A few days ago, Alice left the loveliest of comments on this blog, asking where I’d gone. She wanted to know when we were going to publish the novel I’d promised, or if the Seven Brothers series was ever going to be finished. She was so nice that I knew I needed to respond with a new blog post. After all, my latest post was almost two years old (!) I was shocked that it had been so long since I was last here.
Before I explain my absence, the image I’m using is my painting of Zeebie, the Health Zombie. Zeebs, as I call him when I’m being informal. You might think he’s only a mass-produced, rag doll toy that I picked up at clearance while at a Barnes & Noble. You’d be right, but you’d be wrong. He’s my comfort zombie, and I bring him along when I’m seeing a medical specialist. I ask him to protect me. So far, so good.
The last time I posted, Glynn and I had recently visited Texas, had a grand but hot time, and we were working on a new novel. Shortly thereafter, we went traveling again. This time, we went to see someone we both loved a lot. She was in the hospital, falling a fall, but we were there to take her home. That didn’t happen, not for days, and Glynn had to return to Arizona. I stayed behind to learn that her lab results were a little off, so more labs were drawn, more tests were done, and the diagnosis was devastating. Just typing these words, I still remember how I felt when the doctor told us the prognosis.
Zeebs wasn’t with me. It wouldn’t have made a difference if he had been.
She was strong, so I tried to be, too. There were tears, but there was laughter, too, almost every day. There were good times, but it was all so terrible. Glynn returned, but we all knew we were going to lose her. We did. And the people who say the hurt will get better in time are right, but it never gets better enough.
There was a hole in my heart, and I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t care to write this post, either, because I didn’t want to share what had happened, but I wasn’t in the right place to put up something lighthearted or fun. I couldn’t ignore what had happened, so I ignored my website. For quite a while, I let everything slide.
Then, one day, it was time to start writing again. I was feeling guilty that the Seven Brothers series hadn’t been completed, and Glynn wanted the novel finished, so we came to a compromise. We’d complete the novel, then we’d finish the Brothers. Nothing would be published until everything was wrapped.
And that’s where we are today. The novel is finished, edited, and ready to go. The first of the two remaining Brothers novellas is completed, placing a few of the final pieces in the Wetherford puzzle. The second and final story is halfway done. It’s threatening to turn out to be the longest of the novellas, but we think we’ll type THE END sometime in the next three months. For anyone who wonders how Flora’s tale concludes, you should know shortly after Halloween. It’s such a romantic time of year.
We hope you’ll think it was worth the wait.
Before I explain my absence, the image I’m using is my painting of Zeebie, the Health Zombie. Zeebs, as I call him when I’m being informal. You might think he’s only a mass-produced, rag doll toy that I picked up at clearance while at a Barnes & Noble. You’d be right, but you’d be wrong. He’s my comfort zombie, and I bring him along when I’m seeing a medical specialist. I ask him to protect me. So far, so good.
The last time I posted, Glynn and I had recently visited Texas, had a grand but hot time, and we were working on a new novel. Shortly thereafter, we went traveling again. This time, we went to see someone we both loved a lot. She was in the hospital, falling a fall, but we were there to take her home. That didn’t happen, not for days, and Glynn had to return to Arizona. I stayed behind to learn that her lab results were a little off, so more labs were drawn, more tests were done, and the diagnosis was devastating. Just typing these words, I still remember how I felt when the doctor told us the prognosis.
Zeebs wasn’t with me. It wouldn’t have made a difference if he had been.
She was strong, so I tried to be, too. There were tears, but there was laughter, too, almost every day. There were good times, but it was all so terrible. Glynn returned, but we all knew we were going to lose her. We did. And the people who say the hurt will get better in time are right, but it never gets better enough.
There was a hole in my heart, and I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t care to write this post, either, because I didn’t want to share what had happened, but I wasn’t in the right place to put up something lighthearted or fun. I couldn’t ignore what had happened, so I ignored my website. For quite a while, I let everything slide.
Then, one day, it was time to start writing again. I was feeling guilty that the Seven Brothers series hadn’t been completed, and Glynn wanted the novel finished, so we came to a compromise. We’d complete the novel, then we’d finish the Brothers. Nothing would be published until everything was wrapped.
And that’s where we are today. The novel is finished, edited, and ready to go. The first of the two remaining Brothers novellas is completed, placing a few of the final pieces in the Wetherford puzzle. The second and final story is halfway done. It’s threatening to turn out to be the longest of the novellas, but we think we’ll type THE END sometime in the next three months. For anyone who wonders how Flora’s tale concludes, you should know shortly after Halloween. It’s such a romantic time of year.
We hope you’ll think it was worth the wait.
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