Maybe I take my own blogs too seriously.  When Southern Exposure first saw the light of day, I wrote a blog entitled “River, Take Me Away,” using the title of a song my family learned at summer camp when our children were still living at home.  Maybe that song or that blog was there, in my subconscious, when I stopped myself last spring in the middle of tossing away a brochure for a river cruise in Europe.  I know something made me keep the brochure and show it to my husband that night.  “Wouldn’t this be fun to do someday?” I said.  “What a great way to see Europe.”

In an hour we were on the telephone and computer looking into this mysterious 2 for 1 sale, and the next day we were back on the telephone booking our stateroom.  My husband had a sabbatical, and the Treasure of the Rhine cruise went to places we had, even though we’ve been to Europe a number of times, never set foot.  It all fell into place so quickly.  Credit card miles, hotel rewards that were good for the night before we flew home, raves from friends who told us we would love the experience.

We did love it.  Now I’m home, recovering from jet lag, and reviewing my memories. 

Are a novelist’s memories like everybody else’s?  Some of them are.  Gorgeous sunrises.  The way a river comes to life each day.  Castles on hilltops.  Amsterdam canal boats with gardens on deck.  French love songs accompanied by accordion. Europe floating by outside picture windows.  The surprisingly fluid and soft sound of the German language.  My not surprisingly unimpressive attempts to emulate it.

And what about our visit to the Antwerp train station?  Remember my link to the YouTube video?  A gorgeous, historic train station, and suddenly dozens of people dancing to “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music, then disappearing back into the crowd when the song ends?  Now I’ve seen it in person, but sadly not with a chorus line.

Novelists do hold on to odd memories, though.  Little snippets that will, without fail, pass others by, but will also, without fail, show up in our books.  There was the man at another Belgian train station with a tattoo snaking up his leg that matched embroidery on his gold crested jacket.  There was the passenger on board ship who loaded all the brownies in sight on her plate and the food riot that almost resulted. There was an ancient mansion seen from a train with multiple chimneys, each one terminating in what looked like a dollhouse–all different.   

What I definitely took away with me?  The chance to let down.  To not think about my books or writing schedule.  A chance to breathe deeply.

And sadly, two more pounds. 

I was so glad to go and I’m so glad to be home, rested and ready to work.  Tomorrow I begin the final edits on Fortunate Harbor.  You know what?  I’m really looking forward to it.

Viva vacations.

Imagine my joy last year when I discovered that the five novels in my Shenandoah Album series from Mira Books would be made into audio books.  At every event I attended, readers had asked for that format, and I knew that personally, nothing made me happier than quilting or walking Nemo while an audio book played in the background.  What could possibly be the down side?

I am happy to report that for me, there is no down side.  Isabel Keating, the narrator of the three audiobooks published so far (with Lover’s Knot making an appearance soon) has a lovely voice and manages the Southern accents with aplomb.  It’s easy to slip into the rhythm of the story and fall under the influence of her voice.  BBC Audiobooks America made an excellent choice.

Then there’s the novel I’m listening to just for fun.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is quite simply a joy.  And the narrator, Jayne Entwistle is absolutely inspired.  My husband and I listened to the novel as we traveled this summer.  I’m SO glad we’re not finished and have more to look forward to.  

Happy anticipation is not always the case.  I have a favorite mystery author I’ve listened to many times.  Last year I downloaded one of his newer books from Audible.com, my favorite delivery method.  I found myself wincing repeatedly over the author’s word choices. My husband disliked it so much, he stopped listening, done for all time with our former favorite.  Figuring this was a fluke, last month I downloaded a new mystery by the same author.  Again, I’m wincing, but this time I’ve made a powerful discovery.  The narrator–the same narrator–is the problem. This guy could make Shakespeare sound like a hack.   When “He got in his car and drove to the corner,” sounds like an indictment of all humanity, I think the novel is in trouble.

So what’s my point?  Just that now there’s something new for authors to worry about.  In addition to unattractive covers, marauding copy editors, poor placement, small print runs, discount stores who don’t want to carry our books, etc. etc., we now have to worry about narrators.

Still, I remember not having to worry about them.  I remember when my books weren’t in audio.  So like all publishing problems, I’ll deal with this one gladly. And luckily for me and my reader-listeners, I don’t have to deal with it yet.  I can just listen to Isabel Keating and count my blessings. 

***Don’t forget to enter the Happiness Key Beach Bag giveaway. See Contest Page for details.

Some time ago author Casey Daniels, a long time friend, asked me to guest blog at The Little Blog of Murder. I decided then that since I’m a former Clevelander (12 winters of snow), and my own series, the Ministry is Murder Mysteries, takes place in a fictional small town somewhere in Ohio, blogging would be a cinch. I’d write about Ohio, about the reasons I set my series there, the joys of Ohio life. Easy. I sat down to do it.

Nada.

Not that there weren’t joys, mind you. My years in Ohio were good ones. I finished raising my children. I wrote a lot of novels, walked a portion of Lake Erie’s shoreline–the parts you can get to, anyway. I drank Great Lakes beer, shopped at the West Side Market, went to Indians games. I even fell in love with the story of Whiskey Island, a peninsula near The Flats, where the Irish settled when they first arrived during the late nineteenth century.

And no, in case you’re wondering, it was NOT named Whiskey Island because the Irish settled there. Caught you!

