Guest Blog by Author MARY JANE CLARK

[becke_davis]

[eadieburke]

Welcome Mary Jane I have about 6 of your books in my TBR pile. I will definitely have to move them to the top of the pile! Loved reading your blog! Are there any other wedding services that you had to brush up on in order to write your books?

[becke_davis]

Let's help Mary Jane celebrate her release date by posting more wedding cake images here!

(Well, and you could buy a copy of her book! No pressure...)

The Look of Love (Wedding Cake Mystery Series #2)  

To Have and to Kill (Wedding Cake Mystery Series #1)  

[becke_davis]

As a special treat, here's a sneak peek at THE LOOK OF LOVE:

 ProLoGUe

She often walked from room to room, pretending the place was hers. This fantasy never failed to help her get through the hours of dusting, scrubbing, and vacuuming. Esperanza imagined what it would feel like to own a huge, beautiful house like this instead of being the woman hired to clean it once a week.

As she returned the broom to the kitchen closet, she told herself that this was as good as any housekeeping job could be. The owner was very neat and spent most of her time at work or with her fiancé. Some weeks Esperanza could tell by the perfectly plumped pillows and the lack of footprints on the carpet that Jillian Abernathy had never even entered a room since the last time it had been cleaned.

Still, dust accumulated, silver tarnished, and windows got dirty. Esperanza kept on top of every chore and prided herself on the fact that Jillian had never left a note about something that had been missed or reminding Esperanza of a task left undone. She tried to see it all through Jillian’s eyes and anticipate the way Jillian would want things. She did everything she could think of to satisfy Jillian.

How she wished she were Jillian.

Though Esperanza was born in the United States, her parents had been illegal Mexican immigrants. Her father had been a day laborer with landscapers and contractors. Her mother did housework herself.

But Esperanza longed to live the real American dream. How fabulous to be beautiful and rich, to have a father who operated on the faces of other wealthy people and owned one of the most luxurious spas in America, to have a handsome fiancé who was also a doctor. It would be amazing to live and work every day in lush surroundings, wear designer clothes, and have your employees bend over backward to please you. It would be fantastic not to have to clean other people’s toi­lets. Esperanza went to the dining room and began straight­ening the boxes stacked in the corners and accumulated on the table and sideboard, packages representing stores she had seen only from the outside when she got up the nerve to walk along Rodeo Drive. She peeked at the wedding gifts she recognized as new arrivals since last week: sterling-silver flatware and crystal glasses from Tiffany’s, bed linens from Frette, a Lladró figurine, Hermès towels.

She was momentarily startled as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that hung over the sideboard. Espe­ranza still wasn’t used to seeing herself as a blonde. Though the box of hair color she’d purchased at the drugstore hadn’t transformed her jet-black hair into the various golden shades of Jillian’s, it was close enough.

Satisfied that all was in order, Esperanza hurried down the hall. She liked doing Jillian’s room last. It was her reward, the high point of her workday. Sometimes Jillian left a shop­ping bag for her on the bed containing a barely worn pair of shoes or a seemingly brand-new purse she didn’t want any­more. But today there was nothing.

Esperanza shrugged as she headed to her favorite spot in the house: Jillian’s walk-in closet. She opened the double doors, looked inside, and gasped. Hanging from the middle of the ceiling was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. As she reached out to gently touch the frothy white taffeta ruffles cascading down the A-line skirt, the thought crossed her mind.

Unable to resist, Esperanza peeled off her clothes and carefully took the gown from the satin-padded hanger. She stepped into the dress and pulled it up over her body. She was a bit bustier than Jillian, and her breasts strained against the sweetheart neckline. Other than that, the dress fit her almost perfectly.

She spied a pair of white silk-and-lace high heels perched on the shelf. Taking them down, she slipped them on her feet. She was preening and admiring herself in the full-length mirror when she heard the buzzer. Esperanza gath­ered up the skirt of the gown and hurried to the intercom.

It was a messenger delivering another wedding gift.

“Just a minute,” she said. “I’ll be right there.”

She kicked off the shoes, then took off the dress and me­ticulously laid it out on the bed. Pulling a robe from the hook on the closet door, she wrapped it around herself and hurried down the hall. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was re­lieved it was only a messenger. What if it had been Jillian? What if she’d been caught?

Reaching the foyer, Esperanza was thinking of how quickly she wanted to get back to Jillian’s bedroom and re­store everything to the way it was. As she opened the front door, she caught only a glimpse of dark sunglasses and a blue cap before the burning liquid hit her face and she began to scream in agony. 

