We once again were fortunate – although twice is more correct. Hurricanes Helene and Milton went north and west of us with rain and wind here. While there was some flash flooding, a few tornadoes, there was no appreciable damage in the area. Our hearts go out, especially in the “perfect storm” disasters of Tennessee and North Carolina. Many within the farming community here have strong ties because even though we grow amazing things all year, summers are too hot for most produce. Traditional produce like lettuces, tomatoes, corn, etc., come here in the summer from those states. That’s why there are the connections a bit north. In addition, a lot of people who have lived here for years decide the summer heat and cost of living are too much and relocate into Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. In Mother Nature’s way of irony, another reason for some who moved was to get away from hurricane areas.

On the municipal side, we send power people and as many first responders as can be spared. These are the times you hear heart-warming and heart-breaking stories and in the instances of those who loot or otherwise try to take advantage, we only hope they will all be caught and dealt with accordingly. We do still have the rest of October to get through and while November is still “in the season”, storms that late are really rare. Of note, that does not mean I am challenging Mother Nature to prove me wrong.

As holidays approach we have some yearly tasks to attend to. I have one of our friends who has a cleaning services and moving/storage company come clean up the exterior of the house and the hardscape in back. When we put the pool in, we took out the little grassy sections from the edge of the house to the fence. Even though we sweep periodically, enough dirt builds up to require power washing and while Hubby has done it in the past, it really is worth the money to hire someone. Plus, it helps out friend’s business.

I am in the midst of both trying to catch up from trip and discovering the errors I made in thinking I had closed the loop on certain thing prior to our departure. So far, of the two, both have been recoverable with a dollop of embarrassment.

In reality, in setting the dates I did, I overlooked one other critical task I would need to deal with in September/early October, but back when I set the dates, I thought both the major events of Sept 28th and Oct 17th would have taken place in July and August respectively. Changing those dates due to unexpected issues are actually what jammed things up so badly. While we do intend to plan the annual Art and Artisan Show for the first weekend of October for 2025 onward, the museum fundraiser (if we have one next year) will be held in July. That separates the two enough to give me breathing room.

Hubby continues to post wonderful photographs from the trip and people are really enjoying them. As always, he has to work through the 1,500 he took to decide which ones to actually process. That’s the whole deal of digital cameras where a photographer can take hundreds of shots quickly, then use different software in post-processing. That is the extent of my knowledge of the subject. He plans to do another book of our trip like he did of the trip to Disney. I don’t remember which company he uses for it, but they do a nice job and it’s not terribly expensive.

We have the rain bands from Hurricane Helene. It’s going up the Gulf side and way up into Georgia and Tennessee. That means lots of rain, not much wind for us and at least this time, Houston may be spared. Not sure about my brother and sister-in-law in Mandeville though. Will check on them later this morning.

In the week since my return, it’s been fairly jammed as I dealt with the most critical things first. Everything was productive and it was worth the time spent. In the 2.5 things I was able to accomplish for myself while gone, I completed the post-beta read changes to Shades of Remorse and my primary editor for scuba-involved books is available. I sent her the manuscript yesterday and she’ll be able to start next week. Hooray! My intent is for the book to be out the end of October/first part of November.

Sequencing in this one was tricky as was the use of a triple point of view (POV). As I mentioned in some previous posts, the long gap since my last book was I have never tackled a triple POV. There are different ways to do so and I don’t care for a couple of those techniques. It took a while for me to decide and quite frankly, it is complicated. Sequencing was difficult as well and in fact, even after the beta-read, something still felt “off”. I figured out it was the sequencing of four chapters toward the end. I had to move those around just a bit for the right flow. I’ll see if the editor responds in the same way.

Unlike most of my books, there is no view point from the “bad guy/woman” and so the reader doesn’t have the same insight as I’ve provided in the past. There are numerous linkages to “pick up on” as Detective Bev Henderson is faced with her first cold case as the story opens with finding a skeleton in the water. After the dead man is identified, there is more than one viable motive, but with forty years elapsed, there is no supporting forensics to help. Much is set against the backdrop of an old motel converted into apartments where four older women reside; one of whom is the widow. Added to the mix is the sudden appearance of the owner’s niece whom she had never met due to the estrangement of the two sisters.

You can see why this novel is especially complex.