Dear Readers,

My summer courses ended with a whimper rather than a bang. I’m officially a free man for the next five weeks. Towards the middle of this week, I’ll be getting the audiobook files for Molly’s Song to proof, so I am definitely looking forward to that. The book also got a good review from the US Review of Books which you can read here. Stay tuned for more information about in person and virtual events connected with the book’s release.

I had my visit with the surgeon last week and I am now booked for an operation on September 14^th. I’ll have to miss a couple of weeks of class, but since I have all my lectures recorded now thanks to the Rona, my students will not actually miss any content. I’ll just post the videos for them to watch on their own. There are a variety of factors that could interfere and cause either a postponement or cancellation of the surgery, but assuming all goes as planned, I’ll head down to Galveston for the operation on the 14^th.

Aksinia and Olga are recovering from getting fixed. They didn’t like the cones of shame, which were really too large for them, so we dressed them in onesies instead. While not exactly enthusiastic about wearing them, they do tolerate it. They will be able to take them off on Tuesday. So far, both appear to be happy here. There’s windows for them to look out of, toys to play with, and plenty of mischief to get into.

My grades were due on Friday morning. I took the rest of that day and the weekend to relax before jumping into my writing schedule tomorrow morning. Molly’s War needs to be finished in five weeks. Or rather, the first draft has to be finished in five weeks. Editing takes me a whole lot longer than writing the initial draft. Books aren’t written so much as they are re-written, but completing the first draft is the first step.

Recently I have gotten a bit hooked on watching Murdoch Mysteries on Amazon. With 14 seasons and over 200 episodes, that’s plenty of watching. Truthfully, I have a very short attention span when it comes to watching a series and it is unusual for me to finish one on the first attempt. Ordinarily it takes me a few years to work my way through an entire run. With this series being so long, I doubt I’ll ever finish it. The series is good though. The time period in which it is set (late Victorian period) is truly a fascinating one with lots of technological innovations, which make their way into the series.

Until next time, friends, take care of yourselves. And each other.

L.H.