Candid Camera

We have been slackers. No blog postings for a while–and just in case you’re wondering why–we’re back in the writing cave. Our new book, Uptown, is due to our editor on June 1, so our noses are to the grindstone and our twenty fingers to the keyboard.

Last year while we were finishing What Doesn’t Kill You, we serialized Exposures, our first novel, on the blog. It was fun and you seemed to enjoy that, but we don't have any more secret novels hanging out in the desk drawer. We’ve been racking our brains trying to figure out what we could do this time around to let you know we still care, we’re still thinking about you and of course want you to keep coming by and seeing what we have going on.

Soooo we’ve come up with the “Photo of the Day.” They’ll be random pictures from our lives, present and past, our work environment, stuff we see, people we meet–a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Enjoy and be sure to let us know what you think! First pic below... a new one tomorrow!

This is a collage we made when we were writing Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made to remind ourselves to always include the 5 senses. Now it's framed and hangs in our office because sometimes we still need reminding!

'FESSING UP: We Share Our OWN Broke Story

Over the last few weeks, many of you have sent us Your Best Broke Story—stories that have been hilarious, surprising and heartwarming. We are grateful that so many of you have opened up and revealed personal, private details of your lives. So as the deadline for our online Tell Us Your Best Broke Story Contest approaches (1/20/09)
we thought we would share our very own “Broke Story” with you...

The journey that Thomasina “Tee” Hodges takes us on in What Doesn’t Kill You—from well paid professional to outplaced ex-employee who can no longer “handle her business,” is certainly a timely story which will resonate with a wide audience. There are people all around us who have gotten that call to visit HR and clean out their desks and are terrified because without their job, they won’t be able to afford to buy gasoline or groceries, keep the lights on, or cope with any of the unexpected little emergencies that become a big deal when you don’t have the money to handle them. Then there are those of us who, even though employed, live in fear the pink slip is coming, and don’t know what they would do without the next paycheck.

But Tee’s story is not one we tell from the outside in. Her trip from denial, to anger to acceptance and ultimately to reinvestment in her life is one we know intimately because both directly and indirectly we have lived through it, and it wasn’t pretty. It has been a six year long, down and dirty test of personal strength, our commitment to our craft and our friendship. Parts of the struggle are ongoing, but writing WDKY was a way to begin to take some extremely negative energy and make it into something positive.

There are very few people who know any of the details of how difficult these years have been—what it has taken to keep going, one inch at a time, but by opening up we hope to show readers that they aren’t “the only ones.”

For Virginia the situation started at the confluence of an unexpectedly large tax bill—ironically the result of a good earnings year—and a large sum of money that was contractually due to us – but turned to dust, leaving a devastating financial chasm and nowhere to go but down. As a result, savings evaporated, jobs eluded and bills mounted. So a great many of the hardships Tee goes through in WDKY are related not from knowledge acquired through research, but from having been there, done that and you can keep the t-shirt—thank you very much (Virginia really did learn how to fill her own tooth, and have a job where the commute was 2 hours each way).

On Donna’s part—it was about being Julie and Ron and all the folks who rallied to support Tee when she needed it. While the financial hardship hit Donna equally, she had great good fortune to have a wonderful husband who not only mitigated the burden of the monetary loss, but together, for almost two years, they totally supported Virginia.

In terms of the writing partnership, Virginia was ready to chuck it—without knowing what she would do instead, but Donna was not prepared to let the team go down like that. While the struggle was just as real, this was a darker and more difficult time than at the beginning when we were writing Tryin’ to Sleep. Back then, like Tee, we were full of “hope and expectation” which provides a much better head of steam than resentment and frustration. But because Donna continued to take steps forward in the direction we needed to go and coaxed Virginia to come along we were able to work ourselves back into writing the kinds of books that our readers have come to enjoy.

Today's the Day! Buy the Book!!!

Today, January 6, is the official release date for our new book, What Doesn't Kill You and we’re totally jazzed! When we were writing this book we couldn’t have imagined that our character’s story would be so current. Life is funny that way. This is the book we thought would be our first with Simon & Schuster, our new publisher, but they requested a sequel to Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made, so we put the story of Tee Hodges' personal economic meltdown on the back burner and decided to write Gotta Keep on Tryin' which you all know came out last year. We guess things happen in the way and at the time they are supposed to--whatever we think!

So because of Grace and serendipity, here we are in January 2009 and What Doesn’t Kill You is coming to a bookstore near you. And, in light of what is happening in our country's economy--with so many people facing unemployment and dealing with all of the fallout from a sudden, drastic and unexpected change in their lives, this seems like just the RIGHT time for this book!

FYI this book is NOT a downer-- in September, the Publisher's Weekly review said it was "The anti-pity party: snappy, fun and inspiring." And we've told you before--WE LOVE THIS BOOK AND WE LOVE TEE HODGES. She is everywoman--in more ways than we can count.

What Doesn't Kill You, is perhaps one of the most personal of any of the novels we have written-- for a number of reasons. And while neither of us is exactly Tee many of her trials and tribulations are ones we became all too familiar with back in 2002 after our deal with our previous publisher fell apart and left us in a financial lurch. We will post a blog (http://twomindsfull.blogspot.com) about the personal side of this story next week as we approach the Jan. 20 deadline for our contest: "Tell Us Your Best Broke Story" (http://deberryandgrant.com)


You may or may not be aware that for better or worse, books have now fallen into the same category as movies--they REQUIRE a "strong opening week" in order to remain on the shelves. So we’re asking you to shop early for your copy of What Doesn't Kill You, even if it’s not your book club pick until April or July. (It's OK if you shop often too--WDKY will make a great gift!). Some of you may be planning to get your copy at one of the signing events we're having and that's wonderful. But if your city isn't one of the tour cities (http://deberryandgrant.com/DGTours.html), please go to your local bookstore or one of the online booksellers to place your order--we'll be happy to sign it whenever we see you--or you can mail us the book (return postage please!) and we'll happily sign and return! AND please feel free to pass the word along to your lists!

Thank you for supporting us and all the other writers who give you the kind of stories you want to read and share, for emailing us, for telling your friends about our books—and convincing them to buy their own copies, for coming to our events, for encouraging us to keep on writin'!

We wish for you a 2009 chock full of the good stuff!
V&D

Have you heard?

You can listen to an excerpt from the audio version of What Doesn't Kill You by clicking the link.
http://reseller.brillianceaudio.com/product.asp?AuthorId=491&Titleid=15852&=nl2

We recorded this book at the Brilliance Audio studios in Grand Haven, MI back in October. We alternate chapters, and this bit is Donna reading!

Interview--Gritsncheese.com

This is an audio interview we did with Monica from GritsnCheese.com. There are also interviews on her webiste with film director Bill Duke and former San Francisco Mayor, Willie Brown--along with many others!

Click here: Monica Medina w/ Virginia Deberry and Donna Grant