AUGUST: THE MONTH IN RETROSPECT
I feel good. Hot, but good. Portland today isn’t nearly as hot as a lot of places. I feel for those who can’t escape the brutal heat.
Have I told you how much I love libraries? My books are in a few of them, including my own Multnomah County Library, but now one more joins their ranks. I submitted, There’s a Cat Hair in My Mask: How Cats Helped Me through Unprecedented Times, to the Library Writers Project this year, and it was selected to be added to the library’s e-book collection. According to the e-Contact Librarian, my COVID memoir was “a standout.”
Last Saturday night, I attended the launch of NIWA’s latest anthology, “Harbinger.” Though the stories are of mixed genres, Harbinger is this year’s theme that binds them together. I knew the basic meaning of the word but looked it up anyway: “A person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald. Anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign.” (Dictionary.com) Yup.
Speaking of NIWA, the team was busy this last month, with booths in the Robin Hood Festival, Gaston Station Market, the Oak Grove Festival of the Arts, Portland Pride, and the Canby Arts Festival. My books sold well, thanks to the wonderful volunteers manning the booths. A big thank you, too, for the adventurous people who bought them!
Jim and I spent a week at our beach house over Independence Day. It was crazy noisy, but neither of my cats care much about the boomies, so the only stress was on us. My son and daughter-in-law were able to join us for a few days. We watched old movies and ate well.
I’d wanted to take a foster cat when I got back from the beach—it’s been a long time since I’ve had one and OHS always has needs—but I went right into a couple of cat sitting jobs, and though Jim does wonderfully caring for our cats while I’m gone, I can’t put the pressure of a new, strange, sick cat on him as well, so no foster. Sorry, kitties.
One exciting bit of news—I have a launch date and venue for Cat House, the 10th Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery. (10! Can you believe it?) I’ll be sharing a booth with Cataround Stamps at the LCWW (Loving Cats World Wide) Extravaganza here in Portland in October. The launch will take place there.
What will August bring, besides more hot weather?
More trips to the beach where I’ll be working on the first draft of the Tenth Life Cozy Paranormal #3, Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel.
A NIWA book event in Washougal, Washington, the location of my thriller, Placid River Runs Deep, on August 12th.
My great grandson’s sixth birthday!
Here’s hoping your have a good summer month!
