Danielle Steel's Blog, page 33

10/31/16: Trick or Treat

Hi Everyone!!

It’s here, the silliest and most fun holiday of the year!!! Trick or Treat!!!

I hope you are doing something fun today, or did something fun this weekend. My kids have worn costumes on Halloween right into adulthood, and even dress up their dogs. Minnie and Blue are going to be bumble bees again this year!!!

When my kids were little, they would plan their Halloween costumes for months, witches, goblins, nuns, pirates, the Little Mermaid, Ursula the Octopus, Ninja Turtles, Spiderman, Superman, Cat Woman, Wonder Woman, Prince, Michael Jackson—-I think they’ve done it all. And last year one of my daughters went as Me!!! With bracelets on her arms, black jeans and a black turtleneck sweater, black loafers and glasses perched on her head. She looked more like me than I do.

It’s a silly, fun Holiday. One of my daughters went as a matador a few years ago and looked fantastic, and this weekend she was Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz for a Halloween party. When they were little, my husband John went as “Picasso’s Blue Boy” painting, all painted blue by a make-up artist, with a third eye on his forehead. The effect was amazing, and the children all squealed with delight when they saw him and said “Daddy!! You’re a SMURF!!!”

My favorite costume is one I wore a few years ago, and is a whoopee cushion costume. Undignified and very funny. And I don’t think I’m wearing a costume this year. I don’t think most of my children are either.

But whether you wear a costume or not, eat lots of candy, have some fun, and Trick or Treat!!! (All Treat, I hope!!)

love, Danielle

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10/24/16: Faster Than the Speed of Sound

Hi Everyone,

Whew!!! Moving fast. I hope that all is well in your world. Mine is a little busy at the moment!! This was one of those weeks when I was in 3 cities in 2 countries in 5 days, with some fun and major events happening on the way.

One of my daughters got married. We had two months to plan the wedding, in a location I had never seen, using suppliers I had never used before, trying to organize it from 3,000 miles away. I will confess that I have been seriously stressed over it, worrying that it wouldn’t turn out well. But there is a magic all its own to weddings. My daughter and her fiancé are very much in love, and somehow it cast a happy spell on the whole event, and although we were juggling details til the last second, it came out beautifully, and was just a lovely, totally perfect event, better than I had even hoped. She looked gorgeous, she and the groom were thrilled. It was a small intimate wedding, but big or small, weddings are challenging, emotions run high, and you only have one shot to get it right. You can’t rewind the film and do it better the next day. So it puts a lot of pressure on everyone. But everything got delivered on time, everyone showed up on time (including the bride and groom), the families all flew in on both sides, and arrived in good order, and from the moment the wedding began, it was magical.

There was a brief religious ceremony in the beginning, and right before that, all my children lined up to walk in, and I was very proud of them. My son walked his sister down the aisle, since her father is no longer with us, and passed away 5 years ago, but we felt him there in spirit. It was a very touching ceremony, and the groom’s family are lovely and have already become friends. It was a gathering of really nice young people, to celebrate a happy event. Champagne first, then dinner at two long tables, candle light, beautiful flowers which scented the air, happy people, a happy couple very much in love, everything went smoothly, and it was exactly what we had all hoped. (And a lovely rehearsal dinner given by the groom’s family the night before for both families, which was really fun and beautifully done). Almost all the guests were young. There was music in the background, but the couple didn’t want dancing at the wedding. And there was no big wedding cake, instead, my daughter chose to have individual small wedding cakes, one for each person. The reception was held at a lovely club the groom belongs to. And my amazing assistant of 26 years is a magician and made it all work. And best of all, it was actually fun. (Weddings aren’t always that much fun, but this one was). There were only three speeches, the groom’s father, mine, and my youngest son, so there weren’t hours of speeches. And at the end of the evening, one of my daughter’s friends had hired a disco bus, and all the young people piled in and headed for a disco, and danced the rest of the night away—until 4 am. They invited me to join them, so I did, and danced until 2 am and had a ball. We were all exhausted the next day, but the good feelings of it and the aura of their happiness lives on, and touched us all. It was a really happy event. Our family had brunch the next day, and the newlyweds left on their honeymoon—-and then the rest of us flew back to where we came from. It was really a beautiful weekend. May they share a long, happy life together!!! They’re off to a great start, and the groom and his family are a wonderful addition to our family. Happy times!!!!

