The Mysterious Garden Muse

Click the title to visit Michelle Buonfiglio's ROMANCE: B(U)Y THE BOOK, where my Christmas short story, "Silver and Gold" is being featured today -- Friday, December 18. I hope you like it. Merry Christmas!

Both Brenda Novak and Wendy Roberts will be visiting all month. Stop in and meet them!

B&N's Garden Book Club isn't a traditional book club, more of a chat room for garden lovers!

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Fairies in the Flowers “Sunlight fades, stars appear, garden fairies gather here.” – Unknown Got Dirt? Getting down and dirty is half the fun of gardening, but how well do you know your soil? Sticks and Bones "Gardeners and crime writers have quite a lot in common, not the least that they are both fond of a good plot." – attributed to Royal Horticultural Society member Jane Bowden, writing as Avon Curry. Friday Five: 5 Books for Budding Gardeners (at $10 or Less!) There was a time when I was more interested in pretty pictures of flowers than the real thing. Being a girly girl, digging in the dirt just seemed gross to me. But I grew up to be a lot more interested in snakes and snails and puppy dogs (tails and all) than in cooking with sugars and spice. Now, I’m always keeping an eye out for fun garden-related books for kids. A Rose is a Rose, But Not Necessarily a Romance With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, roses are everywhere. Roses aren’t just on Hallmark cards a...

JANE K. CLELAND and LAURA CALDWELL are visiting the Mystery Book Club in November to talk about their books. Join us!

My kids and I were reminiscing about the books we remembered reading (or having read to us) when we were young. My daughter came up with The Lonely Doll, When the Sun Rose, We Like Kindergarten, Jessica (Kevin Henkes)and The Story of Holly and Ivy. Those were her "young 'un" favorites; these were from her pre-teen/teen years: Alice in Rapture, Sort of (the Alice series -- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor), Just As Long As We're Together (Judy Blume), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Judy Blume), Stacey's Book (Baby-sitter's Club -- Ann M. Martin), California Diaries series (Ann M. Martin), Daughters of Eve (Lois Duncan) andGirl Goddess #9 (Francesca Lia Block). My son liked all of Marilyn Sadler's Alistair books, but his favorite was Alistair Underwater. He also remembers the Boxcar Children books, Grover (from Sesame Street) in The Monster at the End of the Book, and a book he thinks was called "How to Make Money." I didn't recall that one,...

Well. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but years ago, my daughter and I co-wrote a book about 'N Sync. I just found out it's available, through a Barnes & Noble exclusive, as a bargain book. This has really brought back memories! It started with the Backstreet Boys, oddly enough. My daughter and her best friend were completely addicted to that band. They were budding writers, too, and they introduced me to the world of fan fiction. The two of them wrote several fan fiction short stories, and I thought it would be fun to write a full-length fan fiction with my daughter and her friend in the starring roles. Now that I think of it, that was my first attempt at fiction. I had the book printed and bound and, on my daughter's 16th birthday, left copies for her and her friends on her bedside table. They, of course, loved it. I didn't think it sucked too bad, so I jokingly sent a copy to my garden book editor. She called me the morning it arrived: "You won'...

I've finally set up a website! I understand it will take a few days before it works -- right now, if you go to www.beckedavis.com you get a sort of holding pattern. You can access the new blog by clicking the title to this post.

My new blog is up at Barnes & Noble's GARDEN VARIETY, just in time to catch the fall color in the cooler parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe. Click the link to read more about this delightful annual display.

October will be an exciting month at B&N's MYSTERY BOOK CLUB. We have best-selling author LISA JACKSON visiting as we feature her book, CHOSEN TO DIE. It's a family affair, since we are also featuring WICKED GAME, which was co-written by Lisa Jackson and her sister, Nancy Bush, who is also a great mystery writer. Join us!

If Amy Stewart's book, WICKED PLANTS, has you wondering what dangerous plants lurk in your garden, you'll want to check out my latest blog at Barnes & Noble's GARDEN VARIETY.

Join us in October as we feature the children's classic, A SECRET GARDEN, and a fascinating new release, NAMING NATURE.

Celebrate National Punctuation Day!

Loucinda McGary is visiting B&N's Mystery Book Club today to discuss her fabulous new release, THE TREASURES OF VENICE. I just finished reading it, and I highly recommend it! Click the title for a direct link. Come join the party!

A big thanks to Ryan, author of the cool Wordsmithonia blog, for giving me the Superior Scribbler Award! You can click the title to see Ryan's blog. Ryan is also a regular at Barnes & Noble's Mystery Book Club -- stop by there and chat with us both sometime! Here is how the Superior Scribbler award works (and isn't that the cutest icon ever?): Here are the rules for this award: 1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends. 2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award. 3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award. 4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor! 5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her...

Today I'm talking to Heidi Betts about the knit lit craze at Romance B(u)y the Book today. Heidi is the author of TANGLED UP IN LOVE. I'll be blogging about her new release, LOVES ME, LOVES ME KNOT tomorrow at RBTB. Watch for the third book in Heidi's Chicks with Sticks series in the new year. Meantime, stop by and join the discussion. Click on the title of this post for a direct link.

Amy Stewart will be joining Barnes and Noble's Garden Book Club in September to talk about her book, WICKED PLANTS. I will also be interviewing Amy about this book at B&N's GARDEN VARIETY blog on September 1st. Amy is also the author of FLOWER CONFIDENTIAL, THE EARTH MOVES and FROM THE GROUND UP. Our second feature for September is The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants, by Jane S. Smith. Stop by and join us -- click the title of this post for a direct link.

Hank Phillippi Ryan will be visiting Barnes & Noble's Mystery Book Club to talk about the latest in her series, with PRIME TIME, FACE TIME and AIR TIME. Annette Blair will be joining us to talk about LARCENY AND LACE, the second book in her Vintage Magic series -- A VEILED DECEPTION was the first in the series. On Tuesday, September 8, Loucinda McGary will celebrate the release of her new romantic suspense novel, THE TREASURES OF VENICE. And on Tuesday, September 15, Jacqueline Seewald, author of THE DROWNING POOL and THE INFERNO COLLECTION will spend the day with us. Click the title of this post for a link to the Mystery Book Club!