A Letter from Danielle for September ’20
Hi Everyone,
It’s September!!! Let’s hope the universe doesn’t have any big surprises for us this month—OR ONLY GOOD ONES!!!
September has always been one of my busiest months, especially when my kids were all in school. At my busiest and craziest, they went to four different schools (all at the same time), and eventually, the younger ones still were in four schools, and the older ones went to college. Hard to keep track with nine kids!! Who’s on first? (I once called one of the schools to tell them that one of my sons was sick and was staying home, and they were very nice and told me they were sorry to hear it, but he no longer went to that school. Oops!!! Sorry!!) I’ve never had a good grip on the fact that I’m “famous,” it’s not how I see myself. And we’ve never made a big issue of it in the family, which is nice, it keeps life normal. So, when I had to call one of the schools, with a message—for a teacher conference or with a sick child—I would immediately explain that I was Mrs. So and So (my married name), and my son or daughter/whichever child was in X grade with X teacher, so they would know who I was, and about halfway through my long explanation of who I was, they would interrupt and say we “We know . . . we know. . . .” I was always amazed that they knew who I was!!! My main distinction with my kids was that I made pretty good tacos (every Sunday night), not that I wrote books!!! I think they’re still more impressed by the tacos.
I suppose school must be quite challenging right now, particularly if children are being taught on video this September, (depending on where you live). It must be harder keeping them focused, with video at home, rather than sending them to school—and probably lonely for the children not to be with their friends—and it must take a LOT of involvement of parents. Challenging times. I hope that things will get back to normal soon, and that “back to school” time isn’t too challenging for you!!!
If you haven’t had time to read it yet, I hope you squeeze in a little downtime to read my new hardcover Royal, which came out two weeks ago. It’s a historical novel, and I took some novelist’s liberty with history and followed a royal family—and added an extra princess to their family. The book begins in World War II, and the princess disappears under some unusual circumstances. And twenty years later, some VERY major surprises surface, of long-buried secrets. And as the story continues, the secrets are revealed. It was REALLY fun writing the book. I always find royalty fascinating. I hope you love it—and it might be a good distraction from the back to school frenzy, or just the beginning of fall.
And next month, we have some special surprises for you. My novel Spy, (set all over the world) will be out in paperback AND my book Expect A Miracle will be out next month. It’s a book of more than a hundred quotations that I have collected for my entire lifetime, that I love, cherish—and which cheer me, inspire me, lift me up when I’m down, and some even make me laugh, or share some useful wisdom with me. I hope you LOVE that little book and give it as a gift for the holidays. (I’m going to!!!). I’m sharing that book and those quotations with you, from my heart. And this seems like just the right time for it, and to EXPECT A MIRACLE!
Take care!! I hope it was a good summer and will now be a GREAT fall!!!!
Love,
Danielle