RHYS DOES PARIS

 RHYS BOWEN: Today I'm celebrating my launch event for my new Royal Spyness mystery, PERIL IN PARIS!  It’s actually a week before the official release date as Poisoned Pen was already full for November 8, but I’m looking forward to an in person event which has hardly happened for three years now.  (It will also be live streamed if you don’t live near Phoenix. 7 pm. Pacific time)

As you can guess from the title Georgie and Darcy go to Paris. The action takes place at a fashion show at Chanel where Georgie gets involved in international espionage. Lots of fun with our favorite recurring characters making their cameo appearances.

This book is a big deal for me as it marks my 50th mystery/historical novel. Fifty novels in twenty five years. That’s two a year. Quite an output. So there will be much  celebration in the house of Bowen/Quin-Harkin.

And co-incidentally, I’ve just returned from Paris. Every time I go there it reminds me what a special sort of place it is. It is a city of beautiful buildings, of parks, of walks along the Seine, but also of enticing back-alleys, little courtyards, tiny shops.  I love the corner cafes where you can sit outside and watch the world go by for the price of a coffee and nobody ever brings you the bill until you ask for it. I love the parks where you can sit on a bench and watch Parisian life (especially if you’ve just bought a baguette with brie and apple and a pastry to follow it). I love that you can buy a pain au chocolate for one Euro!  I love the fresh vegetables and fruit, again so cheap. We bought strawberries that must have been picked the day before. So sweet!

Parisian women are so impossibly elegant and they know how to wear scarves. When I bought a sweater the saleswoman tried to get me to buy the scarf to go with it. She draped it over my shoulder and it looked great. “It’s no good,” I told her. “I’m not French. It would only fall off.”

Some things about Paris amaze me: we stayed in the Marais, full of little shops. On my street there were several shops that sold handmade crafts and jewelry,, one that sold only Japanese antiques, one old prints, and one that just sold ribbon.  How can anyone pay the rent just selling ribbon? Around the corner was a cheese shop with so many varieties the mind boggled and next door a shop that just sold things like  smoked salmon pinwheels and stuffed artichokes. 

Another thing that amazes me about the shops in France is that they are rarely open. They might put up their shutters at 11, then close for lunch from 1-3 and not open on Mondays or saint’s days. How does anyone make a  profit?

This time I was particularly observant not only because Peril in Paris is coming out but because my next stand-alone is set partly in Paris–before, during and after ww2. And mostly in the Marais where we were staying. So I observed everything to make sure I get the details right.  Also took notes on our river cruise: what does it feel like to go through a lock? To watch life on the banks as you drift past? To have swans come to my balcony? Lots of notes taken there too.

There are things about Paris that I don’t really like: too many people still smoke. If you sit outside at a restaurant you can be sure the people at the next table are smoking. There is dog poo on the sidewalks. People do not clean up after themselves. The traffic is insane. And at the moment there seems to be construction everywhere. I took a bus down to the Trocadero because I love the fountains, only to find the fountains are being refurbished and all I was looking at was construction equipment. Also now a strange thing has happened and churches and monuments have been commercialized: they give space on their walls to advertisers. It alarmed me to see a huge advert for a bank across the front of the Madeleine!

My last annoyance in Paris was that nobody wore a mask and everyone was coughing.  I tested myself–negative and went to the pharmacy. That’s another strange thing in France. You do not select your own medications. A dragon of a woman comes out and asks you what is wrong. She questions about all your symptoms. Then she gives you what she thinks you need (usually herbal as they don’t believe in drugs). Everyone in Paris has a cold right now, she said when I told her my symptoms.  Actually not everyone had a cold. One of them had Covid and I caught it.  Back in London I tested positive and spent several days shut in my hotel room. Luckily it was no worse than an annoying cold and I soon recovered but those were days I had planned to meet friends and do my shopping. I had to return home with no pickles or marmite or my favorite chocolates!

