About the Author

Terry McMillan is the award-winning, critically acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Waiting to Exhale, Getting to Happy, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, The Interruption of Everything, Who Asked You?, Mama, Disappearing Acts, I Almost Forgot About You, It’s Not All Downhill From Here, and the editor of Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Fiction. She lives in California.

Reviews

Praise for How Stella Got Her Groove Back

“The novel sparkles.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“A riotous, sexy book...told in the inimitable voice of Stella, who will charm the reader from the first page....Fans and first-time readers will be hooked.”—Richmond Times Dispatch

“A confessional, sister-can-you-understand-this open diary...I laughed out loud.”—Boston Globe

“Terry McMillan is the only novelist I have ever read...who makes me glad to be a woman.”—Washington Post Book World 

“A sexy handbook of self-realization.”—The New Yorker

“A liberating love story…[which] tells women it’s okay to let go, follow your heart, take a chance, and fall in love, even if that love comes from a place you’d least expect.”—Orlando Sentinel

“A sexy…chatty, dishy, you-go!-girl tale that I read in one night.”—Entertainment Weekly
 
“Hot summer fun, girlfriend…The tell-it-like-it-is voice that McMillan honed to smart-mouthed perfection…she resurrects here in the person of Stella Payne.”—Indianapolis Star
 
“A cast of likable characters, funny lines, smart repartee and a warm and fuzzy ending…an irreverent, mischievous, diverting novel that at times will make you laugh out loud.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“Rich in detail...leaves you feeling like you’ve just had a good gossip with your best girlfriend.”
—Mademoiselle
 
“A down-and-dirty, romantic and brave story told to you by this smart, good-hearted woman as if she were your best friend.”—Newsday

Her readers may be surprised that, after the gritty, tell-it-as-it-is Mama and Waiting to Exhale, McMillan has now written a fairy tale. Her "forty-fucking-two-year-old'' heroine, divorcée Stella Payne, possesses a luxurious house and pool in northern California, a lucrative job as a security analyst, a BMW and a truck, a personal trainer and an adorable 11-year- old son-but no steady guy. On a whim, Stella decides to vacation in Jamaica, and she narrates the ensuing events in a revved-up voice, naked of punctuation, that alternates between high-voltage energy and erotic languor. Romance comes to Stella under tropical skies-but there's a problem. Gorgeous, seductive Winston, the chef-trainee with whom she enjoys passionate sex (explicitly detailed), is shockingly young: he's not quite 21. Naturally, Stella wonders if he really loves her; endless soul-searching and a few tepid complications occupy the remainder of the narrative. When Stella loses her job, it's no sweat; she has enough savings to maintain her lifestyle. When fate throws two other gorgeous men her way, she immediately decides they are boring and isn't tempted for a minute. Meanwhile, her intense preoccupation with feminine deodorant sprays and the smell of women's public bathrooms is rather strange, to say the least. McMillan's expletive-strewn narrative accommodates such musings, however, and readers who have been yearning for a Judith Krantz of the black bourgeoisie-albeit one with a dirty mouth and a more ebullient spirit-will be pleased with this fantasy of sexual fulfillment. 100,000 first printing; major ad/ promo; first serial rights to People and Essence; BOMC main selection; film rights to 20th Century Fox; author tour. (May)

Praise for How Stella Got Her Groove Back

"The novel sparkles."-Chicago Sun-Times

"A riotous, sexy book...told in the inimitable voice of Stella, who will charm the reader from the first page....Fans and first-time readers will be hooked."-Richmond Times Dispatch

"A confessional, sister-can-you-understand-this open diary...I laughed out loud."-Boston Globe

"Terry McMillan is the only novelist I have ever read...who makes me glad to be a woman."-Washington Post Book World

"A sexy handbook of self-realization."-The New Yorker

"A liberating love story...[which] tells women it's okay to let go, follow your heart, take a chance, and fall in love, even if that love comes from a place you'd least expect."-Orlando Sentinel

"A sexy...chatty, dishy, you-go!-girl tale that I read in one night."-Entertainment Weekly

"Hot summer fun, girlfriend...The tell-it-like-it-is voice that McMillan honed to smart-mouthed perfection...she resurrects here in the person of Stella Payne."-Indianapolis Star

"A cast of likable characters, funny lines, smart repartee and a warm and fuzzy ending...an irreverent, mischievous, diverting novel that at times will make you laugh out loud." -The New York Times Book Review

"Rich in detail...leaves you feeling like you've just had a good gossip with your best girlfriend."
-Mademoiselle

"A down-and-dirty, romantic and brave story told to you by this smart, good-hearted woman as if she were your best friend."-Newsday