Stella and Susan are CUTTING LOOSE!

Stella: So, Susan, it’s almost time for Cutting Loose to hit the shelves.

Susan: I know! See this cheesy grin? I can’t stop smiling—I LOVE this time of year. Spotting my
book on supermarket or bookstore shelves is a thrill that hasn’t changed for me since Shadow Dance first landed on one in September of ‘89. But, hey, I don’t need to tell you. I’m sure the Oh-my-gawd-that’s-MY-book-up-there! factor is the same for all the Quills.

Stella: Yes, it’s a lovely feeling.

Susan: And you all get to see your books on the shelves two or three times a year. Not to be a whiner or anything, but I’m a one-book-a-year woman.

Okay, so maybe I am whining a little. Still, I’m making the most of my day, or week, or month (she said hopefully) in the sun. Wait, let me demonstrate. Watch! This is my happy dance.

Stella :::wincing::: Don’t do that.

Susan: You’re probably right. :::realigns elbows and knees so they no longer stick out in so many awkward angles::: I’ll save the happy dance for the privacy of my own home. It’s not real pretty, but what the heck, it makes me feel good. And it’s not like I’m cutting the heads off chickens or anything.

Stella: Saving that for the getting-on-the-lists ritual?

Susan: Well, yeah. Can’t find a virgin these days.

Stella: O-kay--not going there. So, about the book. Aren’t you jumping the gun a little? Cutting Loose isn’t even out yet, is it?

Susan: Its actual street date is July 29th-- next Tuesday--but I’m getting ready to leave town and racing to finish up my next book, so we’re talkin’ it up early. And face it, the lay-down isn’t that strict anyway, so it probably is in some of the stores. But chances of scoring a copy go up after Monday.

Stella: This is the first of a brand new trilogy, right?

Susan: Yep--one I’m calling the Sisterhood Diaries, featuring three women, Jane Kaplinski, Poppy Calloway and Ava Spencer, who have been best friends since the fourth grade. They’ve inherited an infamously ugly Seattle mansion. I’m kicking the series off with Jane’s story.

Stella: And our hero is on the scene to renovate the ugly mansion.

Susan: Yes. Devlin Kavanagh is from a huge Irish-American clan. He has a problem with the inherent lack of privacy that goes hand-in-hand with large families and has been crewing yachts around Europe for the last umpteen years. But he’s home now to lend a hand in the family construction business while his brother Bren goes through chemotherapy.

Stella: And he and Jane hit it off right away?

Susan: Shyeah, right (as Jayne’s dust bunny Elvis says with such impeccable sarcasm). They are, of course, exact opposites. Jane grew up with second rate actor parents who lived for drama on and off the stage. She craves stability. Dev’s footloose.

Stella: Yet, their attraction is burning-down-the-house hot!

Susan: You gotta love chemistry, right? But Loose is about friends and family as well. Add to all that a bad guy with serious envy issues and a loan shark on his ass, setting his sights on the mansion full of priceless collections--

Stella: --And things are about to cut loose.

Susan :::doing the happy dance again::: Yes, ma’am! Things are about to cut loose big time.

Stella: And I've had way too much fun Cutting Loose with this story! Now it's everyone else's turn.