Dear Reader,

Thank you for visiting my website.  I hope you find a distraction from the turmoil by reading a novel.  It seems as if this crisis is not ending any time soon, so we must look to our family, friends, pets, and God for support.  Even when you are bone tired, try to keep the faith.  We’ll come out of this eventually, and hopefully better people.

I hope you can find some inspiration in those words.   Let’s get on to the fun stuff!

Last month I introduced you to a new family member, Ms. Boo, my club-footed three- legged feline.  You read that right.  She has only three legs and one is a club.  She has turned out to be a total joy for me.  I must confess, until the past couple of years I never considered myself a “cat person.”  I always had dogs, several at any given time.  But a few years ago a skinny, orange tabby started showing up on my porch.  She looked so hungry I couldn’t help but put some food out for her.  She’s now a permanent member of the family.   Then last month one of my daughters rescued a gimpy kitten and brought her to me.  I have to admit, I am totally in love with her.  She is sweet and has no idea she is different from any other cat.  She jumps, runs, and finds anything she can bat around and makes it her toy.  It gives me such pleasure watching her.  One thing I discovered about cats is that they are very smart.  Sometimes I think they’re smarter than the rest of us!  Afterall, who does the cleaning, shopping, and feeding?  We do!  And I’m happy to do it to!  I often wonder who rescued whom.

The weather hasn’t changed much since my last note even though it seems to get hotter with each day. Some of my vegetables didn’t make it through all this heat but the tomatoes are hanging in there.  Literally.

So here we are in the “Dog Days” of summer.   I always thought they were called that because the dogs would look for shade and pant their way through the month.  But that’s not correct.  The term actually started over a thousand years ago when the Greeks discovered Sirius known as The Dog Star.  Sirius appears in the night sky in August, hence “Dog Days.”  Who knew?  The Greeks I suppose.

I would include some recipes this month but it’s just too hot to think about cooking so here are two refreshing summer drinks:

Southern Sweet Tea:
1 gallon pitcher for serving
(12) bags of Black Tea
4 cups of water
1 cup granulated sugar
Fresh Mint
Boil the water and place the teabags in the pot.  Turn off the stove and let bags steep for 5 minutes.
Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
Pour steeped tea into the pitcher and add 3 quarts of water to mixture
Chill in refrigerator until cold.
Add mint and voila.

Watermelon Iced Tea:
Prepare tea mixture as above.
Scoop out the pink flesh of a small watermelon.  (I buy it already cubed!)
Place watermelon in a blender and liquify it.  You should get about 4 cups.
Mix equal parts watermelon juice with tea mixture – let stand for 15 minutes.
Add Fresh Mint to serve.
If you want to get fancy, save some of the watermelon and cut into cubes and use them in the glass when you serve it.

This month Simon & Schuster will be reissuing one of my favorite back list titles, Trading Places, and at the end of the month a new Sisterhood book, Truth and Justice will be published.

I hope you can enjoy the rest of the summer.  I know there is a lot of anxiety about schools, work, the economy, and the virus.  But as I mentioned earlier.  Keep the faith.  We will get through this.

All the best,
Fern Michaels

P.S.  This month’s contest is for (3) signed paperbacks.  My choice!  I’ll be sure to pick some of my favorites for you.