So. Here we are.
In the middle of a pandemic, the likes of which has not been seen in over 100 years.
Covid-19 is a bitch and a half. Life has changed immeasurably—we’re scared, we’re confused, hanging on every news story that’s out there, hoping to get at the truth. (That can’t just be me, right?)
We’re suiting up to go to the grocery store, bleaching the crap out of everything coming into the house. We’re having Zoom parties, Facebook parties, Skyping and Face Timing with whoever wants to connect that way. We’re keeping our distance—6 feet away—afraid of our neighbor.
No meals out (unless you count ‘out’ as my backyard), no going to the movies, no hugs and kisses for/from my parents, who live in an apartment in that backyard. There are shortages of toilet paper, bleach, disinfecting wipes, and hand sanitizer. Possibly soon there will be a scarcity of food as supply chains break down due to infections.
There are lies, and happy talk, and obfuscation. There are people who will believe everything one person says, yet when confronted with the truth (facts, science) they dig in their heels and cross their arms, and refuse to be moved.
I get it. I really do. In this scary, unprecedented time, clinging to our closest held beliefs is comforting, a way to feel in control in an out of control situation.
But here’s the thing. When you cling to beliefs that can harm you and those you love, THAT’S the time to get humble.
Maybe you don’t know what’s right or what’s wrong.
Welcome to the club.
We’re in this thing together.
And launching a book is probably the absolute wrong thing to do.
Or the absolute right thing.
Don’t we need escapism? I know I do. When I’m especially freaked out, whether because of the news or some other problem that comes up, I escape by reading. And writing. Most of the time, I’ll sink my teeth into a thriller—the heart-in-the-throat excitement of someone else defying the odds—that’s where I’m all in. I know things will work out, somehow, for our heroine/hero. It mostly does, in fiction.
Or I write one. In my thrillers, I can absolutely control how things work out.
So, I’m going ahead with the launch, not because I want to stick my head in the sand and try to soldier on as usual. Not because I’m trying to trick myself into believing life will return to normal.
Is normal.
I’m launching Shadow of the Jaguar because I want to share what I do to get past real life when it sucks. I create jeopardy for my characters and help them find the resourcefulness to come roaring back, to vanquish the evildoers, or the ticking time bomb, or the terrorist threat.
Whatever. I want things to go right, right now.
When this is all over, I have a feeling life will not get back to normal. I kind of hope it doesn’t. I’d like to believe that this Great Pause, this collective slowdown, will help people remember what we as human beings hold dear: life, time with our family and friends, with ourselves. Clean air, clean water, less rushing around, less trying to do too many things, forgetting why we do what we do in the first place.
Call me naïve or overly optimistic, but I believe in us—even those I don’t agree with. Maybe especially them. Because when it comes right down to it, we really are in this together. When things get bad, we put aside our differences and help each other. I see it every day—on the news, in my community, wherever.
I try to be grateful every day, especially for the things we normally take for granted. Where would I be without my family, my friends? My community? Or all the amazing health care workers, grocery store clerks, Post Office workers?
The virus has given us a gift—the gift of time.
I hope I use it wisely.
One last thing—buy my book 🙂
Former assassin Leine Basso is back in Shadow of the Jaguar, an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning action-adventure thriller!
A lost civilization. A woman’s abduction. The promise of unimaginable treasure.
Deep in the heart of the Amazon, an expedition finds evidence of a fabled lost city of gold. It isn’t long before a ruthless drug trafficker learns of the possible find and kidnaps an expedition member, threatening to kill her and the rest of the expedition unless he’s given the coordinates to the city.
Leine Basso and her daughter are called in to rescue the kidnapped woman, who also happens to be a good friend’s niece. But in the jungle, danger lurks at every turn, and nothing is as it seems…