Another book contract!

I admit I'm not very good at building suspense, which explains why I'm not a fiction writer. Yes, the title pretty much spills the beans. I signed another book contract. The Ecofrugal Handbook will be published in the fall of 2012. It takes the core beliefs behind Homegrown and Handmade and brings the concepts to an even larger audience. Even if you don't want to grow your own food, you can make inexpensive, ecofriendly decisions daily.

Being a stay-at-home mom when my children were young, I was always looking for ways to save money and was a big fan of the Cheapskate Gazette books back in the early 1990s. Even though I've only been making soap for eight years, I was using baking soda as a facial exfoliant shortly after reading Don't Go To the Cosmetic Counter Without Me when it was only in its fourth edition. (It's now in its eight edition.) I also have all sorts of books on making your own cleaning products. In fact, one of the things that sold this idea to my publisher is that a lot of authors have made this way too complicated! You don't need 300 pages to give someone a couple hundred recipes for cleaning their house! Between baking soda and vinegar, you've pretty much got the bases covered when it comes to cleaning. Throw in a little hydrogen peroxide for blood stains, and you're good to go. And even though I loved Don't Go To the Cosmetic Counter Without Me, you really don't need 1,000 pages of advice on skin and hair care. The whole point of The Ecofrugal Handbook is that it does not have to be time-consuming or complicated or expensive to do things that are healthy, inexpensive, and ecofriendly.

I'm really looking forward to writing this book because it's always been a passion of mine to help people save money while making healthier choices. The book will cover ecofrugal choices for all sorts of things from educating yourself to planning your child's birthday party. And I'll definitely be asking all of you for ideas along the way.

One of the things I learned in writing my last book is that although I could write a book in three months, it's not something I really want to do again. So, the deadline for The Ecofrugal Handbook is January 15, which gives me time to do some gardening and cheesemaking this summer, as well as book signings and speaking engagements in the fall when Homegrown and Handmade comes out.