Want to know what I’ve been doing during Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders? Staying busy, that’s for sure. Professionally speaking, at the top of the priority list is the first round of revisions on my upcoming Lake Union novel, which I wrote over the winter and turned in on March 31. This book is a contemporary women’s fiction novel set at a winery in Tuscany, and it’s scheduled for release in the summer of 2021. I don’t have a title or cover art to share with you yet. We’re still in the early stages of production. My editor sent revision suggestions a few weeks ago, so I’ve been working on that, but I’m almost done.
The work doesn’t end there, however. I’m also juggling different projects, working on reissuing twelve of my historical romance novels that I wrote between 2001-2013. Many of the books were out of print, so I was recently able to get the rights reverted from the publishers. I’m now working with professional graphic designer Kim Killion to update the cover art on all the books, which has been great fun. I also have to re-edit some of the earlier novels because my voice as a writer has changed over the years and I like to think I’ve improved in certain areas. In addition, I had to get the old paperbacks scanned because the files were so old (remember floppy discs?), and they will all require a careful, focused proofread to make sure there are no scanning errors. So far, the edits have been an enjoyable task because I can hardly remember what happens in those older books. I’m reading them with fresh eyes and I’ve surprised myself with a few plot twists I’d forgotten about. So basically, I’m having the time of my life with a ton of work to do over the next few months. (I’ve begun to lovingly refer to my desk as “Mission Control.”)
If you’d like to be first to view the gigantic tsunami of “cover reveals” that are about to hit the stage (please excuse the mixed metaphors), I invite you to sign up for my newsletter. (Look for the pink button at the top right hand corner of this page.) I’ll be keeping my subscribers informed about the whole process as it develops.
On the personal front, my daughter just finished her Bachelor of Science degree and is home now, but her graduation got cancelled, so that was disappointing. She’s keeping busy as well, starting a new online summer course this week to pick up a credit she might need in the future. My mom is living with us as well, but she has her own space with a bed/sitting room and kitchen facilities, so we are able to practice social distancing while still being together. Lots of sanitizing going on. My hubby is in Ottawa right now because he has shifts in the OR there, so we’ve been apart, which is difficult. Under normal circumstances, I go with him, and we spend half our time there and half our time at our home base in Nova Scotia. He’ll be home soon, however, to work some hospital shifts here. Thank goodness for texting and Zoom! And thank goodness for my work which I can do at home, and which I enjoy so much.
Stay sanitized!