Maddy Hunter - Norway to Hide

My Scandinavian adventure was another of those proverbial trips of a lifetime that was made more memorable by the group of strangers who quickly became family for two weeks. I offer special thanks to the following people:

Tom and Ellen Simmonds, for keeping us constantly entertained and laughing.

Dan and Patti Krueger, for voluntarily hanging out with me so much.

Dave and Jan Bastin, for their friendship and thought-provoking conversations. Im particularly grateful to Dave for sharing his photographic expertise and for sending me his great travel DVDs. I might never have to take another trip!

Sharon Gasser, Elaine Snyder, and Marge Bournethe other three members of the Fearsome Foursomewho made the trip so much fun. I could never ask for more delightful traveling companions. I love you guys!

Thanks also to Irene Goodman and Micki Nuding, who dont accompany me on my trips, but who make sure that my adventures end up on the bookstore shelf.

Lastly, thanks to my wonderful fans who have taken the time to contact me through my website to tell me how much they enjoy traveling with Emily, Nana, and the gang. Each one of your emails puts a smile on my face. You know who you are, and youre the best!

H i, everyone. Im Jackie Thum; I live in Binghamton, New York, and Im a published author!

We were seated at tables in our Helsinki hotels overflow dining room, rising one at a time to introduce ourselves to the other tour guests who were part of our seventeen-day Midnight Sun Adventure. An open bar had loosened tongues and encouraged some guests to provide every detail of their lives from the day theyd left the womb, but Jackie hadnt wasted time with that. Shed skipped over her annulled marriage to me and subsequent gender reassignment surgery to focus on the most important thing in her life right now: her new career as a romance novelist.

Heres my baby. She held up a hardback novel with a bubble gum pink jacket, clutching it with fingernails painted the same color. Its only been out for two weeks, so I dont imagine any of you have bought it yet, but if youd like to read it, I packed a few extra copies that Id be happy to hand out.

The room exploded with applause that elevated Jackie to instantaneous celebrity status. Oh, God . I hung my head. Shed be impossible to live with for the next two weeks.

Ive never met a real author, a big-boned lady wearing too much sparkly face powder called out when the applause died down.

Jackie flung her mane of shiny chestnut hair over her shoulder and smiled with the white-toothed poise of a former Miss Texas. Ill let you in on a little secret: we authors paint our toenails one at a time, just like everyone else.

Whats your book about? asked a bejeweled woman whod introduced herself as Portia Van Cleef from Florida.

Thats so sweet of you to ask! All six feet of Jackie tittered with excitement. Ill read you the inside cover flap. Pretty Little Secrets is the passionate story of Emma Anderson, an aspiring actress whose lust for fame is only surpassed by her lust for a man whose secrets

Excuse me, Ms. Thum, our tour director interrupted. Annika Mattsson was a tall, multilingual Swede who reminded me of Olive Oyl with a Dutch boy haircut. Since dinner is scheduled to be served in a few minutes, perhaps you could arrange to discuss your book later? We still have a few introductions left.