First of all, happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans. I have been reading a book about Abraham Lincoln, and I tell you, that was one man who embraced what it meant to be an American and lived his life with faith and integrity and courage. I look forward to meeting Lincoln in heaven. He was a strong Christian who spent a great deal of time on his knees in prayer.
May God shed His grace upon America. May He set our feet upon the right paths. May we the people practice grace and compassion toward those who are less fortunate. May we find ways to set aside the hatred that has become such a sickening part of the politics of our country, and may we agree to disagree without being disagreeable.
This week I was proofing copy edits for my January release and faxed the corrected pages off to the publisher about 10 AM Thursday. Afterward, I drove to the bank to make a deposit. That was not a good thing to do. My one-year old Subaru Tribeca came into contact with one of those metal posts. I thought I had clearance as I turned the corner. I thought wrong. Ouch! Am I a dunce or what? I wasn’t going more than one mile an hour (I was creeping due to the car in the ATM lane), and the damage is mostly to the paint. I think I picked up more paint that other cars had left on the post rather than leaving much of my own paint behind. There may be a slight dent, plus the plastic guard that goes around the wheel well popped loose. Estimated damage from the auto body shop: just under $600. Groan! I sure hope this won’t raise my insurance premium. One little bump in years and years of nothing. We’ll see.
I am definitely behind schedule on getting my next book started. Yesterday afternoon (after I was through calling my insurance company and berating myself for my own stupidity), I finally got around to doing a bit of brainstorming. I hadn’t settled on my hero yet; the heroine was in the previous book, so I know her really well. But I still needed to find the right guy for her. Late yesterday, he introduced himself to me, and I’m really eager now to see where this dude is going to take both me and the heroine.
Beginning a book is always such fun. It still has so many great possibilities and not a single flaw.
Well, best get to work. I’d like to get some actual writing done before it’s time to barbeque those steaks.
Again, Happy 4th of July to one and all.
-rlh-
