Okay, it’s officially summer now. School is over and my family took a short camping trip to Maine, and now I’m happy to settle into camp writing routine (and nurse my sore muscles from a hike that was waaaay out of my comfort zone.)
This is how a summer day unfolds for me:
Get up at seven when my husband leaves for work
Put camp in order
Go for my morning swim in the lake
Settle in at the computer by the window with a mug of hot chocolate and write
Make some lunch and eat outside at the picnic table with a book
Write some more
Go for an afternoon swim/kayak
Write some more
Cook dinner with my family
Go for a family walk
Have an evening swim/kayak/and watch the sunset
Write some more
Go to bed.
My only interruptions are some volunteer work I do, any interesting bird that flies by and demands I try to photograph it, and riproaring thunderstorms that threaten to blow the camp off its foundations. Oh, and a little time on social media, of course.
Notice there is a complete lack of TV (we have no internet or cable or any of that stuff at camp — I am coming to you now via a personal hot spot set up with my phone.) I might occasionally watch a movie with my husband at night. There is also no drinking water, an iffy septic system, no dish washer, no washer or drier. And a long hike down a narrow flight of stairs from our bedroom to the bathroom. It’s cold and drafty when the wind blows out of the north. What we do have are lots of bugs, particularly spiders. They sometimes drop down onto beds, onto the table while we’re eating, and really — why do they like the bath tub so much? And mosquitoes that can drain you dry and then carry your corpse away.
But nothing compares to the sense of peace that just falls down out of the trees like rain and permeates everything it touches. Four generations of us have loved this place. I mean — this is the view beside me right now.
So I am now embarking on my second summer here as a full time writer. Last summer I finished a rough draft of Depth of Return and started writing Cricket, both novels in the Another Healing Universe. This summer I am just finishing up the edits of Depth of Return and am going to revise Cricket. My goal is to have it submitted by the end of the summer, and start something new. I plan to be blogging a lot more regularly, as well as posting snippits from my life and sunset photos on Facebook and Twitter. There will be some excerpts from Depth of Return, and a big cover reveal as we get closer to the BIG RELEASE DAY — September 6.
So stay tuned as I share my summer with you. Thanks!