I’ve been remiss in blogging for the past two months because I’ve been on the road. First to England and Ireland with a dear friend, and later, on a road trip to Canada with my husband, brother and sister-in-law. Both trips were joyful and full of fascinating sights, sounds, and adventures. It was often a pain to log on to the Internet, so I chose to keep a journal the old fashioned way, in a beautiful leather notebook. I know I’ll go back to it, as I have my other trip journals over the years, to relive the experience. In future blog posts I’ll share some of the insights gained from my journeys.
I’ve spent the last two weeks of my hiatus working on my last big edit for Sinner’s Grove, which I plan to release in September if all goes well. I consider SG the anchor for my series, or maybe the hub of a wheel is a better analogy. The Art of Love, which was published in May, was a prequel to the story in that it tells the story of Gus and Lia Wolff, who founded my fictional artists’ retreat known as The Grove. In Sinner’s Grove, a contemporary novel, you’ll read about the various descendants of the founders. Gus and Lia’s grandson, Ethan Wolff, is now an old man, struggling to re-open The Grove, which has been shut down for several decades. He enlists the aid of several people, including Brit Maguire and Jenna Bergstrom, two headstrong individuals who have a “history” together, but who try to ignore their shared past in order to help Ethan in his quest. As you can well imagine, they can no more ignore each other than a certain writer (namely moi) can ignore a luscious piece of chocolate cake!
In addition to Brit and Jenna, you’ll meet a host of other new characters in Sinner’s Grove. Four that I’m particular fond of are the detective Gabe de la Torre; innkeeper and computer expert Dani Dunn; photographer Walker Banks; and jewelry designer Reggie Firestone. Their stories are roaming around in my head as we speak, just waiting to get organized and make an appearance. Gabe and Dani’s story, entitled The Lair, takes place in Verona, Italy, just after Sinner’s Grove ends. What a coincidence that I was just in Verona last summer! I bet you’ll be able to tell in that story how much I enjoyed the food on that trip!
I’m so fortunate to be able to explore this incredible world we live in. Doing so stirs the imagination and gives me a global perspective I otherwise might not have. But, like Dorothy of Wizard of Oz fame, I’d have to agree, “There’s no place like home.” Now it’s back to the work of writing, which for me is not really work at all, but an undeniable pleasure—much like that piece of chocolate cake!
