On an August afternoon in 2022, I visited the spacious Luminare Press http://Luminarepress.com offices in Eugene. After two years of pandemic remoteness, I was delighted to see again in real life the friendly professional team that made publication a pleasure. I’d worked with Luminare on three novels––From Here to Argentina: A Tango Love Story, and the first two of my YA series, Nowever, and Cold Mirage. I grandly announced to them my third YA novel would be in their hands by June 2023. I began the book as usual, writing every morning, a double espresso close at hand and my cat crowding me in my chair. Thus, I sailed through writing the first third of my new novel over the winter, the story moving along as I envisioned it. I was sure how the last part would play, so I jumped ahead and sketched that part, too.
BUT WAIT! What was that great bottomless gap in the middle? It sagged, and the good stuff on either side threatened to topple into the void. Worse, even my protagonist, Stevie, was bored with what was supposed to be her third great adventure. June passed, and my self-imposed deadline. A shock to me, but the sky didn’t fall. That blank space in the middle? It has revealed itself as a realm where anything is possible––the magic of emptiness. What happens next? My characters and I are having fun finding out. If you’re already a reader of my YA series, I love you, and thank you for your patience. If you are new to my fiction, Welcome! My free gift to you is an e-copy of Nowever, available on my website.