The Mysterious Garden Muse

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.