Hello, First name / my friend,

 

It started with a hot hurricane, as Sebastian Stremmel would say. He’d also have something to say about all the leaves that left their trees this week but that’s a grumble for another day.

 

Late in the summer, I walked into my office in my old Colonial house to find rainwater pouring from the ceiling. There had been storms the day and night previous and now that storm was pooling on my floor. I was finishing up work on In a Jam at this point and—I cannot overstate this—in no condition to deal with any inconvenience whatsoever. 

 

Because we all knew I’d crack like a nut if this wasn’t resolved quickly, Mr. Canterbary and one his buddies got up on the roof in the middle of the storm and nailed tarps into place. For my part, I popped my head out the door several times and yelled to them to be careful. They came through it just fine and honestly, I think they enjoyed the adventure of it. 

 

Roofers were called, work was scheduled, materials were delivered. I finished Jam with a few beach towels on my office floor and a pair of recycling bins positioned under the leak, just in case.

 

Fast forward to New Roof Day. I figured it would be loud and I wouldn’t get much done with a half dozen people hammering and stomping overhead though the most distracting part was definitely when one of the roofers put a leg through the ceiling. No worries; everyone’s fine. Aside from my office ceiling of course.

 

Now my office has been emptied save for the very heavy and very full bookshelves, which have been encased in plastic wrapping to spare them from the mess that is replacing drywall.

 

I will be taking my “stares intensely at nothing for thirty minutes before typing furiously for the next ten minutes and then sips tea for an hour” routine to the local coffeehouse and praying the good seat near the window is open because otherwise I’ll stare at people and that has a tendency to get awkward.

 

Oh, and while I’m at this coffeehouse, I’ll be working on Dr. O’Rourke’s book. We caught a glimpse of him in The Worst Guy. His tolerance for New England weather is much better than Sebastian’s. 

 

Reminder for paperback lovers: my signed paperback store is open for a very limited time! Stock of In a Jam is running very low and when they’re gone, they’re gone. If you want one, this is your chance to grab it. In case you’re wondering, I’m not scheduled to attend any in-person signing events until spring of 2024.

 

As a reminder for audio lovers:  narrators Kit Swann and Jason Clarke are on track to narrate and the audio is due in early 2023. 

 

Stay well, my friend!