Letter from Joy
October 21, 2026
Hi, everyone,
Well, it seems that autumn is definitely upon us and winter is fast approaching. Although I have to say that here in Toronto, aside from a few cold days, the weather has been absolutely fabulous. Sunny and cool, but definitely not cold. Last week was quite bizarre, weather-wise. We had the hottest day on record for this time of year - 29 degrees Celsius - followed two days later by the coldest. A real roller-coaster. This week is much more stable, and the skies are a gorgeous, cloudless blue. Having spent the first week of August visiting my younger daughter in Miami - where the temperature one day hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit! and was rarely below 90 degrees all week - it’s glorious.
As for Miami, we had a great time. The extreme heat made it almost impossible to go outside, but the purpose of our visit was to spend as much time with my daughter and her husband and our grandchildren as possible, so we had no trouble staying indoors and just catching up on everything. My husband has a bad case of osteo-arthritis in one knee that is making walking very difficult and painful - soon he’s going to undergo a procedure called PRP, wherein they extract platelets from your blood and then inject the clean blood back into the knee, which will hopefully improve his situation and restore him to his previous mobility - so he mostly found a shady spot on the balcony of their condo, where there was even a bit of a breeze, and he read a total of three books during our week-long stay. Annie, her husband and I went on two early morning walks for about an hour, and returned home soaking wet with perspiration. Another day, we chose to walk the indoor, air-conditioned Aventura Mall, which was a much smarter idea. We also went to see the movie "Prime Time” with Robert Pattison. One critic described it as “the opposite of a feel-good movie” and he was right. Still, Pattison was terrific, and the movie was interesting, even if it did leave a bad taste in your mouth. We had several great brunches and a few wonderful dinners. One night we ate at a North Miami hotspot called Sunny’s. We were offered the choice of dinner at 5:30 or after 10, and not surprisingly, we chose 5:30. The restaurant is gorgeous - we ate in the garden - and the food was fabulous. We also ate at The Petit Diner, located in a non-descript strip mall in Sunny Isles, and had some of the best fish I’ve ever had in Florida. Also ate one night at Houston’s, famous for their fabulous ribs.
As for my grandchildren, I can’t believe how grown-up they are. Hayden will be 17 in December and will be off to university next year, and Skylar will be 14 in November - on her father’s birthday, no less. They’re both in honours classes and doing well. And of course, they’re beautiful and talented and everything one wishes for in grandchildren.
As for my writing, I’m happy to announce that starting October 26, THE HOUSEKEEPER will be part of a multi-day Kindle promotion at Amazon that will be discounted at all accounts but promoted at Amazon, so if you haven’t yet read it, I urge you to take advantage of this great opportunity. And in what I hope is exciting news, I’ve just completed the copy-edits on my next novel, scheduled for release next summer. It’s called MY SISTER’S HUSBAND, and is the story of a woman who marries her dead sister’s husband, only to suspect that not only did he kill her sister, but that he’s planning to kill her as well! I think it’s a fun, engaging story, and I hope you’ll agree. I know summer seems like far away, but I also know that it’ll be here before we know it.
As far as what I'm reading is concerned, I’m currently enjoying Michael Douglas’s memoir ONE HELLUVA RIDE. I also just bought Barbara Kingsolver’s latest novel, PARTITA. I tried reading a few so-called thrillers when we were down in Florida, but I gave up on them after only a few chapters, so I won’t name them.
And I’m now two sessions into teaching a creative writing course at the University of Toronto, part of its Continuing Studies Program. It’s one night a week, 2 1/2 hours a class for eight weeks. The class is called Writing the Breakout Novel, which I hope will provide guidance in how to craft a book that will interest agents and publishers and keep readers turning the pages. Of course, no one can really predict what will be popular at any given time, and so much of what produces a bestselling novel is out of the writer’s control, but what I can do is provide certain guidelines on what has worked for me. It’s a small group - only seven people, all of them women - but I love discussing the art and technique of writing with people who genuinely care about the actual craft. Hopefully, they’re enjoying it too.
In addition to "Prime Time," I went to see a truly awful movie called "Your Mother… Your Mother… Your Mother," with Maharshala Ali. It recently played at the Toronto Film Festival, and boy, was I glad that I hadn’t paid the exorbitant price they were charging at the festival for that stinker. It actually got some pretty respectable reviews, which frankly, I don’t understand at all. Aside from being a total bore, it made no sense at all. A real disappointment.
On TV, I’m loving the new season of The Diplomat - much better than last season, and I thoroughly enjoyed Ted Lasso, although I think the show has definitely run its course. I wasn’t at all fond of Tracy Ullman’s over-the-top character. It’s time she tried a new shtick. My husband and I have also started watching Slow Horses - we’re on season 2 - and Lioness, season one. I’m also looking forward to starting Monster - The Lizzie Borden Story, which I’ve been told is terrific. So much good stuff to see on TV these days. And I’m still hooked on Married At First Sight - Australia, and looking forward to the next season of Married at First Sight in the U.S. - this time it’s Charlotte. So much fun.
And that’s about it for now. Have a happy, healthy month and enjoy Halloween. Till next time, be kind to each other.
Warmly,
Joy