Happy Pride!

Hi friends,

This week on the farm we moved the baby chicks outside into a pen in the yard at night as well as during the day. They were starting to escape from their boxes in the dining room fireplace at night and poop on the floor, leaving us little presents that we found in the morning, but they took the transition to outside well and are happily pecking away in the grass in their chick tractor. They will be additions to our egg laying flock of hens.

The flower gardens are finally all planted. The green house is empty.

We’ve been watering the various flower gardens on the farm with irrigation systems, water backpack, and a cube on the back of the pickup truck. Yesterday was hot and we are still in a drought.

We made hay last week, first half of the first cut. Square bales, one hay wagon full. The kids helped stack on the back of the hay wagon, which was wonderful. They enjoy slinging hay bales more than I do, lol.

Newburyport Pride parade and festival last weekend was a blast! I had so much fun hanging out with local author friends, meeting readers and talking about QUEENSLANDER. It was my first time selling books at a table under a tent at a festival, and I would definitely do it again. It was way more fun than I thought it would be.

I’m feverishly revising Queenslander book two right now, with an August deadline for the November release.

Queensland Madonna will go out to a final round of beta readers in July and ARC readers in the fall.

I’m looking for a beta reader who could be a sensitivity reader for a character who is an amputee. If you know anyone who might be interested, please let me know.

The next No Kings event is this Sunday. NoKings.org writes:

“As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we have a choice about what story we tell.

We can let strongman politics and corruption define the moment. Or we can make the story of America about people coming together — across race, background, identity, belief, and community — to defend our rights and build a future rooted in people power.

On June 14, we rise up, we sing out, and we keep organizing.”

You can find a protest near you at their website.

The No Kings website writes:

“America has a long history, rooted in white supremacy, of suppressing the rights of people of color. But our history also clearly shows that people-powered movements are how we end authoritarianism.

Throughout 2026, in the face of unprecedented attacks, millions of us joined together in our communities and held the largest single day of morally grounded, nonviolent direct actions by any movement in US history. Each time we show up, we disrupt President Trump’s attempts to rule through repression and remind the country, and the world, that people power is our path to a truly free America.

Authoritarians want fear, silence, and isolation. We choose joy. We choose community. We choose people power.”

Amen.