Time seems to be passing in strange ways; it’s somehow going both quickly and slowly simultaneously. It’s hard to believe we’re more than half-way through 2021, when 2020 felt like it would last forever — and for the first few months of this year, it felt as if it would take forever again to get the chance to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Things started changing in our corner of the world when the vaccine rollout picked up steam. Many families are still mourning loved ones who were lost, but as more Americans got vaccinated, COVID hospitalizations began to slow. People figuratively poked their heads out of their doors, looked around, and began to wonder if it was safe to emerge after a year of largely staying at home. Everything related to the virus — from people’s behavior and beliefs to progress to attitudes — varied from one state to the next and even among people in the same communities (and still does). Still, by late spring, most states that had been under some form of lock-down were dropping restrictions and re-opening businesses and events.
Of course, this isn’t the case in some other parts of the world, and we’re not even sure how it’s going to go here. But for now, at least in Massachusetts where I live, life has returned to some semblance of “normal.” We’re all adjusting to what that new normal is — many people (including me) aren’t returning to jobs they’d lost due to the pandemic. As for employees who did hold onto their jobs, some are now permanently working from home. Students are out of school for the summer after a year largely spent learning remotely, and no one is certain what fall will look like for teachers and students. Some beloved restaurants and businesses closed and won’t be back. New ones are taking a chance and opening now.
One thing that has returned — unfortunately — is traffic. Although rush hour still isn’t quite up to former levels, the roads are humming with cars, SUVS, and trucks. On weekends traffic is crawling, stop-and-go, from exit to exit on major highways. After being cooped up for more than a year, people just want to get out and get away.
We’re all coping with how our lives changed in 2020. I don’t think anyone’s life is exactly what it once was, and now we have to figure out where we go from here.
It’s in this context that I’m announcing, with hope and forward thought, that my third children’s book will be published in October.
The second book in the Stray Cat Stories Series was released at the end of February 2020 — right before the pandemic hit. As a result, TRIBBS: THE VERY HANDSOME CAT didn’t reach as big of an audience as the first book, LITTLE WHITE: THE FERAL CAT WHO FOUND A HOME. That was disappointing, but it was certainly understandable – people had a lot to deal with, and many lost jobs and buying power. Book buying wasn’t front and center on people’s minds, at least not towards the beginning of the pandemic.
Still, Tribbs’ story was enjoyed by quite a few families and children. It is rewarding to know that his heartwarming (and instructive) story is bringing joy and learning to the kids who read it. I continue to donate a portion of the proceeds of all my children’s book sales to non-profit animal rescue organizations, and I hope you’ll give Tribbs a chance if you’re looking for a wonderful story to share with your children or grandchildren.
Now, as we move forward to the second half of 2021 and hopefully to more progress in putting the pandemic behind us, it’s exciting to bring the third (and likely final) book in the series to print. Soon I’ll host the cover reveal for FRAZIER: THE VERY SPECIAL CAT right here on this blog. The book is about a special cat indeed. It is based on another true story of an abandoned cat who needed help to escape a tough life on the streets so he could find his “furever” home. In Frazier’s case, his story has a twist and another very happy ending.
So, watch this space for more news about FRAZIER: THE VERY SPECIAL CAT. The book will be published by Writer’s Coffee Bar Press of New Jersey on October 29, 2021 — which also happens to be National Cat Day. Save the date!
I can’t wait to show you the cover- coming soon.
