November is always a busy month for me. In the United States, we have elections on November 6th (always an important duty), plus, three family birthdays, including my own take place in November. There’s also Thanksgiving which often means a 10 hour trek (each way) to the arctic north (aka northern Indiana). This year, the month was even busier. My niece got married (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving). I had galley proofs to review for book #4 in my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series, WED, READ & DEAD, I turned in book #5 in the series, BOOKMARKED FOR MURDER, to my agent for editing and then will edit it again before I submit it to my editor on the 30th. Oh, and book #3 in my Mystery Bookshop Mystery, THE NOVEL ART OF MURDER, releases on November 27th. So, of course, I decide to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where crazy writers attempt to write a novel (or 50k words) in one month. Yep, I should be locked up.
My niece’s wedding was beautiful. Edits are complete. All family birthdays have been celebrated and the kitchen at my sister’s house has all of the warm comforting smells that bring back memories of childhood. Today, is the day we (in the United States) have set aside to give thanks. In a few short hours I’ll sit down with family and we’ll share good food. However, more important than the food are the new memories we’ll make as we eat with our newly expanded family. My niece is off, but my nephew and his new wife and baby will share a first (hopefully, the first of many) Thanksgivings. I’m grateful for the time I have with my dad and my sister. I’m thankful for health, shelter, warmth, friends and family. I’m also thankful for the opportunity to realize my dream of being a writer. Thank you to everyone who bought, read, reviewed, shared, recommended or thought nice things about one of my books. I truly appreciate all of you. You all helped to make 2018 a truly amazing year and for each of you, I am thankful. Happy Thanksgiving 2018!
