The Mysterious Garden Muse

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!

This was one of my husband's favorite shows when he was a kid (he was born and raised in London).

Best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann will be visiting Barnes & Noble's Center Stage next week, August 3 to 7 to talk about to talk about her new release, HOT PURSUIT. The 15th book in her Troubleshooter series, HOT PURSUIT continues the story of her Navy SEALs team favorites, bringing Alyssa Locke back into the spotlight. Clicking the title of this post will take you straight to Center Stage -- join us!

In August, the Mystery Book Club at Barnes & Noble (BN.com) will feature ASKING FOR MURDER by Roberta Isleib and DARK AND DEADLY by Jeanne Adams. Both authors will be joining us to discuss their books and to respond to your questions and comments. Stop by and join us! (Click the title to access the Mystery Book Club.)

Lots of things are happening at GARDEN VARIETY, my new blog for Barnes & Noble at BN.com, and at the Garden Book Club. Recent topics of my GARDEN VARIETY blogs include: *Make Your Garden a Hummingbird Haven *A Taste of the Tropics *Growing Up Green *What Flower Are You? *Gnome & Garden *Landscape Visionary: Jens Jensen *Sticks & Stones *Lilies Are Not Always What They Seem *Emerge From the Ordinary with a Butterfly Garden What for new posts a couple times a week! My blog, Sticks and Stones, mentions one of our featured books for August in the Garden Book Club: Richard Louv's groundbreaking book, LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS. It's well worth a read, and if you feel like talking about it, stop by the Garden Book Club! We also have a very special guest in August: Ellen Dugan, author of several books including our second August feature, the GARDEN WITCH'S HERBAL. I hope you'll stop by to talk to Ellen and learn more about her enticing book!

I had the pleasure of meeting Suzanne Brockmann, one of my all-time favorite authors, at the Romance Writers Convention in Washington, DC last week. I will be moderating Suzanne's visit to Barnes & Noble's Center Stage at BN.com the first week in August. (More on this later.) You can read more about the RWA convention at Michelle Buonfiglio's Heart to Heart blog at BN.com: http://tiny.cc/rxfpL Get to know Suzanne Brockmann, the bestselling author of the Navy SEALS Troubleshooters series and romantic thrillers like Otherwise Engaged, The Kissing Game, at Barnes & Noble's first-ever Facebook event this Wednesday, July 29, kicking off the release of her latest Troubleshooter's novel, HOT PURSUIT. The daylong conversation will take place on the Event Wall at Facebook, where Suzanne will answer your questions about her books, her writing, and whatever's on your mind. RSVP at Facebook (see link below or click the headline to this post) and invite your friends!...

The new GARDEN VARIETY blog debuted today at Barnes and Noble. Check it out, and post a comment. Follow this link or click the title to this blog post: http://tiny.cc/7zo5Y