To Mindelynn. Of Course.

Do you ever wonder about the people novels are dedicated to? Please, allow me to share why The Metropolitan Affair is dedicated “To Mindelynn, Of course.”

Mindelynn and I went to college together, but we weren’t really friends until after we’d graduated and found ourselves both working in Washington, D.C. She is the friend who approached me in the prayer chapel the day after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001 rocked our world. If you’ve read my blog post “Joy Comes in the Morning: My 9/11 Story,” you’ve already met Mindelynn, you maybe just didn’t know her name.

After we reconnected that fall, we did all kinds of traveling and historical tourism together. She was the first person I went to New York City with, and my buddy who came with me to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (See the photo I snapped from my old scrapbook below—that’s us on top of the museum, roughly 20 years ago. 20 years!! How are we this old that I can say such a thing!)

Time passed. We both moved away from D.C. and started our families and separate careers. But when I told her I’d be coming to NYC to research for a novel set at The Met, she volunteered to be my travel guide and on-site research assistant. The first time we hit the City, it was in the wake of those terrorist attacks. This time, it was during a global pandemic. (So yes, in between smiling for the camera, our masks went back in place.) Mindelynn’s enthusiasm and support is a tonic.

We went to The Met again, but that’s not all. We packed in so many museums and historical societies, hiked through Central Park, combed through research books at the New York Public Library... She was such a trooper! She hailed every cab, made every restaurant reservation, did all the navigating so I could use every brain cell I had for research and thinking about the books I’m writing set in Manhattan. We had tea at The Plaza (research, I swear!), and at The Strand, NYC’s oldest bookstore, she located a copy of one of my novels and staged a book signing with another friend so I could say I signed books at The Strand. (Now you know. It was a very small affair.)

Mindelynn’s friendship has always been a gift. But this weekend in New York City together was one of unimaginable proportions. She even allowed me to draw inspiration from her grandmother, Anita, in forming the character of Lauren’s assistant in the novel. And I don’t even know how many copies of the book she has pre-ordered for family and friends, knowing her grandmother is represented in the story. It’s more than I’ve ever pre-ordered of any book, I know that.

So now you know why this book could only be dedicated to one person:

To Mindelynn.

Of course.