Are All Women Reading THAT Book?

By June Shaw Okay, y’all, don’t pretend you don’t know which book I’m talking about. You gals are probably reading the third book in the series by now—although the second one is at the top of Amazon’s Bestsellers list today. The third book comes in second, and book one has dropped to spot number three. Everywhere I go, I hear women of all ages telling someone she’s reading. And when I ask if that book starts with a number, she says yes. I recently heard of women reading it twice. I asked one such woman why. Without pause, she said, “Because the story’s so good.” Really? I missed that part. Of course that’s just like when I attended a writers’ meeting in New Orleans last month, and one man said his wife just finished reading it. We teased him of course. He grinned and said his wife told him the author used “muttered” too much. Good grief. I really cannot believe anyone saw “muttered” in that book. And guys, if the woman in your life isn’t reading it yet, you’re probably going to dash out and get it for her. I wasn’t going to read it. How could anyone read that stuff? I just started the second one. Research: ) So if everyone is reading THOSE BOOKS, can anyone be buying and reading our mysteries? I sure hope so. My humorous mystery series features a spunky widow who “thinks” she wants to avoid her hunky lover so she can rediscover herself. But he opens Cajun restaurants wherever she travels—and she is so bad at avoiding tempting dishes and men. I have been a firm believer that romance is a big part of our lives—even in the middle of a funny murder mystery. I’m just saying.