Who is a big fan of Paris? What do you like about it? And I hope some of you will join in this evening at the Poisoned Pen, or on their Facebook! See you there.

My Vision Board

 RHYS BOWEN

Last summer the whole family was together for the first time in ages for a blissful week on the beach. On the last day we sat around the big table making vision boards. It’s something I’ve never done before: I’ve never been good at journal keeping, expressing my feelings on paper (when it’s not one of my characters in fiction). I’ve always hated the sort of small group exercises where you are supposed to share feelings and experiences. I suppose I’m essentially a private person and perhaps I don’t want to confront my feelings or reveal my inner self to the world.

                So the vision board was a big shock to me, because I actually enjoyed it. It was fun sifting through hundreds of glossy magazines, finding that perfect picture—one that spoke to me, resonated with what I wanted for myself. The results for the whole family were stunning. (I should add that while the two male grandchildren worked with us, none of the adult males participated. It’s just not a guy thing, I guess.

                I know that my son and daughter-in-law do this every year on New Year’s Day, setting up their plans, hopes and dreams for the new year. I have always done something similar in a notebook that I keep. Each year I write the year-plan: what I am going to write, where I hope to travel. Resolutions of a sort: this year was STAY HEALTHY, STOP WORRYING at the top of the list.  Each year I go through last year’s plan and resolutions and see what worked and what didn’t. For 2020 there was an awful lot of stuff crossed out.  Cruise to Caribbean? No. House in Torquay, Devonshire for the whole family. No. Channel Islands? No. Conventions? No.  Then last year was pretty much a repeat. No travel, except for that one perfect week.

                So this year I was hesitant to put down any plans. We’ve already cancelled the cruise set for February. I’m still hoping to go to England in September, but we’ll play it by ear. And I’m really keeping my fingers crossed for Malice Domestic and the Edgars. I’m guest-of-honor at one and nominated at the other. How often does that happen? So please, no new theta, phi and omega strains!

                Ironically all my writing has gone so smoothly, with few interruptions. Sales have been brilliant. I won the Agatha last year. Edgar nom this year—so no complaints on that score. But while those successes are great, they are not the things that matter. I miss my friends, my family, my social life of pre-pandemic. A big group sitting around the table, laughing and eating. We did manage this at Christmas but that was before omicron. Since then four family members have had Covid. So have multiple friends. So it’s back to hibernation mode. 

    One thing this pandemic has done is to make us realize what is important in life. How many times have I had my nails done (zero). How much new make-up have I bought? Not much. Am I sad about that? No. So it's the relationships, the friendships, the human interactions that I miss terribly. Nothing else really matters. 

How about you? Do you make vision boards? Year plans? Resolutions? Are you daring to make plans for this year? Have you come to any realizations during the pandemic?

When Covid Comes to Town by Jenn McKinlay

FIRST the winner of Lynn Cahoon's ebook giveaway is Libby Dodd! Congrats, Libby! Send your email address to Lynn at: 

lcahoon7@gmail.com 

and she'll sent your ebook!

Jenn McKinlay: You just don't think it's going to happen to you until the nasal swab says "You got the 'rona!" 

To clarify, this hasn't happened to me...yet. But two of my people are down and out with it. High fever, chills, sore throat, cough - otherwise known as "the works". One is already shaking it off but the other, a severe asthmatic, is laid low. I am spending my days away from home and cocooning myself in my office at night just in case someone needs an emergency ride to the ER. 

This is not how I pictured 2022 rolling out. When I picked the word "persist" as my word for the year, I wasn't issuing the universe a challenge. Sheesh! 

Still, if the past two years have taught me anything, it's that the Dalai Lama is right and we have to treat each other better than we have been. We have to start caring for strangers as we would our most precious loved ones and act accordingly.

