August 16 marks another trip around the sun.
It has been a year of firsts, unforgettable experiences, and reconnection. My last birthday was spent on a two-week research road trip for Beneath the Sicilian Stars, visiting the WWII internment camp at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, paddling Oregon’s Lost Lake, and seeing Glacier National Park’s few remaining ice masses.
Four months of nonstop writing followed as I finalized The Last Letter from Sicily. Although my debut was published in January, the hometown launch came in February with a front-page feature in Racine’s Journal Times, bookstore events at Vintage and Modern Books and Boswell Book Company, and reunions with friends and family.
Since then, I have finished a third novel, taught writing workshops, attended the Historical Novel Society North America conference in Las Vegas, and celebrated Beneath the Sicilian Stars' release with a virtual launch party and Railroad Book Depot appearance.
Now, just over a month after my second launch, it is incredible to see reader reviews and hear about the ways people connect with my work.
What a remarkable trip around the sun it has been. Thank you for your friendship. Here’s to another year of adventure together!