All Summer in a Day

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Today is arguably the last Monday of summer - next week is Labor Day, which is always bittersweet as it heralds the end of the season (if not, for some of us, the end of suffocating heat!) This week on JRW, our attention is going to turn to the World Mystery Conference, Bouchercon, but before we do, let’s take our traditional accounting of what summer pleasures we did and did not manage to fit in between Memorial Day and now.

What I did: Saw family. I saw SO much of my family, I’ll be happy not to spend any more time together until Thanksgiving. I love you, kids.

Went to a Sea Dogs game in Portland, with much of the aforementioned family. It was a rare perfect sunny day in what’s been a wet, cool summer here in New England, and we had a great time, even though the Sea Dogs went down 7-5.

Celebrated the Fourth of July by watching Independence Day with the Maine Millennial on Monday and had an amazing indoor (that rain again) BBQ at a friend’s house on Tuesday.

Took a mini-writing retreat with Jessica Ellicott and had the great pleasure of spending a whole day writing and talking craft and business under the shade of her gazebo in utterly perfect July weather.

Went to the movies in person, which used to be a summer standard, but has become rare for me since the pandemic. Youngest and I saw MEG 2: THE TRENCH, which was the perfect tongue-in-cheek action flick.  I even bought movie popcorn: I know it’s all oil and chemicals, but it’s so tasty.

I had a whole watermelon to myself!

What I didn’t do: It’s a long list. No trips to the beach, no grilling outdoors, no summer theater (which I managed to do even during the shut downs in ‘20 and ‘21.) No swimming at Celia Wakefield’s Lake House, or in the nearby Saco River - there was so much rain my area was closed to swimming due to bacterial contamination!! No Chamber Music Festival. No hanging out with a book and a glass of chilled rode on the patio. No garden other than what sprung up from last year. 

All I can say is, 1) this fall had better be spectacular, and 2) the next time a family member calls with a crisis, I’m pretending I broke my phone and hiding until it passes.

How about you, Reds?

RHYS BOWEN:  I always have plans for the perfect summer: picnics at the beach, a book beside the pool, an adventure once a week. And then suddenly it’s September! What happened? Our summer in Marin County had not been stellar. A lot of cold foggy mornings. And I have escaped to the beach a couple of times. But still…. Not that perfect lazy, hazy days of summer 

I must confess that five weeks of it were spent in Europe so no whining here! England, Jersey, Brittany. All good. And lots of family encounters. Also good. And a new irrigation system that now has plants covering my bare hillside. I’m off to Bouchercon on Wednesday and hoping to steal away to the beach when no one’s looking!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I have no idea what I did. Yes, I do, it wrote. And was on book tour. It was great, and wildly successful, and hurray, but yikes, it’s about to be September. We didn’t grill, because it seemed to be raining all the time or SO HOT!

A new house went up next to us, so we were in a constant din–truly one day, there were TEN guys on the roof next door with nail guns. Just imagine. And they started at 7. AM. 7 AM!!

We didn’t sit by the pool, because see above. But we had so many bunnies! BUT I did do some fantastic full-house signings, really amazing, and interviewed Shari Lapena in person, taught at the Writers Digest Convention and saw Hadestown with Hallie–she mentions it below, too! AMAZING, as she says.

AND sold two more books, book 16 and 17 no under contract! So yay. Somehow, even with all the rain, it was still lovely.

JENN McKINLAY: This was not the summer to miss out on a trip to my mom's cottage in Nova Scotia but I did miss it and lived through every day that was over 110+ here in AZ. Blerg.

Instead, it was the summer to spend repainting the interior of our house, rebuilding the catio, revising the next romcom, and swimming with the dogs in the pool every single day. I also got to spend a glorious time literally up in the trees with the Hub and the Hooligans in Flagstaff, where we did an extreme obstacle course 30-60 feet up in the air which included jumping from swinging log to swinging log, climbing fishnets hanging in the tops of the pines, and zip lines. Truly, it was like something out of American Ninja Warrior. Hooligan 2 also turned 21 and wanted to visit a casino. Kid won $600 off a slot machine. We told him he could never go again because he’d never be that lucky again. LOL. 

HALLIE EPHRON: Oh, Jenn, you were due for a good summer. Hope you’ll blog about what that obstacle course was like. Sounds terrifying.

My summer began with July 4 on Peaks Island (off the coast of Portland Maine) with family. Fireworks and barbecuing, long walks and swimming.

After that, I taught at a bunch of writing conferences, including an old favorite on mystery writing at Book Passage in Marin. And another favorite, at the Willamette Writers Conference via Zoom.  And I was thrilled to get invited back to the Writers Digest Annual Writers Conference in NYC at the Hilton in Midtown. Great meals, and I got to hang out with Hank(!) and went to see Hadestown which was AMAZING! 

