It’s time for another update from my crazy world. It’s the end of April now, and I have just ten more days of teaching before we hit the intense end-of-semester period of final exams, final papers, and PhD thesis defenses. April is always such a busy month anyway, but right now I feel like I’m in the eye of a tornado. I rediscovered this quote by the German philosopher Goethe the other day and it is what’s getting me through. I love its message: that you just have to commit to something and start it and it will take care of itself (whether it’s spring cleaning your closet, finishing your taxes, writing school papers, or, yes, working on your book).
In addition to teaching, here’s what else I’m doing these days:
LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS: on Sunday, 23 April 2017, from 1-3 pm, I will be signing books at the annual festival for readers and writers in Los Angeles. The visionary ladies at The Ripped Bodice invited me to be one of their authors and I was happy to do so. You may have heard about their fabulous independent bookstore which is dedicated to romance in all its many literary incarnations. The LATFOB (as it’s known on the USC campus, where the festival takes place) is always a great day. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, and this event is free and open to the public. The Ripped Bodice will have books on sale–I’ve asked them to bring plenty of hardcovers of ADOW–and you’re welcome to bring your well-loved copies for signatures, too.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR THE ALL SOULS CON IN NOLA: The registration is open for the 2017 All Souls Con to be held on 23 September 2017 in Marcus’s former home town, New Orleans. The organizers are refining the program and the first guests have been announced–including a molecular biologist who is going to talk to us about mtDNA and the science of the supernatural. It promises to be a great day of friendship, storytelling, and discovery on the streets of this great American city, so I hope you can join us in person or on line. For more information, check out the website at http://allsoulscon.org/
WRITING: Marcus is taking up most of my time these days, and I’m enjoying getting to know him and Phoebe better. Matthew has ceded the floor temporarily, but the other day Gallowglass walked in the door. Again. Unexpectedly. So at this point there are three stories swirling around in my head. I truly needed a break from the de Clermonts in 2015 when I finished touring for THE BOOK OF LIFE, but they are back. In droves. It’s going to take me years to sort them all out and get their stories down on paper but I’m just going to keep plugging at it until either the de Clermonts–or you–get sick of me.
TELEVISION: we keep plugging away at that, too. The ADOW TV team is writing and casting, working to get the best possible eight scripts for season 1 of the show (which will take us through A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES), and the perfect Diana, Matthew, and Co. (if you have any spare time to send us positive energy this week and next, it will be put to good use–trust me on this!) The director is brilliant, and he has already been trips to Oxford and Venice to look at locations and get a feeling for the place. He already has a fantastic feeling for the book and its characters, as well as a marvelous vision for the series as it goes from page to screen. Again, I can’t fill you in on specifics because those announcements are made at the pleasure of the broadcaster–not me. So stay tuned. <—- bad joke, I know, given how patient you are being.
That’s it for me for now. I’ll be back at the end of the week with your Pinterest inspiration board for May, and back again in May with more updates on all things All Souls. Meanwhile, don’t forget to register for All Souls Con and come out and see me this weekend in LA with your books and your cameras and catch up in person.
–Deb
