We survived the first week of high school, huzzah! There were one or two hiccups along the way, but all in all, everything went pretty well. I am still unable to compute how it’s possible that my kid is in a high school. More than anything, that fact puts my own age into perspective. Because I see my son, the high-schooler, looking at me like I have all the answers and I realize that I am not, in fact, just a few years removed from where he’s at. More like 30, hah!
Not gonna lie, it always trips me up trying to imagine how my kids look at me. Even now, there is a world of difference (in my head) between me and my parents, and the idea that someone who is only a few years shy of adulthood sees me in the same way I see my parents is just WILD. More so than anything else in my life, my relationship with my parents remains a fossil of a time gone by. I might be 46, but I’m still 16 when it comes to my dad. And that’s not to say that he doesn’t treat me as an adult, or anything; just that, emotionally, we will always be on two sides of a certain divide. Even after 15 years as a mother, it’s still hard to process the fact that I have jumped to the other side — at least as far as my kids are concerned.
In other exciting news, my proof copy of Past Perfect Murder came in this week! I don’t think I’ve shared the cover before, so here it is:
I love it so much! My cover designer, Juliane Van Huizen, did a fantastic job again. It fits the vibe of the book so well, as well as the series as a whole. In this one, Inspector Hawthorne goes on a ‘working holiday’ in a small, idyllic English village, trying to discover if a couple of recent deaths are as accidental as they appear, or the work of a clever murderer. If you love Agatha Christie and Midsomer Murders, this is the perfect cozy read for you 😉 It’s coming out in October so stay tuned.
The start of the new football season (and the various dramas of the player transfer window) has filled up the little free time I’ve had (not devoted to writing/editing/prepping for publication), but I will not bore you with the details. I am thinking about doing a fantasy league sort of thing and forcing my husband to play along because he’s the only person I know in real life who is even remotely interested in football. Gonna call it a marital bonding exercise … though it might result in more fights than bonding, lmao! I will just say, following football is better than watching reality TV. So much drama, so many drama queens. I’m very happy with my decision to get back into (spectating) the sport, because everything else going on in the world right now is an absolute dumpster fire.
My daughter’s birthday is on Monday — she’ll be officially a teenager, wish me luck! — so I need to get my butt in gear and make some plans. I promised her a fun day, choose-your-own-adventure style, but that means I still have to come up with a menu of choices and rough schedule. The good news is that, since we’re practically the same person, we are going to have a blast together, no matter what. There will be books, and ramen, and boba tea involved, for sure.
Have a great weekend!
