You go Diana P. and Secret Society Girl!!

Go buy it. Seriously, do it.

You may ask why I'm pushing Diana's book on my blog. Well, there are lots of reasons, many of which echo those of Marley Gibson (she was a guest blogger on TKA blog and wrote a very touching piece - the comments are worth checking out too).

Before I get into all of that, though, first let's chat about the book:

The exploits of Ivy League secret societies have provided healthy fodder for writers. Peterfreund is the latest to go inside the exclusive clubs, albeit with a romantic twist to her plot. Amy Haskel is a junior at prestigious Eli University, the unassuming editor of the literary magazine, and a self-described commitment-phone. When she's "tapped" by the most elite and mysterious society on campus, Rose & Grave, life takes a turn for the bizarre. Soon she's swilling champagne with the sons of senators and CEOs, and keeping secrets from her roommate and her not-quite boyfriend. This is the first in a planned Secrety Society Girl series, and Peterfreund leaves some loose ends to entice readers to pick up her next installment. The story is frivolous but fun to read--full of quirky characters and situations. It's bound to appeal to readers looking for entertaining escape and college humor. (from Booklist).

It's getting great reviews about what a fun book it is to read which is the best thing I think anyone can say about a book!

Now a bit more about the author and why I care about a book I haven't even read. It's a long story so get comfy. Back in the year 2000 I was totally tapped into the romance writing world. I was a member of tons of groups and had gabs of time to write to my heart's content. I even started a little website design company for authors (and helped start a little group that later became Cata-Romance.com). Then I took a few years off, went to law school, etc.

At the beginning of this year I re-committed myself to my goal of becoming a romance writer (it's a 10 year goal) and my first step was to get tapped back into the romance writing community. I'd never been one for blogs, but after reading a few helpful emails by Diana on some loops, I stumpled on her blog. I quickly devoured the archives, finding someone else who approached so many things about "the writing gig" the way I did. Her rants were all things I've bitched about in the past. Her dedication to learning craft, to learning the market, to truly understanding the industry was right on par with my approach. Finally, her dedication was inspiring and kept me writing.

I loved reading the archives, knowing that in the end she wrote a kick ass book and got a mongo fab deal. It was neat to see when she got the idea for Secret Society Girl, ran with it, and to know how it turned out. It was fascinating to follow the ups and downs as they happened, and it totally encouraged me. Here was someone who worked really hard at writing, who learned from her mistakes, who bucked tradition and made it.

I know I sound like a scary stalker but I'm not (I'm not!!). It's just been so much fun to watch someone who worked so hard make it - fun to watch the excitement as the book launches and the reviews come out. And I'm constantly impressed that even with deadlines looming and parties and promotions to plan and execute she's still out there on the loops and boards helping newbies out, answering our questions, giving advice (and ranting - those are always fun).

Alls I'm saying is, I feel like I owe a lot to "meeting" Diana (I won't go into all of that here - even I recognize too much sap) and so I thank her heartily for it!!

Now, go buy the book :)