Here's a book that sounds right up my alley! I've read the excerpt and have the full novel on my TBR pile, but even though I haven't read it yet, I've been recommending it all over the place, especially to folks who enjoyed Carpe Demon



Here's Melanie's answers to my questions:

1) I love the Swiffer accident component of the story! Is there a story behind the story?

The only story is that I wanted the accident that turned Birdie into Super Mom to be something that could almost, actually, happen - and more importantly, I wanted it to be something that every woman could visualize, something that everyone was acquainted with. Something tied to being a mom. One day my husband came home and said he'd heard two ladies at the bank talking, and one had said to the other, "I have to Swiffer my kitchen today." And we laughed because we thought it was so funny that "Swiffer" had become a verb. But when we were through laughing, I said, "Aha! Horrible Swiffer Accident!" And history was made.

2) What's the most "super" mom thing you've ever done?

I've had great mom moments - mostly moments that sound so silly when I try to describe them. But they mainly revolve around those moments when I am privileged to be taken into my sons' confidences; those quiet moments when we find ourselves deep into conversation, conversation that gives me glimpses of who they want to be, how they're trying to view the world, how they're grappling with the challenges they face as teenagers. I remember one time my older son and I ended up seated on the floor of the upstairs hallway for hours, just talking. And I have no idea how we started; I was walking down the hall with the laundry basket and he was emerging from his room for something, and we met, and it was one of the most intense, personal conversations we've ever had, and it just happened. And the only super thing I did was recognize it for what it was, this amazing opportunity, and so I banished whatever else I thought I had to be doing from my mind, and just gave my son all the time and attention he needed right then.

That's one of the most important things we super moms can do, particularly as our children are turning into teenagers.

3) This is your debut novel -- congrats!! -- can you describe your road to publication?

Well, it wasn't without its challenges. I've written three previous novels; the first was terrible and is buried out in my back yard. The next was better, and got me not one, but two different literary agents. (Long story there I won't go into.) It made it to the marketing committee of a major publisher, but didn't sell. The next was even better, and led me to my current, wonderful agent, but still, it didn't sell. Then I wrote Confessions of Super Mom, and - it didn't sell either. At least not at first. It took a couple of months, maybe three. (I don't know; I might have blocked it out!) But then in one week I had two potential offers, and ended up with a two-book deal with Dutton and I couldn't be happier. And I'm loving being able to continue these characters' stories; they constantly surprise me.

Praise!!!

"Like its title character, this debut novel has a secret identity...it's unexpectedly poignant and packs an emotional punch despite the cheery veneer... at the heart of this story is a narrative about a lonely, wronged woman who just wants to do right by her children and stand up to an uncontrollable world. Hauser slips in soliloquies on motherhood and womanhood that, though brief, are moving, showing us Birdie Lee's heart and in that, the wishes and dreams of super moms everywhere. "
- Publishers Weekly


“This silly but fun twist on the superhero tale comes packaged with a socially responsible message about consumerism, but it doesn’t get in the way of the high jinks.”
—Booklist


For every harried mother who dreams of cleaning with the power of 10,000 Swiffers, putting her children into Super Time Outs with just a flick of her Merciless Gaze, and employing a little Super Eavesdropping when the occasion warrants, CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM is a must-read. Filled with romance, intrigue, humor and a colorful cast of characters, this delightful new novel introduces a superhero for the Swiffer generation.

Birdie Lee is an average hard-working single mother of two teenagers, PTA lackey, and mild-mannered grocery clerk at the local Marvel Fine Foods and Beverages. One morning, while getting ready for work, k, Birid is work, Birdie is sidetracked by a stubborn Stain of Unusual Origin on her bathroom floor. Unable to let the stain get the best of her, she tries to annihilate it with every household product she can find –to no avail. Angry, hot, light-headed (and forgetting to turn on the exhaust fan), she makes one final desperate attempt to eradicate this vile, dastardly stain: she loads her Swiffer Wet Jet with every household cleanser she owns, aims, and fires….

And passes out, overcome by the fumes. After regaining consciousness (and reminding herself to scrub the bottom of the toilet since from her perspective — flat on her back — it was looking a little dingy), Birdie realizes something’s amiss. Her ears begin to buzz and her senses are aquiver. Eventually, aided by Martin, her geeky thirteen-year-old son and trusty sidekick, Birdie understands that she now possesses extraordinary powers — superpowers, to be exact. Birdie soon learns, however, that, to quote Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility and she finds herself struggling to balance a new onslaught of challenges, both at home and in her community. While trying to keep her distant 15-year-old daughter’s heart from being broken (something not even a superhero can do), and dealing with her smug ex-husband and his over-achieving new wife, she must manage her job, PTA responsibilities and a budding romance– all the while trying to rescue her beloved town of Astro Park from an evil force that threatens its children.

So forget those chores— pick up CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM and relish in a much-deserved escape. This charming novel will keep readers glued to the page as they cheer for Super Mom to root out injustice and surrender herself to love. Readers everywhere will find themselves in its pages and rejoice in finding a book that celebrates their overlooked everyday acts of heroism.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Former member of the PTA, Melanie Lynne Hauser is a prototypical Super Mom. CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM is her first novel, and she is a contributor, along with Jodi Picoult, Jacqueline Mitchard, Jennifer Lauck and Marion Winik, to the forthcoming anthology It’s a Boy (November 2005, Seal Press). She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two teenage sons.

Visit Melanie's Blog at Refrigerator Door Top Page