Book Launch Video

Have you seen the video from my book launch for Mr. Right-Enough?

Get your signed copy here (right over there on the right) or on Amazon.com.
And if you've already read it please write a review for me on Amazon. It really helps in the rankings.

Listen to Chapter One!

Click here to listen to the author (that'd be ME!) read chapter one. How fun (at least for me)!

Need a Gift Idea for the Holidays?

How about Mr. Right-Enough? It can fit in a stocking, or a dredel...well, if you supersize them. But, heck, you can make it work. It's the perfect gift for any woman on your list, but particularly if she's in the 40-60 age range. Just click the link at right for a signed copy.

"What a great story! I started reading this book in the middle of the week and neglected my work because I was so drawn in to Libby's story. I had to wrench myself away each day until the weekend, and then I literally stayed glued to the book for hours to find out what happened.
However, I found myself slowing down towards the end because I wanted the story to keep going forever, you know how that feels--when you want to savor the characters and the story and not have it end. And I wondered if I'd like how it ended...there were so many ways it could go.
No spoilers here...read it for yourself to find out. You will be glad you did."
T.L. Borden

The Mr. Right-Enough House

Don't you just love the house on the cover of Mr. Right-Enough? See how this beautiful home got picked - read the rest of the story HERE.

Review for Mr. Right-Enough

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Right-Enough is Right in many ways
By Karolus Y Smejda
"I couldn't put the book down. I read it in several days, which for me is unusual because I have limited time for reading. The story is simple, but elegant. No wasted words; no extra paragraphs! As a result, I slipped from one scene to another, laughing at the twists and turns, and was done before I realized it. The laughter came not so much as a result of slapstick, but as a result of the honest portrayal of the human condition. Every character is palpable, taking up residence in my head, and every character also acts with authenticity from his or her own point of view, which is clearly articulated. Enough said. Buy it and read it!"

My Favorite Review!

This is the reason I write, to tell a story that will touch someone. Thank you Alicia, for giving my book to your friend for her 50th birthday and for sharing these words.

“Funny, I laughed reading through the whole thing. She is so me. Was she stalking me? Her character's life so paralleled mine. Really, her girlfriend marrying her high school sweetheart? hmmmmm. Even her relationship with her boyfriend and the calling stand off - Me and Joe all the time! And the passage when her dad dies, literally the exact words were uttered when my mom called me when my brother died. Scary Scary Scary. And Joe and I are in the same place in our relationship. He wants more, I want less. He hates my independence and does things to thwart my independence, to beat me to the punch so to speak. Funny, funny, funny. I saw myself all over this book, except I don't have a hunky ex-boyfriend waiting in the wings to sweep me off my feet! Thank you! What a great gift. Too bad she hasn't written more. I read the book in one night - couldn't put it down! “

Come to the Party This Saturday

My friend Kathleen Skolnik is the author of a new book: The Architecture of Harry Weese. On Saturday she is celebrating the publication of this labor of love, and has kindly asked me to join her to celebrate my book, Mr. Right-Enough, as well.
You're invited to attend the festivities at Mart Anthony's Restaurant. This is a free event and open to the public. There will be wine and appetizers, and you may want to consider staying for dinner afterward. Check out the menu HERE.
Bring your friends and join Kathleen and me at a great restaurant with a real old Chicago ambiance.

When: Saturday, November 6, 2010
Time: 3:00 p.m.to 6:00 p.m.
Where: Mart Anthony's Restaurant
1200 West Hubbard (corner of Hubbard and Racine)
Chicago, IL

Please feel free to send this to anyone who might be interested.
Hope to see you there!

Calling All Book Club Members!

If you'd like to read Mr. Right-Enough for your book club I offer discount copies of my book, and...(drum roll, please) also offering my presence for the discussion. Wouldn't that be fun? For me, anyway!
If you're local (Chicagoland area) I will do it in person, and if not I will do it via teleconference.
Email me for more details.

Now Available at a Book Store Near You

Well, if you live in Andersonville, anyway. Mr. Right-Enough is now available at Women and Children First, a book store at 5233 N. Clark Street in Chicago. Stop in and get your copy before they fly off the shelves. Well, shelf. Okay, well, table.

