Escape or Staycation?

 RHYS BOWEN: When you read this I’ll be on my way to the airport, flying today to Canada. My son Dominic, his wife Meredith and I have rented an AirB&B on Vancouver Island–actually on a small island off the coast of Vancouver Island. It’s on a beach, surrounded by trees.  The perfect escape, actually.  It’s what we all needed… to be in the middle of nature with time to decompress, to think, to journal and for me to adjust to a new way of life. 

A vacation with them will be perfect. They like to experience everything… so they’ll find the best artisan bakery in the area, fresh seafood, craft shops, farms where you can pick your own blueberries and with plenty of down time too.  This will be quite different from vacations with John, who would have planned out in advance what we were going to see every day. His idea of Vancouver Island would be driving several hours up the coast until we had circumnavigated the whole thing.  And if I saw a sign to a craft fair along the way it would be ignored because it interrupted his plans and we had to reach the motel he had booked by four PM check in.

So one of the things I’ll be learning to do is to go with the flow–to sit and do watercolor if I feel like it, to realize I have nobody to please but myself. Dom and Mer are so easy-going and get delight from the smallest things. They are definitely foodies so there will be a lot of trying nearby restaurants ( poutine at least once).  I can’t wait.

So how about you, dear Reds? Any plans for this summer? What is your ideal way to decompress?

LUCY BURDETTE: we will be spending lots of time with the grandchildren over the next two weeks! The family has already been to New York City (with three kids under 10 in tow) and then to Montauk to visit relatives, and next stop Connecticut. It is always a busy and fun time to have them here. After that, I can’t think of any trips on the docket this summer. So I should be able to get my work done and also do some relaxing and I hope extra reading!

JENN McKINLAY: I’m glad you’re finding a new rhythm, Rhys, and doubly glad you have Dom and Mer to ease you into it.

I just got back from a trip to Connecticut and Massachusetts and South Carolina. The trip broke down into a book thing in CT, a family barbecue in MA, and checking out my college roommate’s new home in SC–hard to believe we’ve known each other for 40 years! We spent hours on the beach in SC and I am ready to move. Seriously! 

I’ll be headed to Canada in a few weeks to our summer place in Nova Scotia and I’m looking forward to that. More beach time! But in the meantime, I have loads of work to do–revisions and proposals and promoting the streaming series based on my book Paris is Always a Good Idea, the first two episodes of which air on Hallmark Plus on July 30th! Yay!

HALLIE EPHRON: July 30 for PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA! Hallmark Plus… We’re all writing it down. 

I’m just back from teaching in Paris… there for 10 days and could easily have spent another ten. And I’m missing my Jerry who, like Rhys’s John, did the trip planning so I could just relax and be surprised. We shared the same priorities (he traveled with a little pad filled with menu translations, along with a list of where we were going and the culinary specialties in each place.)

The summer will be quieter than usual. 

Mid-June I’ll be teaching a master class on harnessing voice and viewpoint at Book Passage’s Mystery Writer’s Conference in Corte Madera, CA. Hobnobbing with Cara Black, Tim Maleeny, Elizabeth George, Lisa Scottoline, Rachel Howzell Hall, and more! I love this conference. So much heart and professionalism. 

For any aspiring mystery writer who’s never been there, write it down!! 

Then things slow down for some medical procedures (ick) and visits from my daughters and grands (yay!) Hoping I’ll be able to take a low-key week with my family on Peak’s Island in Maine. Beach. Hiking (flat!) Lobsters!

HANK PHILLIPI RYAN: Absolutely, on July 30 I will be at my TV, cheering! This summer is wild–no vacations, because Jonathan has a murder trial (he’s the lawyer, come on!) so he’s preparing But my days are super-full, because  I have a book DUE August 1, AHHHHH because then the paperback of ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS comes out  August 11, so I will be on a mini-tour …in preparation for the launch of MOTHER DAUGHTER SISTER STRANGER  in September! When I will be on the road again.

So it’s interesting–I have cut way back on events for the next two months to be able to focus on the writing. It’s terrific to be able to really buckle down.Okay, well,  I am interviewing some fabulous authors in person at local bookstores though–Hannah Selinger, and then Robyn Gigl, and then Riley Sager! Very exciting.

Rhys, your escape plans are perfection. 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Hank, Riley Sager is going to be signing here in McKinney, and Kayti and I have tickets! CJ Box was here, too, a couple of months ago–maybe McKinney, Texas is becoming a literary destination! We also have a great indy bookstore, so if anyone wants to come here and do an event… Kayti and I are also seeing Jo Piazza at the DMA (Dallas Museum of Art) Arts and Letters Live–has anyone read her? And then, I think, Karin Slaughter, so sometime between now and mid-August I need to read some of her books!

Those are my big summer events. Otherwise I am doing loads of catch up and edits, which is all fine. Oh, and watching Jenn's Hallmark movie! So exciting! Do we have to sign up for the Hallmark Channel streaming, Jenn, since we don't have cable or satellite?

RHYS: Now it's your turn, Reddies. Who has exciting plans this summer? Who is planning on a relaxing time at home?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I also want to know how to watch PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA while streaming! Jenn, you have to do an announcement for all of us who are your fans.

My summer plans were ALL stacked up in June: the visit from Youngest and VOC, my son flying in, two weeks of non-stop activities, several professional events and then a five-day writing retreat. Now I have nothing on my calendar until the end of August, when a dear friend’s daughter is getting married. I’m actually thrilled - this is the least scheduled summer I think I’ve ever had, giving me lots of time to enjoy Maine in its best season and get a whole bunch of writing done for my next book!

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?