Archives - Weekly Update

My trip to Memphis was a fabulous but absolutely non-stop trip. I never even had time to unpack my laptop, let alone turn it on! On Monday, right after I flew in, I went to the National Civil Rights Museum, where I spent a very moving three hours. The museum is housed in the Lorraine Motel, which is the site where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot on a balcony on the second floor. It was chilling to walk towards the museum and see an image that was firmly in my memory brought to life. You can see the spot marked with a wreath in the photo above. Plans are very much underway for the 50th Anniversary Remembrance on April 4th, which made being there all the more poignant.

On Monday, I am heading to Memphis for the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute, a terrific four-day event that will give me the opportunity to preview books being published for spring and early summer --- and to meet dozens of authors. A bonus will be that I love spending time with booksellers, and hearing what they are reading and are excited about.

It’s warmed up considerably in the New York area; you can thank me. The day I ordered a new electric blanket, the temperatures started to rise. I know, I know; I should have done it sooner! The snow has been melting so fast that I am wearing shoes again instead of snow boots. What a difference a week makes.

This week, I spent some late nights and early mornings reading HELLBENT by Gregg Hurwitz, which is my favorite of his three Evan Smoak books. It has the soul that I loved in the first book, as well as a lot of scenes set in his amazing apartment. It also has some incredible action scenes, as well as some tech action that will make your head spin. Just bravo.

Whew! The start to this year has had some firsts already. Earlier this week, we had a supermoon, and there will be another one at the end of January, which will be a super blue moon, as there are two moons in this month. Beyond this, we in the East experienced a bombogenesis, which is supposedly some kind of a snow apocalypse since it seems we cannot just have blizzards anymore. One friend blamed the 24-hour news cycle for all the hype, saying they need to make news as bodacious as it can be, to keep us glued to the television.