Yesterday would have been Dad’s 89th birthday. It seemed a fitting day to share my final book talk on My Music Man…and to serve cookies. If you’ve read my memoir, you may recall this excerpt.

TWO MONTHS AFTER Dad’s death and a few weeks after his memorial service on the steamer Portland, Russ and I caught an airplane for a long-before planned trip to Ireland. It had been so hard for me to get excited for this trip after Dad died – even though visiting Ireland had been on my bucket list for a long time. A week before leaving I baked chocolate chip cookies for our good friend Kelly to thank him for filming Dad’s service. I felt so much responsibility to stick around for Mom in Dad’s absence.

As I mixed eggs and assorted ingredients, I kept asking myself how I could possibly leave on vacation. Suddenly – alone in the kitchen – I started to cry. I felt Dad say to me, “Deeder, your mother will be fine. You have done so much. You need to go.” I laughed and cried – of course! I hadn’t been able to figure out why I hadn’t yet dreamed about Dad, but certainly, I should have known! Chocolate chip cookies would bring Dad back to me! (We always teased Dad that he was a lot like our dog, Oscar, when food was involved.) I felt comforted that the trip would work out okay.

From My Music Man, The Writing of this Book

And with that, It’s time to move on. Not that I wouldn’t be pleased to share stories and photos again from My Music Man if asked – if you know me, I can be a talker (until I hit my wall, like all true extroverted introverts). But if not, it’s time to think about what’s coming in May: the release of my Oregon-based novel, Beyond the Ripples.

People have asked what this next book is about. After living and thinking and dreaming and editing a story for so long, it’s both a tough question to answer, and yet one an author must be able to address in a short “pitch.” So, here goes. Beyond the Ripples is ultimately about synchronicity. It’s about those moments – each day – when we encounter an opportunity, and we have the choice to take it, or not. A new meeting or conversation or connection, an observation or feeling. And when we do – when we take that risk to get out of our head, out of our norm, or, away from what may be holding us in – we take an opportunity to find, or learn, or love something new.

I am eager to share Beyond the Ripples soon. If you’re curious, learn more on my website:read the endorsements (huge “thank-you’s” to authors Jane Kirkpatrick, Warren Easley, and Jenny Forrester), synopsis, and watch my book trailer. I’m looking forward to launch my book on Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 2 pm at my favorite local venue, The Willamette Ale and Cider House, and have begun scheduling readings, so far including West Linn Public Library (June 22) and Another Read Through (July 11).

Thanks for your support, keep reading and writing, and stay tuned!