The only thing more confusing to me than the world of publishing is algebra. I think that my second book is being released today? Be Happy or I'll Scream! is the title. It follows a yearlong experiment that I launched on my husband and children. (Well, mostly on my husband. The kids would follow me anywhere for a bag of M&M's.)

The bottom line: I just woke up one day and thought, isn't there more to life than work, laundry, grocery shopping, and putting away toys? What happened to the romance? The thrills? The fun? Time was racing by so fast and it felt like all we had to show for it was piles of unfolded clothes and a garage full of junk. So after much thought and analysis, I decided that we needed to transform our lives and become more like a happy, adventurous, wacky sitcom family. The experiment itself lasted just over a year, and the book took about nine months to write. And here it is -- maybe. Or maybe not till next week. Or, possibly it came out three days ago. Only the publisher knows.

Writing is the most pleasant form of torture that I can imagine. I've been taking a long break since finishing Be Happy or I'll Scream!. While it's nice not to have a deadline hanging over me, I miss writing. I think that once Caramia starts school, I'll be able to start another project.

I've had a lot of e-mail asking, how do you write a book? How do you get it published? I wish I knew the answer to either of those questions. If I did, I could write about that and be all but guaranteed a bestseller. Here's what I do know -- or at least, here's what works for me: don't write a book; write a sentence. Then another one, and another, and so on. And make an outline first, so that you don't wander off and get lost in the fog. As for publishing your finished work, should you really trust the advice of someone who can't even figure out her own release date? You're probably better off asking the Magic 8 Ball...