The Right Way to Worry –by T.K. Thorne

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There’s a lot to worry about.

The world is on fire. Literally and figuratively. It’s not the first time, of course, even though it feels like a unique crossroads of time.

I grew up under the threat of nuclear winter and the extinction of life on Earth. My family discussed what to do should the sirens go off (the sirens that now warn of tornados rather than a nuclear bomb headed our way). “Stay at school,” my mother said. Of course, there was no guarantee it would happen while I was at school. I spent a good bit of time wondering where we could hunker down and if we could get a lead shield big enough for the garage door to keep radiation out and what food we needed to have stored away. I still have the little booklet on how to survive nuclear fallout.

So, I know how to worry!

There also are more mundane issues to concern us. We worry about inflation and that gas prices are too high, or about deflation and that they will go too low. We are worried our investment dollars (however small) may not poof back into existence when they poof out. If we are working, we worry about the stability of our jobs or whether we picked the right career or the right mate.

Writers worry that our stuff will not be good enough, or read enough, or whether we will have “writer’s block” and not write enough, or we will write too much and have to cut … and (yikes!) what if we cut the wrong stuff? We worry that agents or editors or readers won’t love us or, if we are fortunate enough to have a success, we panic that the next project won’t be as good.

Then there are the really scary worries. We worry about politics and what will happen to our children, whether they will be able to live their dreams or end up in prison, in a fascist state, or under the thumb of a world-dominating Artificial Intelligence.

Pick a subject; we can worry about it. Everyone, except possibly the enlightened Dalai Lama, worries about something, more likely a lot of things. Worrying must have had some evolutionary value. If we never worried about having stuff in lean times, we wouldn’t have invented grocery stores…or shopping.

We plan in response to worry. If junior is smart, how are we going to pay for college? Better start saving early. If junior isn’t smart, we may have to feed him well into his adult life. Better start saving early. Some worrying (that leads to planning or working to make change happen) is therefore good. Excess worrying, however, causes stress, and stress is linked to everything from headaches to premature death.

Early man worried about placating emotionally unstable gods and spirits that rocked the world with floods, drought, earthquakes, and fire from heaven. They must have worried incessantly about what they could do about it until they invented shamans to tell them exactly when, where, and how much stuff to offer up. Of course, we are way beyond that now. I think it’s been days since I knocked on wood to keep from irritating the gods about something I said.

My 4’ 10” grandmother was a Professional Worrier. She was pretty much undiscriminating about the subject matter, but as I entered my teens, she worried in particular that my hair was not stylish, my cheeks were too pale, and my skirts were too long to catch a boy’s eye. She worried I would not marry a doctor and that some illness or accident was bound to befall me, probably at the worst time, (i.e., before I got married). Most of all, she believed I was oblivious about the importance of these things and so, she carried the burden of worrying about them on her own tiny shoulders.

On one family outing, we watched from a bank while my grandfather puttering around the lake in a small one-seater motorboat. Grandma’s palms stayed plastered to her cheeks for the entire thirty minutes he had fun.

She heaved a sigh. “I’m so worried about him.”

Grandma’s concern was always an expression of her love, not something to question, but that day I turned to her and asked, “Why, Grandma? Why are you worried? What good does that do?”

With a look of disbelieve at my ignorance, she said, “Because you never know!”

You never know. True. Something could happen. Anything could happen.

With a flash of understanding, I got it.

Worrying is magic. If you’ve worried about something, you’ve tipped the scales of fate, you’ve appeased the gods; you’ve knocked on wood. That’s why when you say, such and such could happen, you add a “God forbid” to the end of it. Grandma’s strategy, even if it was an unconscious one, was that you should do preventive worrying to keep something bad from happening. And if you weren’t diligent and hadn’t covered all the bases, something you hadn’t even thought about was sure to sneak up on you … and (God forbid) happen.

The Dahlia Llama sees all this in a very different light. He says that if there is a solution to a problem, there is no need to worry. And if there is no solution … there is no need to worry.

I, being my grandmother’s descendant, have developed my own, somewhat less enlightened, but workable, strategy: Refocus your worries. I like to worry about exactly how I am going to spend the money should I win a lottery. (You have no idea all the problems such a responsibility raises.) And speaking of responsibility, we could worry about starving people in Africa a little more often than when we are admonishing children to eat what’s on their plate. We could worry about the precious democracies that are under threat, not to mention the polar bear’s diminishing habitat and our chances for surviving on a planet whose thermostat has gone whacko.

