Morning Shift? Mid-Shift? Late-shift?

JENN McKINLAY: When I first started writing, I worked around the Hooligans’ schedule. I woke up at 5 AM and wrote until the boys got up at 7 AM. I started again when they napped, which was usually from 12 PM to 2 PM. And then I crammed in two more hours from 8 PM to 10 PM. It’s amazing what you can get done when you have very limited time. 

Once the boys started school, I wrote from 8 AM to 2 PM and then again in my car while I chauffeured them to their various activities and waited in the car or the nearest coffee shop.

Those days are long gone and I thought I’d be more disciplined once they left home. I am not. I seem to squander my time in the morning and now work a mid-shift from 2 PM to 10 PM. I would make it earlier if I could but I can’t seem to shift. So long as the work gets done, I don’t suppose it matters, but I still wish I could get my butt in the seat earlier in the day.

How about you, Reds? What are your optimum writing hours? Has it changed over the years?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Jenn, so interesting!  That’s exactly my schedule.

When I was full time on TV, I was all about nights and weekends and vacations. Thats all the time I had. Now, my life is different, hurray,but my schedule still reflects that long time job.

 My theory, for me at least, is that my  schedule definitely comes from all those years of working for  TV news–my writing metabolism gears up to be ready for  the 6 o'clock news, and then the 11 o'clock news.  Mornings, I do admin, and socials, and coffee, and thinking and procrastinating. Then, after lunch, I think: GO SISTER. And work for about five hours. If I am lucky. I just have to get my 1000 words done. 

But then, sometimes I’ll stop in my office on the way up to bed, and tell Jonathan–I’m just going to say good night to the book.. ANd  I open my manuscript, abd whoosh, I’m back into it, and go upstairs sometime  after  midnight.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Wow, this is so interesting, Jenn and Hank. You’ve described me and my schedule, too. I have never been a morning writer, although I’ve castigated myself for years for not being someone who gets up at the crack of dawn to sit down at the computer and actually write sensible things. But sorry, not happening here. I always have morning chores (at least six months of the year including watering) and then I’m hungry. Then there’s email and catching up on stuff. It’s usually about noon by the time I clear the decks and focus on the WIP. I’ll take a mid-afternoon break, then go back to work until 7ish when I have to quit and deal with dinner. It also often means we end up eating really late, but sometimes, like Hank, I just have to “check something” and will go back to the computer for a last few minutes. I also take a notebook and pen upstairs to jot down any bath/before sleep ideas.

RHYS BOWEN: I have always been a morning person-forced on my by four children who had to get to morning swim practice at six am!  When I was juggling with getting four kids off to school I’d write as soon as I’d dropped off the youngest at pre-school and keep going until I had to pick him up again at mid day. When they all left home I adopted the routine I have now: wake early, usually before seven, check my emails etc, make a cup of tea, then start writing. I break off later for breakfast then continue until I’ve done the right number of words for the day.

The afternoon is for all the secretarial stuff: checking with assistant and publicist, answering fan mail, exing out all those stupid scams I get on a daily basis.  I too have a notebook in the bedroom because it’s quite normal to wake at three and think “she’d never have said that” and have to jot down how the scene should have gone. 

LUCY BURDETTE: I am in Rhys‘s camp, better at writing in the morning. This has been disrupted lately because I’ve been doing multiple yoga classes as well as Pickleball and all that takes place in the morning. So I’ve had to shift, which is not great for my poor brain. Right at this moment, for example, it’s almost 1 PM. I’ve been to killer Yoga, and a Pickleball clinic, and had lunch. Now I’m making a cup of iced tea and going up to my computer to see what I can do! Fingers crossed!

HALLIE EPHRON: This is reminding me of when I had two little kids at home and was working writing training for high tech. I had a computer (big hulking thing) at home and I’d bring my drafts in to work on a floppy disk (remember those?) trying to get there early so I could send my attest draft to the printer and grab it before anyone else arrived. The day didn’t have enough hours in it and I was perennially sleep deprived. And still I got more done than I do today in copious spare time.

How about you, Readers? What is your most productive time of day? Morning? Afternoon? Evening?

The Cat Who Broke The Bank

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: No, dear readers, I'm sorry to say this isn't an announcement of a new book featuring Lillian Jackson Braun's beloved Qwill, Koko and Yum Yum (although Berkley, if you want to pick them back up, give me a call!)

 

 

No, those of you who have been following along with the saga of Walker, my Youngest's beloved cat, will immediately deduce who the cat who broke the bank is. After all, this pet has his own frequent flier number for KLM Airlines, and has spent more time in Europe than I have (in the past decade.)

As you may recall, Youngest left me with Walker after declaring her undying love (for him, not for me) and happily predicting how her children would someday grow up with Walker, since he was only one year old. Of course, a month later, the FC (you can assume the F stands for feline if you like that sort of thing) ran into the road, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay and two bouts of surgery. 