Because, as I mentioned, one of us is a severe asthmatic, we got vaxxed and boosted as soon as we could, and have continued to wear masks in public and at work and school. Unfortunately the current strain of Covid is like a wildfire, hopping from house to house and burning everything in its path.

I am not a worrier by nature but I'm not gonna lie, when I look at my loved ones suffering high fevers and painful coughs and struggling to breathe, I'm nervous. Some thoughtless knucklehead brought this plague to work and infected my people. I've dealt with a lot of loss over the past two years, and I'm really not up for anymore. Really. Not. Up. For. It.

So, I'm going to go rogue here -- the Jungle Reds are by and large a sanctuary of non touchy subjects (mask - no mask - vax - no vax - what have you) but I'm going to have to go there -- and ask all of you to be careful out there. 

We value you as our friends, our community, and we would miss any of you should we lose you to this stupid plague. And so I ask you to please think about yourself, your loved ones, your friends, your neighbors and even the random stranger you don't know but who smiles at you just because, and consider what you can do to protect yourself and them, too. 

P.S. I'm writing this on Monday night so hopefully by the time it posts on Friday, we'll be in the clear or I'll be really sick - ugh! Yes, I'm posting my entire week right now in mid freak out. ACK!

Stay Well, Friends!

 

We’re (no longer?) living, in a cubicle world…

HALLIE EPHRON: As someone who spent decades of my work life in a cubicle, I’ve been fascinated to observe its (perhaps temporary) demise.

I worked for Digital Equipment Corp and my "office" was only slightly wider than my arm span. Co-workers and bosses could “drop in” at the drop of a hat and interrupt your concentration.

I could hear all of the phone conversations emanating from my neighbors’ cubicles. Smell their gum when they unwrapped a stick and started to chew.

TEAMWORK was the watchword. And by God, we had meetings.

There was a down side, as on Thursday several people commented on the challenges of avoiding difficult co-workers when we worked packed in. (But perhaps that was the point?)

Now I see in the news that many businesses that worked virtual in the wake of COVID are not making their employees return to the office. At the same time, housing prices have skyrocketed as so many of us have discovered our homes are simply too small to accommodate us and our families AND our work spaces.

Seems like there should be some kind of AHA! Moment here. Empty offices: Housing shortage.

What do you think we could do with all that office space that’s going begging? It only took a century or more to figure out that factories in old mill buildings could be converted into loft apartments. My last office at Digital was in a converted shopping mall.

Ideas?? Any interesting projects going on in your neck of the woods to repurpose office buildings? As for me, I envision an office buildingn transformed ito an enormous chutes and ladders game with slides and ladders and pneumatic tubes to whisk players from floor to floor and place to place with wondrous refreshment stands and prizes along the way...

Free to Fly Again!

RHYS BOWEN: Ten days ago I got my second vaccine shot, so by the end of this week I should be safe to venture beyond the confines of my own home for the first time since March last year. Actually that’s not quite true. I have been to the supermarket during senior hour, at seven thirty in the morning once a week. We walk twice a day in local parkland. I’ve actually braved the post office when I’ve had to send off books. But that’s about it.

 So no lunches out, no evening restaurants, no theaters, museums, bookstores. Nothing that makes life rich and exciting. We’ve had take-out from a few restaurants but on the whole we’ve found it disappointing as it’s usually cold by the time we get it home. And most of all no meals with family and friends—indoors at least. We have dared to meet from time to time outside on my balcony or patio. But at distance, with masks and no hugs.

 

And in our professional sphere we’ve missed book launches, book tours, conventions, fans, fun lunches, late night chats with friends in the bar. I know it’s been the same for all of us—a long, boring, worrying slog with no end in sight. Until now.  Later this week I am heading to Arizona. We haven’t been able to spend our usual winter at our house there,  so I’ve missed drives into the desert, meeting friends at favorite restaurants and especially barbecues in my daughter’s backyard and the twins school activities. So I’m so excited to be with them again. Clare and Tim have both had their shots so I’m hoping for lots of hugs. And also looking forward to seeing our granddaughter in a leading role in the school musical. After a year of isolation and learning from home, the kids have finally gone back to the class room. TJ is wrestling and Mary Clare is singing and dancing. I’m so happy for them.

