Hiya kids,

I am madly working on my new book The Queen of Pentacles and I am in a realm of fire in the fictional world (once again I'm using the Hawaiian volcanoes as my backdrop) and in the real world, we in Southern California are surrounded by fire.
I'm at a loss to understand why it's taken so long to get Federal help to the people who need it, but today, help will be on its way. I watch the TV reports, sickened and saddened that so many people lost their homes, including one couple in Canyon Country who returned home after mandatory evactuation this morning to discover that their house is gone and they actually had no insurance.
Today Show's Matt Lauer sort of irritated me acting as a fire autority when he spoke of the fire's trajectory (dude, you just arrived this morning) but that's TV, folks. All smoke and mirrors...and fires.
I am reading the Rock Hudson book written by Sara Davidson shortly after his death. I think that's helping my depression here enormously (not).
How sad to be in the closet asd long as he was...
My prayers and thoughts to all those in peril, and to those left homeless, I have nothing remotely adequate or intelligent to say except I am so sorry.


Aloha oe,

A.J.