Fall is here and so is the rain. It’s a good time to finish cleaning up the garden and get ready for winter. It’s also a good time to write and edit in between the dry spells which will be minimal this week.
As October deepens, I’ve been out in my garden putting things to rest and preparing a box for garlic later in the year. But I know that I’ve wrapped up other things from summer besides the garden.
In August, I managed a trip back east to visit my big brother and sister-in-law and have a garden party with my cousins. Two of them I hadn’t seen in years. We made it happen despite being sandwiched between two hurricanes. Massachusetts also experienced its first tornado warning in 30 years. We ended up with four, three of them on a single day. Flying in from Oregon, Michigan (my cousin actually drove to Connecticut from there), and Washington State, we met at my cousin Andy’s 1850s home and garden. It was a beautiful time pulled together at the last moment when we realized that Hurricane Henri was coming on the day we planned to meet. A quick exchange of texts and we moved the day back. That’s my big brother John in the middle, who is the editor on the Harvard Press, in the historic village of Harvard just west of Concord. We were all vaccinated and grateful that we could meet after all of us being home-bound for months. We aren’t getting any younger.
On the days with no pouring rain and tornado warnings, I also managed to meet up with two of my K College friends who only lived a short trip over a bridge away from my brother. A wonderful afternoon. How was your summer and early fall?
Writing News
I’ve been juggling marketing and writing for most of the summer along with talks on Zoom sprinkled in. Since Atlantic Crossing aired on PBS last spring, both The Quisling Factor and The Jøssing Affair have received a lot of attention. In a good way. I am grateful for readers and groups interested in the history of Norway during WWII tour. And with Norwegian-Americans who continue to share their personal story or their family’s.
A New Work in Progress
I’ve been working hard on a prequel to The Jøssing Affair since last year. It takes place in Bergen, Norway in 1942 with some of the main characters from Jøssing, like Tore Haugland and Tommy Renvik returning. Haugland is two years younger (22) and just on his third assignment in Norway. It’s a whole new region for me but I have been busy exchanging emails with historians and librarians in Bergen, Norway and doing interviews with my wonderful 97 year old friend who lived there during the occupation. I still have my spy book from British Naval Intelligence and with her sharp memory she has given me the best details. The map of Bergen is scribbled with her notes and my own findings.
The Quisling Factor
I’m getting ready to launch a new Kickstarter campaign for the audio book version of this novel. Once again, UK actor and author, Chris Humphreys will narrate. He’ll start in January. I’ll put out the URL once I launch it. In the meantime, you can get the audio book of The Jøssing Affair at a greatly reduced rate at CHIRP. It’s a Featured Deal. https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/the-jossing-affair-by-j-l-oakley
Take care.