Don't forget, it's available in a Kindle edition as well as the print edition on Amazon.com.

Book Launch/Signing

My book launch last week was such fun. Flourish Studios is a fabulous venue, Mikki Williams was great (video coming soon to a YouTube near you) and the audience was amazing. Thanks to all who came - I appreciate your support!

Mr. Right-Enough Goes International

One of my marketing strategies is to give away copies of my book, extracting only a promise that after the recipient reads it she will pass it along to friends and will write a review for me on Amazon.com.
So, Mr. Right-Enough is travelin'! And going international with Penny and Judy from Canada.

Left are Jay and Karen Sullivan from Texas, whom I met in NYC. And on the flight home I gave my book to two flight attendants. Unfortunately I didn't get their names or their picture but it was the noon United flight from Laguardia on October 3rd so if you're reading this please send me your names and email addresses!
One of them looked at the book and said, "Oh, I've heard about this book!" Well, can you imagine how that felt???

Maybe you'll see me on the street and get a free copy. If not you can get yours at Amazon.com.

Book Launch/Signing

I'm just back from my book launch party and am on a high that will probably keep me awake all night. It was a great event in a wonderful space (Flourish Studios) with fabulous attendees. Not least of whom was Mikki Williams who introduced me in her inimitable style. You have to see the shoes she was wearing - pictures to follow.

Poe: 5 Essentials for the Betterment of a Story

Edgar Allan Poe penned immortal poems, such as “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee,” and unforgettable tales of psychological horror, such as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Masque of Red Death,” The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” He was also a prominent literary critic and essayist, as well as the inventor of the detective story.

In a recently-found treatise, he set down the following advice for bettering a story: *

1. Employ an unreliable narrator, preferably one who doesn’t know he is insane and has no recollection of such events as digging into a grave to rip out the teeth of his recently departed lover.
Read the rest of the article.

You're invited...!

If you're in the Chicago area (or headed this way) you're invited to the book launch/signing party for my novel

Mr. Right-Enough
on October 7, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.
at Flourish Studios, 3020 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Please join us, it'll be lots of fun - wine, cheese, reading, conversation...and my good friend and speaker-extraordinaire Mikki Williams will be doing the introduction!
It's a free event and open to the public - just R.S.V.P. so we know how many to plan for:
REGISTER HERE or just send me an email: samanthahoffman@aol.com
Hope to see you there!

Online Book Reading

If you missed the live version of my online book reading you can listen to the recording. I read a brief section from my new novel Mr. Right-Enough and then answered a few questions about the writing process.
CLICK HERE to listen.

Review for Mr. Right-Enough

Dear Samantha,
I bought it for Kindle (on the Mac) and loved the book. I finished it in 3 sittings at my computer. The words "couldn't put it down" don't fit exactly for reading a book on a computer but that is truly what happened.
Thank you,
Hazel
Author of Power Brainstorming: Great Ideas at Lightning Speed
Hazel Wagner, PhD, MBA, CMC

Mr. Right-Enough in Kindle Edition

Do you have a Kindle? Do you love it?
Now you can get Mr. Right-Enough for your Kindle for only $7.49.
Just click on the white picket fence.

10 Rules For Good Writing

Advice from Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard started out writing westerns, then turned his talents to crime fiction. One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, he’s written about two dozen novels, most of them bestsellers, such as Glitz, Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, and Rum Punch. Unlike most genre writers, however, Leonard is taken seriously by the literary crowd.

What’s Leonard’s secret to being both popular and respectable? Perhaps you’ll find some clues in his 10 tricks for good writing*:

1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.

* Excerpted from the New York Times article, “Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle”

Read the rest of the article.

Writing Tip for Today

WRITE THE WAY YOU SPEAK
Don't overthink it and don't overwrite. Sometimes people, especially beginners, want to sound smart and literary and professional, but that only makes your writing stilted. Write so that people will want to read your work. Make it natural and casual, particularly when writing dialogue. Read it out loud. If it doesn't sound like you and your friends talking re-write it until it does.

Mr. Right-Enough Now in a Kindle Edition!

Pretty soon there won't be anywhere where you won't be able to find my book! (Okay, that's a slight exaggeration.)
Do you have a Kindle? Check it out: Mr. Right-Enough Kindle Edition

Not Just a Chick Book!

