I am not a patient person. If you know me in real life, this is probably not news. The True Biz launch is still months away (5 April). I have no clue what I’ll be up to for events or publicity, or what the world will even look like after what I is shaping up to be a dark and surge-y winter. But as the first of the “Most Anticipated Books of 2022” lists begin to roll out, I can’t help but feel a little antsy.

The ASL sign for “wait” gets that itchy, tingly feeling right. If you scroll a little further down that page, you can see the sign that translates to “waiting for a long time,” the cyclical motion that highlights the passage of time. I’m in that holding pattern now. Maybe, given the state of things, I’d feel that way even if I didn’t have a book coming. And while I’ve got no power to break this pandemic cycle, when it comes to the book stuff, I’ve been challenging myself to write something new each day.

In ASL, “wait” rhymes with “fire.” Same handshape and orientation, even a partial rhyme in the wiggling of the fingers—the difference is in the forward motion. I’m trying to transform my waiting anxiety into fire in my belly for the next book. Most days, I don’t write a lot, and some days what I write is bad. But it exists, and it’s moving me forward.

Holiday Interlude