Cover Reveal
Discover more from Desert Owl Among the Ruins
Dear Readers,
I completely missed sending out a newsletter in the month of January! I was in the hospital or home for half of the month—and presumably for the next two months—recovering from a pneumonectomy: that is, surgical removal of one lung, in my case due to cancer. I’ll also be undergoing radiation and targeted therapy during this time. I’m on leave from my job and in a lot of pain, as you can imagine, but it’s not all bad news: I am now allowed to share the cover of my book! Ta-da:
Eerdmans solicited a lot of input from me before their art department created three designs, from which I was given the opportunity to make a final selection. I chose the above, in love with the look of the succulent—I spend considerable time in Unexpected Abundance writing about the beauty of the desert—and I was also struck by their design concept, described as follows: “to communicate an ‘abundant intricacy’ when seen at a close-up view, details which may not be evident when viewed from farther away. Or, simply, there is more here than what you might expect.”
Eerdmans has exceeded my hopes in all areas: editing, publicity, art. Kindness when hearing about my current medical issues. They are a dream to work with, and I’m deeply grateful.
On another book note: I printed out a copy of all of the prayers Samantha Vincent-Alexander and I have written so far for our Irreverent Prayers book and was thrilled to realize how helpful these prayers were to me when I was recently hospitalized. That was perhaps the only positive part of finding myself in this cancer recurrence situation!
I do not think that I will be able to keep up the monthly newsletters during my recovery, as I need to focus on healing and next steps; but in the meantime, how about that cover?? I am so excited!
You can also see the book on the Eerdmans site here, or on Amazon (although the image isn’t up yet on Amazon), or best of all, preorder it from your local indie bookstore. Comes out in August!
Blessings,
Elizabeth Felicetti
What I’m reading:
When You Can’t Follow Your Call: This article is by my writing partner Samantha Vincent-Alexander, and I was especially excited by her topic because Florence Li is one of the women discussed in my book. Read this, drink in Samantha’s fine writing, and then pre-order Unexpected Abundance!
Wintering: Blog post by my writing soul mate Dana VanderLugt. I love hearing the experience of winter in Michigan, as it’s so different than my Virginia experience. We’ve only had one very light snowfall so far this year—and the past few days, it’s been in the 60s. I would say this is unseasonable, but after living in Virginia for 26 years I have learned that the weather is entirely unpredictable. I remember many Februarys with weather like this, as well as some when I was snowed in for days, and some when both scenarios happened back-to-back.
The sacred relics of a lifetime of ministry by Jon Mathieu: I’ve been reflecting on death and downsizing a lot in my current condition, and this piece from my favorite magazine was exactly what I needed to read.
Ashley Flowers, All Good People Here. Thriller by a true crime podcaster.
Tess Gunty, Rabbit Hutch. Riveting novel set in a dense apartment complex.
Lisa Jewell, The Family Upstairs. My friend Teri suggested we read a fun—not serious—book together, and this library book was on my pile in sight when she texted this idea so I suggested it. It was OK.
Kathryn Miles, Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders. Gripping work of nonfiction that exposes flaws in our justice system.
Jane Smiley, A Dangerous Business. Read this one in the hospital. OK westerner/thriller.
Danya Kukafka, Notes on an Execution. I thought this might be too dark of a book for me right now, given all the cancer stuff, but I loved it. Excellent.
Shelby Van Pelt, Remarkably Bright Creatures. I’d heard so much about this one which features an octopus as a main character. Sweet.
Elizabeth Strout, Lucy By the Sea. I love this writer but it took me a while to read this one (bought it at my favorite indie bookstore—The Little Bookshop in Midlothian—months ago) because I didn’t think I wanted to read a “pandemic novel.” But I believe this was my third book with this protagonist, and even though it was a “quiet” book (which I like) Strout kept the suspense up by peppering little one-sentence paragraphs foreshadowing things that were coming. I read it in two days.
Prince Harry, Spare. I’ve left the house twice since my surgery: once to go back to the hospital and once to the library to pick up several holds, including this one. I realize some will not consider this to be an elevated read, but the Bible has a lot to say about second sons, and I found this memoir intriguing. As someone who also lost a parent at a young age and felt unable to cry about it for a time, I resonated with some of what he wrote regarding childhood grief. When I picked it up, the librarian checking me out said, “I am slightly curious about this one. I watched the Netflix documentary. I’m just not sure what I think about it all.” I replied, “I saw the documentary too. I am grateful to be American instead of British.” She laughed and agreed.
What I’m writing:
It’s Epiphany now, and we are almost to the end of the Good Book Club! Here are links to Ruth 101 and Esther 101, both of which I wrote, and you can download the six-part study guide here free. I was privileged to get to lead one session of our Bible study with this study guide before having to have surgery. Weekly emails also come out. I believe you can read the first five here, here, here, here, and here, and you can sign up here to receive the last email, which will be mailed out from Forward Movement on the 14th. The emails are different from the study guide. Working on this project has been an absolute dream, as the Good Book Club has been a big part of St. David’s for five years.
These will be the last sermons for a while, as I am out on medical leave:
Christmas Day (I wore pajama bottoms to church for the first time this day in honor of Christmas!)
Cover Reveal
So sorry to hear about your recent health issues! I didn’t know you were dealing with that again. Best wishes for a quick and thorough recovery from the surgery. But that cover is everything 🥰. So good! Congrats on this project and seeing the results of all your hard work come to fruition.
Ooooo, I love the cover!!! Succulents are part of our Arizona roots. And that picture is beautiful. I will order from my local bookstore! Many blessings to you Biz. I was so sorry to hear of your recurrence. Chris told me not to call. But I send you BIG love and healing energy. Your positive attitude is key! :-)