If you think Mr. Right-Enough is just for women, think again!

5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive!
By L.X. Berlant
"First of all I'm a 50-something male, and second I typically only read technical books; I don't have time for fiction. This was a huge departure for me but a very enjoyable one. The author is masterful with both the story and words. Every chapter left me hungry to know what happened next, and so I pressed on regardless of how tired I was. Excellent and entertaining book, highly recommended even for tech nerds."

Thanks so much!
Come on, guys, you can read it too!

Book Review - The Help

If you haven't read The Help by Kathryn Stockett do it now. This is a first novel by this author and I hope it won't be her last. Her writing is so perfect. She's not only a beautiful writer but a fabulous story teller. It's the story of black maids in the 60s in Mississippi and the white people they work for, and it's amazing to think the world was actually like it's painted in the story, but it was. It's not only an engaging story from beginning to end, it's a great history lesson as well. I couldn't put it down and was sad when it ended.
Read this book!

Writing Tip for Today

How To Write A Novel
Want to know how to write a book? One word at a time. Not very original, I know, but truly, there's no trick to it, you just do it. When I was writing my novel I said I would write as much as I could five days a week. I didn't have a set time or set days, or a special place or daily word count, but what I did say was that no matter what, I would write every one of those five days. And if I didn't feel inspired or just plain didn't feel like it I would write at least five minutes. It doesn't sound like you'd get much done in five minutes so why bother? But what it does is get you in front of your computer or your typewriter or your notebook, however you write, and it gets words on the page. And once you begin, magic happens. If you're on a roll five minutes turns into fifteen, thirty, an hour, maybe two. And if you're not on a roll at least you got something accomplished.
So write your book. One word at a time.

Mr. Right-Enough is Not Just For Women

Here's a cute story (and review) from my cousin Janice (and a cute picture of them from her sister Wendy's wedding!):
I had your book out on the table in the living room, as I was going to start it as soon as I finished the book I was currently reading. Mike picked it up and started reading it. Now, you have to realize that my dear husband has never read a book for pleasure in his life! He does like audio books, but does not like to read traditional books. Well, he actually sat there the whole evening and read it cover to cover!!!! He said it was because he knew you wrote it and could see you (and Bill) in the characters, and that it was just really cool to read a book by someone he knew.
He really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to starting it tonite!!
Love,
Jan

Would You Write Me a Review?

Please?
My book is now on Amazon.com - very exciting! And I need all the help I can get.
If you've already bought it...thanks so much! And if so, would you do me a HUGE favor and write a review and post it on Amazon.com?
I'd be ever so grateful.

Have You Reconnected With Your High School Sweetheart?

Since my book was released people keep telling me, "Oh, my sister reconnected with her high school boyfriend on Facebook," or "Oh, that happened to a friend of mine." I know there are all kinds of stories out there that mirror what happens in Mr. Right-Enough and I'd love to hear yours. If you have one, about you or a friend or a relative, send me an email samanthahoffman@aol.com and tell me about the experience. Maybe you'll see it posted here!

Writing Tip for Today

All the writing books tell you to "write what you know." Good advice but let me qualify that. It doesn't mean you should tell the complete, unvarnished, stick-to-the-facts story. It means write what you know, but then make it all up.
Okay, what I mean by that is write about incidents, thoughts, feelings, conversations and people you know but use that as a springboard to tell an engaging, compelling story. Embellish, cause conflict, exaggerate...change the way things turn out. That's the beauty of fiction.
About eight years ago I reconnected with my high school boyfriend on Classmates.com (that's me and Dave, right, and it was great fun to see him after all those years!) and that was the inspiration for Mr. Right-Enough. But it was only an inspiration...remember: IT'S FICTION!

Reviews for Mr. Right-Enough

Such nice comments - thanks so much (click on them if you can't read them)!

Hot Off The Press!

It's finally ready! Get a signed copy by clicking the Buy Now button on the right.
Or if you'd rather mail a check just email me at samanthahoffman@aol.com.
I hope you enjoy it and would love your feedback. Thanks so much for your interest.

Do You Remember Your First Love?