And I'm daring to dream about travel again. This is the first time we haven't spent the summer in England and Europe for many years and oh, how I miss it. But I've tentatively booked a cruise for NEXT spring. Fingers crossed.

 Okay Reds, Where do you stand in the vaccine line? And what will be the first thing you do when you are finally free to spread your wings again?

LUCY BURDETTE: We are very fortunate to have both shots under our belts. That means we are going out to dinner tonight (outside, I still won’t eat inside) to celebrate a friend’s birthday (they are vaccinated too). So thrilled! And we have plane reservations at the end of March to go to CA and finally see the grandchildren. That all could change in a minute if the virus ramps up, of course, so we stand nervously ready to pivot. And I’m working to help some other elder friends who aren’t Internet savvy find their shots. Sigh. The system was broken before it started.

JENN McKINLAY: I’m at the bottom of the list for a vaccination, I’m afraid. I’m not old enough or essential enough -- darn it! But Arizona does seem to be rolling them out swiftly so my hope is that I’ll be vaccinated by the end of April. I sincerely hope so because I have a lot of research to do for my book set on Martha’s Vineyard, and I really need to do the boots on the ground walking tour of the place to get it just right. 

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m finally scheduled for my first shot. My intrepid daughter spent two and a half hours on line battling with the scheduling system and finally scored an appointment for me. I’ll drive about 40 minutes to our local football stadium to get the first dose, then wait and go again for the second one, and then wait… what are they saying, 10 days to develop full immunity? But we’re not planning any trips or events, not until we see the numbers that are going down stay down.

I think the roll-out is going to accelerate quite a bit and certainly they’ll fix the registration systems. I’m optimistic. And dying to see my grandchildren.

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m in Jenn’s group - neither old enough, nor essential, nor (thankfully) do I have any comorbidities.  My poor daughters are desperate to see me vaccinated, but frankly, I’m fine - I work from home anyway, and I can continue with Zoom church and Netflix instead of movie theaters for the foreseeable future. I’m hoping maybe sometime in May? June? 

The travel that’s most tantalizing isn’t my own - I’d love to have the Sailor and his girl visit this summer. She’s already had the vaccinations (works in the medical field) and the Navy is prioritizing getting its people immunized. (Which is an interesting topic, because I’ve seen nothing about vaccines for the Armed Forces in the public discourse.) 

I can spend another summer socializing outside and staying six feet+ away from my friends. I just want to get to summer - at this time of year, it’s very hard to imagine it will ever get here.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We are now more than two weeks past our second shots. Rick has been able to make plumbing supply runs to the hardware store (masked, of course) without worry, so we were very grateful for that after the storm here in Texas. I've done little errands, just popping in a few places for this or that, which I would not have done pre-vaccine, when pretty much my only outing was a weekly senior hour grocery trip to Trader Joe's. It felt enormously liberating just to do some ordinary things. I think we will be gradually ramping up our expectations. A haircut (yay!!! After a year!!) An outdoor lunch with my daughter! A dash in B&N to pick up a British home magazine! But I'm not ready to contemplate travel until a lot more people are vaccinated and the numbers are down.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Jonathan has had both shots---hurray, and it is such an amazing relief! He had absolutely no side effects. Not a shiver or even one moment of discomfort. It’s so reassuring and it feels like I am a thousand pounds lighter. In two weeks, he’ll be back in court, and that'll be incredibly weird. He now has a dentist appointment too, and I said--I’ll go with you! He said--why? And I realized, we have not done anything separately for a year. What a transition.

As for me, I’ve had my first shot, no side effects. And, if all goes as planned--please cross fingers for me here in Massachusetts, which is ridiculously disorganized--I’ll have my second one on March 9.

