I am so glad to be home! It’s Winter Break, finally. No more exams, no more school food (not that it’s bad"¦I kind of like the bean burritos), no more papers to write"¦I can give Fat Louie a big hug and RELAX!

Only not for long, because right after the holidays, I start doing publicity interviews and stuff for my new book!

I can hardly believe I’m saying (or writing) those words. MY NEW BOOK. I have my OWN BOOK!!!! Somebody pinch me!

(Only don’t because last time I said that, Grandmere did pinch me and I had a black and blue mark on my arm for days and I had to cover it up with Erase so it wouldn’t look like I was an abuse victim, which I am, actually, thanks to her.)

So, the good news is, I got an amazing review for Ransom My Heart, this one from BOOKPAGE.

The bad news is, they mistook me for a fictional character.

But that’s OK, it’s still a good review! As Tina Hakim Baba (always the optimist) would say, what matters is, your name is on it somewhere!

One Sweet Knight

Meg Cabot offers a frolicking medieval romance, Ransom My Heart (Avon A, $14.99, 432 pages, ISBN 9780061700071), in the guise of her fictional character Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia (of Princess Diaries fame): Irrepressible Finnula Crais, young expert huntress with a shadowed past, succumbs to a sister’s pleading to find a man. A man, that is, that Finnula can kidnap and ransom in order to restore her older sister’s spent dowry. Tough on the outside, but soft on the inside, Finnula agrees, and through a delightful series of events captures a handsome knight on his way home from the Holy Land. Hugo has a secret, but it doesn’t stop him from falling in with the adventurous Finnula’s plan, or falling in love. When the pair’s secrets and shadows are revealed, complications abound, and attempts on Hugo’s life threat- en Finnula as well as the happy ending they seek. Peopled with entertaining characters, Cabot’s latest romps briskly to a satisfying denouement.

Nice, huh?

And check this out: My first cover for a foreign edition! This is for the UK version (which won’t be out until July. I know, I’m really bummed about it not being out for so long, too):

Pretty, right? Only, my name isn’t very big on it. But that’s OK, too, I guess. Hey, at least it’s on there and spelled correctly (as Tina would say)!

All right, I have to go pack now because I’m actually supposed to catch the royal jet to Genovia tonight. I don’t really want to go, but to tell you the truth the weather there is a LOT better than the weather here in New York City right now…so much as I’ll be sad to miss out on Christmas morning with Mom and Mr. G and Rocky (who has about nine million presents under the Dead Celebrity Tree), it’s 72 degrees and sunny in Genovia.

Yeah. So"¦ciao, Manhattan!

And happy holidays, everyone!

Love,

Mia