First day of school

I have never been a fan of New Year's Eve. Something about all that forced excitement and anticipation just never worked for me. But the first day of school? That still makes me tingle with hope. Here in Rhode Island, I've started to see yellow school buses again. Kids in new clothes. Even cooler temperatures. A new year. For me, I'm starting anew in many ways. After seventeen years, I've moved from lovely 1792 Colonial home into a loft in a renovated factory across town. On the snowy April day in 1993 that I moved from NYC to Providence, unfamiliar with its neighborhoods, I chose an apartment in Fox Point because I could walk everywhere and it looked slightly shabby. But it had loads of trees that blossomed that May in a burst of pink and white. And all those Colonial homes in between triple decker and small aluminum sided houses. I raised my kids there, and I often think I can still see Grace's footprints on the path to the playground. I walked that path every day, Sam and Grace running ahead of me, our puppy Zuzu tugging on her leash. Now Sam is out of college pursuing his acting dreams. Zuzu is a blind and deaf but still zippy fifteen year old dog now. And Grace, my funny smart little girl, is fourteen years gone from us. I walked that path with Annabelle too, Zuzu beside us. And now Annabelle is in middle school, my French speaking, book a day, traveling buddy. In so many ways it pains me to leave that house, that street, that neighborhood. But life keeps throwing challenges at us, no matter how hard that is, and we can choose to have them defeat us, define us, or help us grow. Once again I've chosen the latter. A marriage ending. A farewell to my home. A new start. At almost sixty not many people have the opportunity for that. Annabelle and I are unpacking boxes, choosing furniture, eating dinner on the coffee table, and looking forward to an exciting future. Our new neighborhood is more urban, more gritty, with new restaurants opening at a rapid rate and a new bookstore coming in November. Books are on shelves. Art is waiting to be hung. And school starts tomorrow. 

Heading West!

What an exciting August The Book That Matters Most and I are having! People Magazine, USA Today, The Library Association, and IndieBound have all selected The Book That Matters Most as their reading picks. I've already started my sixty book club visits (32 to go!) and have had wonderful events in Newport, Providence, and Westhampton. 

Tomorrow I'm heading to LA and San Francisco. If you're in or near Pasadena come see me tomorrow night at 7 at Vroman's; if you're in the Bay Area, come see me at Bookshop West Portal in San Francisco at 7!

Pub date nears!

I'm so excited for my new novel, The Book That Matters Most, to enter the world! 

August 9 is the official pub date, and today I start my book tour, which will take me from Cape Cod to Pasadena to San Francisco to Columbus, Ohio to New York City to Burlington VT to Boston to Miami and Sarasota FL...you get the idea. Check events on my website for all the details. 

What a lovely week Annabelle and I had in Paris:

And in Dingle, Ireland

And then I came home to celebrate Sam's play, SOURCES OF LIGHT OTHER THAN THE SUN, that he wrote and staged at The Hudson Theater in NYC this week!

His fabulous cast:

Proud mom here!

Pub Day!

The Book That Matters Most is officially out today! I'm teaching in Vermont, and my lovely workshop brought mimosas to celebrate.