I will confess that there is a part of me that feels very self-centered posting about my debut novel, By Way of Sorrow, while the devastation from COVID-19 continues to grow both in terms of lives impacted directly by the virus, and the scores of people overwhelmed by the economic tsunami that has followed. But for the almost 4,300 Goodreads members who entered the giveaway for a chance to receive a copy of my book, and the more than 3,900 of you who have put BWoS on your to read shelf, I wanted to let you know that, in light of the disruptions caused by the virus, my publisher, Kensington Books, has made the difficult decision to delay publication of BWoS. Until Friday, BWoS was scheduled to be on store shelves on June 30, 2020. Of course, it’s pretty hard to have a book on store shelves if there are no stores open. So the new publication date is March 30, 2021 – yeah, a year away.

While the decision to delay was a difficult one for all involved, it is our hope that by pushing the publication date back a year the worst of the physical and emotional impacts of the virus will be behind us. It is also our hope that the worst of the economic impact will have started to fade and going to a bookstore will once again be something we all can do and enjoy. Finally, I note that the new pub date has another purpose. It is designed to allow the novel to come out the day before the Transgender Day of Visibility – March 31, 2021. For a book where two of the main characters are transgender women, written by a trans author, how’s that for being visible!

Stay strong and stay safe.