Week Eight of Quarantine 2020...but who's counting??

Week Seven of the Great 2020 Quarantine and things are getting weird. Just now, I found myself ironing cloth napkins. I was not previously aware I had an iron. So…yeah. I hope you are doing well in these strange times.

I’ve been thinking about the meaning of stories lately (I have the time!), and how they help us navigate our realities. In the kid lit space, amazingly talented authors make a great effort to represent the full spectrum of humanity. It is so important to see yourself reflected in the pages, for validation and belonging. This feels especially relevant now when we are cut off physically from others. The things we read and watch and listen to are somehow BIGGER and more elevated than they were just a few months ago, like they are filling the space we used to allot to actual human interaction.

As a family we’ve gotten into picking a show and watching a few episodes every night. We’ve worked our way through The Good Place, Arrested Development (only the original years!), Never Have I Ever (so freaking funny!) and the latest, Cobra Kai. Yeah. That Karate Kid spin off which people kept telling me was really good. Really?? I tuned in more out of curiosity than anything else but…

…it’s amazing.

Surprisingly nuanced characters dealing with conflict in very human ways, humor that lands just as it should, emotional teenagers who don’t seem absurd. Pitch perfect casting.

The only problem is I was too involved, I could not get it out of my head. I was actively worried about how season two would wrap up because there was no way everyone walked away smelling like roses. What was going to happen?? How was this going to end? We stayed up way late to finish because I needed to be DONE. (So what happened? Not telling.) And now that it’s over, I have that sense of loss usually associated with finishing a good book. I feel a little bit hollow.

But the world keeps spinning and now we have to pick new show.

What’s Coming Up / What’s Going Down

I would love to share great news here about the Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter launch on August 25th but, alas, I don’t yet have any. All marketing efforts are up in the air as publishers, too, figure out how to navigate these tricky new waters.

However, the book is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound. Also, here in California, bookstores are getting the go ahead to open, so maybe work a trip to your local indie into your day (while being socially distant and masked, of course). That is for sure on my list for this weekend!

In the meantime, stop by and say hello on FaceBook or Instagram @BethMcMullenBooks or follow me on Twitter @bvam.

Stay safe and do some reading,

Beth

What I’m reading: Things in Jars, by Jess Kid (Thanks Mom!) – a gothic mystery that has me wrapped around its little finger.

What I’m watching: Moving on to Schitt’s Creek (I think?)

What I’m listening to: All Out 70s, Spotify. I don’t know. I just can’t seem to help it.