But even responsible worrying can become stressful. When the You-Never-Knows of everyday life start to tangle my mind, I refocus on the scientific proclamation that our Universe is possibly a random bubble among many, and it could pop at any moment and annihilate the whole thing.

Now, there is something to worry about!

T.K. Thorne writes about what moves her, following a flight path of curiosity, reflection, and imagination.

July 2023 Summertime in Southern Colorado By Juliana Cha Cha de Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico de la cruz Aragón Fatula

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Dear Reader,

This is the story that I want to write and read. Something no one else can write. Only I can tell this story. It is my story about two talented Chicanas from Pueblo, Colorado who solve crimes and mysteries and run Emma’s Recovery House for women and children. L.A. and Eva Mondragón Private Investigators and social activists in Denver, Colorado honoring their mother by helping the unfortunate. There but for the grace of God, go I.

Summertime and living is easy. The tide has finally rolled out and we are beginning to enjoy the peace, quiet, and solitude of retirement and our golden years.

I’ve been working since I was twelve years old. My first job, babysitting, taught me how to take care of a baby, my nephew.

My second job, I was fifteen and pregnant, taught me how to clean and scrub toilets at the beauty shop owned by the only Latina beautician in town, Dee. She gave me my first office cleaning job.

Eventually, I gained employment scrubbing the toilets of the local doctors, lawyers, judges, and politicians. Their houses never seemed dirty to me, but I dusted, swept, vacuumed, mopped, and cleaned windows and bathrooms.

My mother cleaned houses, but she also ironed and washed the clothes of her employers and they gave my mom their children’s hand-me-downs and toys. Even though we were poor, we dressed nice and had great toys, bikes, sleds, skateboards, Suzy Easy Bake Oven…

The rich loved my mom’s cooking. She made the best tamales in the county. They gave her their children’s possessions as they outgrew them. We in turn gave our clothes and toys to the white family down the block because they were even poorer than we were in our family.

Mom and Dad taught us never to make fun of those poor white kids who wore our hand-me-downs. Our parents taught us respect, morals, ethics, honesty, kindness, and generosity, and gave us unconditional love. (Don’t know how I turned out semi-normal).

I worked through the summer of 1972 and by the fall, my friends had returned to high school sophomore year. I left my small hometown in Southern Colorado and moved to San Francisco, California.

The culture shock was minimal but the homesickness was maximum. I missed my family and my friends but not my hometown. I was thrilled to be living in the Bay area and enjoyed my fifteenth birthday, my boyfriend, and my baby boy. I had no clue what I was doing.

My California romance ended, and I returned to Colorado and my parents. I returned to my hometown high school and found my next job at the communication monopoly known then as Mountain Bell.

At sixteen I was the first person of color in my hometown to work at a major corporation like Mt. Bell as a telephone operator. Thanks to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and Family Planning I was able to rent an apartment, buy a car, and support myself and my son and get healthcare for us. Mt. Bell also hired the first male telephone operator in the county. He happened to be gay but was closeted in our small, town of 99.99% Caucasian in 1973.

I celebrated my eighteenth birthday in the ICU in the hospital in my hometown after nearly bleeding to death in the ER restroom. I had an ectopic pregnancy that burst when I was packing to move to Denver. I lost my left ovary and fallopian tube and lived to tell the story.

I transferred to Denver and left my hometown. I was a customer service representative for Mt. Bell in their downtown Denver high-rise. I met people from all walks of life and became part of a diverse community. I loved living in Denver. I transferred several times to better-paying jobs and climbed the corporate ladder. I learned job skills and networked with coworkers from around the country.

I never gave up on my dream of graduating from college. I made my goal of a degree in English and Creative Writing a priority in my life. Eventually, I earned several degrees and my teaching certificate.

When my Dad died, I returned to my hometown to be near my mother in her golden years. I was hired by the school district and taught in the same building I had attended in my freshman year of high school.

I had come full circle, but I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to push myself. I challenged myself to write and get published. The year I graduated, Conundrum Press published  my first book of poetry, Crazy Chicana in Catholic City, a year later my second book of poetry, Red Canyon Falling on Churches, was published.

I graduated with honors from CSU Pueblo in 2008 at 50 years old, published two poetry books and a chapbook, The Road I Ride Bleeds, and decided to challenge myself to write my first novel.

