Belated Spring
My updates were a couple of days late this quarter as I hid in my room to finish writing the next Miss Zukas: INDEX TO MURDER, slated for publication in 2008. And at the same time, prepare for the publication of CATALOGUE OF DEATH, the tenth Miss Zukas adventure.
As I write this, we are neck deep in all that gray mist we Northwesterners love to complain about. The world disappears into silver a few feet outside my window, and the closest plum tree (no leaves yet!) is dripping from last night’s rain The mourning doves have returned and their beautiful but haunting calls can send a few melancholy chills up your spine, even at ten o’clock in the morning. This is the kind of day to pull the covers over your head and wait until tomorrow! Even sounds are magnified in mist; I can hear a train on tracks five miles away, water under tires, the neighbor’s hens.
Speaking of birds, it was a rich winter: trumpeter swans from the north winter in our valley, as do the bald eagles. I counted 48 eagles one day within a seven-mile drive. I know, I know, we love the image of mighty eagles diving into rivers to snatch up silvery salmon in their talons, but the rascals really do love to hang out where the farmers are spreading fertilizer. To each his own! Most have returned north now, although a few remain to nest.
With the publication of CATALOGUE OF DEATH, I’ll begin a round of talks and signings. I’m honored to be speaking at the Altrusa Library Service Award dinner in Vancouver, WA on April 26th, and to be the speaker at the Michigan State Rural Librarians Conference in Traverse City, MI on May 8th. Plus points between.
One of the real pleasures of this long, wet, windy, gray winter was receiving email from readers. I love your suggestions, hearing your likes - AND your dislikes. Please, keep ‘em coming!
Happy Spring,
Jo

Noted Passing
Scott’s Bookstore of Mount Vernon, WA, is closing its doors on April 23, after 31 years as a grand independent bookstore. “Times change,” someone said to me regarding the loss of independent stores. Of course they do, but as Mary and Megan said in their farewell letter: “Each time you make a purchase, you are making a decision about the kinds of stores you want in your community, about the kind of community you want.”

52 books in 52 weeks
Here's a great idea. The Bensenville Community Library in Illinois is sponsoring a yearlong reading program: a book a week. Check out their website:52 books, 52 weeks where you'll discover interviews with the author of the week, booklists, booktalks, etc. And natch, Miss Zukas is proud to be a book-of-the-week in April!

Website of the Quarter
I love this site. Emusictheory.com. If someone you know is taking music lessons or if you just want to brush up on your music skills, this site’s for you. It has free practice drills for note recognition, theory, piano keys and strings. Downloadable drills as well as great links.

Good Reads
Helma just finished AFTERMATH; THE REMNANTS OF WAR, by Donovan Webster, an astonishing delve into the equipment, explosives and personal remains left behind on battlefields for decades after a war has been won or lost.
Ruth has settled in to reread the complete Narnia chronicles by C.S. Lewis, saying every little while, “I remember this!”