June 17, 2009
Hi, everyone,
I hope this letter finds you all healthy and in good spirits.
As I write this, it's pouring rain and the weather report is
calling for more of the same for most of the week. Since I tend
to take the weather very personally, this is not a good thing.
I'm very much a sunshine and warm weather kind of person,
although I have to admit that the gloomier it is outside, the
more I want to stay inside and write. So lots more tends to get
done, although my golf handicap tends to go up. At any rate,
work is well underway on the next book after The Wild Zone (
W.Z. is due out next spring), and if the weather keeps up like
this, I may finish it in record time.
Now onto some terrifically exciting news of a personal nature:
my daughter, Annie, is pregnant and the baby is due toward the
end of November. We're all very thrilled. This will be my first
grandchild, so a whole new world will undoubtedly open up to me.
I'll try not to bore you with too many stories of my miraculous
grandbaby, but I will keep you posted. And my other daughter,
Shannon, also has some extremely exciting news - she's going to
Nashville in late July to record an album of her songs. Finally,
someone is giving her a chance to shine, and I know she won't
disappoint. She's an extremely talented young woman and her
songs are amazing. ( You may remember that I used the words to
one of her songs in my book "Heart Stopper," and there's a link
to a video of her performing another one of her songs on my
site, as well as on You Tube. I believe it's called Sexy Shannon
in the Backseat. If you haven't already watched it, you should
give it a look.) Once her album is completed, I'll let you know
all the details.
We just got back from five days in Vancouver where my husband
had business meetings to attend, then it was on to Harrison Hot
Springs for more business meetings (for him) and some lovely spa
treatments (for me). It was great, and I got to reconnect with
old friends and acquaintances. I toured the magnificent Minter
Gardens and walked along the lake, and we even got a round of
golf in when business was concluded. I played from the men's
tees with a borrowed set of men's clubs, and while my score
wasn't great, I hit some pretty nice shots and was generally
happy with my game. Next week a friend of mine has invited me to
play in a member guest tournament at her club. Hopefully my evil
twin will stay home that day and I'll play well. At any rate, it
should be lots of fun.
And good practice for our trip this August to Ireland and
Scotland, where we'll be playing lots of golf, including the Old
Course at St. Andrew's. I'm really looking forward to it, all
the more so because by the time we return in September my new
grandchild will almost be ready to make an appearance. Okay,
okay - enough about grandchildren!
I haven't seen too many good movies lately. Actually I've hardly
seen any movies at all. What is it with summer movies? Are there
no good ones around? I saw Drag Me To Hell because I love horror
movies and this one got some very respectable reviews, but I
thought it was terrible. Not believable in the slightest,
absolutely nothing scary happening, and the greatest sin of all
- it was BORING! I do want to see the Star Trek movie because
everyone says it's wonderful, and I loved the original Taking of
Pelham One, Two, Three, so I'll probably go to see that, but
please, isn't there anyone out there who knows how to make good
movies anymore, movies where you actually have a coherent story
and characters you believe in and root for?
I'm reading a good book at the moment. It's called "Laura
Rider's Masterpiece' by Jane Hamilton. It's very clever,
occasionally even laugh-out-loud funny - and I'm enjoying it a
lot. It has the added benefit of being really short.
So, this weekend is shaping up to be a busy one, what with
Annie's birthday on the 19th and Father's Day on the 21st, as
well as the U.S.
Open on TV all weekend. And I'll be teaching my creative
writing course for the week of July6th-10th at the University of
Toronto, which I'm greatly looking forward to. I love
interacting with the students - who range in age from early
twenties to late seventies, if the last two years are any
indication. I'm sure I learn as much from them as they do from
me.
And that's it for now. I don't have any personal appearances
planned for the rest of the summer. Thank you to everyone who
wrote to tell me how much they've been enjoying both Still Life
and Charley's Web, as well as my earlier books. I love reading
your letters and I respond to each and every one, so if you
don't get a reply, there's a good chance I didn't get your
letter, and please try again.
Until next month,
Stay well and keep reading,
Joy Fielding