I’ve always loved the mystery genre. I naturally chose to write a love story mystery. I don’t want to write a good novel. I want to write a great novel. I joined several national writing groups and networked with writers, editors, journalists, and publishers. I read books on writing by the masters: Stephen King, Ernest Hemmingway, Linda Rodriquez, etc.

I set my self-imposed deadline of July 15, 2023, to finish revising my m.s. I’ve been writing this novel off and on for five years. Stopping when life gets too crazy and starting again when I figure out how to survive the global pandemic, my son’s drug addiction, his heart attack, his stroke, his brain damage, and his death at fifty.

In December of 2022, my husband and I both had covid and weeks of illness. Then came the death threat to my husband by my nephew and the subpoena to testify against him in court.

One day I shook off all of the pain and grief and went back to work on my novel and worked harder than I ever had before. I realized with my son’s death at only fifty years of age that I could die at any minute from anything and needed to complete my book, publish my book, and then I could die, but not until then. I added to my bucket list: publish a great mystery love story and spread my message of diversity, inclusivity, peace, love, and understanding and do it with a sense of humor and dun dun dun, mystery.

Today I’m chilling. I’m waiting for feedback from my editor and her critique for revisions and submitting my novel. I truly have hopes of submitting to all the Latinx/Chicanx publishers. There are few but they do exist, and I want to start with them first. It also is important to me to submit with an LGBTQ publisher because many of my characters are lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and queer and have important messages to teach about being marginalized.

Many of the women characters in my novel living at Emma’s Recovery House are recovering drug addicts, alcoholics, inmates, human trafficking victims, runaways, abused, confused, and used women looking for a new life, a new start, a fresh chance to survive in a world gone crazy. They have been judged, mistreated, abandoned, beaten, and ignored as worthy human beings with something to contribute to society. I want to tell their stories of wicked warrior women with survivor attitudes and joyful spirits.

Work Life Balance

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Work Life Balance

by Saralyn Richard

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

 

I was recently asked in a video interview what my work-life balance looked like. I had to laugh. I’m sorry to say I’ve never perfected work-life balance, and I’ve never really tried. While I’m a perfectionist in many things, anything that requires me to pay attention to time is a lost cause.

As a disclaimer, writing, for me, is not actually work. Being a writer is a long-deferred dream come true, so now that I have dedicated myself to telling stories, the work is joyous. When I’m working, I give my all to my work. If I’m writing a scene, I am lost in the zone of that scene so thoroughly that I don’t notice where I am or what time it is in the real world. This quirk has gotten me into many difficulties when I start writing close to times of appointments, meetings, or social engagements. I have to restrain myself from sitting down to work within an hour of any of the above.

The same is true when I’m spending time with friends or family. I give my full attention to them and strive to cherish every moment. Having been deprived of social interactions for so long, due to the pandemic, I appreciate in-person get-togethers more than ever. I don’t check my phone for messages or daydream about possible plot twists. I don’t lurk on the fringes; I jump into the middle with my whole heart.  I listen, I share, I laugh, I cry. I try to emulate my sheepdog Nana, who gives herself over to her people, completely.

If work and life end up being balanced, that’s a happy coincidence. So how about you? I’d love to hear how you address work-life balance.

Saralyn Richard is an educator and author of five award-winning mystery novels and a children’s book. Visit her at http://saralynrichard.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter.

“Tis the Season – The Voting Rather than the Holiday One

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‘Tis the Season – The Voting Rather than the Holiday One by Debra H. Goldstein

Have you ever noticed the increase in your emails or in list serv postings during the period before nominations are turned in for writing awards? Some requests are blatant – please vote for me. Others are more subtle – noting what the writer has written what of his or her’s that could be considered and asking those who read the post to “remind” everyone of their possible offerings. Some groups simply ask authors to respond in a given thread, others use data bases. The bottom line is that without a little “help” from our friends, there is no way any writer can be familiar with all the possible books/authors to nominate.

There are simply too many books.

That’s why, much as I hate the extra emails and list serv postings, I am grateful for those who compile lists (like Gabriel) or use databases (like the Guppies). These jog my memory and usually give me enough time so that I can read the works of everyone I nominate.

Two questions for you.  Do you, like me, prefer the lists and databases or are you okay with emails and list serv postings for all?  Today’s email brought an announcement listing the books up for the Killer Nashville Reader’s Choice Awards. The list includes my Five Belles Too Many. In the comments, tell me if you have a book eligible for consideration? Oh, and here’s a call to action: Anyone can vote for Reader’s Choice – follow this link, look at the list, and vote:

https://www.killernashville.com/killer-nashville-readers-choice-award or directly on the ballot here https://killernashville.forms-db.com/view.php?id=246688

Family

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I’ve been thinking about families lately. Specifically, two kinds of family: the kind we are born into and the kind we create for ourselves among the strangers we meet in the course of our lives.

