There are things going on behind the scenes that I can’t talk about just now. It’s better not to, I think, better to hold it close and then look back later and see how it all turned out.

But in the meantime I’ve left a lot of silence around here—and my commenting on others’ blogs has fallen to the wayside, and the promises I made to read certain pages of certain people’s work and send comments has been put off another weekend, and… I have a lot to get back to.

But in the meantime of that meantime, I got ARCs (advance reader copies) of DANI NOIR and I have an extra with your name on it. Well, someone’s name on it. I think I may have a contest here and elsewhere on the internet so someone can snag a copy before September. They’re really pretty, I have to say. (I can say that, I’m not the artist or the designer.) I just hope the words inside hold up!

And my new novel—it’s got its grips on me and now neither of us can let go. So that’s a good thing. I love writing this one; I just wish the words would spill out faster. It’s one of those voices where *every* *single* *word* is important, so it takes a lot of considering and picturing and carving and recarving. Don’t blame me, blame my narrator. That’s just how she talks.

Other than that, what else can I say? I’m still alive. Working hard, you have no idea. Trying in ways I have never tried before. Being hopeful, trying that emotion on for size.

Here are some questions I answered on the Simon & Schuster website. It was fun to do. Like a meme. And you know I love those.