A dreary day--but not all is lost

It’s been one of those dreary February days that make you long for a fire and a good book—but I had neither today. May light a fire later in the evening, after I go to neighbors’ night for supper at the local Grill. A hot bowl of soup at lunch, at the deli, warmed both my insides and my soul. Maybe meatloaf will do the same tonight—and a glass of wine.

I let myself get in a rush today. I usually time things pretty closely, so before meeting a friend for lunch I roared off to the grocery store. The man second in front of me bought four or five jugs of liquid detergent—and one of them leaked, left a trail. So all business came to a halt, while the checker “skated” on paper towels to soak it up. The older woman in front of me (who am I, calling someone “older”?) watched this clean-up process in fascination, then watched the checker ring up her unusual purchases—three stacks of paper plates and a small piece of cake—and only when she heard the total did she begin to look in her purse for her credit card. One of the things that most frustrates me! Plan ahead, people.

By then I was late for lunch, and I hate to keep people waiting. There’s a “prompt” gene in me, which only Jordan of my children seems to have inherited. But it makes me anxious to be late, and I don’t know about you but I’m not as “together” when I’m anxious. Nothing bad happened, but I noticed my hands were less than steady when I reached to take my soup bowl. The soup soothed, and so did a visit with Fred, my former professor, longtime advisor, and good friend.

The day wasn’t a total loss to dreariness. I’m moving ahead on plans for my first self-published mystery. This is an experiment I really want to try. I’ve asked friends and fellow writers for advice, acquired quite a portfolio of marketing ideas, and today I contacted someone to format it for Kindle and print. I have done that before and could but I have other books to write. Besides, I want this to be perfect, and I suspect someone more tecchie than I will do a better job. The illustrator I am using sent me samples, and I think I like one. So watch for The Perfect Coed in late March or early April. Fred told me at lunch that it fits perfectly into the genre of the academic mystery—but it’s not academic in tone. If anything, it’s a little darker than my other mysteries. The woman who proofread/edited it for me said she liked it so much she hoped I’d make it into a series. Hadn’t thought of that, but I immediately knew who would get killed in the next book!

I’m still having fun, and life is good.