A Letter from Danielle for September ’25
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to what used to be my busiest month of the year, getting nine children back into school in September—from kindergarten to college—getting uniforms; figuring out their schedules, buying pencils, notebooks, back packs, and uniform shoes; taking them to try out for sports teams; setting up car pools; and taking them to the first day of school while they still allowed it!!
I took one of my daughters to drop her off for her first day of high school and, as she scurried out of the car trying to look “cool,” she said to me, “Act like you don’t know me”—uh, what did that make her, a hitchhiker I picked up on my way to the supermarket??
In spite of the madness and the chaos, I loved those days. September was always busier for me than any other month, and made Christmas look like a breeze. And then finally, with everyone in their classes, with their friends, and the teacher they wanted (or didn’t), on the sports teams they had wanted, things settled down to a dull roar and their normal routines by the end of September.
So for those of you who have school-age children, I salute you. I know just how insanely busy and crazy September can get. And maybe once you get everyone settled, you’ll have time to take a break with a good book.
And for those of you who aren’t swept up in the back-to-school madness, I have lots for you to read. My new hardcover, For Richer For Poorer, came out in mid-August. By a man and a woman, both of whose businesses have tanked due to the pandemic. She is a wedding dress and evening gown designer with a booming business which stops dead as big weddings and parties cease to exist in the pandemic, and she has a family to support. And he, as the owner of some of the most important commercial real estate in New York, finds himself with buildings full of empty offices and his empire crumbles. They meet at a challenging time for each of them, and help each other come up with creative solutions to turn the tides to build successful businesses again, and the pressures they deal with as they struggle to get back on top.
At the end of August, my book Trial by Fire came out in paperback, about the California wildfires in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, when a French woman comes to San Francisco on business for the perfume company she owns and gets involved in the fire-rescue work.
That should keep you entertained as September begins, and then, at the end of September, my book The Portrait will come out in hardcover. It’s about a fascinating portrait artist and the very interesting and usually famous people she paints and develops friendships with. Each of them in some way changes her life, as their portrait sittings with her change theirs and form the bond they share.
And if you’re already caught up in the back-to-school tasks you have to accomplish, try and enjoy them!!! One day you will miss these days as I do. I smile just thinking about those Septembers. One day, the memories of these busy days will be precious!!! And in the meantime, remember: things do settle down by the end of the month!
Love,
Danielle