I have a brother I love dearly. I never had a sister, but I was blessed with girl cousins who were close in age. As children, we’d play together like siblings. Holidays were always big gatherings, too. And when we got older, we stood as bridesmaids in each others’ weddings. Eventually, we moved away from our family homes and out of each other’s lives.

This week, some of my cousins came to town for an impromptu four-day get-together. From the get-go, I was struck by how easily we slipped back into sister-mode. Making lunch, shopping, and just sittin’ around reminiscing, the bonds between us are still there, despite the years we’ve been apart. It’s such a comfortable, validating feeling to be with them, those people who knew us way back when.

Almost a decade ago, writing groups and writing conferences introduced me to a different kind of family. After attending my first writing conference, I felt like I had finally found my “peeps.” Without these new sisters and brothers, my writing life would be one lonely enterprise.

I’m especially grateful to the angels among them who’ve taken a personal interest in my work. At times when I’ve been ready to tear my hair out in frustration, they come through with encouragement and sage advice.

When I was growing up, I imagined a writer’s life to be a solitary existence. I never imagined that I’d find such a nurturing community here. But that is exactly what happened.

I’m lucky to have all these folks in my life. Whether related by blood or by our love of books, it’s family that makes life worthwhile.

Gay Yellen writes the award-winning Samantha Newman Mysteries including The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and out later this summer, The Body in the News.

 

The Arts Are For Everyone!

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The Arts Are For Everyone! by Linda Rodriguez

A few years ago, I was giving writing workshops at a local high school on the wrong side of the tracks. These kids had already been through lots of trauma and stress, though they were only in their teens. These particular twenty kids, however, fell in love with writing, and it offered them a way to deal with broken families, broken hearts, and broken promises. They learned that on their own without me.

I was there to show them that writing can offer them even more. It wasn’t easy at first. Some of them started out prickly. It’s natural when life’s been a hostile environment to be always on guard. It took patience, but we got past that, and they wrote some phenomenal poems.

In the last workshop I had the joy of telling them that their work would be published in an anthology of Kansas City student writing and that they would give a public reading at The Writers Place, the city’s stand-alone center for writers and literature. They were pretty excited. This was a kind of validation that they almost never get. And since the poems to be published were from a workshop we did around identity and specific imagery, it was a special kind of validation. They opened their hearts on the page about the good and bad things in their families and their lives, and society said, “You are great just as you are!”

Out of the school population of 348, these twenty kids are winners. They may not be the only ones, of course, and they may not all go on to college. However, they have learned to use language to help themselves through tough times. They have learned to use language to form images of who they are and where they want to go, and that’s a prize of incomparable worth.

 

Linda Rodriguez’s 13th book, Unpapered: Writers Consider Native American Identity and Cultural Belonging, was published in May 2023. She also edited Woven Voices: 3 Generations of Puertorriqueña Poets Look at Their American Lives, The World Is One Place: Native American Poets Visit the Middle East, The Fish That Got Away: The Sixth Guppy Anthology, Fishy Business: The Fifth Guppy Anthology, and other anthologies.

Dark Sister: Poems was a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award. Her three earlier Skeet Bannion mystery novels—Every Hidden Fear, Every Broken Trust, Every Last Secret—and earlier books of poetry—Skin Hunger and Heart’s Migration—received critical recognition and awards, such as St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic Best First Novel, International Latino Book Award, Latina Book Club Best Book of 2014, Midwest Voices & Visions, Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award, Thorpe Menn Award, and Ragdale and Macondo fellowships. She also published Plotting the Character-Driven Novel, based on her popular workshop.  Her short story, “The Good Neighbor,” published in Kansas City Noir, was optioned for film.

Rodriguez is past chair of the AWP Indigenous Writer’s Caucus, past president of Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime, founding board member of Latino Writers Collective and The Writers Place, and a member of International Thriller Writers, Native Writers Circle of the Americas, Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers, and Kansas City Cherokee Community. Learn more about her at http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com or follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rodriguez_linda  or on Mastodon at https://mastodon.social/rodriguez_linda.

