I’ve been asked this so much in the past few days that I feel a little like Waldo in the series, where  is Jane in the movie?

I am in there, briefly, and I’ll tell you where I am, and while it won’t help those of you who’ve already seen the movie, but might for those who have recorded it and can pause and freeze the frame.

During the movie, take the remote and prepare to pause right after hot hunky Robert Buckley/Kyall rescues Heather/Jackie from the pool and walks her to the beach. I am sitting on the beach reading a book, and while my back is to the camera, you’ll see my hair.  It’s long and straight and I’m wearing a bright turquoise swim suit with matching sarong. You’ll actually see me twice. It’s a brief brief appearance, but hey, I was there.  🙂

I continue to get great feedback on both book and film. Flirting with Forty book sales are brisk and the ratings for the movie have been terrific. The Flirting movie enjoyed a very strong premiere and became Lifetime’s 3rd most-watched movie of the year among women 25-54… definitely my demographics!  I understand that the movie should be available for purchase in about 6 months as a DVD, so that will be good for those in Canada or elsewhere who haven’t been able to see it but would like to.  And lastly, I’m still receiving fun photos from fans and friends’ movie parties like Dana Lofton’s below. (Love the matching pj’s!)  If you’ve got pics, send me yours!

Dana Lofton’s 38th Birthday and their Flirting with Forty party!

Tomorrow I tackle the copy edits for Easy On The Eyes, my July ’09 release, and if you haven’t read the sneak peek excerpt yet, it’s here on my website now but won’t be much longer so let me know what you think!  Does this sound like a book you’d want to read?

And just because it’s time to give away some holiday cheer, I’ve got a holiday box with lots of good stuff, including Christmas ornaments, a festive mug, Starbucks drink card, a CD of carols and tons of JP goodies. I’ll draw a winner Thursday night at midnight PST and post on Friday morning. Just comment below by telling me your favorite part of the holidays–or the hardest person on your list to shop for–and you’re in!

Where do I start? How do I properly say thank you? You all have made this the best weekend of my year. So many of you have taken time to write me, either here on my blog, or privately, or over at Facebook and MySpace.

I have had hundreds of messages over the weekend, probably up to 400 now, and they’ve been so wonderful and positive and just plain fun to read. I’ve printed off most (yes, I’m that geeky) to stick in the scrapbook I’m going to make so I can remember this wonderful weekend. And please know that I’ve read every single message posted or sent, and have appreciated every wow, every cheer, every congratulatory email and greeting.  One Wow! would have been wonderful, but the sheer number of happy readers and friends writing have made me realize that I am luckier, and more blessed, than any woman has the right to be.

People have asked me, how does it feel to see your life played out as a movie? And I have two reactions: first, the whole movie thing is still completely surreal.  It’s a writer’s dream, and a personal Jane Porter dream, since I once wanted to be an actress and I love, love, love all things to do with stage and film. I originally went to UCLA as a Theatre Arts major so having a film made from a book is a huge fun dazzling thing.

And having ‘my life’ played on a screen? Well, that’s a different reaction because Flirting was a book idea before it became my life.  I got an idea, worked up a plot, interviewed a surfer, pitched the idea back home to agent and editor, and they both loved it. That should have been the end of my personal part in the story. But as it turned out, the things the surfer said, his philosophy on life, his warmth, his friendship and support for me when I was going through such a terrible point in my life, made me fall for him even though I wasn’t supposed to. Soccer moms aren’t supposed to end up with sexy surfers, right? But real life can be better than fiction and that’s the part I want my readers to understand. Real life should be better. It’s up to us to make it better.

One of the best parts of the movie Saturday night was knowing that so many of you got together with girlfriends to watch it. Over twenty-five of you emailed me evites to let me know you were having parties!!  This part makes me kind of teary. We should have time with our girlfriends, and we should be with those we love, and we should laugh, we should celebrate. Let’s each of us have our own red bikini moment–that moment where we discard the gray sweatshirt and say, I matter, I’m beautiful, and I’m not going to hide.

I’m sharing  a few of the photos that readers and friends have sent me from their movie premiere parties. If you have photos I can add to my blog or website, please send them to me privately and I’ll add them as soon as I can. And thank you again. Thank you for being the very best readers and friends a girl could ever ask for. I don’t need anything for Christmas. You already did it. You gave me everything I wanted and everything I hoped for.

Theresa Gault and friends at the Flirting movie premiere party she hosted.

I’m alive.  Wow.  What a flu bug.  Nasty nasty stomach bug that I don’t want see in my house again…not for a long, long time.  Both boys have had it, too, but now I wait and worry that Surfer Ty, who is visiting at the moment, will be struck down.  Let’s all say a little prayer that he escapes.  It’s not a bug I’d wish on anyone.  Ever.

As you know I had to cancel my book events this weekend as well as my appearance tonight.  I have several friends in the area all doing movie parties, too, and I’m keeping myself in the house under lock and key for fear of spreading this thing.  I don’t know how long one is contagious for, but better to be safe than sorry.  And I’m not really yet functioning on full speed.  More like half speed, and maybe half of that.

The great marvelous news is that I did finish my Harlequin Presents book Thursday night, emailed it to my editor in London that evening before bed and then woke up at 5 violently ill, but still, book was gone.  I made my deadline and it was one of the most focused, intense writes I’ve done in a long time.  I’m sure there will be revisions on it but I won’t complain.  I had a really hard time getting the book started, and I jumped back and forth between two different books for a couple weeks, before I hit November 17th, realized a completed book was due by the 4th, and I didn’t even have a complete chapter one.  Not even a great scene one for chapter one.  So on the 17th of November I got hard core and began writing all day every day with the goal being a chapter a day to meet the deadline.  There were days I got  a chapter done, and there were days it was a half chapter, but this week I wrote a minimum of 30 pages a day every day to get caught up and book in.

I don’t like writing that much that many days straight.  There were no days off, no weekends, no holidays.  Even on Thanksgiving I had to write a full chapter before I could leave my computer, but in some way, working hard that is easy because it eliminates all distractions, all activites, all choices but writing.  And in our chaotic world, with the entertainment, lifestyle, even shopping choices, having nothing to do but write is rather freeing.  Just the story.  Just the words.  Just the goal.

With that said, it’s so good to have the book done.

Now that I’m not hugging the toilet anymore, I can actually smile a little bit.

I’ve got a blue beach tote bag, a blue beach towel, a JP water bottle, and a signed copy of Flirting to give away.  Let me know if you’ve got your tree up, or your shopping started.  Just tell me what you’re doing this weekend and you’re entered.  I’ll draw a name Sunday night at midnight PST and post it Monday.  And before I forget, check back here tomorrow for my blog on the movie.