The picture on my website

I've been getting a lot of mail lately and am way behind in my correspondence.  I'm doing my best to get caught up, and believe me, I'm not complaining, because I love to hear from my readers, and never take for granted the joy of hearing from someone who connected with me through my books.  But sometimes it's a bit overwhelming, as it is now.  I have no idea why I'm getting so much mail. It's certainly not because I'm a big player in the publishing world.  I have yet to find the key to the puzzle, but what does it really matter? I'm been blessed to hear from people who wish to speak to me, and is that not so cool?

One of the most frequently asked questions is whether the young girl in the picture at the top of my website is me.  Most unfortunately, it is not, although it does look like it could be.  I would have been thrilled to have that dress at that age and to have a staircase like that to clumb.  So no, while it isn't really me, I like to think it might have been.  (Hey, I write fiction!).  You can thank Tara Green, web designer extraordinaire, for the picture.

Which brings me to the latest on the website:  look for a new Behind the Scenes - I've got one almost ready to go.  And a newsletter is not far behind (didn't I tell you that you wouldn't be beseiged with mail from me?).

Off to a sunny island in the Mediterranean.  No, not in the real world, but off I go.  Wish me luck with this new endeavor.  And write.  I promise to answer.  Eventually.

October Already?

How did that happen?  Weeks have flown by and I've been so busy it's hard to keep track of time.  I've been writing a lot and very different things.  The non-fiction book was finished, sent off for comments, and has just been returned for editing.  We're still believers in its concept, and have great hopes for it, but it looks like we'll need to do some more work.  Not to worry - we're bringing in additional troops to help us out.

I'm back to writing fiction again.  It's a new kind of book for me, a much shorter format, which is forcing me to pare down my usual complicated plots and character list to the essentials.  Kind of fun, when you get into the rhythm of it.  Then it's back to 13th century London, to Edward I's court.  The summer skies are darkening with unrest and I've got my characters in the midst of it all.  It's one of my favorite periods in which to write, so rich with potential.  Maybe by the time I'm writing I'm writing that one full time our warm California weather will have cooled and it won't seem strange to imagine a dark rainy night in a walled city.

We've been seeing lots of friends and family and doing a lot of celebrating, despite the seemingly endless influx of sad news.  I cannot remember a year so filled with deaths - so, so many deaths.  But we're not focusing on that.  We're enjoying every happy moment and are determined to end the year on a high note.  It may be a note played on a kazoo rather than a violin, but it will be music to my ears (don't cringe - it just had to be said).