this note longer than it needs to be. Here are just a few tidbits I thought you might enjoy: * To make room for an inventory of my new book, I've put all of my other books on sale from now through December 31st. Take a look at www.mindystarnsclark.com/books_sale.html to see the price reductions, including 40% off the Million Dollar Mysteries! * Have you seen my new website? It got a complete overhaul last spring (thanks to my brilliant webmaster at xuni.com) and is now jam-packed with all sorts of goodies and information. Take a look at www.mindystarnsclark.com. * If you're like me, when you find an author whose work you enjoy, you want to know what else they've written so that you can read that too. Frustrated that I couldn't easily find this information about my fellow Christian authors on the internet, I created a booklist site for all of us at http://www.mindysbooklists.blogspot.com. Check it out when you have a chance—and let me know if there are any authors you'd like to see that aren't on the list. I'll do my best to contact them and add their information as well. * Speaking of blogspot, my friend and fellow author Deborah Rainey has collected photos of writers and their gardens, which you can find at http://novelgarden.blogspot.com. There, you'll find a picture of my home and our little circle of tulips out front, planted a few years ago in honor of The Trouble with Tulip. (Just try not to look at the weeds, which are about the only thing I have a green thumb for!) * For a really fun interview (with lots of memory-provoking questions) check out "The 12 Authors of Christmas" at http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com. My interview will be posted on Christmas Day, which I believe makes me the final author in the series. And that's it for now. I don't know about you, but it seems like I was eating Thanksgiving turkey about two days ago—and now here we are staring Christmas in the face. Where has the time gone? In any event, here's wishing you an incredibly peaceful holiday season, filled with love and laughter and friends and family...and, of course, lots of reading! God bless, Mindy