June 2021

I’ve always been an introvert, but when the pandemic hit, I took it to a whole other level. Like a turtle retreating into its shell, I basically disappeared into my fortress of solitude and lost contact with the outside world—including most of my friends.

The only reason I didn’t become a complete hermit is that my best friend is a huge extrovert and likes to talk on the phone. And my brother. He likes to talk on the phone, too. I’m pretty sure he’s adopted. 😉

Without them continuing to reach out even though I rarely reciprocated, it would’ve just been me and Mr. M in our own little bubble. And even though I always think, oooh, I should check on X, time seems to slip away, and then it’s been three months… then six… then a year, and I’ve yet to check on X.

But we’re starting to see an end to the pandemic on the horizon. More people are getting vaccinated. Travel is picking up. And there’s no reason to continue to turtle, at least not quite as hard, but changing a year-plus habit is hard.

I’ve been meaning to reach out to friends for weeks, literal weeks, and I’ve yet to get it done. It doesn’t help that I’m also on deadline again, which comes with its own brain fog.

I guess I don’t really have a point to this ramble (sorry! see: deadline brain), but if you’ve been turtling, too, know you’re not alone. And I hope my friends don’t blame me for disappearing, just like I don’t blame them. We all did what we had to do to make it through.

Here’s to many happy reunions as we all emerge from our shells and re-establish contact. :)

Yesterday was Memorial Day in the US, which meant Mr M had the day off, giving us a three-day weekend. I decided to take the day off, too, because I needed a break. I’ve been chipping away at the next book, but writing is going slooooow, and while I’ve been trying not to work weekends, I haven’t been super successful.

Three whole days of not thinking about work was amazing. We played video games and read books and finished watching Shadow and Bone (someone please give Jesper a spinoff with ten seasons to do whatever he wants).

We also made bacon and tomato sandwiches with tomatoes Mr M grew in the garden. Some people will ruin this sandwich by turning it into a BLT (my husband included), but no one needs lettuce messing up the sheer perfection of thick bacon and homegrown tomatoes on lightly toasted sourdough.

I’ve eaten this for lunch for three days straight (leftovers are amazing!), and I couldn’t be happier. This is one of my go-to meals for the summer. 10/10 would eat everyday.

But now I’ve eaten all of the tomatoes and the holiday is over, so today I’m back at work. Kind of. It’s still going slowly, but the manuscript is over 42k words, so I’m inching ever onward. I have two months to finish it, which should be enough time if only I could find a bit of motivation.

Hunt the Stars turned out amazing, and I love it even more after edits. Book two is a hot mess. Books generally are, when they’re being written, but this one is more so than usual. My alpha readers tell me that it’s not, but I don’t believe them. 😂

The only way out is through, though, so back to it. Wish me luck! 🤞🏻