And let me say, how weird is it? That we are living in a time where the universe says: Okay. You won’t die IF you get a shot of something that will save you, but MAY make you briefly sick and unhappy, but in 12 hours you’ll be fine, so--will you do it?

And of course I will, with endless delight. 

RHYS: So who else has had their vaccines? And what does everyone dream of doing first?

MY FAVORITE THINGS.

 RHYS BOWEN:  It's been an awful week, hasn't it? My stomach still hasn't stopped churning. Every hour a new piece of bad news. So I thought I'd end a week that was difficult for me to find uplifting and calming posts with a song. Enjoy.

A SONG FOR THE TIME OF COVID

My Favorite Things—a Covid Song.

 Zooming with grandkids 

And Facetime with daughters

Long bathtime soaks in 

Delicious hot waters

Reading good books and

The pleasure that brings 

These are a few of my favorite things

Walking in nature 

With time to observe

Home exercising with

Vim and with verve

Zooming with choir 

And the strangely weird sings

 These are a few of my favorite things 

 More Zooms with bookstores 

And bookclubs and friends—swell

Trying new recipes, 

( not all work out well)

 But sharing with spouse

 And the comfort that brings

 These are a few of my favorite things.

Hoping for vaccines

And longing for travel

Dreaming of days 

When I’ll no more unravel

Hugs for my dear ones 

How lovely that rings!

These are a few of my favorite things.

When I’m lonely 

Isolated 

I’m depressed and mad

I simply remember my favorite things 

And then I don’t feel so bad.

Finishing my week with optimism. Things will get better. Things are getting better. Vaccines will come. We will get through this and all meet again at a mystery convention where we will hug each other.

FIVE GOOD THINGS DURING THE TIME OF COVID

 RHYS BOWEN: I realize I am hosting what could be a really stressful week: the Georgia election tomorrow, and the ratification (or not) of the Electoral College votes on Wednesday. These are enough to turn anyone to drink!  So I’m going to make sure all my posts are sweet, calm and harmless.

At least we are in a new year. We made it through 2020 without being attacked by Murder Hornets or being struck by a passing meteorite. It is now behind us. We can look forward to a time beyond Covid, a time of vaccines and future hugs, travel and dining out again.  

But I am trying hard to be positive this week so I’ve been thinking what good things might have happened during the pandemic. Here is my list of FIVE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED DURING COVID. I know other people have become experts in sourdough bread, have reorganized their closets, purged their clothing wardrobes. I have not.

But I have discovered the joys of working in bed. How sinful is that? My son made me this brilliant lap desk for Christmas. In fact he made one for every member of the family. I can’t really write propped up on pillows but I can go through my email and social media.

Second good thing: My hips were getting sore from sitting and writing so I found a seat cushion that is like part of an exercise ball. It’s wonderful because you can’t sit in one position, you have to continually readjust yourself. This brings me to the bigger category: you can find anything you need on Amazon.  I craved Wheatabix cereal that can no longer be found in the US. Lo and behold I can get it from Amazon, delivered the next day. Brilliant!

Third Good thing: We walk twice a day. We are lucky to live in an area of great natural beauty so I’m able to observe winter bird migrations and most recently a nightly murmuration of starlings. The fresh air, the sun shining on water and the glorious birds are enough to lift any spirit.

The fourth good thing is Zoom. Whoever invented it should get a medal or a knighthood! My family chats every Sunday evening. My Jungle Red Sisters and I Zoom regularly, so do other groups I belong to. I’ve listened to Zoom lectures, I’ve done Zoom bookstore presentations, I’ve even Zoomed with my choir. On Christmas Eve the family played charades on Zoom. So special.

And the fifth good thing?  We can now go into a bank, wearing a mask and not get arrested. (Just kidding. The fifth good thing is that John and I haven't killed each other but actually enjoy our time together and manage to laugh daily.)

