A Virtual Author Reading

Because all my remaining March events got cancelled, I decided to create a virtual author reading. Since I didn't feel like reading from any of my dark historical novels at the moment, I chose instead to share some of the poems I wrote from the ages of 7 to 9. I hope it lightens the darkness a little.

Event Updates

Like many authors right now, I've reached the point where I've canceled all my late-winter/spring appearances, or the events were cancelled for me. It's heartbreaking not being able to travel right now, especially when my Tucson Festival of Books appearance was also going to involve a visit with my daughter at the University of Arizona. I'm going through a separate health issue right now and want to stay safe, plus I want to keep others safe by not traveling from state-to-state and potentially picking up the virus. So, I'm staying close to home for a while.

As someone who's written not one but TWO novels about the 1918 influenza pandemic, I'm definitely more than a little nervous about what could happen if COVID-19 spreads rapidly through the United States and elsewhere. My heart breaks for countries like China and Italy, where the virus has already overwhelmed healthcare systems.

Please take care of yourselves out there. Take care of the people around you. I know it's disappointing to cancel vacations and stick closer to home, but if we can all just stay put for a little while, it would help so much to keep the situation under control.

If you're curious about the 1918 flu pandemic and how it compared and differed from what's happening right now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an excellent page with information and additional resources.

In case it's of any help, I'll close with this excerpt from my novel In the Shadow of Blackbirds. My protagonist's father sent her this letter in the middle of the 1918 flu pandemic, and now I'm sending it to all of you.