Nantucket Part 1

One of the perks of being "personal assistant to the star" is traveling. Yesterday, Lisa and I went to Nantucket for the day on a fact finding mission. Her next book is about autism and takes place on Nantucket.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful January day! We took the high speed ferry which landed us in Nantucket in 1hour.

One of the places we wanted to see was the church tower at the Congregational church that offers tours in the summer. We hadn't gotten a hold of anyone there, but we were hopeful to find someone in the office. We looked up, found the highest church tower and headed for it. Standing to the side of the plaque, we confirmed it said "congregational". The nice lady in the office said she would be happy to give us a tour at 12:30. We went off and came back. The minister, himself, came to give us the tour. He was extremely nice and told us he was there for 2 years having come from Boston. He unlocked the tower door and we started climbing.

Hmmm, very steep steps, ducking under bars, safety hazards everywhere......could this be the wrong tower?

We got to see the very old bell....

and the view was beautiful....

but we realized that we were in the "wrong" church. We were in the Second Congregational church, not the First Congregational church. Ooops!

Hopefully Lisa can work this church into the story because it was beautiful and David the Minister was so nice and very helpful! They are in the process of remodeling the church, one word: gorgeous!

The inside ceiling and background are painted with the technique trompe l'oeil which basically tricks the eye into thinking that there are different levels in the painting. The wall was flat, trust me, I touched it.

Here is what the church looks like from the outside!

On a side note, I knew it would be cold yesterday and decided to wear my Sketcher furry black shoes mostly for the warmth factor. I FORGOT  that they were technically "shape ups". We walked all over the place yesterday on and off cobblestones and climbed that huge tower. Today, my legs are killing me. Damn shoes, I guess they do actually work.

More tomorrow.....

My Friend Lisa

I have a friend named Lisa.

She is "wicked smaht" (that's how we say it in Boston) and is a Dr. of neuroscience.

She is also very down to earth and is just like many of us multi-tasking moms.

I also nanny for this friend Lisa's children.

This friend Lisa, happens to be a famous author. She has been launched into mega stardom in the past 2 years from her first book, Still Alice.

Lisa's second book, Left Neglected was released on Tuesday. It has already created so much buzz that it should hit the NYTimes best seller list by next week. Lisa's website for the book and her calendar of events is located here and she has started a blog to write about her book tour that will bring her around the country and to Australia (in May!).

The book is phenomenal! What was really cool, was watching her craft it along the way and having her print me out a chapter as she finished one. We were whooping and hollering when these two quotes came in one day this fall.....

"The journey Lisa Genova takes us on in LEFT NEGLECTED is a personal one, for any woman who's ever had to make a business call while driving to day care, or who finishes a full day's work at a high-powered job only to start the second shift as a mom: sometimes, we literally need a shock to the system to remember what matters the most in life. Remember how you couldn't put down STILL ALICE? Well, clear your schedule - because you're going to feel the same way."

--Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author of HOUSE RULES and SING YOU HOME

“Lisa Genova is the Michael Crichton of brain science. What she proved with STILL ALICE, she proves again with LEFT NEGLECTED. This is huge, powerful human drama at its elegant best."

--Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

Right? Who gets quotes from Jodi Picoult and compared to Michael Crichton?! Yup, my friend Lisa, that's who.

She has graciously given me two audio books to give away. I'll even have her sign them for you. All you have to do to enter is comment here by the end of the day Thursday, January 13th. You can get an extra entry if you "follow" her book tour blog, just leave me another comment saying that you did! 

For you Boston followers, Lisa will be at Barnes and Noble in Framingham tonight at 7 and at Borders (Boyalston ST) tomorrow at 2. Oh, did I tell you that if you walk into any Borders for the month of January, you will bump right into Lisa's book because it is the BOOK OF THE MONTH!