Sunshine in the shadows of my mind...

Cape Cod Weather today: Partly cloudy and 43 degrees, with severe wind warnings for gusts up to 55 mph... but it feels like Spring is in the air. Maybe the gusty wind will blow Spring to the Cape from wherever the warm weather has been hiding for the winter...

Maybe the groundhog was wrong.

Maybe Spring will come soon.

The dogs and I hope so. The cold is getting tiring. Our old dog held on through one more winter somehow. I think she's just waiting now to go swimming a few more times - she's a black lab. It's what she lives for. The cold weather has made her arthritic legs stiff, but the sunshine is streaming in through the window on her bed right now. She's smiling in her sleep, dreaming of chasing sea birds in the ocean waves.

The harsh winter took its toll on my editor... she's been out sick with pneumonia and just now getting back to her desk, where things have piled up, including my debut novel. Hopefully she's able to wade through her inbox and get all her projects - mine included - back on track.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping busy writing something new as well as trying to find an agent who's interested in my middle-grade fantasy. It's a rough time in the publishing world right now... along with the rest of the economy in the U.S. ... and the world at large. The news is dark. People are nervous about losing their jobs. Losing their homes. Putting food on the table. Finding an agent and getting my books published seem like trivial problems to have at the moment, but this is my job. This is what I'm focused on. (Although I did take a break yesterday to finally vacuum, and bake valentine cookies with the kids.)

And walk the dogs on the beach.

When it's sunny outside, my heart fills with Hope. Everything seems more possible. It's like the sun shines into the shadows of my mind and brightens up my outlook on life. Maybe with the onset of spring, the gloom shrouding our economy will start to lift as well.

Come on, sunshine.