Meanwhile, from the sublime to the ridiculous—not one to be distracted by major life events like my daughter getting married….the morning of the wedding, I snuck off to see a puppy I have been wanting to see…..and so now there is a new puppy in my life, another white teacup Chihuahua!!! She is 8 weeks old and really tiny—-I haven’t told Minnie and Blue yet. They will meet her in 3 weeks….she is adorable, although they might not think so!!! I didn’t even have the guts to tell my kids at first, and when I finally did, I got the usual grousing and questioning if I was sane to add another puppy to my life. Probably not, but who can resist? I sure can’t. Never trust a woman with 9 children to be restrained!!

And now, like Cinderella at the ball, I’m about to turn into a pumpkin, the party is over. The wedding I’ve been busy organizing has happened….and I have to go back to work. A re-write this week, a new book after that. Next week, my latest book is coming out, one that I am VERY excited about: “The Award”. I hope you read it, I really love it. It begins in World War II, about a woman who is a true war hero, and her granddaughter who gets her the recognition for it many years later. It’s a very touching story. I think it’s one of my best books, and I hope you love it!!

So that’s what I’ve been up to. It was a very happy week. I hope yours was too. And now it’s back to work for me….with a smile, remembering the joy of the wedding. No matter what happens in the world, I still believe in love, and I hope you do too. That kind of faith and happiness of a young couple getting married lights the path and the world for the rest of us…..Have a GREAT week!!!

love, Danielle

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10/17/16, “Life is short—buy the shoes”

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’ve had a good week. I’ve had a busy one, some big and small important moments, work, travel with my kids, a wedding in our family, and in the days before the wedding, some philosophical thoughts. And some funny things occurred to me, to share with you. And which were good realizations for myself. Talking to some friends in recent weeks were good wake up calls, about how we react to our parents and older relatives. And even how we react to small joys—–and big ones.

I love to go shopping with my daughters, when we’re in the same city, I often go out with three or even four of them (I have five daughters, as well as 4 sons). It’s fun to be with the girls, shopping is fun for us, and of course I get to hear their opinions. I already own some pretty clothes, and enough basics, and sometimes I fall for some silly item of clothing. (To complicate matters, three of my daughters work in fashion, so their opinions about what I buy are pretty strong about what I should and shouldn’t buy). I look at things in stores sometimes that are downright silly. Other things I’d enjoy wearing, and what I hear most often from them is “you don’t need that”. And most of the time, they’re right, I don’t. Most often, they’re right, and when I buy it anyway, sometimes it turns out to be a fashion mistake—-but sometimes I buy it anyway, and it turns out to be something I really love, and enjoy wearing (even if they hate it). And sometimes I don’t have the courage to go against their advice, and sneak back to the store later, and buy what they hated and I loved. And most of the time, I don’t regret it. Silly, maybe, or frivolous, or maybe something not very useful—-but if it makes me happy, what harm does it do? One of my good friends gave me a key chain last year with a tag on it that says, “Life is short—buy the shoes”. I keep it on my desk, because it’s a good reminder in life. You just can’t always be sensible, and maybe you don’t “need” whatever it is, but if you love it and it makes you happy, why not??? You’re not hurting anyone. Sometimes that key chain is good advice for life.

At some point in life, the tables turn, and we begin to scold our parents as they once scolded us. We tell them what they should and shouldn’t do, and expect them to be ‘sensible’ because they’re our parents. We forget that they’re people too, need to have fun, be frivolous, and not sensible all the time. I see examples of it constantly around me. And I think we need to rethink that. People need more than what they ‘need’ in their lives, they need fun, and love and happiness, and some foolishness too. How sad life would be without it. Even our parents don’t have to act like grown ups all the time, at whatever age.

When my children were young and I was divorced, they disapproved of everyone I dated, hated his hair, or his shoes, or his tee shirts or his kids. The bottom line was they figured I didn’t need a boyfriend (and in some cases, they were entirely right, but not always). And with 9 kids, that was a lot of disapproval to swim through. And long before that, when I was married, and having a baby almost every year, very few people thought it was a great idea, most people disapproved and what I heard most often was “ANOTHER one?” Who asked them? My family has been the greatest joy in my life, and I have no regrets about having so many children, they’re the best things I ever did. My children had the same response when I bought 2 Chihuahuas in the last 5 years, “You don’t NEED a dog, Mom.” No, I didn’t. But I cant begin to tell you how much I love those two silly dogs, how much I enjoy them, and how much joy they give me. Why not, 2 Chihuahuas? They keep me company now that the kids are grown up, and only one of my children still lives at home. But the automatic reaction is “You don’t need that”. But in fact, yes, I do. Very much in fact. They make me happy.

