Reunion Round-up and Excerpt from Deep Autumn Heat

I just got back from my college reunion, and it was pretty much everything I thought it would be. Maybe more. One of my good friends said she felt as if it had passed in a dream, and I do admit there were certain dreamlike qualities about the weekend. I attended a very humorous lecture on positive discipline for children by the head of the Yale Parenting Center, and sat in on an amazing panel of some of my classmates who’d followed “the creative path.” Obviously, both of those talks appealed to me greatly! I also soloed with the Yale Glee Club in Woolsey Hall, sang with the women from my senior singing group, and got to walk around the cobblestoned paths of my old campus (which is just gorgeous, by the way). At one point, during a mid-morning rehearsal in a wood-paneled common room, the carillon bells began to ring, just like old times. I  closed my eyes and let the sound wash over me. At one point later in the weekend, I was walking with two of my best friends, and all of a sudden, the skies opened up as a huge thunderstorm passed overhead. I didn’t even care that my feet got drenched. It felt like home.

As much as I really enjoyed connecting with old friends I still keep in touch with, but simply hadn’t seen in a long while, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed meeting some new ones. My class was moderately large – close to 1200 students – and while I knew a lot of people, there were inevitably some folks I’d never connected with. Like the uber-fabulous high-end makeup artist (and he was an artist) who designed his own clothes (one neo-Victorian, Steampunkesque outfit blew me away). Or the witty, funny, genuine man who just won a Pulitzer prize. Yes, I was so happy to finally meet you – and many others – whom I’d only known of, not known, until last weekend.

But it wasn’t just being at Yale that was so wonderful. I also got to tool around my hometown, and visit New York. My folks still live in Connecticut, so I got to relax with them at home, visit with my in-laws in NY, catch my sister for coffee in Grand Central Station (she works in NYC), and meet with my awesome Random House editor at a little French bistro on Broadway. Also, I saw David Hasselhoff. I’ll just let that sink in.

And then, after the whirlwind few days were over, I came home to my amazing family. My kids were so happy to see me – I got hugs and kisses and “mommy, mommy, mommy!” for the rest of the weekend. And Mr. B and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary of the day we first met.  I was very, very glad to be home.

All of this might not be as exciting for you as it was for me, but here’s something that might intrigue you: the first two chapters of my debut novel, DEEP AUTUMN HEAT, are available on Scribd! For free! Go check them out here!