 

Then, when I kept my oldest daughter's two dogs for six weeks after my grandson son 'Paulie' was born (and I can hear my dear Celia saying, in a starched British accent, "Julia, you've got to stop doing this to yourself!") Walker got so stressed out he completely stopped grooming himself, requiring a trip to PetSmart for a full-body shave and the purchase of two Feliway cat pheromone diffusers. If you have an anxious kitty, I can recommend this not-super-cheap-but-highly-effective product.

 

I didn't even write about that on the blog. It was just another week with Walker. 

 

 When last we left the saga, Hallie had pointed out the $15,000 cat was really more like $17,000... and this was BEFORE his vet and I discovered his failure to gain weight (he's only 6 pounds/2.7kg, and that's very thin!) was due to hyperthyroidism. 

 

Since February, I've been giving this cat six pills a day. Six. Pills. Each. Day. I have Greenie Pill Pockets on auto-ship from Chewy. I also have Inaba Churus on auto-ship, in an attempt to load more calories on his bony, shaved @$$.

 

As often happens with cats, he's gradually gotten wise to the fact those delicious treats I keep pressing upon him have a hard, nasty-tasting nugget. (I should clarify he's only on two medications, but one has to be cut up into fourths, and the other one halved.)

 

Eight months in, he's only consistently getting the smaller halved pill; no matter how I hide the larger quartered one - Cheez Whiz, hot dog, wet cat food - it winds up on the floor. After, of course, Walker has chowed down on the good stuff. So I've decided to pull the trigger. I've made the appointment with Portland Veterinary Specialists to give him radioactive iodine treatment later this fall. It will permanently fix his problem - no more pills ever! - all for the low, low price of $2,700-$3,500.

 

Yes, this will round him up to around $20,000.

 

Coincidentally, I also have a thyroid condition, which I treat with one small pill each morning. This costs about $22 a year, although admittedly, I have insurance and Walker does not. Also, I don't let the pill drop from my mouth onto the floor every day.

 

Dear readers, I've already asked about the craziest/most expensive/most dramatic health treatment you've pursued for your pets.  Instead, I'm going to ask you - if slightly crazed-looking senior citizen thrust $20,000 into your hands, what would you do with the money? 

Fast Five for Fall's First

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Okay, I need to acknowledge that technically fall doesn't start until the autumnal equinox on September 21. But here in the US, it always feel like Labor Day is the real turning point; before, summer, after, fall. No matter how late classes start in your district, all the kids are now in school. University students have moved into their dorms, and the choir is back at church. In the publishing industry, people are working on Fridays again!

Even in places where the weather is still like summer on steroids (sorry, Jenn and Rhys!) magazines and stores are showcasing boots and sweaters. So let's do a fast five on what the change of seasons means.

 

 

1. What's something that happens after Labor Day to tell you fall is coming? 

In Maine, the temperature change from the last week of August to the first week or so of September is noticeable. It’s like Mother Nature has turned down the thermostat. The nights are about the same, in the 50s/10s but during the day? Those 85/30 beach days are over. The average high this coming week is 75/23, and that daily high temperature doesn’t linger. Which explains my next answer…

2. What's the first thing you pull out of your closet that says, "It's fall now" ?

Cardigans. I keep lightweight cotton ones out all summer long, but I’ve already worn wool cardigans two days this past week!

3. Goodbye, strawberries and homegrown tomatoes, hello....?

Hot homemade soups! I’ve already made a big pot of potato soup and ate it with biscuits and with grilled cheese sandwiches (not all at once!) I’ve never enjoyed cold soups, so it’s lovely when it gets chill enough for a nice hot chowder. 

4. What do you add to your to-do list one summer is in the rear-view mirror? 

Wood. Wood, wood, wood. Stacking it in the wood room and carrying it into the house to fill up my iron cradle/boxes/stacking frame. 

 5. When I was a kid, I was excited about September because it meant... 

Don’t laugh, but I LOVED getting the Fall edition of TV Guide. I would read it from cover to cover and plan which new shows I was going to try. It’s nice having new entertainment possibilities at all times, but today’s generation will never experience the thrill of the New Season. 

LUCY BURDETTE

1. What's something that happens after Labor Day to tell you fall is coming?

 Apples, pumpkins, the choir starts up in church, and for the first time in a while, we aren't sweating our brains out!

 2. What's the first thing you pull out of your closet that says, "It's fall now" ?

 I haven't yet dug out my puffy vest, but I am rooting through the cedar closet:)

3. Goodbye, strawberries and homegrown tomatoes, hello....?

 We still have tons of tomatoes in the garden, so not saying goodbye to those yet! But we're nearing the end of the local peach season, which make me so sad, and also corn on the cob. On the plus side, local apples are amazing!

4. What do you add to your to-do list once summer is in the rear-view mirror?

 It should be writing more, shouldn't it??