Several years ago, a good friend of mine was 87 years old, quite ill, and she very much wanted a dog. The obvious answer was that she was too old and too sick to have a dog, and it just didn’t make sense. Against family opinion, I gave her a Maltese for Christmas, she fell in love with the dog instantly, absolutely adored it and it adored her, and it was one of the best things I ever did. She lived for several more years, and the dog made her incredibly happy.

Why do we so easily believe that older people don’t need dogs, or boyfriends, or companionship in whatever form? Why should they have less happiness than we do? Why do we think our parents don’t need these things if they are older?

A friend just gave his 95 year old grandmother a dog for her birthday, which I think is not only a wonderful companion for her, but a fantastic message: It says you’re still young enough to have a dog, I expect you to live a lot more years and be here to enjoy it, not that you think they’re going to die any minute and a 95 year old doesn’t need a dog. Apparently, his grandmother is thrilled with it. What a great gift!

Tonight, I was speaking to a friend in her 50’s, and inquired about her mother who is 77. I asked how she was, and if her mother still had a man in her life, and the friend said “oh no, she doesn’t need that”. (The friend in question is happily married with 2 kids at a home and a full life). I then suggested maybe her mother might enjoy a dog, and she said “Oh she doesn’t need a dog”. There it was again. Why should her still very attractive, very lively mother NOT need a man in her life, a dog, or companionship in any form? We don’t cease to need those things, a shot of joy, or even some frivolity, at any age. In fact, I think older people need it more than we do, as their lives are less full than they used to be.

It really made me think about how quick we are to assume that our older parents or older friends don’t “need” the same things we do. How quick we are to assume, that they don’t need a companion, shouldn’t marry, have a dog or buy crazy shoes. Why NOT??

I think the message on that key chain on my desk is in fact very profound: “Life is short—buy the shoes”. In other words have some fun, have a romance, a girlfriend or a boyfriend, get married no matter how old you are if that’s what you want to do, get a dog even if you’re 95, buy silly shoes if they make you happy. In other words, LIVE, don’t stop living, no matter what age you are, don’t stop having fun, don’t let anyone tell you “You don’t need that”. Maybe you DO need that. And before we tell someone they don’t need that, we should think about it. The idea is to have joy in your life, enjoy the unexpected, and enjoy all the gifts life gives us…..no matter what anyone else thinks, or if they think you need it. YOU decide—-and let’s not be so quick to write old people off, they have as much right to joy in their life as anyone else—-we ALL need that. So what are you waiting for? Find a partner, have some fun, get married if you want to, get a dog, and buy the shoes, or the equivalent in your life!!

Have a great week, love, Danielle

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10/10/16, Fleet Week

Hi Everyone,

I hope everything is going well for you. I’m in the swing of my fall schedule, writing up a storm, keeping very busy, with a family wedding in less than a week. And looking forward to the holidays, making plans for that too. The weather is a little crazy everywhere, which happens at this time of year, with a last burst of warmth (in San Francisco), or a sudden chill (in New York), and fall weather in Paris.

On Columbus Day weekend, in San Francisco, they have Fleet Week. Before cutbacks in government spending, it was an even bigger deal than it is now, with the Bay full of Naval ships, and a major air show by the Blue Angels, the Navy pilots who do fabulous demonstrations all over the country for special events and holidays. There are fewer ships now, but some battleships still come to the San Francisco Bay for the weekend before Columbus Day. They come into the Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge, in single file procession, with the fire boat leading the way with a spray from the firehoses. It’s a pretty sight, and always very impressive. And on Thursday, the Blue Angels begin to fill the skies doing practice runs over the city and over the bay. It used to make me very nervous, in case there was ever an accident, as they flew over the residential neighbourhoods. They were allowed to fly VERY low. They don’t flow as low nowadays but it is a VERY impressive show, by our jet fighter pilots, and the incredibly able, skilled Blue Angels pilots flying in formation literally only inches apart, and low enough to impress everyone. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday they put on a full air show to dazzle the locals and any tourists in San Francisco at the time. People love to see it, and they fill the skies for 3 or 4 hours every day. It’s a VERY noisy event, and despite how impressive they are, there is a wartime feeling to it, which is always slightly unnerving. But one can only be impressed by what talented pilots they are.