So let’s hear it from you: What are your silver linings in this time of dark clouds?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Rhys, I’m laughing at going into a bank and not getting arrested. I glimpsed myself the other day, masked (of course!) wearing sunglasses against the bright winter sunshine and a heavy knit cap against the cold. I looked like the Unabomber!

First good thing: I read a LOT more this year. After the first few months, when I couldn't concentrate on anything except horrible news stories, I found refuge in novels and nonfiction. Blurb requests plummeted (probably as a result of publishers holding back books til next year) and so I had very little I had to read. I’ve rediscovered the soothing joy of reading away the evening in the company of my daughter, which leads me to

The second good thing: Having the Maine Millennial live with me. She brought a cat, a dog, and her delightful personality when she moved back in, and she’s helped to keep me sane as we inch toward the one-year mark of the shut down.

The third good thing: realizing how much of my wardrobe I actually wear day-to-day, versus how much is taking up space for social occasions. I’ve been thinning things out, and the winnowing will continue.

The fourth good thing, and like unto the third: 100% casual wear, baby. I haven’t worn anything except sneakers, boots, slippers or flip-flops in a year. I like it. 

Finally, the fifth good thing: appreciating the simple blessings we don’t often count. I was so grateful to have all my kids home for Christmas. We were all healthy, all employed, all earning enough to provide food and shelter and extras like presents and some small donations. I don’t usually think like that, and I hope I can hold on to that point of view in what will become the After Time.

LUCY BURDETTE: First good thing: Lottie puppy! Oh yes, she’s in a terribly annoying pesky chewing everything stage, but she makes us laugh and laugh.

Second, I agree with Zoom, so grateful to have been able to stay in close touch with our kids and grandkids and siblings and extended family and friends, including my beloved Reds!

Third good thing, yoga classes with my favorite two teachers online. In ordinary times, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them while in Florida, but now I can do the classes from anywhere. And I swear I owe half of my sanity to Ali and Jo.

Fourth good thing, I’m so, so grateful to have a life partner whose company I enjoy, almost always. And the people I stay in touch with I’ve stayed in close touch with because nobody’s going anywhere!

Fifth good thing, I’ve let my gray hair grow out and after that first truly ugly couple of months, I’ve grown to love it. I will never go back to coloring every four or five weeks, but I wouldn’t have done this if I wasn’t afraid to go to the hair salon. I’d love to get some sparkly silver streaks put in to celebrate getting vaccinated though!

And ps Rhys, I almost always write in bed--it’s the best!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Julia, I'm so glad you've had the Maine Millennial for company this year!

Which brings me to the first good thing, sharing a house with my hubby, who makes me laugh every day. We have not been tempted to strangle each other--at least not yet!

Second good thing, the dogs and the cats. They are endlessly entertaining (at least to us) and endlessly generous with their affection. We've especially enjoyed watching Lucy, the neighborhood formerly-outside cat, integrate herself into the household. The dogs are her slaves!

Third good thing, books books books. I'll admit to doing a lot of rereading these last few months, but that has been such a comfort. And when crime novels have seemed a bit too close to reality, I've discovered a slew of British romantic comedies. Just the ticket.

Fourth good thing, my inner slob to the forefront. I LOVE living in yoga pants and t-shirts/hoodies, and I'm dreading the day I have to get back into "real" clothes. And like Lucy, I've let my hair color grow out, which I'd never have done if not forced. I've discovered I don't mind the gray at the temples nearly as much as I thought I would, and while I'll probably go back to some highlights, no more all-over hair color for me.

Fifth good thing, appreciating the little things, every day. I've really loved the slowing down and not rushing from one activity to another, savoring walks and meals and evenings in front of the fire.

JENN McKINLAY: This is my own personal annus horribilis, so I don’t know that I can actually come up with five things because everything is shrouded in grief and the stages that accompany it but I will try.

