Ceilings fall, and oh, yeah, the Washington Post

Ceilings fall, and oh, yeah, the Washington Post

Sometimes when you’re on vacation a large portion of the second floor ceiling falls down in your house. This would be the fourth such ceiling to fall or nearly fall down in our house and you might ask why we haven’t moved yet. I don’t have a good answer.

Our house is nearly 100 years old, and so this little (well not so little) disaster included a lot of things falling down, including insulation from circa 1928 and original plaster shattering all over the place. In addition to the epic mess, the collapse exposed never-before-exposed attic floor boards.

I was going to include a picture of this nightmare but decided against it, because we were incredibly lucky:

1. We have a lovely place to live and it is a house that we own.

2. We weren’t at the house and so no one was sleeping in the bed on which the ceiling fell—I quake thinking about that—so one was hurt.

3. The woman who was watering our plants found this debacle and notified us right away.

4. She was able to give a house key to a singularly amazing contractor we’ve had the good fortune to meet due to earlier house disasters; most recently, the waterfall that cascaded into our living room during a heavy rain a couple of years ago, if memory serves.

5. This amazing contractor did a magnificent job and cleaned up, so that when we returned that room once again had a ceiling.

It’s hard to overstate my gratitude, and yes, of course, dealing with homeowner’s insurance is a story we can save for another time. Or not.

Then again, sometimes when you come home from vacation, the most incredible thing happens and the Washington Post calls your book “exquisite” and includes it in an article called “10 noteworthy books for September” along with Stephen King and 8 fantastic authors that you feel humbled to join.

Wishing you a wonderful start for the opening of school and whatever new and old endeavors you undertake.

Love,

Martha

P.S. THREE MUSES launch is just a few short weeks away in Washington at Politics & Prose on September 20 @ 7PM with my beloved friend and mentor Michelle Brafman. Please come if you can!

P.P.S. I am thrilled that the wonderful poet and novelist, Jai Chakrabarti, will be interviewing me about THREE MUSES at the Brooklyn launch, Center for Fiction @ 7 PM on September 22. Please come if you can!

P.P.P.S. For a list of complete events, including virtual events here and in Israel, please visit the events page of my website.

P.P.P.P.S. I am delighted to share the video of my interview with Scott Bane at Northshire Books a couple of weeks ago. Scott’s book, A UNION LIKE OURS, opened my eyes to gay life among the moneyed intellectual set in the first half of the twentieth century. That’s the tip of the iceberg, there’s so much more to Scott’s book. He’s a marvelous writer and presenter.