The Aftermath of Hurricane Helene

November has been a slow month writing wise because I’m still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. As of today, Asheville continues to be under a “boil water” advisory.

My co-author, Amie Darnell Specht was caught in a flash flood caused by the hurricane and lost all the contents of her home, her handicapped accessible van, and her power wheelchair. Thankfully, Amie, her husband Matt, and their pets are all safe.

Author Nora Shalaway Carpenter is assembling an anthology to benefit those impacted by the hurricane. Amie and I have been asked to participate and all the proceeds will go to two charities, Beloved Asheville and World Central Kitchen.

Retired librarian Lisa Foster England volunteers at her grandson’s elementary school and sent along this picture of my quilting book.

Although my book, The Ballad of Jessie Pearl was previously published, my new editor and I decided to make some changes to the manuscript. My original editor considered the book, young YA, which is a hard sell in the marketplace. The changes editor, Amy Fitzgerald suggested will make the book more solidly middle grade and allow it to be marketed to the same audience as its sequel, Wild Mountain Ivy.

And to wrap things up, I will be presenting this weekend at the Literacy Association of Tennessee’s annual conference in Franklin, Tennessee. This is a new conference for me and I’m looking forward to spending time with fellow authors and educators.

Happy Thanksgiving!