I’ve known a few people who have been invited to go up in the planes with them as VIPs, and without exception all of them have either fainted from the G force, or thrown up, or both. There’s an invitation I’m not begging for!! I would be terrified, and am perfectly content to watch them from the ground. All the small boats in the San Francisco area fill the bay during the days of the air show, to get a better view, or people stand on rooftops all over the city so they can see it. But you can see their performance from just about anywhere. It’s a very patriotic event, and one that most people in the city love (if they don’t mind the noise!!)

Other than that, I’m busy planning Halloween, looking forward to the family wedding, have started my Christmas shopping, and am working on several books. Keeping busy!!! I hope you have a great, happy, peaceful, productive week!!

much love, Danielle

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10/3/16, Writing

Hi Everyone,

Well, that was a busy week. I hope yours was busy, in good ways.

I’ve been writing for the past week, which always feels great. Life is so unpredictable, you never know what to expect next. Good stuff, bad stuff, surprises of all kinds. And there is very little we can control in life. But when I sit down to write, the world fades, I know where the book is going, I’ve worked hard on the outline for months, and when anything spins out of control in the story, I can fix it immediately. In the book, I know who the characters and what’s going to happen. I’m the one who makes the decisions, and decides where the book is going to go. It’s a great feeling unraveling the story, getting involved with the characters in the book, until they seem real. I know what they would and wouldn’t do and I respect it. And if the book starts to veer off in some direction, I can correct it, fix it, rewrite it and bring it back. It’s an amazing feeling of control of the story. And the process of developing a book is an exciting one, and so familiar. I don’t care how I look, what I wear, and I just keep following the story.

So I’m busy writing which is always great for me!! I’ve been locked up in my office or a week. I miss being out when I’m all locked up. I miss my kids, and my friends. I miss going outside. But the only way I can write a story is to stick with it right to the end, with as few distractions as possible. So think a good thought for the book I’m working on, and I’ll be back to chat with you in greater depth next week.

all my love, Danielle

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9/26/16, Happy Endings

Hi Everyone,

I hope that all is well, and that you had a good week last week, and that this week is off to a great start.

Today is one of my favorite days. It’s my youngest daughter’s birthday, so a happy day at our house. She is the last of my chicks still in the nest, and I’m very grateful to have her with me, although she leads a busy life. Today is also the birthday of her father, my late husband John. I thought I was absolutely brilliant when I gave birth to her a few weeks early, on her father’s birthday. I thought it was the perfect birthday gift for him. When, in fact, funnily enough, neither of them thought it was a great plan, they both always felt that the other had stolen their birthday!!! It’s also the birthday of three of my good friends. So a happy day all around.

I just recently saw a movie I really enjoyed. Once in a while I enjoy a good thriller, but I always love a good Ro-Co: a romantic comedy. I’m a romantic at heart, and I LOVE happy endings in real life, and in movies. (I hate movies that depress me and leave me feeling down for a week. I’d much rather come out of a movie all happy and glowy and full of hope.) The movie I saw was “Bridget Jones’ Baby”, and it was a sweet movie with Collin Firth in it, a wonderful actor, so very British, and lovely to look at. I always enjoy his movies. And Renee Zellweger (I hope I spelled that right!!). It’s the third in the Bridget Jones series of movies. And I totally loved it, some great British humor, very well written, some good laughs, and tender moments, and a very satisfying ending. It’s a real feel good movie, and if you like that kind of movie, you’ll love this one. I saw it with one of my daughters last week, and for a second time this week with one of my Godchildren. I love seeing movies again when I love them!!! I’ll get the DVD and probably watch it a few more times at some point. I highly recommend it. Best of breed in the realm of Ro-Co’s.

