Letter from Joy
August 23, 2026
Hi, everyone,
Sorry for the mix-up last month that resulted in a very late monthly letter. It appears I wrote the letter, then forgot to post it. Luckily, it was saved in Draft, so I was able to get it to you, late though it was. So, now this letter will feel a little early. (Providing, of course, I remember to post it!)
Anyway, it’s hard to believe but August is almost over. As usual, summer goes much too quickly. Soon it will be September, and then Christmas!!! And winter seems to drag on forever, even if we do spend most of it in Florida. It’s been a bit of a difficult time. My husband (of 52 years) has had some health issues, the last one being a very swollen knee, mostly due to arthritis, and despite having the knee drained and a number of shots administered, the swelling really hasn’t gone down, and he’s having trouble walking without a cane or walker. Needless to say, golf is out of the question, so I’ve only played a handful of times since we’ve been back in Toronto. It’s hard to maintain any kind of decent game when you only play once every two or three weeks, so that’s frustrating. Hopefully, his condition will improve soon. I know it’s incredibly frustrating for him. At any rate, my life of late seems to be taking him to various doctor appointments. As they say, getting old is not for sissies. As they also say, it beats the alternative!
I’ve finished what I hope are the final edits on my new novel, due out next August (I think). Too early to talk about it, but I’ll keep you posted. I should be starting the copy-edits soon and deciding on a cover. And I’m in the beginning stages of thinking about my next book. I have a general idea, and I’m just waiting for my subconscious to flesh it out a bit before committing anything to paper (or the computer.) And I have news for anyone in the Toronto area this fall - I’ll be teaching a course for the University of Toronto's Continuing Education Program, every Tuesday night from 6:30-9pm from October 16 to December 1st, entitled Writing the Breakout Novel. So, for any of you seriously interested in learning some important pointers in writing a book that will interest both readers and publishers, I urge you to think about signing up. Not that I have all the answers, but hopefully I have at least a few things to say that might prove helpful.
I’ve just finished THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett. While I enjoyed it very much, I found it way too long. It’s over 600 pages, and I think it would have been much better at 400. The last few hundred pages were a bit of a slog, at least for me, and I found things wound up a bit too neatly. Still, I enjoyed it, and I finished it, which is saying a lot, since I no longer feel the necessity to finish books once my interest starts to wane.
I went to see The Odyssey, which I thought was great. I’ve also been to several live theatre productions: The Sacred Chord, a Leonard Cohen Experience, which was fabulous. (I’m a big Leonard Cohen fan!), and Something Rotten, a musical being performed at Stratford. This was my third time seeing this show, once on Broadway, twice at Stratford, and if you’re anywhere in the neighbourhood of Stratford, Ontario before the show closes in November, I urge you all to go see it. It is so inventive and spectacular. The audience actually jumps to their feet, hooting and clapping, during two of the numbers, so terrific are they.
We also have been watching a number of TV shows - Prisoner, which I thought was great, and Reacher, which is predictable but fun. And we’ve just finished watching season one of Ted Lasso, which is terrific. Looking forward to seeing seasons 2 and 3 before starting the most recent episodes. Since we just got AppleTV, we have a lot of catching up to do on shows we’ve missed. I’m also loving this season of Project Runway - so inventive and creative, and I can’t seem to get enough of Married At First Sight, both Australia and Seattle.
And that’s about it for now. Stay well, and go buy a book.
Warmly,
Joy