Filling My Creative Tank

 Last time this year, my husband and I were in Paris celebrating our 25th anniversary. This year, we're in Charleston having a blast--it's amazing. (The only city in the world with more preservation of historic buildings is Rome.)

Cal and I bought a "Charleston museum pass." So we're visiting restored and preserved homes. And today we're visiting two plantations. I feel like my creative "tank" is being filled to overflowing. I can't wait to start writing and editing.

Here are a couple of photos. (Unfortunately, the houses don't allow you to take photos inside.)

Even the allies in Charleston are picturesque.

French Huguenot church.

I'm enjoying a joggling board. It doesn't look like much,
 but it was bliss for my back.

Turkish coffee with breakfast. (Here's the blouse I recently sewed,)

Writing Time Travel Fiction

Today, I'm at The Five Year Project, and I'm talking about what it's like to write time travel fiction.

Come join us.

What Happens When A Book is Done

Screwing Up Alexandria is published. Now what?

After all the writing, editing, proofreading, formatting, and uploading is done, I usually feel completely empty. Then, I have a release party. And I remember that hey, I've just finished writing another book. Woot!

My posse (i.e., my husband and whoever of my kids is currently at home) and I party. This time it was Ariel (on a brief vacation from grad school) and Matthew who joined in the celebration. We had mango-ginger cheese, fruit tart, bacon chocolate, smoke and stout chocolate, and, of course, champagne. We had a great time.

 

After the party, I try to spend the next week or two do nothing writing related (except checking sales and Amazon ranking, which have been quite good. (It has hit number one in its category every day--thanks so much to all my readers!) 

But doing nothing is so, so hard. Most writers I know, write as an avocation. So anytime there’s a spare minute, they’re writing or editing. And when that’s not there filling their empty minutes…well, I don’t know about the others, but when I’m “taking a writing break” to refresh and recharge my mind, I don’t know what to do. I wander the house, yard, neighborhood. And if you listen, you’ll hear me muttering, “I can’t write yet. I have to let the creative energy lie fallow.”

After two days, I’m beside myself. (Yes, I could be reorganizing the entry closet and that’s on the list, but that doesn’t recharge creativity. That's simply an odious task that no one else will do.) I need something that rests my mind, but still “makes something.” Then, the other day, I saw fabric on sale. I bought it. And now I’m making myself a top for the summer. That’s recharging.

Pattern, fabric, cotton lace.

About halfway finished. Check out the cool pin tucks.
I love pin tucks

Check back next week to see the finished garment.

Screwing Up Alexandria!

Screwing Up Alexandria is here! Click here to buy it.

Book three of the Screwing Up Time series is now live on Amazon. It went live late Wednesday night—two hours after I uploaded it, which was amazing.

Even more amazing, yesterday a writing friend emailed me a screen shot and said, “Have you seen this?” I hadn’t. Screwing Up Alexandria was #1 in sales in one of its categories.

I’m excited to see how sales go today.

Here’s the cover art and book blurb.

Time traveling has never brought Mark Montgomery anything but grief. And then, things get worse.

When Mark comes home from Babylon with a coded tablet, he never dreams someone would be willing to kill to get it. But they are.  So Mark and Miranda kidnap an ancient cryptographer named Nin and take her to the Library of Alexandria to decipher it.

The search for the truth of the tablet takes all of them to the most dangerous time on earth. And when Nin ends up on an altar surrounded by blood-thirsty crowds, only Mark can save her. But he’s blind.

Also, A. B. Keuser interviewed me about Screwing Up Alexandria. Read the interview here.

Cover Reveal

This is the big week! On Friday, Screwing Up Alexandria should be available at Amazon!

As a teaser, here is the cover art. Big thanks to graphic artist Tara Rimondi for her wonderful work.

Also congrats to Kimberly Afe who won an electronic advanced reader's copy.

In case you missed it before, here's the blurb.

Time traveling has never brought Mark Montgomery anything but grief. And then, things get worse.

When Mark comes home from Babylon with a coded tablet, he never dreams someone would be willing to kill to get it. But they are. So Mark and Miranda kidnap an ancient cryptographer named Nin and take her to the Library of Alexandria to decipher it.

The search for the truth of the tablet takes all of them to the most dangerous time on earth. And when Nin ends up on an altar surrounded by blood-thirsty crowds, only Mark can save her. But he’s blind.