I wasn’t, very. To be fair, I do tend to get buried in my own head quite easily. I know you’re supposed to perish first and then be buried, but I’ve never held much truck with doing things in the correct order, apparently.

How am I? Why, y’know what? Pretty good, considering that it’s the first of November. November, you may remember, has historically been The Month That Kicks My Butt, and it got a head start this year with an unusually rainy October. Stupid November, you think you’re so devious! I shall prevail, however, as shall we all, my friends.

So here I am, ready to punch November in the face as per usual. I’m afraid I have work to do and can’t do NoNoWriMo (my lazy alternative to NaNoWriMo) this year, but some of the work will be encouragingly pleasant. I’m expecting copy edits for my third book, TESS OF THE ROAD (formerly known as “Tess in Boots,” if you recall me mentioning it before), and I’m getting started on the fourth book, which might be called “Tess of the Sea,” although the odds are still good that that will change.

Music is always something that helps carry me through the deepening dark (Novemberrr! I know all your tricks!). Here’s the first of probably many, this time around: Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem.” We’re singing an arrangement of this at madrigals (Yes, we know it’s not a madrigal) and at first I thought it was really boring, but then it captivated my heart:

Happy November to you all!