99 Things I Am Thankful For

2012 Post-Hurricane Sandy Edition

In random order ...

99. Autumn colors
98. Heat & electricity
97. My sister-in-law's Martha Stewart approach to making Thanksgiving beautiful
96. Chocolate-covered halvah
95. The separation of church and state
94. My Facebook friends
93. My real life friends
92. Antibiotics
91. The garlicky Chicken Scarpaiello from Steve's Piccolo Bussola
90. Mircrowaveable heating pads
89. Ethan's SAT and ACT scores
88. Barack Obama
87. Reading novels that feel like they came from a place inside my own heart
86. Theresa Caputo
85. Vincent Van Gogh
84. Publishing contracts
83. The fact that you still cannot buy the presidency in the United States of America
82. NPR
81. Supermarkets
80. Breaking Bad
79. Emma's face
78. Dorothy Parker
77. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
76. Cheesecake
75. Lactaid pills (see #76)
74. Max's jokes
73. My GPS
72. Volunteers
71. Readers
70. The way Mike looks at me, still
69. Cellphones
68. The Marx Brothers
67. Discounted movie tickets
66. Flashlights
65. Autosave
64. Edy's Lemonade-flavored Fruit Bars
63. Long walks
62. Having the house to myself sometimes
61. Fan mail
60. WiFi
59. Jones Beach
58. My parents
57. Long hot showers
56. Veterans
55. Hair products
54. Ceasefires
53. Stoli vodka gimlets
52. The right to choose
51. Quiet mornings
50. Dogs
49. Summer barbecues
48. Good news
47. Spellcheck
46. Laughter
45. The overwhelming generosity of my friends
44. Civil rights
43. The way the scent of the beach lingers long after I come home
42. Literacy
41. Warm blankets
40. Mountains
39. Firefighters
38. The smell of bacon
37. My family
36. Naps
35. Indoor plumbing
34. Finding bargains online
33. Disposable contact lenses
32. Diet Coke
31. Dimmer switches
30. Red wine
29. Art museums
28. Chocolate truffles
27. Fresh starts
26. Forgiveness
25. Back rubs
24. Lunch with friends
23. Air conditioning
22. Compliments
21. Dinner conversation with the kids
20. Thai food
19. Feminism
18. Zoetrope.com
17. Smart Balance with Olive Oil
16. Xanax
15. My local public library
14. Instant Age Rewind Face Perfector
13. The DVR
12. My high black boots
11. Kisses
10. Cotton
9.  Science
8.  Blog readers
7. The daily Cryptoquote
6. Cute babies
5. UPS deliveries
4. Gorgeous sentences
3. Love
2. Good health
1. Peace

For my birthday ...

Heaven help me, my birthday is coming up. This usually makes me want to run and hide, but since my latest book is cake-centric, I decided it would be fun to celebrate by giving it away for free.

A cross between a short story and a novella, The Wishing Cake is a fresh, original, and surprisingly magical romantic comedy that bakes up an accidental wish.

In this deliciously vivid tale, divorcee Rhea Samuels isn't expecting sweetness to walk into her life. So when an enchanting elderly couple enters the bakery where she works and orders a cake for their 75th anniversary, she's not quite sure what to make of the "wishing dust" they leave her with. Soon enough she discovers it has more power--and surprises--than she ever imagined.

The Wishing Cake is short enough to be devoured in one sitting, rich enough to be savored for years. And from now until my birthday this Sunday, you can download it for free onto ANY device, including your PC.  Just click here.

(If you don't have a Kindle, you can read it right now on your Internet browser. Or, you can download a free Kindle app onto any device by clicking here.)

Please grant me my birthday wish and download it today! Thanks!!

I want to send you a free bookplate!

I've been a Dorothy Parker fan for as long as I can remember, and bringing the famous wit to life in Farewell, Dorothy Parker has been a singular joy. I'm so proud to share it with you, and hope that you love it.

This novel comes out in February from Putnam, but if you preorder it today you can lock in a very deep discount and request a free signed bookplate. All you have to do is fill out a form, which takes less than a minute. 

These are not robo-signed, but will be individually autographed by yours truly. To get yours, order the book and click the image above. You can buy Farewell, Dorothy Parker from any cyber bookseller, including:

Amazon    Barnes & Noble    Books-A-Million    IndieBound    iTunes   Penguin

Thanks!

  Ellen

Click here to read a synopsis

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Early Praise for Farewell, Dorothy Parker

"Farewell, Dorothy Parker is a delightful haunting. How wonderful to have the renowned wit—America's wisegirl—as resident ghost and adviser....  Ellen Meister's new novel is smart and fun."
 —Susan Isaacs, New York Times bestselling author of As Husbands Go

"Gone four decades and still missed, Dorothy Parker now has a starring role in Ellen Meister’s delicious new novel. No doubt Mrs. Parker, wherever she is, must be smiling." 

 —Marion Meade, author of Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?

"In Farewell, Dorothy Parker, Ellen Meister provides refreshing insight into Mrs. Parker as a wit, civil rights advocate, and writer. Both of this bitchin' novel's main characters—Violet and Dorothy—can visit me any time."

—Mark Ebner, New York Times bestselling author of Hollywood, Interrupted

"What bliss to be in the company of a reimagined Dorothy Parker!  Ellen Meister's wonderful novel delivers the wit, ingenuity and elegiac sass worthy of the Algonquin Round Table's most quoted member. Long live Dorothy Parker and her zingers, resurrected so winningly in these pages."
—Elinor Lipman author of The Family Man

For more information visit ellenmeister.com

* Available for all U.S. orders made by February 14