April 8, 2024
I had a terrific time working with my Sunbury Press editor, Sarah, and she gave me some excellent feedback on my grief memoir, That Day, And What Came After: Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years. not least of which was giving me strokes for submitting the most polished manuscript she’d seen all year. Her other comments were also very encouraging: “I applaud the structure of the story. … It didn’t feel like I was reading a memoir; it felt like I was experiencing it. … You walk a reader through a journey that feels complete, both with at-the-moment description as well as personal reflection. This is a story that sticks with people, whether or not they’ve been in your position.”
That part of the process of getting the book ready for publication is complete, and now I’m waiting in another queue for the book designer to get to my name on her list. Crystal is incredibly creative and has designed the inner pages of both my other books with Sunbury, so she is definitely worth waiting for. Lawrence, the multi-talented company CEO, who was also my editor for Finding Sisters during the pandemic, will be designing the cover. Still no official release date, but I was just invited to sign up for an interview on Sunbury’s Book Show on their BookSpeak Network at the end of June, so it’s a good bet the book will be available this summer. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted once there is a pre-order link.
Most grief memoir covers are rather abstract, so I thought this photo might be something the designer could manipulate for a possible cover image.
As far as Weaving Penelope, the play Richard and I wrote together, two of the three possible situations I wrote about last time have turned out to be no-gos, but the third option is still alive for a possible Seattle area production in 2025 or 2026. And there’s an exciting new Oregon possibility that’s come our way recently, but there are not enough confirmed details to share. However, it’s looking probable that a production could happen there in spring or summer of 2025. So, Oregon friends, keep your fingers crossed that I’ll have a perfect opportunity for some visiting time out west early next year.
We just had a last gasp winter storm here in southern New England a few days ago that left us with 3-4 inches of snow and ice on the ground, but it’s already melted away. It won’t be long before my meadow will start showing signs of life again, and my flowering trees are all starting to develop this season’s buds. I’m in the process of writing a new essay about the process of becoming a meadow creator and caretaker.
This was last summer’s meadow. Who know what will happen this year?
The next time I write in the early summer, I hope to have a cover design to reveal and release date to share with you. And by then we might have more specific details we can share about Weaving Penelope in 2025.
Rebecca Daniels 