One: Yoga pants. I’ve never worn yoga pants before. They’re so comfy! And now I own five pairs. I fear there is no going back.

Two: With all of our lives on hold, my family of four has spent the past nine months in tight quarters and we discovered we really like each other. I mean I suspected that we liked each other before, but it turns out that we really enjoy each other’s company. 

Three: Home improvement has been happening all over the house. Those pesky chores we could never seem to manage, we finally had the time to get it done. Then the bathroom flooded, because 2020...but I digress.

I think I’m tapped out now. So long 2020! Not gonna miss you.

HALLIE EPHRON: The best things that happened for me during COVID were getting closer to and appreciating my:

1. Husband

2. Daughters

3. Grandkids

4. Sisters

5. Neighbors

6. Friends

...My cup runneth over.

(Rhys: that is six, but Hallie is allowed to have her cup running over!)

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I’ve thought about this so much. It feels strange to talk about it, when things are so awful, and every day is more insane and terrifying. But yeah. I agree. And in no particular order.

One: Not rushing. The constant pressure of potentially being physically late for something was such a part of my life. Traffic, and expectations, and deadlines, and driving driving flying driving and  appointments and appearances, and weather, and airplane delays and ….all that. I could never just--sit there. (So yeah, careful what you wish for.) I’m working harder than ever, somehow, don’t get me wrong, which is so weird. But it’s all from right here in our house.

Two: Leggings and hoodies. WIth t-shirts and blazers and necklaces for Zooms. Seriously, I think the clothes in my closet are sobbing as I walk by and ignore them. I truly wonder if I’ll ever go back to those--I see my elegant heels, SO pretty, and I really enjoyed them. But yikes. I wonder what will happen to fashion. But for right now, it’s amazing to ratchet down. You cannot believe what I wear some days--I look in the mirror and laugh. And love it.

Three: Lunch with my husband. Jonathan has hit this out of the ballpark. He makes lunch every day, and then comes into my office, and says “lunch is ready.” Can you believe that? And we have lunch together.  I mean--that is GREAT.  I make dinner every night, and happily, and he is so enthusiastic. But wow, lunch is a joy.

Four: A new frugality. And gratitude. I am careful with paper towels, toilet paper, paper in general. Food--I use everything, every bit of everything, and think about how I used to be a little careless about that. Never ever ever will I take food for granted again. And a corollary to that--the people who grow the food, and make the food, and stock the food,and drive the food, and deliver the food.  It makes me cry with gratitude.  We are SO lucky.  

Five: Okay, yeah, Zoom. We started The Back Room, and I do First Chapter Fun, and so many interviews and events and classes, and honestly, it’s great. I’m sure we wouldn’t have expanded our worlds so much without this, and I hope that we keep it on the other side. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, and I hope we find out soon.

RHYS: Dear sisters, these are all so wise and so true. Appreciating the little things, the daily gifts, and someone to share this with. All priceless. And Hank--I agree with you so much about the lack of pressure and rushing. No delayed flights, slow traffic, noisy hotel rooms...bliss!

So how about our dear Jungle Red clan? What are your five blessings?

Red hot deals and news: Lucy Burdette's ebook THE KEY LIME CRIME is on sale for a limited time for $2.99. DEATH ON THE MENU and A DEADLY FEAST are on sale for $1.99.  

Hank Phillippi Ryan's THE FIRST TO LIE is now in gorgeous trade paperback!  https://hankphillippiryan.com/books/the-first-to-lie/

Covid agitas invades our dreams

HALLIE EPHRON: Normally at this time of year I’d be zipping in and out of airports and giving workshops and talks at conferences. Willamette, Surrey, Writers Digest, Crime Bake, Bouchercon, the Piper Center at ASU, and more. My recurrent nightmare has been that I can’t find my car. I parked it… somewhere… and I’m going to be late wherever it is that I’m going.

