I recently went to my first live event for my books in two years. I’m not going to lie. It felt deeply weird. So many people! Crowds of people. Masked people, and everyone had to be vaccinated or have a negative test, so I wasn’t too worried about Covid as much as I was worried about so many people! I’m out of practice.
I felt like Spruce, our pandemic puppy, who didn’t get a lot of socialization. As a result he views people, especially loud children, with suspicion. On the other hand, Frost, the other pandemic puppy, is overjoyed when she sees new people. A true extrovert dog, she abandons us for the new people. It seems people are either a Spruce or a Frost.
Someone stopped by my booth. “I don’t want to read anything tragic,” she said. Looking at all three of my books, I cringed inwardly. They aren’t exactly happy books. Neither is the new novel I’m shopping. Or the one I’m writing now. Is it time to write something lighthearted? Maybe.