Happy Birthday, Rachel Griffin!

Once again, we have come up on Rachel’s birthday, and Book Six is not here yet.

Two years ago, on this day, Book Five was released. Last year, as Easter approached, I was nearing the end of Book Six and thought it would be out soon.

The night before Easter, I attended a midnight mass at my husband’s church. The church was filled with long trumpet-shaped Easter lilies. They were so beautiful. Now, it so happened that the scene I was working on for Book Six that day took place the night before Easter. As I sat there in the church, I found myself suddenly inspired with an idea for the next scene.

I rushed home and wrote a passage that was the beginning of an adventure that I will not explain because SPOILERS! I stayed up into the wee hours working on this description. The whole time, I kept pausing to think of how much my mother would love this particular description and how I could not wait to read it to her the next morning.

But when I reached her house Easter morning, it was to discover that my mother had left us for brighter pastures.

My mother was 16 days short of turning 89. She was spy and active and jogged and took ballet classes. Her departure took everyone by surprise.

I guess Jesus rose up on Easter morning…and He took her with Him.

To read the passage I wrote that night, visit my new The Roanoke Glass substack.

Photo of Mom at the Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival,
Taken by my daughter about a week before she left us.