Friday Update 5/27/11

Well, it's a much brighter Friday than last week, and I'm happy to explain why I was in such a pissy mood I missed my last update.

I had minor surgery on Wednesday, but it was done under general anesthesia at a  hospital, so that skews the whole experience. (I'm a morning caffeine addict and a migraine sufferer so fasting is excruciating for me. Also, I'm a total wuss with zero pain tolerance and very high anxiety about anything medical.)  Anyway, on Friday morning my doctor's office called to tell me I was pushed back on the schedule from 9 am to noon, and that just freaked me the hell out, because I had a terrible experience years ago with surgery that got delayed for hours and hours and hours, and a hospital staff that didn't give a damn how sick I got.

Happy to say the staff at North Shore University Hospital at Manhasset was just the opposite--compassionate, kind, and professional. So it' all behind me and I'm feeling fine.

And now a few updates ...

• In anticipation of my next book, FAREWELL, DOROTHY PARKER, I started a new Facebook page featuring great quotes from the famous wit. People are really enjoying and if you haven't "liked it" yet, I hope you'll do so now. Thanks!

 • And just this week I started a Dorothy Parker Twitter account. It's brand new and could really use some followers.

• THE OTHER LIFE got a glorious review from a blog called Rated Reads. The irony is that the site's raison d'etre is to warn people about "objectionable" material, i.e., sex and bad language. THE OTHER LIFE rated "high," which is just below "dirt." (Seriously!) And yet the book got a rave. Here's an excerpt:

"I found myself drawn into Meister’s book not just by the possibilities of “returning to the road not taken,” but by its beautiful approach to the love between a mother and daughter. Meister addresses heavy issues of grief, loss, love, and difficult decisions in parenting, and does it with aplomb. She gently puts each issue into the mix and stirs with delicacy. I was so drawn into the story and the characters that I devoured the book in two days.

The Other Life is an engaging read, one that strikes deep in the heart."

I love this! Click here to read the whole review.

• Big thanks to Newsday for featuring my Twitter page online and in the paper!

• Thanks, too, to this blogger, for spotlighting THE OTHER LIFE in her Teaser Tuesday

• The second annual BooksNJ, a fun and fabulous literary festival, is coming up on Sunday, June 12. Mark your calendar! It's going to be an awesome day.

• Long Islanders, starting on June 6, you can hear great readings every Monday night at the Summer Gazebo Reading Series at the Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside. I'll be there on July 18 with my pal Carol Hoenig. Click here for more info.

• Thrilled to discover that THE OTHER LIFE has been nominated by the New Atlantic Independent  Booksellers Association for Book of the Year! Check it out.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend ...