So I promised I would update about the new book, so here I am. Thanks to all who emailed me girl names...I finally decided on Annaleah.

I've been working on the outline a lot recently and even enlisted my friend Judy to help me brainstorm. So far, the story is that Annaleah, a sixteen year old girl, lives next to a cemetery--which is sort of ironic since she's never actually known anyone who's died. She's visited the cemetery since she was a little kid, but she's not at all dark or goth. She just thought that it was fun to make up stories about the names and dates on the headstones. But Annaleah's life is suddenly turned upside down the summer after her junior year when her boyfriend unexpectedly dies. Don't worry. That doesn't give anything away. I'm pretty sure the book begins at his funeral.

To prepare for writing this book I've spent some time at a little cemetery near where I grew up. I'll be basing the cemetery in my story on it.

I've also been reading some really great books. I definitely recommend Good Grief by Lolly Winston (it's funny and poignant at the same time) and The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (I'm only about 50 pages in, but it's already really intense). I also read parts of Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It's really interesting and kind of gross and scary at the same time.

Ok, hopefully more to come soon...