There is not a lot I can say about our wonderful guest today that someone else hasn’t already said and said better. JoAnn Ross is a master storyteller, an incredible talent and a really great person to have as a friend. JoAnn’s latest release, FREEFALL hit the shelves last week and is already on the way to becoming a blockbuster bestseller. I am so thrilled to have her join us in the convertible. Please welcome JoAnn Ross. And don’t be shy. JoAnn loves to ‘chat’ with her readers. And now, here's JoAnn ...... So, anyone read any good tabloids lately? For those of you who’ve been too busy living your own lives, here’s a bit of celebrity news. And since I’d hate to put a pall over Valentine’s Day week, I’m sticking with positive stuff. . .
Posh Spice celebrated her son Cruz’s third birthday at FAO Schwarz in New York City. Among his birthday gifts were a gumball machine, filled with sugar-free gumballs.
Kate Walsh, formerly of Grey’s Anatomy and star of Private Practice, tested out her now husband by having him meet the dog she’d adopted from an L.A. shelter. Fortunately, Lucy the Dog welcomed him with open paws.
Supermodel Bridget Moynahan, the ex of New England Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady, didn’t have any morning sickness or gain any weight while she was pregnant with Tom’s son. (Okay. Heck with feeling the V-Day love, let’s all pause a moment to hate her.)
And speaking of babies, Matthew McConaughey -- who lives in two tricked-out Airstream trailers in Malibu -- and his girlfriend are expecting. He says they’re “stoked and wowed.”
These are all happy news stories that the celebs wanted out. But there’s obviously a downside to fame too, because if you're in the public spotlight, your life is pretty much open season for anyone with a long lens on their Nikon. Or even, these days, the camera on a cell phone. (And let’s not even get into those mug shot photos, which, lets face it, even the most high-minded of us sort of get a guilty kick out of.)
Although we obviously want lots of people to buy our books, most of the writers I know are, by nature, very private people. One of the cool things about my job is that I can go just about anywhere without being recognized. (Okay, there is the fact that I occasionally have to sign information sheets at doctors' and dentists' offices, which means, if I don't floss, my dentist's hygienist can tell on me to other patients.) But, mostly, I can slip under the radar.
So, in the interest of full disclosure, here are ten things I suspect most readers don't know about me:
1) My first job, when I was three years old, was in a roller skating follies. My mother was a chorus line skater (sort of a Rockette on wheels), and since dependable day care was hard to come by in those days, I was made a member of the troop. My pay, a hot fudge sundae and a weekly movie matinee, seemed extraordinarily generous at the time.
2) My early years were spent in a bungalow on Santa Monica Beach, with bulked up bodybuilders from L.A.'s Muscle Beach as babysitters.
3) While still in grammar school, I wrote melodramas, casting my sisters and neighborhood kids in the roles; tickets cost a dime and since I was a prolific writer, box office receipts paid for my first bike.
4) After my mother remarried, I moved to the remote ranching country of Southern Oregon. Because the Cascade Mountains blocked television signals, people were forced to find other ways to amuse themselves. When I was ten-years-old, I led a group of kids to an abandoned cattle slaughter house and convinced them that the blood spattered all over the floor and walls was from murdered Girl Scouts.
5) While in high school, I interviewed local “celebrities” on a weekly afternoon television news/talk show.
6) I worked as a magician's assistant. (And no, I will not reveal how I was cut in half.)
7) I played folk piano in coffee houses, still believe Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind is one of the best songs ever written, but hope never to hear Puff the Magic Dragon again!
8) I married my high school sweetheart. Twice.
9) I have skydived over the Arizona desert.
10) I dearly hope editors never discover that I'd write for chocolate.
So, that's my semi-private stuff. What thing about you would your friends and neighbors be surprised to discover? And to encourage people to share, lucky respondents, chosen at random, will receive an autographed book of their choice from my backlist, along with assorted bookmarks, covers, and a Freefall special dark chocolate bar. They’ll also be entered in a drawing for a traditional South Carolina sea grass basket filled with scrumptious Lowcountry treats. The winners of the baskets will be announced on my website, http://www.joannross.com March 1.
