Happy (Day After) Independence Day! 🇺🇸
I hope you had a good holiday, excellent fireworks, and are settling in for a nice long weekend full of fun times, good food, and a good book or two! It’s been quite a week, and we all could use some time off. They say may you live in interesting times… well, I have discovered that our times are a bit TOO interesting. Which means that I spent a lot of time looking at the news, and history, and polling, both here and abroad, wondering what in the world we’re up against in the weeks and months to come. I am not the only one, I assume.
Don’t worry, I won’t get political. But I am a reformed political science major, and this moment feels unprecedented and historical, so it’s worth educating and reminding ourselves of the basis for our laws, and digging into some war game scenarios. Hyperbole has no room here. This is deadly serious stuff and we all need to be smart and aware. Right? Right.
On the book front, I was halfway through a library book when it was sucked back into the Libby library, and I’m back on an 18-week hold (!), so I didn’t finish anything this week. I’ve continued the Chris Whitaker book, which is excellent but a challenging read. I did start a book for a blurb and realized I had an interesting dilemma. The book was awesome, with a really strong voice, and I can’t wait to read it. But I am finally, finally, wrestling my own book to the ground. Like…there’s hope in the land that a book is in here. I explained it to Randy this way: I’ve been fishing for a while now, and my line just got a nibble. The hook isn’t quite set yet, though, which means I’ve hit the point in the process where other suspense novels are off-limits until I finish.
This happens, and I admit, I’m rather excited that I’ve hit this stage. A LOT happened over the past week, both in the writing of the book and in its publishing journey, which I’ll go into more detail with the next 22 Steps entry. Surprising but inevitable, and now I’m looking at how to land the plane, that’s where we are. I would rather been staring at the manuscript than doing anything else, including sleeping, eating, and otherwise taking care of myself, so yeah… there is hope in the land!
Reading-wise, that means it’s time for fantasy or non-fiction. Maybe a romancey beach read, if I get frisky. I’ll be able to return to my own genre once this book is done.
So with the realization that I needed to change reading directions, I borrowed KNIFE by Sir Salman Rushdie from the library. I was halfway through writing A VERY BAD THING when he was attacked, and that event almost derailed the book entirely. I am grateful he made it and curious about his story.
I also have several articles about and by Joan Didion in the queue. Her writing makes mine better. I might rewatch the documentary, too. She’s a fascinating creature.
And this feels like exactly the right time to read DAILY RITUALS: How Artists Work by Mason Currey. I love seeing how other creatives approach the page.
Major congrats to my former co-writer Catherine Coulter on the release of her 27th and final Savich and Sherlock FBI thriller, FLASHPOINT.
Robyn Harding’s THE HATERS is out this week, too. I really like Robyn’s work, so I am looking forward to this one!
And ICYMI, I wrote a piece about a spider that caught my eye while I was on a retreat in Chicago.
That’s it from me. How about you? How has it been going? I’d love to hear what you’re reading this holiday weekend! Any recommendations?
I read Tom Selleck 's memoir and really enjoyed it. Also just finished Sherry Thomas 's latest Lady Sherlock. Her books are absolutely scrumptious.
I read Our Kind of Game by Johanna Copeland. It's an excellent debut that comes out this coming Tuesday.