Poolside Post

Just a word to note that I’ll be on holiday, as they say, July 1-10, and not likely to be able to post or reply to e-mail. If I can find a wireless connection somewhere in town, maybe at a McDonald’s or something, I will check in. Otherwise, miss me like I miss you.

We’re staying in a friend’s house in Arnold (actually Blue Lake Springs) which is a cool place to take families. There’s room for everyone in the house and we’re having various friends and family join us for the trek: Annie and Stuart and Stanley, Steve and Stella and Cole, Mia and Davin. Somewhere in there, Mr. Unhusband and self are supposed to visit distant relations on both sides. Or not. Depends how the time flows.

Because when you’re on vacation, you’re not supposed to do anything, right? Just loll and lounge and hang out and sleep in. Drink and eat and glut and snore. Nuzzle and guzzle and puzzle, and muzzle the dear children if they awaken too early, when grownups must catch up on sleep or love. Looking forward to every moment of all-too-rare downtime.

And yet…what does the Editrix do when she has “time off”? Uh, yeah. Fill it with stuff to do: kids’ crafts, kids’ cooking projects, jogging with Mr. UH, catching up on reading juicy delicious books. Those are all acceptable vacation things to do — all the stuff we don’t ordinarily have time for. And moms never get a break anyway, right?

Wrong. I have a mission. I’m a gal with a plan. I have five of 12 chapters written. I have seven to kill. I’m fired up and ready to roll. I think — I plan — I hope to knock off six of them. The seventh is one of those that will need some Internet and library research for what I’m planning, and I’m not going to spend my vacation in a library. I’ll do that another time. But 90 percent of this book will be drafted when I return. Pinky swear, it’ll be done. By hook or by crook, by the light of the silvery moon, etc.

Because when else can I do it? I do have a few unscripted moments in the middle of the night, but sleeping is good, and skin-time with Sweetie is good, and I need both of those in sufficient quantities. When we return, we turn on the steam for the Mega-Yard Sale July 16, and start moving boxes first thing to Taylor Avenue, and offload duplicates of things we both have, etc. Life will be a bit busy throughout July but do-able. It will be good to have finished a draft of my new book, send it out to readers, let it steep a bit, then get ready to revise and get a proposal ready for agents, etc. later this fall.

That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it. Will report back if any of this comes to pass. I may even post some bites of the new stuff.

As for tonight, Red Hills Review reading at Spellbinding Tales at 7, be there or miss some fine writing on parade. Miss it? See you Aug. 16 at Books Inc. Miss that? You’ll have to wait till the next issue comes out. Then next stop, Alameda Literati (Nov. 5).

Cheers, and have a happy 4th.

Advice to Aspiring Writers: Take some time off for a writing retreat for yourself. Sometimes it’s the only way to carve out the space and time you need.

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