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Howdy, y'all. It's Mama. Ms. Fancy Pants Author has graciously let me say a few words before she takes over. I know you must be wondering why it's been months and months since you heard any news from this little slice of Florida. Maybe Ms. Author has been stretched out on the beach down there in Fort La-di-da-dale, too ''busy'' to let you know the latest.

Here's the headline: Sal and I are hitched! It was the Wedding of the Century.

Of course, a few things went wrong. My middle daughter Mace hated her Scarlett O'Hara bridesmaid gown, with its purse, parasol, and five pounds of ruffles, all in a lovely shade of lime sherbet green. And there was that matter of a body in the VFW kitchen, even before they passed around the first pig-in-a-blanket.

You can read all about it in Mama Gets Hitched. That's the cover, left. Maybe you'll notice Ms. Deborah Sharp's name is getting bigger. It's on the whiskey bottle on the bar, right next to the beef jerky and my bouquet of classy calla lilies. All I can do is keep reminding everyone they're MY stories. She only writes them down. That's why Mama's name is as big as life in all the titles:

Mama Does Time (2008)
Mama Rides Shotgun (2009)
Mama Gets Hitched (July 1, 2010)
I'll be there next year, too: Mama Sees Stars (2011)

It doesn't say Deborah did any of those things, now does it?

''How can I get a copy?'' That's the first thing you probably want to know -- well, that and whether my fifth marriage will finally bring me wedded bliss.

I hear some early-birds are already getting the books they pre-ordered. You can go to your favorite bookstore, or you can order it off the Wide World of the Web. Those nice folks at Amazon can tell you all about it, if you click here for Ms. Author's Amazon Page.

You can even help support small business by buying Mama Gets Hitched from an Independent Bookstore, by clicking here.

I do love those Indies. After our little bookstore closed, Hair Today Dyed Tomorrow Beauty Parlor is the only place left in Himmarshee that carries my stories.

PS: Please help spread the word about my wedding ... just forward this eeee-letter to anyone you think might be interested in Mama (Frankly, y'all, I can't imagine a single person who wouldn't be!)

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Hey, there! Deborah here. I love to meet readers. I'll be doing several upcoming MAMA GETS HITCHED events. Women, don your most hideous bridesmaid frock. Men, dust off that pastel tux! See my website's Events page for details, or to find out if I'll visit near you.

Here are a few planned locations in 2010:

Murder on the Beach (Delray Beach, Fla)  July 16
Saturday Night Alive (Ft. Lauderdale Beach) July 17 Borders, East Sunrise Blvd (Ft. Lauderdale) Aug. 3
Vero Beach (Fla) Book Center Aug. 13
Killer Nashville Conference (Tenn) Aug. 20-22
Inkwood Books (Tampa, Fla) Aug. 26
Sanibel Island (Fla) Bookshop Nov. 26
Okeechobee (Fla) Public Library, Dec. 9

Thanks to Steve Bucci for the photo of me, right. It's from this year's Mystery Lovers Bookshop ''Festival of Mystery'' held each spring in Oakmont, Penn. Click here for more information about the famed Mystery Lovers store.

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I'm thrilled with early reviews for Mama Gets Hitched, like this one from Publishers Weekly:
Charming . . . Sibling rivalry, steamy romance, a surprising killer, and plenty of catfish and hush puppies make this Southern cozy a winner.

Charming it may be, but it wouldn't be a Mama book without a smackdown at a party.

In HITCHED, the slugfest takes place at Mama's shower. The frilly setting is already rife with conflict, since it's the last place on earth Mama's tomboyish daughter Mace wants to be. In Chapter 32, two guests topple a table, and wind up rolling on the floor in cake and this punch:

Ingredients
 2 quarts lime sherbet
 2 liters lemon-lime soda
1/2 large can pineapple juice
 1/2 large cranberry juice
2 lemons, thinly sliced
3 limes, thinly sliced
1 small jar maraschino cherries

Steps
1. Put quarts of sherbet into punch bowl
2. Add soda and juices
3. Decorate with sliced citrus and cherries
4. Avoid inviting guests who may start a catfight, knock over the cake, and smash the punch bowl

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Gals, this is for you, since we all know which sex is most likely to stray. My love train has derailed a time or two, which is why I know these sure-enough signs your man's a hound:
1. You find a cocktail napkin from Jugs & Jiggles with a lipstick kiss and a phone number for somebody named Cherry.
2. He forgets your birthday, your anniversary, and then your first name.
3. He bookmarks AdultFriendFinder.com on the home computer.
4. You hear him whispering into his cell phone behind the locked bathroom door at 2 a.m.
5. You return to your hotel on your Las Vegas honeymoon to find your groom naked with the cocktail waitress from Circus Circus. First-hand knowledge, hons, courtesy of Husband No. 2, that snake.

Anyhoo, I've found somebody rock solid in my Sal. Well, there was that little misunderstanding about the biker babe in black leather that made me call off the wedding in Chapter 25. Guess you'll just have to read Mama Gets Hitched to see how it all turns out.

Yours Truly,

Mama (Oh, all right ... and Author Deborah Sharp, too.)