Here's a really fun book: Melanie Lynne Hauser's CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM that I blogged about when it was released in hardcover. If you missed, it, now you have the chance to catch it in paperback!



Check out some of the great press:

"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

You can read all about it and about Melanie at her blog, The Refrigerator Door

And now .... Melanie's answers to my GCC questions:

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL “WRITING DAY”?
DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?

Typically I write between 12-3, and sometimes I go back right before I start dinner and work a little more. I started this routine because I had to write when my kids were in school. Even though my kids are older now and more self-sufficient, I still stick to this schedule - except when I'm nearing the end of a project. Then I tend to write whenever, wherever - even sitting outside my son's drum lessons!

There were two inspirations for this book. 1) - I had come close to publishing two previous books (a third was so horrible that it's buried out in my back yard, but it was my first attempt and so I cherish it for that). Both books made it to the marketing committee level, but were rejected as being too "quiet." So I got mad, thought about things, and decided to go as far away from "quiet" as I could, while still writing about issues that were important to me as a woman, and a mother - so that's why I decided to write women's fiction from a superhero's perspective!

2) The other inspiration was where I was in my life, when I could see the end of the tunnel, so to speak, concerning child rearing. My kids are fast approaching the day when they're out of the house (hopefully!) and that's kind of a daunting thought. I wonder, who will I be when I'm not "The Mom?" The heroine in my book is going through this, too, and I wanted to show, through her journey, that we shouldn't live in the past, which is tempting. Instead, we should embrace all our strengths and all the knowledge & wisdom we've earned through motherhood, and use it to propel us forward - to leap tall buildings in a single bound.


PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT YOU SHARE (OR COME CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT CHARACTER.

Well....I do share a passion for cleaning products with my heroine, Birdie.

IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF PAPER ON WHICH TO WRITE?

Books to read! I couldn't write unless I had inspiration, through books. So I'd scratch in the sand or keep my stories in my head, and go for the books.

BEER OR WINE?

Wine

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?

Chocolate

WHAT’S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK?

"Howards' End"