"How to Have a Perfect Life" is something everyone would
love to be able to enjoy. Certainly Maddy and her best
friends from college, Amy and Christine, can agree on that.
However, the three women are shocked and a bit annoyed to
recognize themselves as the unnamed examples in a new book
by a former classmate. Especially since they remember that
the author, Miss Perfect Jane, disappeared from their lives
years ago and they defensively protest that they are all
really happy.
Upon closer inspection and friendly reflection, they find
that perhaps there is something missing in each of their
lives. When Amy and Christine are verbally challenging each
other to conquer their fears, Maddy suggests that the two
of them make a pact to achieve their goals. Unfortunately,
Maddy's friends have decided she's part of this chance for
change. To meet her goals for a perfect life, Maddy, the
artist, must agree to get back into touch with her gift,
and she also must take her artwork to a gallery and see
about having it shown. Like the three musketeers, Maddy,
Amy and Christine are off to do the impossible.
Maddy accepts a job working as the art director at a summer
camp for kids near Santa Fe, New Mexico. This seems like a
win-win situation because Santa Fe is the hot spot where an
artist's dreams to be discovered can become real. The job
is also in a spot of beautiful countryside that's just what
Maddy's muse needs to wake up and begin creating. However,
life is never that easy. It just so happens the camp is
owned by Mama Frazier, her former high school boyfriend's
crafty mother. To make matters worse, she's going to be
working directly for Joe. To her surprise, Maddy finds that
she's even more attracted to him now than she was before.
The fireworks begin the moment Maddy sets her foot down in
the parking lot. Even after all these years, Joe has never
forgiven Maddy for refusing his marriage proposal before he
went to boot camp. Maddy can remember all to well the bad
boy who tried to rope her into marriage before the ink on
their high school diplomas was dry. Maddy and Joe have
never gotten over each other. Mama's word may be law, but
Joe has a plan of his own. He encourages Maddy to paint
again, and offers to show her around the Santa Fe
galleries. After all, the sooner Maddy gets swept up and
out of his camp, the sooner he can stop dealing with the
dual feelings of anger and love. Yet life, love and Mama
Frasier have other plans...
Ortolon breathes a breath of fresh air into the world of
romance with her dual paintbrushes of talent and humor.
She's not afraid to use vivid colors of emotion on either
side of the male/female canvas, making their portraiture
that much more valuable to the reader. Compassion, contrast
and fairness are used to highlight and shadow all of her
endearing characters, and it's refreshing to be able to
follow each of their emotional journeys without any one-
sided bias. You laugh, you cry, you cringe and then laugh
some more as she brings the story to life before your very
eyes. Ortolon has plans for at least a trilogy (JUST
PERFECT in Oct. and TOO PERFECT in Nov.), and I can't wait
to follow Amy and Christine on their own journeys of self-
discovery. I'm very curious to see if Miss Perfect Jane,
the author and former friend of all three women, will get
her own story, as well.
Maddy, Christine, and Amy find that an old college roommate
has written about them in her new self-help book-and
they're furious that she's used them as examples of how
women screw up their lives. And the worst part is, it's
sort of true. Together they make a pact: they'll face down
their fears-and maybe show Miss Perfect a thing or two!
Maddy rejected her high school sweetheart's marriage
proposal for art school years ago. Now her friends
challenge her to rediscover her lost passion for arts. In
doing so, she crosses paths with her old flame, Joe, at an
art camp. Perhaps it's about time that Maddy reignites
another old passion.
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