Getting lost in another world

Every Christmas Jean Walbridge and I exchange certificates for the flowers of the month at a local florist. This month I couldn't go with Jean to get them and the month was running out, so she picked mine up. They gave her extra roses and she shared them with me. This one is in full bloom and so beautiful it needs to be shared. I love having fresh flowers in the house!

I'm almost through with what I think is the final edit of Skeleton in a Dead Space before I send it to the publisher, but of course I know there will be more edits to come after an editor gets his or her hands on it. Still, by now I know the people and places of the novel's world so well that I get immersed in it. Familiar places, yes, since it's set in the neighborhood adjacent to mine and makes mention of restaurants where I regularly go. But also those fictional characters have come alive in my mind like old friends--I hate to leave them when I move on to other tasks. And the things I might worry about in my daily world fade when I'm in that fictional world. I hope readers will feel that way about these people and the world they live in. And I hope I can keep on creating mysteries with that feel. I'm having more fun with this writing than I think I've ever had before with projects--again, maybe that's because I'm more relaxed now.Anyway, the world is good.
Today I went to an estate sale at the home of the parents of my good friend Kathie. She and her mom were in the antique business, and her mom had many things she had bought for re-sale. She certainly had an eye for the interesting and old. I was fascinated by antique cooking tools, gardening tools, and a large collection of boxes. Jeannie kept going back to stare at a wall-mounted drying rack for clothes. But we both left empty-handed and then went and bought me an expensive but good mattress, which I really need.

We had lunch at The Tavern, where Betty and I had enjoyed brisket tacos a couple of days ago. Today I had a Maytag blue cheese burger, and Jeannie had a New Mexico burger. Both excellent, and we were both good and ate only half. I had the other half for dinner, and it was still delicious.

Back to Skeleton. Coming up to the climactic scene, which always scares me a bit, even though I wrote it!