Friday, July 12, 2013

Read a Guest Post from Debby Mayne's "Pretty Is As Pretty Does"


Priscilla Slater goes to her ten-year high school reunion with equal parts dread and eager anticipation. Even though she s a successful owner of a chain of hair salons and no longer has the mousy brown hair, crooked teeth, and discount-store wardrobe, she still feels like the ugly duckling. But when she arrives at the reunion, Priscilla soon realizes that her old classmates aren t exactly as she remembers them. With humor and a just a touch of sassiness, Priscilla finds herself facing her own truth and she may be surprised at what she discovers.


Here's What Debby Has To Say!

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What You Think You Want…

…Might not be what you should have. That's what I kept trying to tell the characters as I wrote the Class Reunion series. All the folks who returned to Piney Point to see their former classmates seemed to want something. The problem I saw was that there were other things that would have been better for them.

For example, Priscilla wants to make her mother happy, but she isn't willing to do what it will take. My thought is to pick one and stick with it—either go back to college and become a college professor to please your mother, or continue on the path of growing the chain of Cut 'n Curl hair salons and stop trying to convince your mother it's the right thing. She isn't likely to come around, so why continue being frustrated?

Tim wants Priscilla, even though he has other women falling at his feet. She's obviously too busy to nurture a relationship, so why doesn't he move on and get over her? I'm just glad that Priscilla is open and honest with him from the beginning.

Laura wants Pete to stop drinking, but she continues enabling him. With four young'uns, she'd have a difficult time making it without him and his regular paycheck, which fortunately he continues to bring home. Besides, she really loves him. Should she give him an ultimatum? If so, she'd have to be willing to lose him if he chooses the booze over her.

Trudy wants to make Michael regret leaving her,so she is willing to starve herself and pretend to be more successful than she actually is. However, there are two problems: First, she's looking at success all wrong, and second, Michael isn't worth the effort.

Celeste wants to make people pay for how miserable she is. However, after Priscilla finishes making her over, Celeste needs to let go of the misery and enjoy her newfound beauty. Is it possible for the ugly duckling to embrace being a lovely swan?

I think all of us have experienced wanting something we don't need or shouldn't have. I used to think I wanted a bigger house, but when I had one, it didn't make me happy. It actually became an albatross. Is there anything you thought you wanted but later discovered it wasn't right for you?

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Debby MayneABOUT DEBBY MAYNE

Debby Mayne has published more than 30 books and novellas, 400 print short stories and articles, more than 1,000 web articles, and a slew of devotions for women. She has also worked as managing editor of a national health magazine, product information writer for HSN, a creative writing instructor for Long Ridge Writers Group, and a copy editor and proofreader for several book publishers. For the past eight years, she has judged the Writers Digest Annual Competition, Short-Short Contest, and Self-Published Book Competition. Three of Debby’s books have been top ten favorites by the Heartsong Presents book club. Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida received 4-1/2 stars fromRomantic Times Magazine, and was named a Top Pick for the month of July 2009.


You can visit Debby Mayne’s website at www.debbymayne.com.

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