Thank you for your support of The Secrets of Good People. The reception has been overwhelming. For you book clubbers, here's a link to discussion questions. 

 

I've just had the extraordinary pleasure of traveling down to Florida to speak about A Spanish Sunrise with the Ft. Myers Literary Society, a wonderful group that hosts four authors a year. Past guests have been such huge names as Nicholas Sparks, Sarah Penner, and Garth Stein. Lucky for me, they're now apparently scraping the bottom of the barrel. Not only did I hang with an amazing group of people in the tropics (yes, Mainuhs call Ft. Myers the tropics), but I also enjoyed the heck out of a vegetarian Publix sub, something that Mikella, Riggs, and me miss terribly living in Maine.

 

Now I'm back home, hacking away at my work-in-progress. I got about fifty pages in and realized I had better back up and polish some, to make sure I'm really feeling the characters. Though I'd intended on only tapping into two different points of view, it's now turned into four, à la Red Mountain. Why do I make things so hard on myself? Because I embrace the tortured-artist stereotype.

 

Having written two books last year (the Otis book comes out Sept. 16th!), I've been refilling my cup by ingesting as much art as I can, and I wanted to share some of the best with you. There may be a lot of ugly in the world right now, but the beauty is even stronger.

 

I'm looking at you, Emily St. John Mandel. Actually, I'm going to save her for next time.

 

Apropos television, I don't know what's better than The White Lotus. I also don't know what could be more polarizing (more than half of you will hate it). Never has there been a more offensive show on television, and it's led by a cast of characters that are utterly unlikable. And yet, it's a masterclass in storytelling, and my wife and I have a steady Monday afternoon popcorn date to watch the latest episode. 

 

(By the way, did you know you can use olive oil to make popcorn, so long as you keep the stove setting to medium? I do a blend of organic coconut oil, single-orchard olive oil, and ghee to make mine these days, and it's to-die-for. Come over any time!)

 

The Diplomat is sneaking so close into The West Wing territory that they brought in Allison Janney for the latest season. I'm a big fan (HUGE) of Allison and both shows. And Keri Russell is magic in front of a camera. *Side note, the juggernaut author Jeffrey Archer watches reruns of The West Wing in between writing sessions, as it's his favorite television show. FYI, Mr. Archer wrote one of the best novels in history: Kane and Abel.

 

If you're into thrillers, watch Paradise on Hulu. Start it today. Don't ask questions, don't watch the trailer. Just go. Unless you're like my friend, the airplane piloting, White-Lotus hating, pickle-balling author Nathan Van Coops, whose genius engineer mind allows for only so much suspension of disbelief. Fine, the show stretches the laws of science, but I'm okay with it.

 

Two movies I adored recently: Better Man. Oh, my God, so beautiful. I don't even know how to explain it. Open your mind, sit back, and let 

the magic of this story take you away. This is why I watch movies. It made my soul glow.

 

Shortly after the success of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics to In the Heights, a sensation musical that hit theaters while we were living in Spain, so we missed it. Mikella, Riggs, and I had a blast watching this movie last week. It'll tear your heart out, but you'll come out the other side more than fine. (Our thespian son's dream is to work with Lin-Manuel.)

 

I better stop for now. Emily St. John Mandel's oeuvre and the conversations between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu in The Book of Joy are on deck.

 

Please respond with any of your recommendations. I need them!

 

I'll leave you with a shot of a puzzled Boo Walker perched on the root of an Australian banyan tree in Valencia, Spain. He's wondering if he should write a follow-up to the Red Mountain series, maybe call it Red Mountain Calling. 

P.S. Please forgive me if I don't respond to your emails. Know that I joyfully read each one. In fact, your notes keep me going. It's just that I best put my energy into meeting the next deadline. Thanks for understanding.

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