We have some real life happy endings at hand too. One of my daughters is getting married in a few weeks. My three oldest children are married, and have chosen wonderful partners, and have solid, happy marriages. My youngest 5 children aren’t married, but now one of them will be. We all love her future husband, he’s French, which makes sense given our family history, and culture, and my living in France a good part of the time. We’re all very excited about the wedding, of mostly family and some friends. She just found her dress a few days ago, and is VERY excited about it. So after this, half of my children will be married, and the other half not. And right now, I’m super busy planning the wedding. It’s a special time for her, and my wish for her is that they live Happily Ever After!!!! May it be so!!!

Have a great week, with all my love, Danielle

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9/19/16, Two Great Quotes

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’ve had a great week and are settling into the Fall. Autumn is officially here this Wednesday, so summer is history now. (Although it was in the high 90’s in Paris last week, so that’s VERY summery. But after some rain, it’s autumnal and chilly now. End of summer).

You probably know that I have a new book out in hardcover, “Rushing Waters”, it’s the story of a hurricane that hits New York, and how it affects 8 specific people, and impacts their lives and an entire city. We lived that ourselves 3 years ago when Hurricane Sandy wiped out the home of one of my daughters. The damage and trauma were heartbreaking, the loss of beloved treasures that couldn’t be replaced. It was a very impressive experience, and inspired the book. I hope you read it, —it’s really exciting and very touching. When Mother Nature unleashes her fury on us, anything can happen!!! The Force of Nature is stunning to watch!!!

I came across a quote recently that really caught my attention and I wanted to share with you. I think it’s very powerful and a good wakeup call: “All that’s required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” It’s an amazing statement, and I think it’s very true. When evil is showing its colors around us, and rearing its ugly head, if no one gets involved, if no one speaks up, if no one tries to stop it, then Evil has won the battle, and we let it happen. It speaks to courage and integrity, and standing up for our fellow man. In all of our lives there are bad things and evil that surface sometimes, and if we turn a blind eye, then evil has triumphed, and we help it to do so by not standing for what’s right. I originally heard the quote on my favorite TV series, Downton Abbey, which is brilliantly written by Julian Fellowes, and I just discovered that the quote is attributed to someone named Edmund Burke, who died in the late 1790’s. I don’t know anything about him, but I think it’s an extraordinarily good reminder of how easily we can help “the dark side” to win by remaining silent. The quote has haunted me since I first came across it.

The other quote was something Joel Osteen, the minister, wrote: “When you stop learning, you stop growing, and when you stop growing, you stop living”. That’s an interesting challenge and a good wake up call. I tend to be a creature of habit, and am most comfortable on familiar paths: the same restaurants, the same hotels, I eat the same foods when I go to restaurants that I go to regularly, because I know I like whatever I’ve already had on the menu. I read some books again if I love them, because they’re like finding old friends. I go to familiar places for vacations. I’m not an adventuresome traveller, or explorer. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut that way. It feels safe, and I’m not great at getting out of my comfort zone. The familiar is easier. But you don’t learn new things that way. What Joel Osteen wrote reminded me that we need to stretch and grow and continue learning forever in order to be fully alive. Reading that inspired me!!

I have a feeling this won’t be an easy week for me. Tuesday is the anniversary of my late son Nick’s death. He died at nineteen, it was a great tragedy for me and my family, and we miss him still. He was an amazing, talented, adorable boy. He committed suicide, which was an unspeakably terrible loss. We have all gone on with our lives, although we miss him very much. But the anniversaries of these hard dates bring back sad memories into sharper focus, as though it was yesterday. I’m flying in to have dinner with two of my daughters that night, but there is always kind of a ‘drumbeat’ for several days before leading up to it, and you remember all over again all that you lost. The day itself is hard, and on some years is brutal. Losing loved ones is not easy to say the least. And for days afterwards, you feel the loss even more acutely again. It happens in life, sometimes we lose people we love. And this week will be a sharp reminder of it for me.

Have a peaceful week, dear friends, and I hope happy things happen to you and come your way.

I send you all my love, Danielle

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9/12/16, Remembrance

Hi Everyone,

I hope that all is well with you, and that life is treating you well.

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of 9/11, one of the most shocking events in our modern history. The day that 3 airplanes, manned by trained terrorists, with a daring plan, intentionally crashed into the famed twin towers of the World Trade Center in NY, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth plane was heading for the White House, and crashed before reaching its goal. The event was one of the most startling, devastating acts in our recent history, with the exception of Pearl Harbour, which catapulted us into World War II.

