Mini-Vacation

I talked Hubs into going with me to a book event on Saturday. We both love Up North (Michigan's northern lower peninsula), so when I scheduled to attend the Alpena Book Festival in Alpena, Michigan, he was game. While I participated in panel discussions, he explored this lovely port city on Lake Huron. We met up for lunch, then he took off to explore more.

This is my 2nd year at the Book Festival put on by the Alpena Public Library and a great many volunteers, including the Blue Phoenix Bookstore where my books were for sale. Meeting readers and other authors, some of whom I'd met last year, was the best part of the event.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. High eighties/low nineties with high humidity. Only the most hardy strolled downtown Alpena. Unlike last year, when the weather was more like Fall than Summer. But those who attended were great readers who asked many questions during the discussions. For the panels I was on, we had a great moderator. Mark (who wanted to remain anonymous and wouldn't tell us his last name) kept the discussions going with terrific questions and made sure all the authors participated. 

Hubs visited the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center and the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan. His love of maritime history made the former a good choice. The Besser Museum provided much info about the area, which he also enjoyed.

We left Alpena and headed for Mackinaw City. There, according to Hubs, I got my bridge fix. I love looking at the Mackinac Bridge. (Did you notice the spelling differences? It's Mackinac Bridge, Mackinac Island, but Mackinaw City. They are all pronounced the same as Mackinaw City.) On Sunday morning, we drove to a small park that has the best view of the bridge. I was totally surprised by how calm the water (Lake Huron) was. In fact, if you look carefully at the picture, you can see the reflection of the pylons. I have never seen that before. BTW, the bridge isn't leaning. LOL Just me.

Yesterday, we wandered around Mackinaw City, did a little shopping, but the heat and humidity were too much for walking. They say a break is as good as a rest. We had a nice 4-day break from the every day. Mixed a little business with a little vacation. Too early for the trees to change color yet. Maybe next month.

Where do you go for a break?

I'm Back

It's been way too long since my last Monday Morning Musing post. If you've followed any of my posts on other blogs (Paranormal Romantics and The Roses of Prose) you know my summer was chaos. Our no-longer-in-Arizona family, Son, DIL, Toddler Girl, and their two dogs--Big (Lab) and Bigger (Great Dane) lived with us for two months while they searched for a house nearby. Happily, we all survived and are still friends. LOL What a wonderful bonding, esp. with Toddler Girl.

Knowing that our routine would be non-existent, I decided I wouldn't stress out over not writing, that included this weekly blog. I just enjoyed each day. They now have a house (about 2 miles from us). We all have our own space again. Although Son and DIL had jobs to go to each day, our house isn't large. In fact, it's just right for two people. But . . .

The best part was getting to know our daughter-in-law better. I am so blessed. Smart Son for marrying her. The time with Toddler Girl was marvelous. Watching her vocabulary grow and her imagination develop made me so proud. Signs of the "terrible two's" began near the end of their stay. Thank Goodness. LOL She's still such a sweetie. The older grandkids had a great time with her. I wasn't surprised at how the oldest (10) enjoyed playing with her cousin. The surprise came when I saw how nurturing the 7.5 year old was. I thought he would (sort of) ignore her since she's a girl. He didn't. He helped her make a spaceship out of a box, helped her decorate it, and together they "zoomed" into outer space. As for Toddler Girl, she is madly in love with her cousins.

Now that everyone is settled (sort of) in their respective homes, school has started, and so have routines. I'm back to writing in the mornings. Before summer began, I was writing a novella that takes place in Far Haven (the fictional resort town on Lake Michigan, home of Alex O'Hara, PI). I was a little over a third into the story. Now I have the last big scene to write and the ending. Then it's editing, revising, and proofing before it goes to my freelance editor. I hope to have From Jailbirds to Wedding Bells available in November.

Along with keeping stress out of my life by not writing this blog, I also didn't plan to write much during the family stay. Then one of the authors who's part of the group newsletter I participate in thought of a great idea. (She thought it was great. LOL) We'd all submit a short story for an anthology that we'd give away to new subscribers to our newsletter, because we all have a short story or two laying around. Right? Not me. And I had to write it in a month. Yikes! I took another character from Far Haven and wrote a short mystery. As soon as it's available, I'll let you know.

I lined up a few book festivals to participate in. They are listed on my website. This Saturday (Sept. 23) I'll be at the Alpena (MI) Book Festival. I did this all-day event last year and had a wonderful time. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hi.

This Wednesday, I'll begin a new venture as a contributor to an online magazine, Pandora's Box Gazette. My column on Family Life will appear on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Busy, busy, busy. I'm having a great time writing and more fun talking (either in person or online) with so many terrific people.

How was your summer?

Our Big Adventure

On Friday, my cohort in crime, Margo Hoornstra, and I climbed into our trusty conveyance (Hubs’ Chevy) and set off for an adventure in the wilds of Northern Michigan. After six hours of battling obstacles along the route (weekend traffic), we arrived at a charming port city on Lake Huron (Alpena). There, we found a comfortable campsite for the night (Best Western).

Why did we embark on this adventure? The Alpena BookFestival. A gathering of authors and readers. On Saturday our hosts, volunteers at the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, greeted us with enthusiasm, happy to see us. We were guided us to local businesses where we participated in panel discussions on our favorite topics—books and writing. An independent bookstore carried our books and set up tables for us to greet readers and sign our books.

The best part was talking. Talking to readers. Talking to other authors. Talking to the gracious event volunteers. A lovely lady named Patti from Rogers City eagerly gave me ideas for a story that has been percolating in my mind for years and made me excited again about this project. I shared a panel on science fiction with two talented guys (Raymond Brege and John Garavaglia) who write sci-fi graphic novels. What amazing young men! A helpful YA author, Chanda Stafford, made a point of seeking me out to share a tip on self-publishing.

Margo and I participated in three panels together. My favorite was on being a Michigan author. We thoroughly agreed with the other five authors that Michigan is a terrific setting for our stories as well as being such a beautiful state. We aren’t prejudiced or anything. We both agreed the networking was the best part of the all-day event. We shared, we learned, we came away happy.

The organization of the festival was amazing. Margo and I are eager to go back next year.

Returning home, I wished we had one of those self-driving cars. Traffic was heavy, as usual on a Sunday with weekend vacationers returning home. With an easy-to-talk-to passenger, the trip went by quickly. Only after dropping off Margo did it become tiring. Stop-and-go through a lengthy stretch of construction forced me to stay focused but stretched the rest of the trip home by an hour and a half.

Still, I was grateful that I got home safely. Exhausted. So tired I slept twelve hours! And woke up this morning to 965 email messages.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.