So what's the creepy map doing on my blog? Well that scary document is a relic from the Cuban Missile Crisis, where Gracie's Time starts. It's 1962, almost Halloween, and fifteen-year-old Gracie Ingraham wants nothing more than to get to know her friends at Stormkill High a little better, listen to The Tokens, and maybe get a ride in the hot new Corvair the cool bachelor down the street just bought.
But her parents have other plans. Gracie's dad is the mayor of Stormkill and a local history professor who idolizes President Jack Kennedy. But he fears even the man he respects the most in the world won't be able to keep his daughter safe if the nuclear bombs fly--and it looks like they just might. He's not convinced about fallout shelters, but he's got his own secret weapon: he and his wife Alda are Travelers, people who can go back in time. They are certain that their daughter has inherited the Traveling gene.
So why not a trip back in time to the days before there were any such things as nuclear bombs? Problem is that Gracie's parents can't just disappear. Her mom's a beloved local art teacher. And the mayor of Stormkill--well, his sudden absence would be hard to explain. Gracie, who has never time traveled before, will have to go alone!
Problem is, newbies make mistakes sometimes. And Grace ends up in Stormkill, 2018. There's a whole new cast of young characters in this book, but if you want to know what happened to Bean, Zak, Claire, and Amp, the answer is here. There's an abandoned mansion--but also iPhones, Instagram, and active shooter drills, which as Gracie learns, are even scarier than duck-and-cover. There's also a love story. And a demon. I think you're going to like this one.
IN OTHER NEWS, I've been writing poetry like crazy, too. Just finished the April poetry marathon with the good folks over at The Waters, and I'm having a great time revising and sending out new work.
Actually, I'll have copies of Unforgetting, my latest poetry book, and some new work to try out on the crowd. You'll come, woncha?
So yeah, there's a lot going on!
And I think it's time to move away from my desk and repot those weary house plants I dragged outside yesterday.
Onward and upward!