5. When I was a kid, I was excited about September because it meant... 

 Going back to school! I always loved school and picking out the first day of school outfit. The grandkids' first day of school pix--they had the same excited smiles, but yikes, the clothes are SO casual. (I know, I sound like an old fart.)

 

DEBORAH CROMBIE

1. What's something that happens after Labor Day to tell you fall is coming? The first little drop in the brutal temperature. A week from today the high is predicted to be 89. Hallelulja!! Get out the sweaters!

 

2. What's the first thing you pull out of your closet that says, "It's fall now" ? My ratty old GAP hoodie that I love dearly.

 

3. Goodbye, strawberries and homegrown tomatoes, hello....? We are still getting tomatoes, corn, and okra in the market, but I think the tomatoes are actually coming from somewhere else as it's been too hot here. Hello SOUP! I can't wait!

 

4. What do you add to your to-do list one summer is in the rear-view mirror? Like Lucy, I'll say writing more. But we have so many outside chores that it has been too hot to do...

 

5. When I was a kid, I was excited about September because it meant... School supplies!! I still want school supplies, only mine are more expensive now:-)

JENN McKINLAY:

1. What's something that happens after Labor Day to tell you fall is coming?

 Nothing. It's still over a 100 degrees. LOL. But the Halloween decorations at the hardware store are an indicator that the temperature might drop in another month or two. LOL.

2. What's the first thing you pull out of your closet that says, "It's fall now" ?

 A hoodie. Lightweight, of course.

3. Goodbye, strawberries and homegrown tomatoes, hello....?

 Apples, pumpkins, and cinnamon on EVERYTHING.

4. What do you add to your to-do list once summer is in the rear-view mirror?

Plant my winter garden. Hello, kale, butter lettuce, and broccoli.

 

5. When I was a kid, I was excited about September because it meant... 

New pencils and notebooks. Such a dork. But there is nothing better than a fresh number 2 and an empty notepad. It's the most wonderful time of the year...

 

 HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN

1. What's something that happens after Labor Day to tell you fall is coming?

There is Halloween stuff at the CVS, too, Jenn! SO ridiculous. And I have been on book tour for the past week, and everywhere there are pumpkin spice ...things.  Also, the leaves are falling into my still-blooming mandevilla and impatiens window boxes.

2. What's the first thing you pull out of your closet that says, "It's fall now" ?

 I got some really great new cropped sweatshirts and I cannot wait to wear them. And boots! But it is still too soon for boots. Again from book tour--it was SO HOT that one outdoor event was moved inside because it was unbearable.  (The heat, not the event.)

 3. Goodbye, strawberries and homegrown tomatoes, hello....?

 Beef stew and chili. And good good Fuji and Honeycrisp and Envy apples. But it is still WAY too hot for that. WAY.

4. What do you add to your to-do list once summer is in the rear-view mirror?

It all runs together, actually. My book is due October 15. 

 

5. When I was a kid, I was excited about September because it meant... 

 New pencils and notebooks! I still love that.

 Rhys Bowen

1. What's something that happens after Labor Day to tell you fall is coming?

Today I noticed a beautiful tree with yellow leaves. Even though it's still summery here the trees know that fall is coming.

 

2. What's the first thing you pull out of your closet that says, "It's fall now" ?

I'm traveling to England in a couple of weeks and trying to picture what I might wear in chilly, rainy weather when it's still eighties here. I just bought a suede blazer in a sort of coffee color. That's right for fall.

 3. Goodbye, strawberries and homegrown tomatoes, hello....?

 I was at the farmer's market the other day and the beans, Italian and fava, were perfect. And the peaches, pluots, plums.  Unfortunately I don't grow anything... no time this year, plus a resident squirrel would eat anything I grew.

4. What do you add to your to-do list once summer is in the rear-view mirror?

This year, as you know, has been crazy and now my house is in complete upheaval because my daughter Anne is moving in with me. So new flooring in the downstairs, her own suite down there, my media room now the guest room, John's old office now the media room, a dumpster plus two trailer loads of stuff for the dump and hopefully a lovely new downstairs by the time Anne moves in.

 

5. When I was a kid, I was excited about September because it meant... 

I think I looked forward to school each year. It was satisfying moving up a grade and then finally knowing I was a prefect and got a blazer with braid all around it. But I've never been a big fan of fall. I like long light evenings and waking to sunshine peeking in through my blinds.

 

Julia: Now it's your turn, dear readers.Just copy the questions below and share your answers in the comments! 

1. What's something that happens after Labor Day to tell you fall is coming?

 

2. What's the first thing you pull out of your closet that says, "It's fall now" ?

 

3. Goodbye, strawberries and homegrown tomatoes, hello....?

 

4. What do you add to your to-do list one summer is in the rear-view mirror?

 

5. When I was a kid, I was excited about September because it meant...