Attended a one-day writers’ retreat and began to organize my thoughts about book 4 of my series, so that was good. I’m leaving Wednesday on a 6-day retreat, so hopefully I’ll get some substantial work done on the book.

Science Fiction 5+/5

Toby, a survivor of a humanity-destroying pandemic, finds a small struggling group within a dog-eat-dog world. I loved this book. Beautifully but accessibly written with amazing characters and a phenomenal world. You have to read the epilogue—it hits you like a sack of hammers.

Today we had a celebration of life on the 27th. She was an amazing writer with a huge fan base, as well as a kind, loving person. Her wife, son, and all who knew her have a huge hole in their lives.

I’m sad to pass on the news that on Friday, September 20, our daughter, Heather, age 43, passed away from terminal cancer. She was a beautiful writer, witty, intelligent and giving person, loving mom and wife.

Thriller 5+/5

Evelyn Gardner, a broken spy from World War I, doesn’t believe she can help Charlie St. Claire find her missing cousin after World War II, until she finds a reason to fight: revenge. This was a book I could not put down, read twice, and would read again. Characters drew me into their lives and made me passionate to see them overcome hurdles to find happiness, or at least, peace. The worlds they inhabited were enveloping and captivating, and the plot twisted and twisted, and twisted again.