This issue includes a change of plans...

I had plenty of things planned for my September newsletter. I was going to bring you up-to-date on Christina's Portrait and Escape from Arzack's Castle and tell you all about the publication of my personal essay, "The Long Race," in the Mission Viejo Library Anthology. I wanted to talk about my panel at Indie Author Day in Anaheim on Saturday, November 7, "Writing Scams and How to Avoid Them." Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of Mary Ann Henderson's death, and I wanted to write a tribute to her.

Then I got my developmental edits for Christina's Portrait that are due on September 30. I thought, "That's OK. I can multitask. I wrote a novel based on the Commodore Amiga. I know all about multitasking!" 

Everything was going great until this happened.

Fortunately, none of us were seriously injured, even though our vehicle was rear-ended by a massive pickup truck. I was even able to drive our vehicle home. It's very unlikely it will ever be driven again.

I've written about my 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV and how much I liked this car. I was hoping to drive it for another seven or more years. If we were lucky, it would be the last car we'd ever own. But things change, and our plans change with them.

I have to prioritize dealing with insurance and car shopping and still meet my deadline for the developmental edits. (That goes along with work and household chores.) I'll save the detailed articles and news updates for next month.

And no, Newsletter app, I will not use your AI content generation tool, thank you very much.

Our Chevrolet Bolt EUV remains one of the best cars we've ever owned. As someone pointed out in a comment to my Facebook post, the Bolt did its job by keeping us all safe.

The Bolt was just an object, and objects can be replaced. But the value of anything comes from the memories we make and the people we share those with. Although we only had that car for three years, we made a lot of wonderful memories in it. This isn't the first time in my life that something only lasted three years and still made a significant impact. 

Thanks and farewell, Chevrolet Bolt EUV. And here's to wherever the road takes us next.

When I'm not dealing with vehicular mishaps, I've interviewed a number of authors including N.J. Mastro, Nicole Zelniker, Jann Alexander, Karen E. Osborne, Joseph Lewis, Bailey Johnson, and Lucy McLaren. Recently, I interviewed bookstore owner Lonnie Owens and school librarian Amanda Prosin.

If you are an author or someone associated with the book community who wants to be interviewed, send me an email to admin@matthewarnoldstern.com with the following information:

• Your name.
• A brief bio (100 words or less).
• Your books.
• What you would like to talk about in your interview.

By supporting each other, we can all grow!

I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. If you have any comments and suggestions, feel free to email me at admin@matthewarnoldstern.com. 

If there is someone who you think would enjoy this newsletter, pass it along and encourage them to subscribe. A simple subscription form is on my website.

I'll be in touch again next month with more news and content.