Well, I’m back, more or less. It’s been a busy year and a couple years of losses. I’ve lost several friends, along with my beloved uncle. But, no matter how difficult the circumstances, life goes on for those who are left behind.
The good news is that I’ve finished my first novel! I’m an author! The title is Rogan’s Robbie, and it is a romance novel based in Las Vegas with a few Central California scenes and lots of wine. And every single mention of wine is paired correctly with food. In fact, I scribbled a note on my blackboard that says, “No Cab with Oysters.”
I swore that if I ever wrote my own novel, every mention of wine would be precise. And the food pairing would be spot on. Of course.
One of my pet peeves as a wine person who writes is seeing statements about wine that are so wrong they make my eyeballs sweat. Why would anyone, for example, want a Cabernet Sauvignon with fresh oysters? Or Halibut? When I read those pairings, they almost made me weep! And I’m talking about work from really good authors where that was the only blip in an otherwise well-written, well-researched book. I swore that if I ever wrote my own novel, every mention of wine would be precise. And the food pairing would be spot on. Of course.
Along with the book, I’m creating a new book-related website! Renie Writes & Wines is all about writing, Vegas, and, of course, wine! Since my upcoming series, Love Happens in Vegas, is all about romance in Las Vegas, I wanted to make sure that everything was as spot-on as could be, fictionally speaking. The website launch date will be May 1. The publication date of Rogan’s Robbie is scheduled for May 13. Friday the 13th!
Because I’m insane enough to continue to garner wine certifications (CSW and WSET III), my postings on both sites will be limited to about once or twice a week. I will also be writing additional novels in the series, and between studying and writing, my schedule will be nuts.
So thanks for your patience and hanging around till I got back to something resembling normalcy. As we’ve all been crawling out from other the pandemic cloud and find our way around in a world that looks a little more familiar (the old normal, not the new one), I predict that we’ll be able to stretch out our wings and enjoy our old normal again! Even if it takes a minute to get there.
