Between the day job and book work lately, I haven’t been getting much sleep – for the best of reasons on both fronts.

In the day job, we’re in the final week before municipal elections in Missoula, and starting the final year before the state- and nationwide 2020 elections, which basically means we’ll be in full-sprint mode the whole time. Color me the sort of weirdo who loves this stuff.

There are some fun developments on the book front as well. My second novel, Dakota, was released in Italian by Marsilio on Oct. 10 as Le Ragazze del Dakota (The Girls of Dakota, according to Google Translate). Here’s a nice review in Italian, that says something to the effect of “Gwen Florio tells a dark story, very sad, using the tools of the authentic novelist rather than the journalist.”

Then, on Oct. 15, A Million Acres: Montana Writers Reflect on Land and Open Space (Riverbend), edited by Keir Graff, was released. It’s a stunningly beautiful book, thanks to Alexis Bonogofsky’s photographs, and benefits the Montana Land Reliance. I’ve got an essay in it that sits abashed beside pieces from writers whose work I’ve admired for decades. The best thing (for me)? That I’m included under the label of Montana writer. There may have been a bit of boo-hooing on my part when I realized that.

A week later, the softcover version of Silent Hearts (Atria) was released, just in time for the holidays, hint, hint. In Missoula, it sits among some pretty great company at Fact & Fiction.

And finally, perhaps best of all, I sent the manuscript for Best Laid Plans, the first book in the new Nora Best series (Severn House), off to my agent. Why is that best of all? Because it means I can head off to Bouchercon this coming weekend without it hanging over my head. If you’re in Dallas, hit me up for a drink in the bar.