Hello, lovelies. Happy Sunday to you! 

It’s been a working weekend for me. I’m doing a final line edit pass on GOOD GIRLS LIE before it goes into production. I want it to be as clean and perfect as possible on this round. It’s funny, we’ve been working on this manuscript since I turned it in, and though it went to galley early, I’m now getting a chance to fix those niggling little errors and inconsistencies, tighten the language, and otherwise make the story as bright and shiny as possible. The next time I see it will be the last. It will be formatted, all the copyedits and line edits accepted, no more funny comments from my editor and queries from the copyeditor. Some of the side conversations we have in the track changes are freaking hilarious; I always keep a separate version for posterity so they aren’t deleted forever. 

You wonder how typos make it into a manuscript—well, when you’re working electronically, it’s VERY easy for your brain to tell you the word is correct even when it isn’t. Like progeny and prodigy. I know the difference, naturally. But my brain kept reading progeny as prodigy and I missed two instances. Silly things like this pull a reader out of the story, so it’s imperative to catch them all.

I enjoyed my week in Colorado, where the weather was nigh on perfect, crisp evenings that called for long sleeves, sunny days with dramatic afternoon storms and divine sunsets, deer and rabbits and Mexican food galore. I was able to write some, which is great. The new book is starting to shape itself into something resembling a story, at least. There are a lot of sharp edges, and a few plot lines that I have no idea where I’m leading myself, but that’s the fun part of creation, allowing myself to be surprised.

I’ve been listening to some classics, and it’s such a different experience, these favorite books of mine on audio. REBECCA, read by Anna Massey, was sheer perfection: frightening and intense and seductive. I gleaned so much from the story that I’d missed on my many reads. So now I’m off to THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, and it, too, is a dynamically new experience thus far. 

The secret project is back in the queue, and a few show tapings, and an extended business trip upcoming. Obviously, there’s quite a bit going on here, but the new schedule is working wonders, and after a minor freakout when everything hit at once, I am feeling calm and content as I plow through all this. It’s funny, I was never a do your homework the night before kind of girl, and that’s carried into adulthood, but... I do better when there’s a LOT on my plate. Which is nutso, for sure.

And tomorrow is our 24th/27th anniversary!  We have a lovely celebration planned, and I’m looking forward to focusing all my attention on my darling husband, without whom none of this would matter. Believe me when I say I know how incredibly blessed I am to have such a steadfast companion in Randy. He is my sun and my moon. The yang to my yin. To think, all those years ago, at this moment, he was walking into my classroom at George Washington, spying me, and asking if the seat next to me was taken, and all I could think was oh no, that guy is really cute. I had no idea when I sat down that evening my life was about to change forever—rather, I did, it was the first night of graduate school and I was taking the next step career-wise. But I didn’t know my heart would be stolen and my forever partner found.

Sometimes, upon meeting that person, you just know. I did. ❤️

And with that, off to the links with you!

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

'Fleabag' Creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Writing Bond 25 and Her Secret New Movie. Dream writer…

A Reservation-Only Wizarding Restaurant In The Theme Of Harry Potter To Open In Maine. This looks amazing!

What knowledge might save your life one day? Things to know.

The Hazards of Writing While Female. “Agents probably knew that George’s book would be easier to advertise and more likely to get reviewed. When George wrote about a female protagonist, it was edgy; when Catherine did so, it was ‘women’s fiction.’ The dismissiveness woven into that label—when do we ever talk about “men’s fiction”?—is part of a pattern of associating female writers with the personal, the domestic, the emotional, the subjective, and using that to diminish them.”

Welcome to America’s other clutter problem. It’s called self-storage. Wow.

Celebrate Women in Translation Month With These Book Riot Favorites. Great list!

Do You Ever Read Your Journal? This is a good explanation for why you should.

The Beginner's Guide to Edibles. Lots of good advice here.

The Wine of the Week at The Wine Vixen

What I’m Reading:

REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier

I found an old paperback copy of Rebecca on my bookshelf while I was in Colorado. This one was printed in 1971. I was a little too young to read it then, but I'm sure I found it on my parents' shelf and appropriated it for myself a decade later. It is, without a doubt, one of my favorite books. It’s had a huge influence in my work, as I’m sure you can tell if you've read any of my standalones. This time around, I'm listening to the audio. As always happens when I listen to a much-loved book, I get something new out of it. Hearing the story is chilling in the extreme; it is even more disturbing and sinister than reading the words. This is a genius at work. And there's going to be a new TV show! Can't. Wait!

What are you reading?

That’s all for now. I’ll see you next week!

peace and hugs,
J.T.