Next week I go back to Peaks for a Labor Day weekend relax-athon and hangout with the spectacular Franny and Jody, my grands.

So all in all a pretty terrific summer. Oh, and I also got named my town’s Writer in Residence for 2023-2024. Which gives me lots of good stuff through to anticipate.

Life is good. A year ago I would not have said that.

 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: The traveling part of the summer was terrific! In early June I flew to LA for the California Crime Writers’ Conference, my first conference in three and a half years, and it was wonderful to see friends, make new friends, and talk writing again! I didn’t mind the “June glooms” a bit. Then a whirlwind week at home, then off for almost a month in London. What a great trip. Mostly nice weather other than a couple of too-warm days, loads of terrific research for the book in progress, and an unexpected side trip to Bath.

Alas, I arrived home mid-July just as the triple-digits-no-rain remainder of the summer set in, and have spent the last six weeks just trying not to melt and to keep the poor plants alive. 

One fun thing–we’ve done a lot of work on our pond and added new fish (after losing all but one of our huge koi last October) and have really enjoyed watching the little swimmers in the few minutes we can stand to be outside!

 

 LUCY: I think you've already heard about our multiple family visits and the lovely food I've been eating, so I won't belabor that. Most unusual and fun event? I played in my first ukulele "gig" last weekend. Remember the band I hired for John's big birthday bash? Turns out one of them runs a ukulele club at the Scranton Library and my pal Steve and I have been attending. Fred the leader encouraged us to play in public at a festival on the town green. It was very low pressure (read, low attendance) and super fun! Other than that, writing, writing, writing.

JULIA: Hallie definitely wins the award for "Best Spent Summer," with Debs in the No. 2 spot. How about you, dear readers? How was your June, July and August?  

 

Photos courtesy of Rebecca from Pixabay, freepix and Flagstaff Extreme

Summer in a Bucket (List)

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It's now two weeks after Memorial Day, and no one could say it's not truly summertime. The temperatures in the Northeast have risen into the 70s, college graduations are over and high schoolers will finish marching across the stage this week. Kids are squirming in their seats as the end of the school year nears. Seasonal attractions have reopened, women are pulling out their sandals and getting pedicures, and Farmers Markets are swinging into high gear. Summer!


The possibilities for trips, activities and things to do are endless, and, unfortunately, I often find by Labor Day that I've let a lot of those possibilities slip through my fingers. So this year, I've decide to make a summer bucket list (not that I expect to kick the bucket at the end. It's a sand bucket. On a beach.) I'm going to write down the things I want to do, and as events pop up in the newspaper or opportunities present themselves, I will act on them - buying tickets, making reservation, confirming with friends - and add the events to my calendar. There are always constraints of money, or time, or availability, but I'm not going to qualify any of the items on my list, because once you start to add "if I can afford it" or "when a slot opens" you're already halfway to forgetting about what you wanted to do in the first place. So here's my initial list:Attend a Sea Dogs game. The local AA team plays great baseball - several Sea Dogs alums have gone up to the majors - and is a fun, inexpensive day out.

 

See at least two Shakespeare plays. We have the fabulous Theater at Monmouth within an easy drive, as well as Fenix Theater performing in Deering Oaks Park in Portland and MaineStage Shakespeare in Kennebunk. The latter two are free! No reason not to catch Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, The Winter's Tale or A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Wiggle my toes in the sand at Old Orchard Beach. Stroll the Boardwalk. Give Youngest money to ride the rides while the rest of us gorge on sausages, fries, and fried dough.

Thrillerfest in New York City!

 
Float with friends down the Saco River. It's literally less than 200 yards from my house. In a related vein:



Invite folks over to barbeque. We've always struggled with a beautiful yard and garden area that had nowhere to host grilling parties. No more! Ross and The Boy have already broken ground on a slate patio large enough for a fire pit on one end and the grill and its acoutrements on the other. I can taste those burgers already.

I can think of more, but that's enough to be getting on with. How about you Reds? What;s on your list for summer?

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Finish novel, finish novel, finish novel.
Is that a little obsessive? OK, swim in ocean off Naranganset with the family, have a lobster roll at Aunt Carrie's, staycation in NYC (housesitting a Tribeca loft large enough to roller-skate in) and take Kiddo to see Les Miz for the first time. Watch fireflies in the courtyard at dusk! 


LUCY BURDETTE: Finish novel, finish novel, finish novel LOL! Also brainstorm new projects. Visit John's family in Maine. Visit friends at Long Pond, MA. Make choux puff pastry stuffed with coffee creme and covered with chocolate or caramel. Read more--yikes if you could only see my pile!! Play a little golf. Have a drink or two at the beach. In other words, find time to relax:).


