I'm So Here For Fall. Also, I Have NEWS

“I love September, especially when we’re in it.” -Willie Stargell

image from Unsplash

In these days of climate calamity, even the change of seasons has become an occasion for uncertainty. But lo and behold, after the raging furnace that was August this year, September has arrived in southern Idaho right on cue.

Almost with the turn of a calendar page, the air has gone from smoke-filled to clear. The sunshine, no longer a blistering inferno, is a warm kiss. Bluer-than-blue skies host gatherings of puffy clouds that sometimes get together and offer a gentle shower. Days are perfect for hikes; nights are perfect for sleeping.

And September is only a week old!

I almost fear to greet this month with too much enthusiasm. She can be shy when she first appears, prone to retreating under too much attention. Then the dog days come slobbering back to suffocate us for another week, or two, or three.

So I’m cautious, even sneaky, as I pull out the sweaters and boots. I’ve quietly trimmed back my overgrown tomato vines and picked them nearly clean. They sense their days are numbered. The lush plants in my front porch pots cringe when I look at them narrow-eyed, picturing them replaced by collections of pumpkins and gourds.

My husband won’t let me turn on the gas fireplace until the clematis he planted on the trellis on the chimney goes dormant.

Hurry up, clematis. The cat and I can’t wait to curl up in front of a crackling fire, even if it’s confined behind glass.

Another thing I love about the changeover from summer to fall is the burst of energy that seems to suffuse everyone and everything. Maybe it’s a holdover from my school days (as a former kid, then a parent and a teacher, there have been a lot of those).

Or maybe it’s the way the trees practically hum with determination to suck in all the sun power they can through their greenery, even as the leaves at their tops begin to turn.

Whatever causes my uplift in mood come autumn, I’m grateful for it. I sleep better. I take more walks. I eat with gusto.

I eat with gusto in all weathers, but now I get grilled cheese sammies and tomato soup.

Looking at my weather app, I see no high temps above the low 80s in the next ten days. Color me happy, in atumnal hues.

And! Good news on the authorial front!

Griffin Rider, Book 2 in the Griffin Speaker series, is set to launch on May 4, 2027!

And here’s a hot deal: if you preorder online from Barnes & Noble today, September 9, through Friday, September 11, you can get 25% off as a Rewards member (which you can become automatically by going to their website and either signing in or opening a new account — and another 10% discount if you upgrade to a Premium membership!

Use code PREORDER25 at checkout.

You can use the same code to get the same deal on a preorder of the paperback edition of Griffin Speaker, Book 1 in the series, which comes out on April 6, 2027!

More fall book fun, especially for fans of Rick Riordan, the author of the mega-hit Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, plus many other bestsellers written for young readers, has a new book coming out at the end of this month: Camp Half-Blood: The Wild Zone, co-authored with Annabelle Oh, launches a new series set in the world of Percy Jackson. The authors are making an appearance in Boise on October 2, hosted by my beloved Rediscovered Books.

And I get to be there with them as their conversation partner!

If you’re anywhere near Boise in early October, join us! I’m sooooo excited . . .

Also, later this very week, as part of the Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age podcast team, I’ll be interviewing acclaimed writer, producer, and former movie studio executive, David Paul Kirkpatrick for an upcoming episode.

As the past President of Paramount Pictures and chief of production at both Disney Pictures and Touchstone (at the same time!), David is also an author and the founder of Story Summit. Our topic is creativity and how to nurture it throughout our lifespans — and I can’t think of anybody more expert on that subject than the remarkable Mr. Kirkpatrick.

I’ll announce that episode’s release date as soon as it’s confirmed.

Meanwhile, I’m lining up author visits to local schools and working on structural revisions for my next book.

If you’re looking for a short, amusing read, here’s a free link to my short take on Medium.com, about the example my cat sets for getting through tumultuous times:

https://medium.com/crows-feet/ill-worry-when-the-cat-does-ecd066490109?sk=7e93e8a7561a228643543628ba35447c

May you slide into autumn with your spirits high, your sanity intact, a good book in one hand and a cup of something nice in the other.

Could that heavy vase squish the cat? Yes. Is he worried? Nope. Photo by author