By Janette Turner

As writer Kizzie Jones and her dachshund tale move closer to an Oct. 4 book launch, and Emily Hill publishes another ghost story compilation, the third local writer in The Publishing Project has put down her pen and begun the process to move on. Gretchen Houser tells us why she made the decision to bow out, told in her short essay titled, ‘Daze of My Life’:

“In addition to writing, I’ve been keeping company with Verlyn Klinkenborg’s snappy new book, ‘Several Short Sentences About Writing’:  “A writer’s real work is the endless winnowing of sentences, the relentless exploration of possibilities, the effort, over and over again, to see, in what you started out to say, the possibility of saying something you didn’t know you could.”  Life itself is much the same of course – a winnowing and exploring, making the extra effort to get things right.

“And then Stuff began happening in my own life. My husband and I put our house up for sale on August first and a day later, we had 3 offers!  Shocking the speed at which Life then began to move. We started sorting, tossing, Good-Willing; all the stuff people do when they move.

“Last Friday, life took an unexpected turn when a health issue reared its head, forcing me to change direction in mid-flight. I’m home now, recovering, but hospitalization forced me to slow down and look both ways before crossing my own Rubicon too soon. Thus, the need to refocus my energies. I’ve decided to drop out of the Publishing Project and concentrate on my health and our upcoming move.

“Thanks to all those who supported me and a big thank you to Janette Turner for her dedication to our Edmonds writing community. I’ll be taking my characters along for the ride. They still have a story to tell, and so do I.”

Janette’s note: Thank you, Gretchen, for letting us follow you and your writing career. We hope you have a full and speedy recovery and, once you are settled in your new home, we would love to hear from you if the mood strikes you. All our best.