When I’m writing a book, I often lie awake at night, thinking about the next scene or mentally rewriting the last one.  Yesterday I finished the first draft of The Taken Ones. Did I sleep like a baby last night?  No, I stayed awake thinking about this week’s blog.

Just before Thanksgiving, I learned that my publisher had decided to move the pub date for the next Ali book to 2027, leaving me without a book for 2026.  At that point my other publisher said, “If you can fin...