I always have lots of ideas of what I want to write about but before I can begin a book, make the commitment to it, it has to grab me and not let go. I’ve been floating among 5/6 project possibilities, in various stages of being started and stopped for whatever reasons. DC in VZ has been whispering in my ear for 15 years or so. I’m used to it. I like what he has to say but he’s going to have to come up with something a bit different than the usual whisperings before I can put him at the top of my list. H in UTWT is me. The 10 year-old me that grew up in the 60s and has a lot of issues from childhood to work on, still. She’s not very brave, yet, so I don’t think she’s ready to speak up for more than a few minutes at a time. P, from IMGB is a stranger in a strange land. What do I know of Italy and coming to America from a foreign country at the turn of the century? His research will have to wait. J, from TSIC, is a troubled girl in a scary place that I am not brave enough to visit except briefly every month or so. B from TPATS is so sad and wants to talk to me but all I hear is music that isn’t coming from her so I am not sure if it is her story or the musicmaker’s story. It can wait. They all can. Because Frankie from MTLB tapped me on the shoulder yesterday when I was driving to work and told me a secret. He trusted me. Told me he felt safe enough to share it. And I promised him I would help.

That’s how it starts, how this new book starts, with a touch of magic.