On September 11th, 2001, thousands of lives were lost, heart breaking images are engraved in our minds and hearts forever. Among those that shook me most were the people leaping from the buildings, once they knew that there was no way out for them with the fire raging at the heart of the building. Some held hands when they jumped. I will never forget the surreal science fiction look when the twin buildings actually came down, in a tower of smoke, debris and dust. The buildings were a monument we thought would be there forever, to symbolize our strength, freedom, and independence. The acts committed on that day, blew open a war that had been silent and unseen until then, and changed our lives forever. The endless wait at security in airports now, removal of shoes, belts, clothing, etc, the pat downs, the waiting, the metal detectors, the long delays, is all part of what happens when a country has been attacked and wants to prevent it from happening again. It was the first shot across our bow, to warn us that terrorism had snuck up on us and taken charge. And inevitably with tragedy, the lives of men, women and children were lost. I hope that no one you love was among them.

We speak of 9/11 as a landmark in our lives now. And some things have not changed, how much we love each other and our country. But 9/11 was a loss of innocence for all of us, a turning point where we realized how dangerous our world is, and that we are blessed with freedom, and safety most of the time.

May we all remember, not just the spectacular event that most of us saw on TV, but the men and women who lost their lives, the innocent victims, and the injured, and all those who loved them. May peace bless our world.

with all my love, Danielle

And have a great week!!!

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8/29/16, Sweet Visit

Hi Everyone,

I hope these last days of summer are nice for you, and that you’re still enjoying it.

Summer is definitely over for me, I’m back to work, working hard. I don’t know where the summer went, it went so fast, and now a few days this week and then Labor Day, and then it’s officially over. Boo Hoo!!! Just about everywhere, kids are going back to school this week, so that’s it. We’ll have to wait til next year for hot weather and summer vacations. It seems a long time away.

I had a really sweet week until I went back to work (although that’s sweet too!!). The 12 year old daughter of a very close friend in Paris came to visit me, and it was a real treat. She is the sweetest kid, and it was so much fun. With grown up children I forget just how easy and nice that age can be, everything is straightforward and simple, you know where you stand, communication is easy, in most cases, problems are small. Kids that age are happy to be with you, don’t have conflicting plans, and two hours in a swimming pool is super fun!! They are thrilled with everything at that age. And she is an exceptionally nice, well behaved child. I had a wonderful time with her, a little shopping, 2 movies, some swimming, bowling, buying new books, we visited the sea lions (too smelly), a manicure (bright orange!!) pasta dinners, pizza, we were supposed to go to a museum, but never did. Her big thrill was buying candy. And as I solemnly promised her parents, we did 2 hours of her remaining summer homework every day, and finished it!! And it’s a really brave thing to do, for a kid that age to visit a grown up, she must have been worried that she’d be bored, but it was an adventure for both of us, and a real gift to me!!! On the day she left, we both woke up sad that she was leaving, suddenly the easy fun was over, and it went too quickly. I took her to the plane, and waited until it took off, and before it did, she was sending me frantic text messages about how much she already missed me (I did too), and texts with hearts on them. I was really sad to see her leave (and started a new book that night). It was such a simple pleasure, so innocent and pure, and she’s such a sweet kid, it really was a wonderful visit. She starts school on Friday. It was a perfect end to my summer. (The one funny note was that she bought so much candy, for herself, her brother and sister, that I had to lend her an extra suitcase to take it home.)

And by the way, it was my Chihuahua Minnie’s birthday this week. I hope you remembered!!!

I hope the end of your summer is sweet too!!! Have a great last week of summer!!!

all my love, Danielle

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8/23/16, Whirlwind

Hi Everyone,

I hope all is well with you, and that you’re enjoying these last days of summer. School starts for a lot of kids this week, and college shortly, so parents getting kids back to school are already racing, and so am I. My vacation a month ago seems like a distant memory from another lifetime!!

