Lately it’s been easier to write about diet pills that work than to make progress on my mystery novel, Thirty Minutes or Less. I’m in a delicate point in the novel where I need to lay the groundwork for the supernatural elements to come, while still grounding the series in a very realistic world.

Also, the scene I’m about to write is a very emotional one for me: it has Zack spending him with his parents, who due to reasons I won’t spoil here, are noncommunicative. Having just lost my own mother a couple months ago, this is not turning out to be an easy scene to write.