Italian Summer

Update: I'm not dead!

Dear Readers-

Well, a friend of mine inspired me to give you all a little update, being as it's been a few months since you've heard from me. Though this isn't the chapter you were probably hoping for when you saw the notification that I had posted, I think you will all be pleased with what I have to say.
     I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a crazy year. 2019 was a really hard year for me and, as I walked into the new decade, I just had this gut feeling that 2020 would be my year. I'm set to graduate this year and, knowing this would probably be the year I got my license and really started planning my future, I was thrilled to see what it held. Now, not even 4 months in, it seems like the world around me is falling apart, and I know I'm not the only one that feels that way. Most of us have never seen anything like the situation we are in today, and the uncertainty of it all is certainly panic-inducing. My heart goes out to everyone whose lives have been affected by the COVID-19 virus, and I pray that we will soon find a way to resolve this. Now, enough negativity. Let's talk about something happy, shall we?
     Something you all don't know is that, even though I mentioned that I wasn't going to get to see Il Volo this past winter in a few comments, somehow, everything worked out and I DID. It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but in the end, I was able to save up enough money and manage to convince my dad to drive me 1,000 miles round-trip to see the boys that have been my life ever since August. I saw them in Chicago on the 15th of February, and though I feel as if I could go on and on about that night, that's a different subject for a different post. All I will say is that the concert was absolutely outstanding, and though I hate to sound cliche, it really did shake me to my core. Ignazio, Piero, and Gianluca put on a wonderful show, and despite it being almost a month and a half ago, the magical feeling that night put into me has yet to fade. It was more than I could have ever dreamed it to be, and already, I am setting aside money from each paycheck so that I can hopefully see them on their next tour as well. Now, I had best stop talking about it before I start tearing up.
     Now... I'm sure you're probably wondering what is happening with this book right now. We've all seen those writers that post a note saying they are going to "work out some kinks" before posting again, and then no one ever hears from them again. However, I promise you all that this is not the case with this book. My inspiration for Italian Summer has only increased since I went on my "Wattpad hiatus", and I find myself working on this book nearly every day. I have connected with a wonderful woman who has been tirelessly helping me to work out the kinks, and together, we are creating a book that I will truly be proud of when it is finished. As she says, "the book has good bones; it just needs meat," and she's right. At this point, I am mainly focusing on filling in the gaps of the story and further developing the plot, and though it would be a lie to say that this book is nearly finished, I am hoping to get a lot of work done on it during this mandatory social-distancing. As I said, my ideas for this book and a few others (wink wink) are running wild at the moment, and this little update will certainly not be the last you hear from me.
     Again, I hope everyone is doing as well as can be expected in these difficult times, and hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon. Thank you all so much for supporting this book!

            -Annemarie