After a bazillion days of rain, yesterday sparked gloriously sunny in Vancouver. I spotted snowdrops in the mud, and the tiny promise of buds on a cherry tree—and for the first time in months, I breathed. On my way to pick up the kids, I sat in traffic and watched a woman who waited for the light to change, her bike propped between her legs. She pulled her helmet from her head to free her sweat-dampened hair, and tipped her face toward the sun.
Seeing her look of bliss, some of the noise and worry pressing my shoulders interminably toward the earth—Covid Democracy White Supremacy Kids in Cages Famine Economic Collapse Global Warming Mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples Unfettered Capitalism I could go on forever but my anxiety-monster just awoke and it looks hungry so I’m going to tiptoe away very very slowly—some of this worry melted away and I felt … momentarily lightened.
I even got a brief moment of respite from my own more personal list of worries. So, now I’m going to let you in on a little secret. As cool and exciting as it is to have a book marching toward publication, it’s also really nerve-wracking. I feel an enormous sense of obligation toward my publisher. After all, they believed in my story enough to invest in it, and I want their investment to prove fruitful. So, I worry. Am I doing enough? Am I being enough?
But for just a moment, as I watched that woman tip her face toward the kiss of the sun, I was able to take a breath and reflect on how awesome this moment truly is. Advanced Reading Copies of The Day She Died are being well received (I’m so grateful to the authors who took the time to read and give their endorsement – you can see their reviews below), and for those who are so inclined, it’s available for review on Netgalley. You can also enter to win a free advanced copy from Goodreads until February 12th. Pre-orders are available from all major book retailers. I’ve been asked if it will be available on audiobook, and the answer is YES. Here’s the audiobook pre-order link.
It’s raining again today, but I’m holding on to a bit of yesterday’s sunshiny peace, and I’m wishing you the same.
