Back to "normal"

Well, the holidays are behind us and I have to admit that I'm ready to get back to "normal." For the past three months, during Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and my birthday, I've packed, moved and unpacked and, if I never have to go to Home Depot to buy another box, well, that will be just fine with me.

This past summer, after Mistaken Identity was released, I started working on my fifth Malone mystery. I finished my chapter-by-chapter outline and had just started to write Marnie Malone when my mother decided to try to sell her house. In 2013, she'd had it on the market with no success and we both realized that the house was too much for us and it was time to try again. (I had moved in with her in April 2014.) So, the house went up for sale the beginning of October and sold in just a few days. Amazing!

That was a good thing but it also meant that we needed to pack up her house where she'd lived for twenty-three years and, believe me, that was no simple process. We also needed to find an apartment for her and one for me. I hoped we could be in the same building but I knew the chances of that were slim. And then, it happened. We found apartments across the hall from each other in a four-family building! The apartments and the location are beyond my wildest expectations. I couldn't ask for more and I know that God did for us what I never could've done myself. I'm very grateful!

We both moved into our apartments a little over a month ago and I've been working non-stop to get Mom's apartment and mine unpacked and organized. Because she'd broken her left hip twice a few years ago, she's not been able to do much of the physical work involved. I've been "box free" for a couple of weeks but there are still a few boxes of hers to be unpacked and a ton of organizing to do. The good news is that the worst of it is behind us!

But the best news (for me) is that, this week, I will finally get back to writing! I am so excited! I've missed my characters and, although I've jotted down a few notes in the interim, I've missed the act of writing. So, today, I plan to set up my bulletin board in preparation for tomorrow morning. And I couldn't be more thrilled!