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A Letter From Joy
August 17, 2010 Hi, everyone, I hope you've been enjoying
this fabulous summer as much as I have.
This is really my kind of weather - hot and mostly dry. I am not
one of those people you will ever hear complaining about the
heat. It beats the cold any day, and I love going out in little
sundresses and shorts.
I also love a warm night where you can have dinner outside or
sit on the patio and read. After last summer, the summer that
wasn't, we were really owed a good one, and I'm hoping it
continues well into the fall.
So, enough about the weather. On to more important things. Like
golf.
My game has substantially improved, although I know how fickle
the golf gods can be, and I'm well aware it could be snatched
away from me again at any moment. However, I've been playing
quite consistently all summer, shooting in the mid-nineties on a
fairly regular basis, and my handicap sits at 24. My goal is to
get it down to 18, but at my age, this may be a bit of
delusional thinking on my part. Oh, well, as long as it doesn't
get any worse - at least for a while. It's very nice being able
to hit with confidence. I've been playing an average of twice a
week, occasionally three times, which has been great.
What else have I been doing this summer. Well, as most of you
know and are probably quite sick of hearing about, I became a
grandmother for the first time last December, and I try to see
as much of my gorgeous grandson, Hayden, as his parents will
allow. Luckily, they're very generous about sharing him, and
we've had the privilege of looking after him on our own for
several weekends, and I'm hoping for more. Also, I get to
visit with him at least once a week, sometimes more, and he is
such a little doll, always smiling and happy. Plus very
affectionate. I honestly can't get enough of him. And I'm happy
to report that Annie and her husband continue to be wonderful
parents.
This is one very loved little boy. Annie goes back to work soon
and she has very mixed feelings about leaving Hayden, as I'm
sure most young mothers do when they have to return to work. I
never had that problem because, as a writer, I never had to face
that dilemma. I always worked at home and so was there to raise
my children myself. Although I had help after Annie was born.
One child I could manage and still write, but two was way too
difficult. I remember writing one of my books - I believe it was
THE OTHER WOMAN - with two-year-old Annie sitting on my lap, and
I recall thinking, "I hope this book makes sense because I have
no idea what I'm doing." Of course, in later years, I had my dog
Casey (now deceased) lying across my lap, although he never
tried to play with the keyboard.
As for my daughter, Shannon, good things are finally starting to
happen for her. We've signed with a company that will be
distributing her CD and it will soon be available on
i-tunes and all the other online venues. Her website is almost
ready and should soon be up and running, along with information
about where to buy her songs, etc. And there will be a link from
my site to hers. So I hope you'll all give her a look and a
listen, and that you'll like what you hear and order her CD, or
at least download a few of her songs. It is so hard to be an
artist starting out today, especially in the music business.
I'll keep you informed. By the time you read my next letter, it
should be all systems up and operating.
My husband, Warren, had the second of his two cataract surgeries
this morning. The whole thing is quite amazing, and so different
from the way things used to be. When Warren's mother had her
cataracts removed many years ago, she had to stay in the
hospital and not move for days, with sandbags on either side of
her head to keep her absolutely still.
Now, it's a whole different ball game. There's no hospital stay;
the actual procedure takes all of ten minutes; they don't put
you under; you're free to move about immediately; you can resume
driving, etc. and most other activities the next day. Fantastic!
So he's well and happy he can see properly again. It's a whole
new world.
We spent three days in New York at the beginning of August. Some
very good friends took us as a treat for Warren's upcoming
birthday in November. We had a wonderful time, as we always do
when we go to New York. We walked all day - Madison Avenue is
such a magnificent street - and saw a couple of Broadway shows -
"Memphis", a very entertaining musical about, you guessed it,
Memphis, and the birth of rock'n roll.
Not the most original of stories and a little simplistic, but
great energy, performances, singing and dancing. We also saw
"Lend Me A Tenor", a revival of a very funny farce, starring
Tony Shaloub and Antony LaPaglia. It was excellent. We also saw
two spectacular exhibits - an Otto Dix exhibit at the Neue
Museum and a Matisse exhibit at the Moma. We also explored the
meat-packing district, now a very fashionable area full of
interesting boutiques, and had lunch at the JP Morgan Library.
We also ate at the Union Street Cafe and had lunch at one of our
favorite places, Nello's. Great food and fun all around,
although I also managed to sneak in a little business.
As for business, I'm happy to report that my writing is going
well. I'm on chapter eight of my newest novel and it's coming
along really well.
No details to divulge yet, but I'm enjoying writing it, which is
always a good sign. And my next novel, now titled NOW YOU SEE
HER, is set for publication next February. The small book I
wrote for adults learning how to read called HOME INVASION will
be out in the fall of 2011.
Everyone seems quite excited about it. And new trade paperback
editions of KISS MOMMY GOODBYE and TELL ME NO SECRETS have been
reissued in Canada. Anyone in other countries wanting to order
these books can do so through
Indigo.ca or
Amazon.com.
I've seen a few movies recently, "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,"
which was just terrific, and "Eat, Pray, Love," which in spite
of Julia Roberts, whom I think is great and always interesting
to watch, was dull, dull, dull. Almost 2 1/2 hours and no plot!
No conflict! No nothing! Just a lot of pap and platitudes.
Sorry, not my cup of tea.
I'm also a little disappointed in the book I'm reading, Carl
Hiaasen's latest novel, STAR ISLAND. Carl has long been one of
my very favorite writers, but this book isn't his best. His
subject is simply too easy a target and it all feels overly
familiar. Hopefully he'll get back to form next time out.
And that's about it for now. I'll write next month, if I can
find time between movies. Yes, it's that time of year again. The
Toronto Film Festival! Hooray! Last year I saw the magnificent
"A Secret in Their Eyes" which went on to win the Oscar for Best
Foreign Film. Hopefully I'll discover another gem this year.
(I'm sure I'll also see my share of turkeys, but that's part of
the fun. Till next time,
Joy
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