The Pleasures of Summer Reading

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As the sun rises higher in the sky and the days grow longer, summer beckons us to bask in its warm embrace. For avid readers, this season presents an unparalleled opportunity to immerse ourselves in the joys of summer reading. Whether it’s lounging by the poolside, swinging in a hammock, or picnicking in the park, the enchanting allure of a good book can transport us to magical worlds and make this season even more extraordinary.

 

Summer reading, with its relaxed pace and open schedule, allows us to delve into a vast realm of literary wonders. It’s a time when we can indulge in the stories we’ve longed to read but couldn’t find the time amidst our busy lives. From classic novels, to the latest bestsellers to the next book in a series we love,  our summer reading list is a testament to our love for words and storytelling.

The act of holding a physical book or swiping through the pages of an e-reader becomes a sensory delight in itself. While reading, we may feel the gentle summer breeze caressing our cheeks or the sound of distant laughter mingling with the story, making the reading experience even more immersive.

Moreover, the beauty of summer reading lies in its freedom. We can embrace the liberating feeling of reading for the sheer pleasure of it. We can explore different genres, from romance and mystery to fantasy and science fiction, allowing our minds to wander through various landscapes and realities.

In a world that can sometimes feel rushed and chaotic, summer reading offers a respite—a tranquil oasis where time seems to stand still. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves, find solace, and nourish our souls with words that inspire, provoke thought, and bring a smile to our faces.

So, as the summer sun casts its warm glow upon us, let’s celebrate the joys of summer reading. Let’s embrace the magic of books and let our imaginations run wild. As avid readers, this season grants us the precious gift of time—the time to read, the time to dream, and the time to revel in the pure pleasure of getting lost in a story. So, let’s pick up that book and embark on our summer literary adventures, for the delights of summer reading await!

P.S. My newest release, HOW THE MURDER CRUMBLES, is a perfect summer read. It’s currently available at retailers and libraries. If you prefer to get your hardcovers, ebooks or audiobooks from your library be sure to request the book.

 

Debra Sennefelder is the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series.

She lives and writes in Connecticut. When she’s not writing, she enjoys baking, exercising and taking long walks with her Shih-Tzu, Connie.

You can keep in touch with Debra through her website, on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Deep in the Promo Weeds

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By Lois Winston

My post last month talked about the five-letter word that sends a shudder through most authors. I’ve been in the promotion weeds ever since, due to the recent launch of  A Crafty Collage of Crime, the 12th book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Between my own blog, Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers, and the two group blogs I belong to, this one and Booklover’s Bench, I also signed up for a blog tour with Great Escapes Book Tours and booked a few guest blogs on my own. The grand total came to—drumroll, please—26 blog posts through the middle of August!

And here lies the conundrum: How many ways can I talk about my series and the newest book in it without sounding like a broken record? Or worse yet, a carnival barker? Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. Be the first to experience the latest murder and mayhem author Lois Winston has dumped on her poor reluctant amateur sleuth!

No one likes being bombarded with “buy my book” pleas on social media. Hard sell often works against an author. Years ago, when I was still writing romance, I attended a conference where a well-known, bestselling author kept pleading with the audience to buy her books because her teenage son was growing so fast that she was spending a fortune every month at Foot Locker. From the sideways glances those of us in the audience were giving each other, I had the sense that this author’s attempt at a cute marketing ploy was backfiring badly. Especially since we’d all seen her latest advance recently posted on Publishers Marketplace. I’ve been published since 2006, and to this day, if you added up all my advances and royalties from the past seventeen years, the total would still be less than what that author had received in one advance.

At any rate, Anastasia and I (some bloggers requested posts written by my sleuth or interviews with her instead of me) have tried—desperately—to keep each of the posts fresh and different. My Great Escapes blog tour began June 19th and runs through July 2nd. You can find the schedule here. Visit each site to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win one of three copies I’m giving away of A Crafty Collage of Crime. Because the drawing won’t be held until after the last guest post goes live on July 2nd, you can also go back and enter at the blogs that have already posted.

I promise I won’t implore you to add to my sons’ or grandsons’ sneaker funds!

Instead, if you post a comment here, I’ll enter you in a random drawing for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of A Stitch to Die For, the fifth book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

What Makes Me Happy

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What Makes Me Happy

By Saralyn Richard

 

Nana with the cast of “Peter and Wendy”

Recently, one of my writer friends, Kathleen Kaska, featured me in her newsletter, the theme of which was: What Makes You Happy?

I had fun answering Kathleen’s questions and thought I’d share them with you.