Now I keep dreaming that I can’t find what I need in the supermarket. The whole middle of the store has gone missing and been replaced by aisles of luggage and small appliances and who knows what all stuff that I do not need.

No more dreams about lost cars. Not surprising because the only place I’m going these days is… the supermarket. In at 6:30 AM and out as fast as I can.

Meanwhile, my Stop ‘n’ Shop has taken it upon itself to completely reorganize in the store. Last time I was in there, celery, mushrooms, broccoli, scallions and cauliflower were MIA. Butter and coffee have moved halfway across the store. There's no longer a "health foods" section."

It’s as if they threw the entire store up in the air and put everything down somewhere new. Gradually. Over the course of 3 months. It takes triple time to shop.

And they're still at it. Here's what was going on in the meat department at 7 AM this morning.

In my nightmare, I dreamed that I marched up to the customer service desk and chewed out the cashier. (Something which I would never do. I adore the staff at my local Stop ‘n’ Shop.) My husband woke me up because I was shouting.

When I realized what I’d been dreaming, I cracked up laughing. So absurd. But really, my path through the supermarket is one of precious few things that were predictable in an otherwise-gone-bonkers world.

Have your dreams changed since Covid? Are new everyday challenges giving you agitas these days?

LUCY BURDETTE: I haven’t noticed the dreams so much, but waking hours definitely are affected.

We have decided to head south--we have a careful plan about staying with relatives who have bedrooms in their basement and will accept cats and puppies. And I’m planning all our road food.

But John has banned me from buying any more masks. My latest are from Everbrand. They fit really well and don’t fog up my glasses and have some kind of silver treatment on them that’s supposed to kill viruses. (Who knows right?)

So that’s how I’m channeling my anxiety--about everything!

RHYS BOWEN: My dreams have not become disturbing on the whole but very vivid and complicated. The only worrying feature is

that I dream we are keeping a lion or tiger as a pet I’m not happy about it as I realize the danger.

Having studied dream psychology at university I interpret this as having something that could be dangerous in my house with me— the virus. We don’t know where it is so we don’t feel safe.

Oh, and I realize that I am on a lot of trains, a mode of transport that I rarely use. Is my brain saying that flying is unsafe? Am i trying to get somewhere where I’ll be safe?

JENN McKINLAY: I don’t dream. I also don’t sleep. A good night’s rest for me, is five to six hours uninterrupted, but with teenagers and pets that rarely happens. I think that I’m so exhausted by the time I go to bed I’m too weary to remember anything my unconscious is throwing at me, which during these very trying days is probably a blessing.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, I have been having terrible dreams. Not every night, but some nights. My dreams are insidious, in that they always start out like very normal life, everyone doing something that they'd ordinarily be doing, and then at some point there's something off--WAIT, I used to know where the door was, or did they change the time of this event, or why can't I find the right building, or what happened to my suitcase, or where did all my clothes go? they used to be in the closet RIGHT HERE and why why why didn't I plan for whatever it is?

I'm always trying to fix things, and as soon as I figure something out, something else goes wrong.

Recently, there's been a scary black-dressed thing

--and I don't mean a person exactly, just a scary thing--at the end of our driveway, which is scaring me just to think about it. I suppose THAT representation is pretty obvious, right? Not so tough to interpret.

And hey, by the way, brain, I don't need dreams to tell me it's scary out there.

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  I've been having very vivid and disrupted dreams, too, and a lot of them seem to be about looking for things. In one the other night, I was going through drawers, and in one of them was a very silky black cat, with bright green eyes. Not a stuffed cat, either, a real live cat! In my dream I could feel the texture of its fur. So weird.

I don't have a superstitious thing about black cats, having had several over the years, but it was just...weird.

My Covid agitas is more evident in the daytime, with horrible problems concentrating, and I keep feeling like I have to remind myself to breathe. A walk helps.

HALLIE: Has covid invaded your dreamscape? Please, tell us about it...