These past few weeks I have been using every spare minute of every single day to work on the revise process of my novel. Yep, when you finish the long process of writing a book, landing an agent, editing the book with said agent, and then finally sell it–wee!–you then roll up your sleeves and start a new layer of work on the book. It’s a long process, and not for the faint of heart. But, P.S. I kind of love it! I’ve watched as this book has grown from a little seed of an idea, to a little green shoot, to a bud, and now, thanks to the keen eye of my editor at Penguin, Denise, it is growing into a big beautiful in-bloom flower. (At least, that is our hope!)

As some of you know, my book tells two stories: that of a modern-day woman, and a woman in the year of 1943. As I’ve been living with these characters (really, they’re like old friends), I’ve come to rely on some favorite music to fuel my writing and imagination. And, I can’t tell you how powerful music has been to me as I write, and now, revise. Particularly, for this book, the old songs of the past–the songs my grandparents listened to–and some truly amazing, jazz music as well as modern-day faves, have gotten me in the place I need to be to write well. Here’s my The Violets of March playlist (in random order):



Here’s Russell after his bath tonight. Poor boy has had a high fever most of this week, but tonight he seemed to be perking up. Big sigh. Here’s to hoping he’s able to get some rest tonight (um, and me too!).

In other news … I’m so excited to announce that I sold my first novel! My book, The Waters of March, will be published by Penguin (Plume) in the summer of 2011. I’m overjoyed and excited–and also thrilled to be working with the fabulous Denise Roy at Penguin!

A big thanks to my literary agent extraordinaire, Elisabeth Weed! More on the details of novel-publishing in the months ahead, but for now, here’s the official announcement that appeared on Publisher’s Marketplace today …



pumpkin-final

So first I tell you about my fall fashion faves, and now I’m blabbering on about autumnal things again. Think I’m ready for a season change? After the long and windy road of this summer (which will forever be known as The Summer of Real Estate), the answer is yes. As I’m writing tonight, I have my office window propped open here in Seattle, and there’s a cool breeze spilling in–cool as in, it has a little bite to it. I love it. Don’t get me wrong, I think summer is fine, but I absolutely love fall. The sweaters. The leaves. The wood-burning fire smell. The pumpkins. The pumpkin-spice muffins, lattes (P.S. They’ve just arrived at Starbucks!), well, anything pumpkin-flavored. Squash, of all kinds. Fall TV shows. Slower-paced evenings. Candle light. Soup. Apples and cinnamon. The countdown to Christmas. Rain boots. Scarves. I’ll take them all. (I’m not alone, other bloggers seem to be bitten by fall too, like Stephanie, who keeps the beautiful blog Nie Nie Dialogues). More ramblings, and an update…