 
HALLIE EPHRON: Wish we had fireflies... when I was in Ohio last summer they were everywhere and it was magical.

This is a good exercise, because the only summer list I’d made so far goes like this: 1) replace the washing machine 2) get new garage doors 3) paint the house 4) replace the heating system 5) replace the storm door …
 In between I hope to have some fun, starting with food: - Steamers and a lobster roll and onion rings from Tony’s Clam Shop on Wollaston Beach
- Burnt caramel ice cream from Toscanini’s in Cambridge
- My mother’s barbecued spareribs made here at home
- Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, and corn, corn, corn when the local crops comes upI’m won’t be at Thrillerfest but I will be at Book Passage’s Mystery Writing Conference in Corte Madera and Writer’s Digest’s annual conference in New York. 


The icing on this particular cake will be my high school reunion in Beverly Hills – probably a genuine bucket list item.

 
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Finish novel, finish novel, finish novel. I will be SO happy when I do!

We have a backyard pool, and one of the best things about summer is getting a blow-up raft, and a book, and some frozen lemonade. You clamber onto the raft, and read, floating around the pool, looking up through the tall leafy trees to the blue sky. It is so peaceful!We are going out to Tanglewood in August, to hear the Boston symphony (including YoYo Ma playing Bach!) We're heading to the Cape for a weekend with friends, and will have a dinner in P'town.  And I have SO many book events! Love that. I'll be at Thrillerfest, but only on Friday. No time!

I cannot wait for the delicious tomatoes and corn--we love to grill them outside. And the kids are coming for the 4th of July-so we'll have  lobsters and champagne and proseco and  watch the fireworks from the Esplanade.

Oh, Hallie, I went to our 40th reunion like, ten years ago. I walked in, took one look and remember thinking: "Oh, I'm in the wrong place. These are all somebody's parents!"

But I really have to finish the book. And 2 short stories. I will be SO happy when I do!

JULIA: Hank, I'm coming down to your house to make sure you actually get into the pool this summer!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Finish novel, finish novel, finish novel.... LOL. Actually, it's not due until October 1st, but that doesn't mean that I don't have to write like it's due September 1st, as damned slow as I am. BUT, I am not traveling, I have a brand new gorgeous flagstone patio and new landscaping, and I mean to enjoy them!

In fact, Julia, I crossed several things off my summer bucket list this past weekend: 1)Visiting Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas. This new park is built OVER the freeway, and it's incredibly cool. My daughter took me for a birthday lunch at the restaurant in the park and it was amazing. I want to go back with at least one of the dogs and sample things from the many food trucks. 2) On Saturday we had a barbecue and sat on the deck and new patio. Julia, I hope you like yours as much!  3) On Sunday, I took a real day off. Did only minimal chores, read some of the NYT (which has been piling up for a couple of months), sat on the aforementioned patio in the cool morning shade with a cup of tea, watching the dogs play, AND best of all, I spent an hour in my hammock, just looking at the trees overhead. Absolute bliss.

So I want to do all of these things some more. And make homemade lemonade and root beer floats. I want to take a photo of the Sno Cone stand down the street just at dusk. I want to sit on the front porch and watch the fireflies, ditto a summer storm. I want to watch fireworks on the 4th (we totally missed it last year...) , and I want to go to the wonderful farmer's market here early on Saturday mornings.

Hank, I am so envious that you are getting to see YoYo Ma play Bach... 

JULIA: I, too, have to finish novel, finish novel, finish novel. Sadly, it's not a special summertime event - as I tell my students, being an author is like having a term paper due...forever. If anyone from my publishing house or my agency is reading this, rest assured that I'll only just slip in my summer bucket list items between relentless bouts of writing!

How about you, dear readers? What's on your list for summer?

FAVE 4ths!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Did you ever wonder how we Americans would celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence if it had been signed on, say, January 4th, 1776? Snowballs? Chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Rum punch?


But as it is, we know the drill--picnics, hotdogs, concerts, fireworks, as well as, for many of us, lots of sunscreen and mosquito repellent.


For the past few years we've spent our July 4ths at dear friends; dipping in their pool, grilling, chatting with a convivial group, and then at dark, carrying our lawn chairs out into the street to watch a nearby fireworks show. But a few months ago, our friends moved to Louisiana, and we are really going to miss our special celebrations with them.


But as for me, having just finished writing a book, this 4th of July I suspect I won't mind curling up on the sofa and napping.  Maybe we'll watch Independence Day. And we do have hotdogs, local organic ones. My hubby found these directions for making spiral hot dogs--isn't that fun? We'll let you know how that works.


So how about you, REDS and readers? What's your fave way to spend your 4th?


