’Tis the season of betwixt and between. Dog days of summer with school around a distant corner yet. The Minnesota State Fair starts ten days before Labor Day, and that’s just next week. Maybe this year people will show up to eat pronto pups and cheese curds and visit the baby animals. Pandemic fatigue has hit us all and yet normalcy is still a bit of a reach. More people in my friend circle have had COVID in the last month than expected—but what is the correct expectation now? Will there be a combo flu and COVID vaccine for Fall? It remains to be seen.

Living in the betwixt is becoming the norm these days—perhaps it builds resilience? What it means to me is that it is more important than ever to live each day to the fullest, play the odds carefully, but not with great expectation, and roll with what comes next.

Finding Grace has been out in the world for a month now, and that feels wonderful! Writing a novel is an extremely introverted process—hours upon weeks upon months of living in your own make believe world—coming up for air in stages to sniff for any whiff of acceptance by those who may have chanced to read shared snippets. With hope leading the way, the production process requires a wider circle of experts with whom an author must share his or her innermost thoughts about the story. Everything from the inspiration, the imagery, the characters, the themes, to the meaning of the work itself. These experts shape the work through a cooperative process with the author to determine (sometimes negotiating) the book’s title, cover design, final copy after editing and final layout. It can be intense, and clearly stretches the comfort zone for an introvert! 

For Finding Grace, there were additional supply chain issues due to the pandemic that factored into the deadlines to finalize the manuscript for print, which upped the angst factor a bit. Who expected paste and paper to be in short supply?

I also chose to publish an audiobook which is a different, and equally intense production with voice actors and producers, which is a separate track overlayed during the final few months before pub date.  But, it was so fun to listen to such talented narrators audition for characters voices that only I had ever imagined! And, they did an incredible job. I’m adding the video link here for the trailer AudioSorceress created for Finding Grace. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-6dBN2xRYT_jU-NmJI_qzKag3vCUqX-J/view

By the time July 19th came—I was ready to end the production side and take a breath. I’m pleased with the finished product of all of my editions for Finding Grace, and it is very satisfying to watch as the book makes its way to readers. After such a lonely process of writing, the pleasure of talking about the book at my launch event, various podcasts, a live instagram event and a few radio spots is truly enjoyable. I’m looking forward to more events coming up. It is a book worth discussion…I already know that. I’m hoping you enjoy it.

Back to Betwixt—I’m starting the production process for Novel #3, as yet untitled, but with a pub date of November 14, 2023. So that disciplined production process will be a parallel track for me as I continue to market Finding Grace. I’ve got more to say about FG and will feature the book in my future blog posts. When it makes sense, I’ll bring you along on the journey to the finish line with Novel #3. 

In the meantime—if you have a question about Finding Grace, or want me to come to your book club please use the contact options on this website to get in touch. Thanks!