I have to say, I am going to be very careful about how I choose my titles from here on out. In a spectacular twist of irony (in so many, many ways), I finished the new manuscript on Sunday, and my office was demolished by a massive maple tree on Monday morning. When I say this thing was massive, I am not kidding. Only a quarter of it went down, but it managed to crush my office, and do considerable damage to my neighbor's house as well.
Fortunately, I'd made the decision not to go out there that morning, because that maple frequently sends widow-maker branches crashing to the ground on windy days, which it was that morning, and my dog usually goes out to my office with me, and never actually stays in my office, but goes in and out, and I'm always afraid he's going to be hit by a branch. So we both stayed in, and no one (my neighbor was also in another building) was hurt. Everyone was very very lucky. The crash sounded like a bomb, shook the house and the property, and we're covered by insurance, so I'll rebuild.
One of the coolest things about the whole incident was that before I even got out the door to see what had happened, my neighbors came running to make sure I was okay. There were at least eight people at my gate by the time I was in the yard. A disaster like this really shows you how much support and love are all around you, and I am so very very grateful to have and to know this.
I do love that maple tree, which has got to be at least 100 years old, but it's damaged now, and it's going to have to come out, which breaks my heart--but as my sister said, it did try to kill me, so ...
Here are some pictures:
The remaining tree
Flowers from my mom and her partner
So ... I'll be sure to post pics from the rebuilding. In the meantime, the new book is with my editor, and the editorial process starts is a few weeks. Publication is scheduled for October 2022--more news on that to come! Stay tuned!