(And a little safety reminder from JR: Stay cool, and keep your dogs and cats inside.  More pets are lost on the 4th of July than any other day of the year.)

HAPPY 4th OF JULY FROM JUNGLE RED!

 

On picnics, fireworks, and fire trucks...

Another July 4. Usually it's the sizzle of barbecues and sun. This year in New England we’ve had the wettest, darkest, dankest June and early July ever. But still we pack up our swim suits and towels and head down to Long Pond in Plymouth where friends own a slice of an old Girl Scout camp situated on Long Pond. They sleep in what was once the camp’s infirmary (there's still a red cross on the door).

Get there early enough (we don't) and you’d be in time to attend the annual flag raising and a reading of the Declaration of Independence, an event that has taken place in a little grassy clearing every July 4 for more than 50 years. It’s an informal affair with maybe thirty people. We walk back after and our friend Joe turns down his outdoor smoker where he's been smoking brisket and ribs for the last 12 hours. Patty-Joe Bakes the world’s best blueberry pie. Lots of grandkids arrive.

This year we were afraid we be getting another kind of fireworks--thunder and lightning. Turned out to be a spectacularly beautiful night. On the drive home, we enjoyed the splashes of fireworks that erupted from the sides of the road.

What are your July 4 traditions?

JAN: I have a confession to make. I hate fireworks. Mostly because my kids were terrified when they were small and it was always a problem. But also because they just seem like the same loud thing over and over. My poor husband, who loves fireworks, thinks the rest of us are killjoys. Which we are.

We don't have a single tradition, but we either go the (Martha's) Vineyard to barbeque with friends and check out the Edgartown Parade, or go to my sister-in-law's house here, outside Boston, to swim. This year I'll be packing all weekend to leave for France on Monday. That's not very patriotic, is it?

HALLIE: Fireworks scare me, too. If only they didn't go boom. And hanging out on the Esplanade there are always a few idiots who think it's cool to toss cherry bombs into the crowd. But watching a great fireworks display is truly breathtaking. If only you could hit the mute button.

LATE BREAKING BULLETIN - Jan broke down and braved the Esplanade Fourth of July Fireworks, and had a great time. "They were terrific!" Here's her photo.

ROBERTA: Oh I'm so jealous of your trip to France Jan!

As for the holiday, I love living in our small shoreline town where the Fourth is thoroughly celebrated. I started with the farmer's market yesterday (crammed with summer tourists who can sniff out a good thing,) then the fireworks, which we watch from some rocks on the beach nearby. It doesn't provide quite the same oomph as close up, but you can't beat the spot for no traffic and crowds. The mosquitoes were wicked this year because of all the rain. And finally this morning, our town parade. We get everything from Jazzercize to the town selectmen, to the Shriners, to fife and drum bands, to our very own fire engine. We hoot and holler at everyone we know as they go by.

HANK: As a reporter ,there are no holidays. So for years, I worked on the Fourth--but sometime was lucky enough to cover the fireworks (I love them!) on Boston's Esplanade. It's a truly different experience to go as reporter. Instead of waiting on the incredibly crowded lawn for hours and sitting with--what, half a million people? You just zoom up in the news van, park right behind the Hatch Shell (where the performance is) and stand in the front row. Of course, you have to be on the air five or six times, so there's no relaxation! And when the fireworks are over, you're still at work. But I loved it.

But now, we sit with friends in our back yard, listening to the Boston Pops on the radio, and have lobsters and corn and rose wine and ginger ice cream with raspberries. And--if you look in just the right spot between the branches of the sugar maple--you can see the tops of the Newton town fireworks.

HALLIE: Ooooh, that sounds (and looks) delicious.

RO: I was more of a sparkler kid than a firecracker kid. I just didn't get what was so great about something that sounded like a car backfiring and left little bits of paper all over the sidewalk. (I was a tidy child.)

Serious fireworks on the other hand are pretty nice. I don't go out of my way to see them but I usually watch from my terrace in NY on New Year's Eve. And last week I saw some pretty cool ones when I was on top of the Eiffel Tower.

Nothing but noise this year in Connecticut. And my husband forced me to sit through the movie 1776, which is one of the worst musicals I've ever seen - and over three hours long. That's what I get for making him watch Easter Parade every year.

HALLIE: Ah, yes, sparklers. I loved them, too. And we used to get these little things we called snakes...like a teensy weensy, miniature hockey pucks that you lit and coils of ash erupted from them. Mesmerizing.

On the side, is anyone watching the new Miss Marple on PBS? Last night it was "A Pocket Full of Rye" -- such a clever, intricate plot. The actress playing The Marvelous Miss M (Julia McKenzie) doesn't quite match the standard set by Joan Hickson--but who could?

Independence Day traditions? Any baton twirlers out there? Miss Marple? Where are you this Monday after?