I'm coming up for air for a speedy hello, so please forgive any typos. I am proud to say I've knocked out the first 3000 words in my work-in-progress. As you probably read last time, the first book in my new contract is a mystery I'm finishing by a fine writer named Peggy Shainberg, who passed away ten years ago in her eighties.
I have to tell you, I was/am feeling the pressure. I am honored to bring this story to life, and I want to create something worthy of her, as she left us something truly special. I also want to make her family proud, which is even more daunting. Especially Peggy's daughter, Leigh, who brought this idea to life and even typed out every one of her mother's hand-written words.
But you know what… I finally just jumped in and told myself, “You're a writer, Boo. Just do what you do.” And now that I've broken through and am typing, I'm having so much fun. You may or may not be open to woo-woo stuff, but I certainly am. And I believe with all of me that Peggy is on my shoulder and in my heart, giving me the courage to press on.
The only other pressure is that my agent wants to see a full draft in thirty days. Yeah, you read that right. Thirty days! So you won't hear from me for a while. Do you see what I do for you, dear readers? Imagine me as Russell Crowe in Gladiator. I've defeated all the men in the coliseum, and I throw my sword up into the stands and scream, “Are you not entertained?” Oh, c'mon, it's not that much of a stretch to imagine me as a gladiator, is it? My son doesn't think so…
Before I disappear, I better go ahead and tell you what other books you can expect in the future. I'll mention the third one first, coming to you in 2026. Avery McCallister is a sports psychologist who has met her biggest challenge yet, a man who has lost everything. Having lost my ability to play the banjo as my career was on the rise, I know a thing or two about that. Think Jerry Maguire meets Ted Lasso. I'll keep it cryptic but tell you that I've wanted to tell this story for a very long time, and the pieces finally fell into place. It might be the story I'm most excited about, and you'll soon know why. We're going to laugh and cry together, that's for sure.
And now, the moment many of you might have been waiting for… I know this because you guys write me all the time, asking, “When can we go back to Red Mountain?” Well… how about now?
I'm going to leap back in time and tell the decades-long love story of my favorite Red Mountain character, Otis Till, and his wife, Rebecca. We'll start with their lightening strike of a connection on the way to Woodstock in 1969, then spend a few decades with them in Sonoma, where they'll run into all sorts of trouble on their rise to winemaking greatness. You think Bellflour in Red Mountain was a problem. You haven't seen anything yet. We'll eventually follow the couple to Red Mountain in the nineties and get pretty close to where the first book in my Red Mountain series begins. Along the way, we'll meet the eccentric legend (even more so than Otis) who taught Otis how to make wine, and we'll also learn what led him to howl naked at the moon. How cool and supportive is my publisher, Lake Union, to let me do this for you! I so wish I could share the title because it's AMAZING, but my agent won't let me…
I'm beyond excited to jump back into the Red Mountain universe. Seriously, I can't even tell you! I'll be spending some time in both Sonoma and Red Mountain in the coming months, and I might even howl a bit while I'm out there. Ahhhhwwwwoooo!!!
I'll leave you with a drawing my son did this morning to add to an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA.
