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