Dear friends,
I've not written here for so long that I barely know how to start. I'm very pleased to announce that it's official -- Following Austen will be published by WaterBrook, a division of Random House, to be released on Sept. 1, 2007. I'm thrilled.
But -- as you may have guessed by my silence here -- my life is nearly overwhelmed at the moment by the terrifying darkness that is Lyme disease. There are moments of light, but they are more like lightning bugs than anything else -- showing up briefly and quickly fading away. Three weeks ago Friday I was able to make a pot of tea, and sit outside to write a little, and actually go for a little walk on the trail behind my house. I can't tell you how good, how significant, these small things are to me. (There are things that require energy that I never realized required energy -- things like sitting up straight, taking a bath, reading a book. Only when everything is taken away do you realize how much you take for granted in your everyday life.)
I have been writing parts of the book in my head, but have been unable to actually start writing again. Pray that I will be able to write.
