Good Things from August

It was a good month for writing! I added a few bees after this photo was taken.

Even in a normal year, I’m not always fond of August. My kids tend to be stressed out as school approaches. And this year just doubled down on that. Is it safe to go back to school? How do I apply to college when the SAT keeps getting canceled?

Etc. etc.

On the other hand, August is like a paradise in this part of the country. It’s warm but not too hot. The farm stand has ALL the good things. Like fresh sweet corn, and fabulous tomatoes. It was good weather for drinking outdoors with friends, too. I positioned my deck chair to point away from the weedy garden and the cheap white wine flowed!

The crickets have a lot to say. And with the windows open at night, we can hear the owls hoot and the coyotes howl. And when I went outside in the dark to sit by the pool while my teen took a late night dip, I saw a bat flying around overhead, flapping past in the moonlight.

And—this is shocking—I already have audio files for Loverboy, which publishes on December 1. I am more than three months ahead! How did this happen? Oh, wait, I’ll tell you how. I accidentally booked the narrating team a month before I meant to. Because I miscounted. Then I had to hurry up and write this book I’d been outlining for months and months. I outwitted myself. Or something. Be happy for me.

PS: those audio files SOUND AMAZING OMG I can’t wait to share.

But before you get that book, you get Lies and Lullabies in 3 weeks! Links right here.

Reading this month: Uncanny Valley by Anna Weiner, Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford, How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi, Lead Me Back by CD Reiss.

Writing this month: a secret project! More info soon…