I’m writing this just after 6 p.m. EST on that first disorienting Monday after Daylight Savings Time when we spring forward one hour each year. It’s strange to look out my office window and see a still-bright sky above the rooftops and the trees, which are bare of leaves at the end of a long winter. The first hint of a pale orange sunset is barely visible. The evenings will seem longer and lighter now, and it will make less sense to wrap up the day by five o’clock.
It’s hard to fathom that spring is only a week and a half away. New England was hit by snowstorm after snowstorm this year, and weeks of frigid temperatures helped the snow pack to stick around. A white blanket covers the yards on our street as I write. That might not last long, however; the temperature is supposed to climb into the 50s tomorrow. Still, a Nor’Easter is on the way and will hit in a few days, and temperatures might dip low enough in the middle of that storm for any rain to turn back into snow.
New England weather is unpredictable like that, as unpredictable as life. Although sometimes I envy friends who live in warmer climates, I must admit that I like the variations in the seasons here. Perhaps life would be more cheerful if on any given day I could head to the beach, but when the temperature warms up here after a long, dark winter, I appreciate the sun in ways I might not otherwise.
In any case, even I am ready for the sun to return. It’s time.
I got word from my publisher today that Message from a Blue Jay is now in galleys; I can’t wait to see it. I’ve seen the page layout and I can’t describe how it feels to see the pages of your first book for the first time. I don’t think it will feel real until I hold the book in my hands. I wonder if even then it will feel real.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Back Pages Books, a wonderful bookstore on Moody Street in Waltham, will host the launch party for the book on Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. The event is free and will include light refreshments, a reading, and a book signing. More details will be forthcoming, but in the meantime you can “join” the event on Facebook or register with the bookstore at this link. If you’re in the Boston area, I hope to see you there!
For now, the semester continues at Lasell College, where I teach, although everyone will be off for Spring Break next week. I’ll use the time to work at my other job and catch up; as you can tell from the sporadic postings on this blog, it’s been a hectic semester with little time for much else.
That will change in six weeks, though, and by then the book launch will be right around the corner. I look forward to having more time for it all. For now, enjoy the last days of winter. I’ll see you on the sunny side.
