Happy Birthday Reagan Rothe, Kylee Joy Clarke and, oh yeah, Finding Jimmy Moran!

Today is my publisher’s birthday. I cannot begin to guess how old he is, he looks like a kid. I mean that as a compliment. He’s a lucky bastard. Good looking. I was born old looking and kind of rough. It took me 66 years to catch up to this face. So, Happy Birthday Reagan Rothe!

I’m very thankful that at some point in the past, on this date, Reagan’s mother gave birth to the boy who grew into the founder of Black Rose Publishing. Because Reagan was kind enough a few years back to take a chance on this old dog and publish The Wise Ass. Since that time, he has gone on to publish the rest of The Claire Trilogy – An Alien Appeal and Kissing My Ass Goodbye. I am forever in his debt.

Today Reagan publishes Finding Jimmy Moran, the prequel to TCT. I am honored that he chose to share his special day with me in this fashion. Thank you Reagan. Truly an honor.

My birthday wish for you Reagan, is a long life full of health and happiness, and that Finding Jimmy Moran sells millions of BRW published copies. Of course, that would also mean that TCT would do equally well so its a win-win all the way across the board.

Another birthday that falls on this date is of a young ER Nurse named Kylee Joy Clarke. She is the oldest daughter of one of my dear Twitterverse friends Renee Clarke. When Renee mentioned this fact, I thought it would be worth commemorating, as youth is one more wonderful thing to celebrate on such a wonderful day. So happy birthday Kylee Joy. And thank you so much for your first responder service to humanity. May your life be long, healthy, happy and full of love.

Last, but not least, I am thrilled to announce that today, BRW has officially given birth to FJM.

To commemorate this event, Claire has offered to join in the “eyes” photo challenge.

I’m working on gathering the collection of fur family and friends who have also contibuted but I am having some technical difficulties getting those photos to load. Stay tuned.

Now the wonderful thing is that I’ve managed to work Claire into the prequel. And while she may not have been around to guide Jimmy McCarthy during his formative years, and boy, could he have used her, she never leaves Jimmy Moran’s side. Just like Claire never leaves mine. You’ll just have to read it to figure that out.

But read TCT first, I know this sounds counterintuitive, but trust me, you’ll really want to fully understand and appreciate the Claire-Jimmy relationship before you start to try and figure out what it was that made Jimmy into the mobster lawyer you meet in TCT who becomes Claire’s best friend.

And I want to take a moment to publically thank everyone who had their hand in helping me get FJM to the finish line. And all of those that got TCT here as well.

I’ve listed you all in the acknowledgments. But know that I love you all.

Thank you Veronica, Eddie, Bernie and John for not killing me during our youth. You always had my back. I love you all.

Thank you Celtic ancestors, especially Bridey Burke and Spaghetti McCaffrey. You gave me my Irish magic and strength. And the Blarney.

I could never have gotten here without all of the wonderful friends that shared their lives with me during our formative years. Some of that may have shown up in this book. Some will always stay just between us. So thank you all, you know who you are.

And for all the rest of you Riverdalians, past and present, FJM may never win a Pulitzer, but I hope it puts our special part of the Bronx on the map. Thank you all for being a part of it. I hope you enjoy it.

It’s good for a few laughs.

And thank you Lisa for knowing all of this about me and marrying me anyway. Love you.

So, let me get my day started because I really need the distraction.

First, a kitty to cuddle, rounds to make and the dreadmill.

And thank you, my fine, five readers. I so appreciate you tuning in here every day.

You rock!

It’s nice to know that my messages in a bottle get read by someone.

Now get out there and tell all your friends about my book. Claire need a couple of new pairs of shoes.

And, don’t forget – make today a great one.