[becke_davis]

[becke_davis]

Wedding cake toppers:

[becke_davis]

More - I can't believe anyone would actually use some of these!

[becke_davis]

I had no idea there were so many choices!

[becke_davis]

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

[Fricka]

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becke_davis wrote:

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

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Ditto!

If Mary Jane happens to peek in here, I just want to add that, after having read her blog and the information on her books, I now have two of her books, To Have and To Kill, and The Look of Love, that I'm currently reading. Once again, this forum has got me introduced to a new writer(new to me, that is).

Hurrah!

P.S. Mary Jane happens to be my  Christian name too, although I use a pseudonym here in the forum.

[becke_davis]

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Fricka wrote:

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becke_davis wrote:

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

---

Ditto!

If Mary Jane happens to peek in here, I just want to add that, after having read her blog and the information on her books, I now have two of her books, To Have and To Kill, and The Look of Love, that I'm currently reading. Once again, this forum has got me introduced to a new writer(new to me, that is).

Hurrah!

P.S. Mary Jane happens to be my  Christian name too, although I use a pseudonym here in the forum.

---

Oh no - I have so many friends named Mary (and combinations thereof) that I lose track sometimes! I was out with my friend Mary Lou the other day and realized later at one point I called her Mary Jo (another friend's name). 

I have so many friends with variations of Mary, Pat, Emily and Carrie, it gets confusing at times!

[Fricka]

Yeah, I had that problem all through school, becke. When I was in Eighth grade, there were FOUR of us who had the first name of Mary, so that is when I started being called " Mary Jane"; I remember also in college one time I was in a class with a Mary Jo and a Rosemary, and it was a small class, so our Professor was always getting us mixed up! Anyway, you can always call me "Fricka," becke, so as to not get me confused with all the other Marys in your life!

[becke_davis]

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Fricka wrote:

Yeah, I had that problem all through school, becke. When I was in Eighth grade, there were FOUR of us who had the first name of Mary, so that is when I started being called " Mary Jane"; I remember also in college one time I was in a class with a Mary Jo and a Rosemary, and it was a small class, so our Professor was always getting us mixed up! Anyway, you can always call me "Fricka," becke, so as to not get me confused with all the other Marys in your life!

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Well, I knew "Fricka" wasn't your real name! ;-)

Oddly enough, even though "Becky" wasn't a common name as I was growing up, there were three of us with the same name and we were often in the same classes. When we were freshmen in high school, we had so many classes together it started to get confusing. Two of us changed our spellings - one to Becci and I went with "Becke." I was 15 then, and I've kept this spelling ever since. "Becci" and I are still in touch, but she went back to "Becky" years ago. Lost touch with the third Becky when she moved away, unfortunately.

[eadieburke]

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becke_davis wrote:

---

Fricka wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

---

Ditto!

If Mary Jane happens to peek in here, I just want to add that, after having read her blog and the information on her books, I now have two of her books, To Have and To Kill, and The Look of Love, that I'm currently reading. Once again, this forum has got me introduced to a new writer(new to me, that is).

Hurrah!

P.S. Mary Jane happens to be my  Christian name too, although I use a pseudonym here in the forum.

---

Oh no - I have so many friends named Mary (and combinations thereof) that I lose track sometimes! I was out with my friend Mary Lou the other day and realized later at one point I called her Mary Jo (another friend's name). 

I have so many friends with variations of Mary, Pat, Emily and Carrie, it gets confusing at times!

---

Well, guess what! My real name is Mary Edith - LOL!

[becke_davis]

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eadieburke wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

---

Fricka wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

---

Ditto!

If Mary Jane happens to peek in here, I just want to add that, after having read her blog and the information on her books, I now have two of her books, To Have and To Kill, and The Look of Love, that I'm currently reading. Once again, this forum has got me introduced to a new writer(new to me, that is).

Hurrah!

P.S. Mary Jane happens to be my  Christian name too, although I use a pseudonym here in the forum.

---

Oh no - I have so many friends named Mary (and combinations thereof) that I lose track sometimes! I was out with my friend Mary Lou the other day and realized later at one point I called her Mary Jo (another friend's name). 

I have so many friends with variations of Mary, Pat, Emily and Carrie, it gets confusing at times!

---

Well, guess what! My real name is Mary Edith - LOL!

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You're kidding! Did I ever mention my grandmother's name was Edith?

[eadieburke]

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becke_davis wrote:

---

eadieburke wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

---

Fricka wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

---

Ditto!

If Mary Jane happens to peek in here, I just want to add that, after having read her blog and the information on her books, I now have two of her books, To Have and To Kill, and The Look of Love, that I'm currently reading. Once again, this forum has got me introduced to a new writer(new to me, that is).

