I was so excited to start my summer leapfrog across the country, and back again, that I could barely contain myself.
Just a wee bit excited!
The first stop on our cross country trip was Colorado where we played around with NORAD in the distance …
My daughter holding NORAD up. Good thing she’s strong!
We were lucky enough to stay with my cousins, meet the new baby, and catch up with family we haven’t seen in about two years. My sweet little cousin surprised us with homemade monkey bread from biscuits made from scratch. My mouth is still watering.
Life changing monkey bread.My darling cousin peeking at me through the grate at the top of the slide.My little buddy took a break on my lap while I tried to get some editing in.My daughter bonding with her newest cousin. This moment was worth the whole trip! <3
Being in Colorado was such a lovely experience, but my body couldn’t adjust that quickly to the change in elevation. At home, I live at sea level. In Colorado I couldn’t cross the room without panting. Yeah, I think I’ll stick to my beach community.
9. Putting off writing during my down time because I was too tired.
8. Not going into the city and site-seeing.
7. Eating only cereal and hummus for dinner two nights in a row because I couldn’t afford the high prices of a real meal.
6. Not taking a pic with Sylvia Day when I had the chance.
5. Not telling Jude Devereaux how much her books mean to me.
4. Not going up to more people and introducing myself. Everyone was so nice!
3. Staying in my room watching Teen Wolf when I could have been at a party or a dinner or the Rita awards.
2. Sitting through a workshop that turned out to be a 60 minute selling pitch for the speaker’s $500 online course. I thought you were supposed to teach us something NOW not give us a “teaser” to the real thing. Grr.
1. Not giving my ugly business card to more people. I need a new one!
When a book really touches my heart and I could re-read it a hundred times without ever getting bored with it, that book goes on my “keeper shelf.” It’s a literal shelf in my home office crammed with my all-time faves from authors like J.R. Ward, Kresley Cole, and Eloisa James.
Now, thanks to Goodreads you can see my keeper shelf for yourself. Click here to see the books and authors that mean the world to me.
My phone went off at the nail salon today. The alert is the sound effect in Super Mario Bros when you get a one up. My Vietnamese manicurist, who doesn’t know much English, looks up and says, “Mario?”
I’ll soon be flying to Atlanta to attend the Romance Writers of America national conference, and I can’t wait! The books, the authors, the workshops, the luncheons, the swag, the new friends!
The RWA conference is one of the highlights of my year, and this is the first year I’ll be attending as a published author. So, my attitude and goals are very different. Instead of focusing on workshops about craft or characters I’ll be zeroing in on workshops about marketing, branding, and the ebook boom.
Here is one of my favorite songs. It reminds me of every hero I’ve ever written because, in some way, they’re all aching and alone. Damaged characters are the most interesting, in my opinion. You’ll never see me write a happy, well-adjusted hero. Because he wouldn’t be any fun to redeem in the end.
So enjoy a little pathos with Jason Walker’s haunting song “Echo.”
Or, Why Didn’t You Tell Me How Fantastic Sherlock Is?
I watched the new Star Trek movie and thought Benedict Cumberbatch did a great job as the villain. Tall, deep voice, British accent–what’s not to love? So, I finally checked out the BBC’s Sherlock on Netflix (Isn’t Netflix awesome?).
And I fell in love immediately! By the end of the first episode I was hooked. Completely.
The writing is so smart, the characters are very well developed, and yet the series stays faithful to the original source while “modernizing” it at the same time.
Now, like all the other fans I am impatiently waiting for the third season to premiere after crying over the second season finale. While I wait I can re-watch all six episodes and fantasize along to “Sherlock + Watson” YouTube videos.
My favorite, so far, is this one. Beautiful song, beautiful clips, and a re-written ending.
And, side note, Benedict Cumberbatch is a redhead. I have a weakness for those. 😉
Or, A Photo Journal Of My Explorations Of Eastern Virginia
Our first night in Williamsburg, my daughter and I took a break from touring the Colonial city to find dinner. I had grandiose ideas of eating in a tavern, served by candlelight by actors in period costume. Those of you who have visited the city before could have warned me those reservations sell out days (possibly weeks) in advance. Our next best idea was to dine in a local establishment outside of the historical district. But by the time we found an Italian bistro, we had fifteen minutes to eat in order to make a variety show at the Kimball Theater. We ended up being ten minutes late and frazzled.
So, what did we do for dinner on night two? Rolled up to the Golden Corral. I love the south!
Stop 4: Art Museum, Williamsburg, VA
The folk art exhibit at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum at Colonial Williamsburg was overflowing with beautiful and quirky works of art by untrained everyday artists. This bust is extremely lifelike and once graced the bow of a ship. It’s not exactly a mermaid, but I like it!
This bust of an unknown man carved by an unknown artist was once attached to the bow of a ship in the Great Lakes region.
I fell in love with this portrait at first sight. Isn’t she creepy? Her name was Martha Payne. How perfect is that?
This exhibit of non-traditional carousel animals immediately drew my attention for its whimsical and imaginative design. The cat with a fish in its jaws and a saddle on its back would be my first choice!
Carved by Salvatore Cernigliaro between 1903 and 1928 in Philadelphia, PA.
Stop 5: Tavern Ghost Tour, Williamsburg, VA
A night photo of the Brick House Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg. Like almost every original building in town, it’s rumored to be haunted. See any ghostly faces in the windows?
Stop 6: Jamestowne, VA
As a last minute stop, we toured Jamestown, the site of the first successful British colony in America. And I’m so glad we did!
My daughter freaked out when she saw this crest inside the church. In her RevQuest there was a story about the lion and the unicorn.
I was jumping up and down to take my picture with this gorgeous statue of Pocahontas.
The drive home
We ran into all sorts of traffic on the way home, including back to back accidents.
So, my daughter took the opportunity to write in her journal.
