Oh, Suzanne(a)

Big shout-out today to my friend Suzanne Palmieri, a debut author from New Haven who scored not one but TWO two-book deals last week. (And yes, for those of you mathematically challenged, that equals four books.) Here are the announcements from Publisher's Marketplace:

• Suzanne Palmieri's THE WITCH OF LITTLE ITALY, in which a troubled senior at Yale returns to her estranged, magical family in the Bronx and unlocks secrets dating back to WWII, as well as her mysterious, lost memories, to Vicki Lame at St. Martin's, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in April 2013, by Anne Bohner at Pen & Ink Literary (World English).

• Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan's I'LL BE SEEING YOU, a story of unexpected friendship told through letters shared between two American women on the home front during World War II, to Erika Imranyi at Mira, in a two-book deal, by Anne Bohner at Pen & Ink Literary and Joanna Volpe at Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation.

I was introduced to Suzanne a few years ago by a mutual friend who knew we were both writing novels and trying to get them published. Suzanne is not only a better writer than me, but she's also faster and more persistent. In the time it took me to draft two novels, I think she had churned out six or seven or eight... which is why I'm not surprised she's sitting on that pair of two-books deals.

Suzanne has been a great critic and an inspirational friend, and she stands as living proof that plenty of amateurs blessed with vivid imaginations can, will and do make it in this business. Do yourself a favor and check her out... because pretty soon you're going to own one of her books: http://suzannepalmieri.com/

What if...?

My wife and I took this picture of our five kids last weekend on a visit to the University of Connecticut:

Over the last twenty years, UConn has become one of the top public universities in the country, not to mention the "College Basketball Capitol of the World". I hold two degrees from this fine institution, I was the editor of the campus newspaper, and I was front-and-center that magical Monday night in 1999 when Coach Calhoun hoisted his/our first-ever NCAA Championship trophy in Tropicana Field... but more than anything else, UConn is where I met my wife.

We have known each other for 14 years, have been married for 11, and have five wonderful children - and when I look at this picture, I can't help think of the improbable things that had to have happened in order to bring us to this point in our lives. Yes, it sounds kinda Doc-Brown-Back-to-the-Future-ish, but think about it: at some point in October of 1997, I'm sure I stumbled drunk past this very statue, sorting through the dozens and dozens of girls' phone numbers that were voluntarily thrown at me at that night's array of parties... yet 14 years later there we were taking this picture. The time in between was and is filled with countless "what ifs".

What if she aced freshman chemistry and remained a nursing major instead of switching to journalism?

What if I didn't wander over to the campus newspaper looking for a job my freshman year?

What if her dumbass high school sweetheart hadn't broken up with her over the summer?

What if Billy had in fact beeped the horn of his car, demanding we leave that silly party before I had a chance to talk to her?

What if she said no?

What if she got sick of me?

What if she didn't have a genetic predisposition to release more than one egg per month?

What if we decided to stop after two?

What if we decided to stop after three?

The picture of my kids reminds me of that picture of Marty McFly and his siblings - the one that starts to fade bit by bit as he changes history, as he alters the "what ifs". But since I don't have a time-traveling DeLorean, the only conclusion I can draw is that life is some ironic mixture of free-will, divine intervention, and good old-fashioned luck.

I could drive myself crazy thinking about all the things that could have gone differently, that could have gone wrong... but in the end, I am where I am.

And for that, I'm eternally grateful.