Novelista

Going on vacation doesn’t have to mean taking a vacation from writing.   I am going on a road trip to the American Southwest soon.   Between the Grand Canyon and staying with my husband’s family, I can’t promise that I’ll get any writing done.   But leaving it at home guarantees no writing. Two weeks.   One car.   Four thousand plus miles.   What is the best way to pack the writing? Unless I’m writing a blog post or other short piece, I write the old way.   Pen and paper. I can see it now.   Leaves of ink scribbles blowing across the plateaus until being impaled on cacti needles.   So not happening. What stays at home: Original manuscript papers Notes Story folders Hard electronic files (such as on a laptop) Flash drives What comes: Messenger bag/zipped tote To contain all the writing materials.   Must have a good shoulder strap that can go across my body.   I’ll probably take the one I use for attending my writers’ group. Two cheap spiral

Me with the Easter Bunny So much of who we are flows into our writing.   Or, at least, it does for me.   This Easter morning, memories of childhood Easters seep through the cracks. My parents would hide Easter baskets somewhere in the house for me and my brother.   They kept the same wicker baskets from year to year, but would fill them with our favorites and,   perhaps, something new they thought we’d like.   Every year, they would throw in something we disliked, too.   Things like black jelly beans (my mom’s favorite) and white chocolate (my dad’s favorite).   And, of course, they were always happy to take it off our hands. My grandmother would purchase candy for the house, such as one or two pound eggs filled with chocolate buttercream, fruit and nut, peanut butter, and my personal favorite, coconut.   After sampling some candy, we feasted on my mother’s delicious cooking. For Bow of the Moon (The World In-between 2), I tapped into my childhood Easters as well