Essays

February is a special month. It’s the only one to begin with an F, and it’s the shortest of the twelve, so right there is a lot to celebrate with a few cases of good cabernet. Furthermore, having been born and raised in Pennsylvania, I take enormous pride in the fact that my native state celebrates Groundhog Day, when Bill Murray tells us how much more winter we’re going to have, so just shut up and endure it, while men in formalwear torment a helpless woodland creature.

Then there is Valentine’s Day. I remember so well my years in middle school, when we children would spend our lunch money to buy cards expressing our fondness for one another. The girls I found charming were always happy to receive my cards, laughing with delight as they threw them into the stew pot to simmer with eye of toad and wing of bat. I adored them all, though none of them could cook anything worth eating.

Now, in 2021, February is even more special than ever, because you can preorder my novel, The Other Emily, which will be published by Thomas & Mercer on March 23rd. And in the best spirit of Valentine’s Day, it is a love story. Yes, one review essentially said it will scare your butt off. But love is always a little scary, committing yourself to another person, plighting your troth when you don’t even know what the hell that means. But you know me, my friends: a romantic, an optimist, a believer in love. I will take your hand and lead you through the dark to the light, even if we’re a little chilled and wet when we get there.