Published: May 19, 2008 10:02 am            

BOOKS: Fiction writer Macomber coming to area

Selling more than 100 million books would probably change most people.

Debbie Macomber is not one of them.

The best-selling fiction writer will visit Western New York next week during a 20-city book-signing tour to promote her newest work, “Twenty Wishes.” Speaking by phone during a recent stop in Baltimore, the noted knitter had to excuse herself for a minute.

“Sorry,” she said after briefly speaking with someone else. “I had to get directions to a yarn store.”

Knitting and family bonds are but a few of the personal touches Macomber puts into her work, the essence of which has not changed much since she was first published in 1982. She’s since penned more than 100 titles and been a regular on the New York Times and USA Today best-seller lists.

Her newest book is about a group of widows who, after a Valentine’s Day get-together, decide to write down 20 things they’ve always wanted to do and set about doing them. The heroine, 38-year-old Anne Marie Roche, struggles to cope with her husband’s death nine months prior and the realization that she will probably never have children.

Just as in Macomber’s life — which saw her overcome dyslexia and five years of rejections from publishers before getting her shot — the book’s focus is on perseverance, she said.

“You can really see the healing process taking place with Anne Marie,” she said.

Macomber also stays true to herself in relating with fans, as she gives every attendee of her book-signings a personal gift and counts a list of more than 100,000 newsletter subscribers compiled entirely at subscribers’ requests. It was in meeting a fan, in fact, that the idea for “Twenty Wishes” was born.

“A reader came to get an autograph. She said she had 20 things she wanted to do, and meeting me was one of them,” said Macomber, recalling the woman holding a notebook that was used to keep track of her tasks. “It just inspired me. I thought it was a fantastic idea.”

To coincide with the release of “Twenty Wishes,” Macomber also just released the fifth installment of the “Knit Along with Debbie Macomber” series, featuring projects inspired by the novel. A knitting accessory line also was released, as was a journal so readers of the novel could collect their thoughts on the work.

Few authors could stitch together such a career as to get a knitting series released, but Macomber said it wasn’t easy getting to this point. She continues to write several books a year — “I have two house payments,” she said with a chuckle, “that’s all the inspiration I need to keep writing” — and encourages other aspiring authors to do the same.

“The best thing I could tell anyone who wants to be an author is write,” said Macomber, who also accented the importance of networking. “Editors are people. If you go to a conference, ask them out for a drink. Get yourself on their radar.”

Macomber and her husband visited Western New York several years during a cross-country trip they took for their 25th wedding anniversary. She counts Niagara Falls among her favorite local attractions.

“It was such a romantic thing to do. It was such a great time. We loved it,” said Macomber, who also gushed about a local retailer. “Is Wegmans not the most fabulous grocery store you’ve ever seen in your life? There are four rows of olives!”

With no signs of slowing down, Macomber looks forward to many more years of sharing stories from the heart.

“It took me 20 years to become an overnight success,” she said. “I really love what I do. It’s still an amazing thing every single time.”

Contact editor Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.



IF YOU GO

• WHAT: Book signing by author Debbie Macomber

• WHEN: 2 p.m. Thursday

• WHERE: Wegmans, 5275 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville

•••

• WHAT: Book signing by author Debbie Macomber

• WHEN: 12:30 p.m. Friday

• WHERE: Borders, 2015 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga

• MORE INFORMATION: Visit debbiemacomber.com

        

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