I’m sad to say that after planning over six months for this weekend: timing a new book release, ordering and making swag, purchasing table display setups for book signings, taking time off work, making travel arrangements, and in general looking forward to this weekend SO MUCH… at the last second, I had to cancel.

About 48 hours prior to leaving for Malice Domestic, I began getting sick. First time in three years. I still mask in public. I was one of the last holdouts to stop masking at work. Even though I tested negative for Covid/Flu/Strep, I had a wicked sore throat and cough. This wasn’t something I wanted to give to anyone else. The responsible thing to do was cancel the trip.

Man, did that sting. I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to attending my first Malice! To meet up with my cozy mystery peeps! Connecting with online friends, meeting fans, promoting the new book. Heck, getting out of the same old, same old routine. Going someplace different and having some new experiences. I needed to get away.

But I wouldn’t wish this illness on anyone else, so I canceled. About the time I would have been on the road driving to Malice, I developed some worrisome symptoms and had to make a second trip to the doctor. According to the doc, the symptoms are not that uncommon with Covid, and there’s a possibility of a false negative test. So yeah, doubly glad I stayed home.

I’ll confess, I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself. I had this lovely weekend planned that I was desperately looking forward to and now I’m sitting in a bathrobe with a cup of hot tea waiting until it’s time to take my next round of cough medicine. A Corpse in the Condo (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 3) is slated to come out June 1, and I’d intended to make myself known to a whole host of new fans. I’d decided to host some lives on TikTok to make up for missing out on Malice, and then I turned out to be too sick for that too.

But there’s always next year for Malice Domestic, and in the meantime, A Corpse in the Condo is available for pre-order. Also, apparently, I can’t take advantage of certain BookBub features until I reach at least 1K followers, and my M.K. Dean account could use some love. Follow me there? If you’re a fellow author, I’ll follow back!