Hurrah!

P.S. Mary Jane happens to be my  Christian name too, although I use a pseudonym here in the forum.

---

Oh no - I have so many friends named Mary (and combinations thereof) that I lose track sometimes! I was out with my friend Mary Lou the other day and realized later at one point I called her Mary Jo (another friend's name). 

I have so many friends with variations of Mary, Pat, Emily and Carrie, it gets confusing at times!

---

Well, guess what! My real name is Mary Edith - LOL!

---

You're kidding! Did I ever mention my grandmother's name was Edith?

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I think you did! Sounds familiar but I didn't remember until you mentioned it just now!

[Fricka]

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eadieburke wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

---

Fricka wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

---

Ditto!

If Mary Jane happens to peek in here, I just want to add that, after having read her blog and the information on her books, I now have two of her books, To Have and To Kill, and The Look of Love, that I'm currently reading. Once again, this forum has got me introduced to a new writer(new to me, that is).

Hurrah!

P.S. Mary Jane happens to be my  Christian name too, although I use a pseudonym here in the forum.

---

Oh no - I have so many friends named Mary (and combinations thereof) that I lose track sometimes! I was out with my friend Mary Lou the other day and realized later at one point I called her Mary Jo (another friend's name). 

I have so many friends with variations of Mary, Pat, Emily and Carrie, it gets confusing at times!

---

Well, guess what! My real name is Mary Edith - LOL!

---

Oh, that is so funny, Eadie! Welcome to the " Mary" club! Hee Hee!

becke, that's interesting that there were three of you Becky's and that several of you changed the spelling to maintain a way to keep track of who was whom. Also, if you had been christened Rebecca, you could have used nicknames like "Reba, or " Rebbie" as well. Guess it's a good thing that you and your friends weren't together during the heyday of David Beckham, or you might have ended up with monikers like "Becks" or "Beck". Heh, heh. Anyway, I meant to write about your grandmother's name being Edith, " It's a small world," viz a viz names.

[becke_davis]

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Fricka wrote:

---

eadieburke wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

---

Fricka wrote:

---

becke_davis wrote:

Thanks for a great blog, Mary Jane!

---

Ditto!

If Mary Jane happens to peek in here, I just want to add that, after having read her blog and the information on her books, I now have two of her books, To Have and To Kill, and The Look of Love, that I'm currently reading. Once again, this forum has got me introduced to a new writer(new to me, that is).

Hurrah!

P.S. Mary Jane happens to be my  Christian name too, although I use a pseudonym here in the forum.

---

Oh no - I have so many friends named Mary (and combinations thereof) that I lose track sometimes! I was out with my friend Mary Lou the other day and realized later at one point I called her Mary Jo (another friend's name). 

I have so many friends with variations of Mary, Pat, Emily and Carrie, it gets confusing at times!

---

Well, guess what! My real name is Mary Edith - LOL!

---

Oh, that is so funny, Eadie! Welcome to the " Mary" club! Hee Hee!

becke, that's interesting that there were three of you Becky's and that several of you changed the spelling to maintain a way to keep track of who was whom. Also, if you had been christened Rebecca, you could have used nicknames like "Reba, or " Rebbie" as well. Guess it's a good thing that you and your friends weren't together during the heyday of David Beckham, or you might have ended up with monikers like "Becks" or "Beck". Heh, heh. Anyway, I meant to write about your grandmother's name being Edith, " It's a small world," viz a viz names.

---

Actually, all of those are sort of true. My real name IS Rebecca (honest to God, I was named after Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin) and when I lived in England a lot of people called me that.

My husband and family mostly call me Bec, although sometimes my sisters call me Becca. 

I pretty much answer to anything! (Oh, and while a lot of people do call me Bec, I pronounce "Becke" like Bette Davis rather than Bette Midler.)

[becke_davis]

And now that we've hijacked Mary Jane's thread, let's plug her books again:

The Look of Love (Wedding Cake Mystery Series #2) 

To Have and to Kill (Wedding Cake Mystery Series #1) 

Dying for Mercy (KEY News Series #10) 

It Only Takes a Moment (Sunrise Suspense Society Series #2) 

Lights Out Tonight (KEY News Series #9) 

Hide Yourself Away (KEY News Series #7) 

When Day Breaks (Sunrise Suspense Society Series #1) 

Dancing in the Dark (KEY News Series #8) 

Let Me Whisper in Your Ear (KEY News Series #3) 

Close to You (KEY News Series #4) 

Hide Yourself Away (KEY News Series #7) 

Nobody Knows (KEY News Series #5)