AudioBook Review: Happy Any Day Now by Toby Devens

About Toby Devens

Born in Brooklyn, New York, I became a Broadway baby thanks to my "stage aunt" who was determined I'd have a career in show business. A pint sized, curly haired strawberry blond, I sang and acted on stage and TV (the money I made from sudsy soap opera roles helped pay my college tuition). But by twelve, like most other pre-teens, I just wanted to be one of the kids on the block. I also knew where my passion really lay, not in tap dancing before the camera, but in tapping words out on the keyboard. I wanted to, needed to, couldn't not, write. I started with my own fairy tales, went on to spin detective stories a la Nancy Drew, adapted Little Women as a one act play (and drafted my friends to act in it) and in high school wrote reams of poetry about young (sigh!) love.

At American University in Washington, D.C., I majored in English and became the first woman editor of AU's literary magazine, a historic moment in the shattering of glass ceilings. Or that's how I felt at nineteen. Drawn back to Manhattan, I earned a masters in English from New York University. And followed that—to my parents' utter astonishment—by actually supporting myself through writing, first as a restaurant reviewer (gaining fifteen pounds and a lifelong passion for béarnaise sauce) and theater critic for Where magazine, then as its New York editor, finally as a senior editor for Harcourt Brace publishers. Which is how I met my husband—interviewing him at a medical conference. He sent roses. I wrote more poetry.

In fact, my first book was a collection of prayer-poems published by Doubleday in hardcover and Avon (Harper Collins now) in paperback. Mercy, Lord, My Husband's in the Kitchen received glowing reviews from People magazine, the West Coast Review of Books, the New York Daily News and other publications. After my daughter was born, I wrote short fiction, poetry and articles for magazines such as Readers Digest, Parents, and McCall's.

As a young widow, I headed into the workforce full time as Sr. VP of Public Information for an international network of transplant banks. The job was fascinating and fulfilling. But writing fiction tugged at me with a gravity I couldn't resist. I had stories to tell about women's journeys, how they bonded, battled, survived and, usually, had the last laugh.

My first novel, My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet), was published in 2006. It follows divorced surgeon Gwyneth, widowed artist Kat, and never-married businesswoman Fleur, as they prove that strong women only get better (and get even!—the story has a soul-satisfying revenge scene) with age.

After Midlife Crisis was published, I resumed my regularly scheduled life, but this time with the addition of grandkids, whom I consider a reward for living long enough to not care about spilled milk (real and metaphorical). And of course, I continued writing. What a gift that’s been for me! When things get tough in the real world, I can escape to a world of my own making, with characters, plots and endings designed by me. Talk about control!

And now my new novel, Happy Any Day Now, is scheduled for publication (Penguin/NAL ) on August 6. It introduces Judith Soo Jin Raphael, the half Jewish, half Korean star of the story. We meet her as she approaches her fiftieth birthday with a troubled history, an unquenchable talent, and a doubtful future. She and a unique cast of characters—from her hilarious and wise Korean war-bride mother Grace, to her errant returning father, to a brace of interesting, imperfect men—are eager to entertain you with a story of love and loss, humor, heartbreak, and soaring, beautiful music.

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