The Pauses – Times to be Savored

I love the pause between turning in my manuscript to my publisher and getting it back with edits. It is a relief beyond measure.

Just like the last final exam or turning in that pesky paper that kept me up half the night, I love the pause. My shoulders drop, my smile deepens, and I sleep better at night. I take guilt free morning walks outside or at the mall if it’s nippy and catch up with friends. Oh how I love those lunches.

I’m in a pause now. And it’s glorious, timed exactly to the changing foliage and planning Thanksgiving. I also have three very large program at venues in Cherry Hill, NJ, a synagogue in West Orange, NJ, Syracuse, NY and West Palm Beach, Florida. This time gives me the space to devote my time and energy to those important talks.

It feels good!

Let me tell you about MICHIGAN BLUES, my new book. The fifth and last novel in the Gilded City series is quite different from the others, set at the upper edge of historical fiction (1969-1972), is a fictional autobiography, and a thriller. Although it adds to the story of the Isaacson family, it is told through the older descendants: Gilda (daughter of Hannah), Robbie (Julian’s son), and his daughter, Sharon. Sharon is on the cusp of womanhood with the large expectations to follow in Hannah’s and Miriam’s shadows looming over her. Set against the pulse of Vietnam, a resurgence in women’s rights, high school secrets and a serial killer on the loose at the University of Michigan, Sharon struggles with her parents’ expectations and seeking her own identity.

This may have been my most difficult and rewarding book to write. It has been a nostalgic journey as I revisiting this transformative period of my life. College gave me my first foray into adult life, introducing me to independence without a parental oversight, My brain and body came alive as I discovered the joy of academics and love. I soaked in the music of the time and paid far more attention to the world news. Yet, unlike Sharon, who was bent of becoming a doctor, my energy was spent of figuring out a course of life that felt right for me.

More to come as a cover comes my way!

In the meantime, on to my news:

Year-end programs: