If we were having coffee today, May 9th, I would apologize for my tardiness. It was another busy weekend. We had a family brunch on Sunday. We get together each year to honor my grandparents. How I miss them, but there’s comfort in knowing they would have loved this annual event. Most of the children in the family were born after my grandmother passed away and were either not born or very young when we lost grandpa, but we keep their memory alive in the stories we share and in get togethers like the one we had this weekend. It was a good time.

I would also tell you how excited I am about the novel I’m about to release. I asked a student to read and review it for me. Her mother shared that she took the job very seriously and even took notes as she read. She was shy when I asked her opinion, only saying that she really liked it, but her mom reported that she recounted the story to the family at dinner and said she loved the characters and storyline and setting. She said it was the perfect amount of “scary and tense.” I had other students ask to read the book but I told them it would be released in a few weeks. They are excited to read it. I hope you look for it too!

If we were having coffee, I’d let you know that this is an exhausting time. School is winding down and there’s so much to be done. You might laugh at my grin as I told you that I’m off to Phoenix in about a week to visit my son. It’s not perfect timing, but it works best for his schedule and I need to go see the boy.

I’d ask you to return in a few weeks so we could take the time for a proper visit. Until then…