While making plans for this summer, other than my one week vacation with my children, in France, I had nothing special planned, so I said yes to a lot of things. And I no sooner did that, than the summer became full of surprises. One of my daughters got engaged three days before our vacation, to a man we all love, so we’re happy for her. And wedding plans got underway, for a small wedding, but even a small wedding has a million details and is a lot of work to organize—-as anyone can tell you who have planned one. I had a huge amount of writing work to do before our vacation, and after the vacation, I hit the ground running. I had houseguests two days after I got back from France, which was really fun, then a week to catch up on work, and then my kids came home for a week, for our second round of time together. The new fiancé came with them, and my week with them sped by, always much too quickly. I love it when they’re home, and the house is full again. And I’m always grateful when they spend time with me.

We celebrated my birthday while they were here, as I told you in last week’s blog. And three days after they left, I had a big photo shoot, for the photos on the back of my books. We did the photos for at least 10 book covers and possibly more, depending on which photos I love and seem right for the books. A big photo shoot like that is a big production, with a mountain of equipment that arrives, all very high tech, and a ‘studio’ they can set up anywhere with tall poles, and fabric in various colors, elaborate lights, computer equipment. It looks almost like a movie set. The photographer is a very famous French photographer, Brigitte Lacombe, who is incredibly talented, shoots mostly portraits, and works all over the world, although she is New York based. (She is the favorite photographer of Meryl Streep, and a number of very famous people—much more famous than I am!!) There is so much equipment and so much to do setting up lights and sets in various locations, that she brings three assistants with her. My assistant was really busy with the shoot too. A hairdresser, a make up artist, and suddenly there are people running around everywhere. We took photos for two very full days, starting with hair and make up at 7 am, and we start shooting at 9 am, and shoot til 6 or 7 pm at night, with a brief break for lunch. It sounds silly, but it’s actually hard work even for the subjects of a shoot like that. You have to concentrate, look alert, stay focused, be responsive, and keep moving at different angles, stand or sit up straight and pay attention, and follow directions. I changed clothes about 10 times a day, and had chosen the outfits before. I was really tired of changing clothes by the end of every day. And after we shot all day, I caught up on my work every night. And I learned a great new trick if your eyes are tired or puffy. The make up artist put two spoons in a bowl of ice til they were very cold, and placed one over each of my eyes…..and presto magic, your eyes aren’t puffy anymore!! I’m going to try that again, in real life!! I hope we got some great shots out of it, in two days of shooting intensely. I always love Brigitte’s photographs, she captures the soul of her subjects. She is a lovely woman, gentle, talented, super intelligent, and it’s a pleasure to spend 2 days with her, despite the work we have to do.

An hour before the last crew member left my house, 3 days after we started, the 12 year old daughter of my best friend arrived to spend a week with me, and that was great fun!! It’s fun to have a twelve year old in the house, her perspective, her points of view, her innocence, everything is easy at that age, and we got busy the minute she arrived. Some shopping, a manicure with my youngest daughter, —it’s all girly stuff with a 12 year old. The next day we went to one of the tourist spots in SF, saw the sea lions and bought a LOT of candy, and souvenirs for her to take back to Paris. We made dinner at home (delicious pasta with pesto), and watched a movie “The Parent Trap” with Lindsay Lohan when she was about 12, it’s a really cute movie. Yesterday, I had to work, and then we went to a mall, ran some errands, and we’ve done homework every day, so she’ll be ready for school, and she went swimming last night. We plan to go to a museum, do more homework, and maybe out to a movie. And the day she leaves, I have to go back to writing.

And when I wasn’t racing around with a 12 year old, or getting my picture taken for book covers, I was working on planning the wedding for my daughter, which will happen in 8 weeks in New York, and there are a million details to take care of (flowers, music, location, ceremony, reception, dinner, and all the component parts of a wedding, even a small one.

So it has turned out to be a crazy busy summer after all. I thought I’d have nothing to do this summer!! Whew!!! It was the busiest summer I’ve had in a long time. I’ll be travelling again soon, celebrating one daughter’s birthday, and writing wherever I go!!!

I can’t say it was a restful summer, but some of it has really been a lot of fun, especially spending time with my children, the houseguests I had, and I’m excited about the writing I’m doing, and the books I’ll be writing in the coming months.

And a week from now (a week from today—on August 30th), I have a new hardcover book coming out, “Rushing Waters”, about what happens when a monster hurricane hits New York, and how it affects people and their lives. It was an exciting book to write!!!

I hope your summer was a little less hectic and more restful than mine. And with luck, I hope you even have a little vacation left before we race into Fall. Take good care, and have a great week,

love, Danielle

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