  1. What makes you happy? children and dogs! A long-time educator, I taught pre-school through twelfth grade, and I never had a dull moment. Every time I thought I’d seen and heard everything, something else happened to surprise me. Being surrounded by children guarantees that you’ll have new ideas and be forced to find creative solutions. I’m similarly happy when I go places with my sheepdog, Nana. Prior to Covid, Nana and I visited more than 100 schools, libraries, and museums, where we read the children’s book Naughty Nana. Nana is a show-stopping celebrity, and watching her light up when she’s with people is magical.
  2. What songs, when you hear them, make you glad to be alive? I love show tunes. I can belt out the lyrics to almost any Broadway musical, and I’ve been known to dance around the family room while I’m singing. Happy, sad, romantic, or whatever, I love to pretend that I’m on stage, singing like a Tony-award winner. Two of my favorites are, “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady, and “Tonight” from West Side Story. I also love the Bee Gees tunes from Saturday Night Fever.
  3. What are your most profound beliefs? One of my beliefs is that time is our most precious commodity. I’m terrible at keeping track of time, though. I also believe in the power of girlfriends, great books, and ghosts.

Last weekend, my husband and I got to hear Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. (formerly of the Fifth Dimension) sing, and we visited with them afterwards. We saw them perform on our first date many years ago, when we were in college. We are still together, and so are they! Another reason to be happy!

 

What makes YOU happy?

 

Saralyn Richard loves being a writer and connecting with readers. Visit her website at http://saralynrichard.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter to receive fun info, surveys, contests, freebies, and more.

Clicking Our Heels – Summer Plans!!!!

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Summer time! What do you think about in June? For Stiletto Gang members, it’s all about our summer plans.

Barbara Eikmeier – We just got a teardrop camper trailer and I’m making plans for a road trip from KS to CA to camp on the beach in Oceanside, CA. We tent camped there with our kids when they were little and now we’ll do it with our granddaughter!

Mary Lee Ashford – We have no big plans this summer. Well mostly be staying around home and working on house projects. Some major decluttering going on here. Perhaps a short trip with the family or a weekend away but nothing big. However, in September we are planning a trip to Scotland and we are pretty excited about that. Look for plenty of photos!

Linda Rodriguez – We’ll be moving once again. I’m not looking forward to that nightmare, but I am looking forward to what comes after it. Just as our youngest son moved back in with us after his PhD while he was looking for a job, we will be moving in with him while we are looking for a house, since we will be moving to the town where he lives. It’s actually his idea, and he swears he’s looking forward to it. So am I. He’s a lot of fun.

Shari Randall/Meri Allen – Travel and beach time! A nephew is getting married, too, so it’s a full summer.

Debra H. Goldstein – A number of writing conferences, a lot of writing, and plenty of family fun!

Lynn McPherson – Lakeside cottage with the family and lots of good books.

T.K. Thorne – My garden. I can’t wait to see things blooming, especially around my little pond and to see the frogs come take a swim! And maybe work out how I can focus more on writing without feeling compelled to get other things done first. Wish me luck on that!

Bethany Maines – Probably a trip to Arizona to visit friends, and then our annual visit to Fairy Fest, and camping.

Donnell Ann Bell – I have a couple of conferences I’d like to attend, visits with family, my husband I are talking about a trip to Banff, Quebec, and I have monthlong jury duty in August!!

Dru Ann Love – I will be visiting Charleston, South Carolina and San Diego, California.

Saralyn Richard – Summertime is family time around here. I’m looking forward to having lots of company and fun times at the beach, barbecuing, and visiting all the tourist attractions.

Gay Yellen – Promote the new book, attend a writing conference or two, and still have time to take a non-writing couples vacation.

Lois Winston – I used to love cruising, but ever since the pandemic, I’m hesitant to travel to any place where I could wind up stuck for weeks or longer. So other than attending Killer Nashville in August, my only plan for now is to visit friends in the NY metro area and take in a few Broadway shows. Maybe in another year or two I’ll feel brave enough to consider Europe again.

Anita Carter – We’re planning for a trip to Scotland in September!

Robin Hillyer-Miles – This summer we’re enjoying our home in the SC Lowcountry, going to the beach, on local hikes, and lounging in our small backyard pool.

Kathryn Lane – To spend the summer in my beloved mountains in northern New Mexico. I’ve lost a lot of writing time this year to unexpected issues so I’m looking forward to uninterrupted writing. Bob and I will travel around New Mexico to research areas for the novel I’ve just started.