Thief of Words

Some people court with flowers and chocolates. Not Jack DePaul, features editor of the Baltimore Star-News. Divorced, the father of a grown son, and recently burned by a painful affair, Jack meets Annie Hollerman and quickly figures out that the way to her heart is through the power of words. At 26, Annie had it all. Star reporter at a respected North Carolina newspaper, engaged to a hotshot colleague, Annie seemed destined for greatness--until one horrifying mistake changed everything. Twenty years later, Annie is divorced, focused on her career as a literary agent, and wary of romance. Enter Jack DePaul, who comes into her life and literally rewrites her past, chapter by chapter. But there's one horrible chapter Annie refuses to share with anyone. Unless she takes the chance that Jack will love her, bad chapter and all, Annie's story can never have a happy ending.
With the same appeal as novels like The Man Who Ate the 747 (Bantam, 2000) and films like You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, this impressive debut will be embraced by anyone who enjoys a funny, bittersweet, wildly romantic love story.
THIEF OF WORDS was inspired by the letters and e-mails that John Jaffe wrote while he was courting his current wife. This is his first novel.
Foreign rights have already been sold in Germany and Italy.