I was so intrigued with Cleveland’s history, I wrote a novel about Whiskey Island, called. . . can you guess?. . . Whiskey Island. Then I followed with a sequel, The Parting Glass, producing two of my most popular books. So Cleveland was fertile ground for me then, plus it’s still the home of two of my four children and my first grandchild. I really do love the city, and I still spend large chunks of time there.

Fast forward to this very moment, when I needed a blog to post while I’m away. I never wrote that guest blog about the joys of living in Ohio. I never spilled the beans about why I chose to set my series in the state, or where the town of Emerald Springs “really” is. Every time I tried, I found myself reminiscing about Cleveland. So in honor of the city, I give you the Top Ten Reasons to Live in Cleveland, Ohio, as first reported on The Little Blog of Murder.

Just remember, I don’t live there anymore. If you’re not pleased, find somebody local to complain to. I’m out of there!

• 10-Beautiful summers and autumns. (You won’t see winter or spring on this list.)
• 9-Real men who aren’t afraid to view football games from a Dawg Pound or shower Milk Bones on opposing teams.
• 8-No sissy California smog. Cleveland has smokestacks billowing the real thing with no apologies.
• 7-A river that once caught on fire and now lends that mystique and name to a great microbrew pale ale.
• 6-A baseball team logo guaranteed to ignite conversations (and occasionally fistfights) among strangers.
• 5-A place where having a “ski,” “wicz,” “nik,” “ich” “nka” or any combination of “z’s” and “k’s” in your name goes unnoticed. Kind of like Dennis Kucinich.
• 4-Homemade pierogies and fresh kielbasa.
• 3-Neighborhood bars and some spectacularly beautiful churches (often on the same block) where everybody really does know your name.
• 2-Citizens who have traditionally welcomed and still welcome newcomers to Lake Erie’s shore, while keeping the best of their own traditions.
• 1-A world class orchestra, beautiful museums, affordable housing, and excellent medical care. You just can’t beat this place! Just plan to spend February in Florida. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

And now that I’m finished with Cleveland, can Virginia be far behind?

**Don’t forget to enter the Happiness Key Beach Bag giveaway. See Contest Page for details.

Ask any novelist what readers most often want to know about his/her work.  I can almost guarantee he or she will tell you, “Where do you get your ideas?”  

Some authors–tired of this perfectly legitimate question–will answer “The idea store.”  “And don’t we all wish it were that easy?” they ask.

I’m here to pass on some good news.  The idea store does exist, only all the ideas circulating inside it are free.  The store is an open air market, with no boundaries or limits.  Ideas are everywhere.

I was reminded of this yesterday when, after sending my beloved editor four ideas for my next novel, she came back with the one I knew she would choose.  My next novel, it seems, will be the third–and final–novel in the Happiness Key series.

Those of you who have been reading along know Happiness Key was released in July.  And for the past year I’ve been hard at work on Fortunate Harbor, the sequel.  With Fortunate Harbor in the final stages before I send it to New York, the time was ripe to begin thinking about the next one.

Picture this:  A blank computer screen.  A deadline. A Ministry is Murder mystery to write before I tackle the final Happiness Key novel.  How does a novel evolve from those elements?

In the next year I’ll take you through some of the process.  I won’t give too much away, but maybe you’ll enjoy watching Book Three come together, a bit at a time.

So here’s what I have so far.  Four women who have inhabited two novels together.  Their backgrounds–always ripe for plot elements.  Their present status.  Threads left untied in Fortunate Harbor.  Little facts I’ve mentioned along the way that can be expanded into story lines.  For instance, we know from Happiness Key that Wanda has a daughter who’s a police officer, like Ken, Wanda’s husband.  But we know little else.  Doesn’t she seem like a possible avenue for exploration?  And how about some of the minor characters I’ve introduced?  The rec center staff and users could be fertile ground.  We’ll see.

What else?  Well, I’ve said before that I’ve gotten entire plots from a title. In fact I’m one of those odd ducks who really doesn’t work well until a title’s in place.  So now I’m considering possibilities.  I think I want to use “Bridge” with another word.  I liked Anywhere Bridge, but both my editor and good friend and novelist Diane Chamberlain had qualms.  So I’m still on the lookout.  Once I have the title finalized, more ideas will result.

Of course there’s the fabulous setting, a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Florida, an area where I have the good luck to be spending part of the upcoming winter.  Details I pick up on site will surely help fuel the story, as well as add authenticity.

Beginning to see how this works?  Ideas are there for the taking.  Later we’ll explore how to separate the wheat from the chaff.  (Although, gardener that I am, I’ll just point out that chaff makes fine compost to fertilize yet more ideas.)

I love this part of my job.  Ideas really are everywhere.  And right now I’m open to all of them. I bet you could find some, too.

***Don’t forget to enter the Happiness Key Beach Bag giveaway. See Contest Page for details.

By the time you read this, I’ll be in Europe.  As part of my husband’s sabbatical, we’ll be cruising the Rhine for two weeks, exploring countries we’ve always wanted to visit.  Somehow in our travels we’ve missed Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.  We have been to France, but only (only?) Paris.  So now we’ll have a chance to experience portions of them at a leisurely pace.  I’ll still be posting, thanks to my helpful assistant Marna.  But I’ll tell you about the trip once I’m home again.  With maybe a photo or two? 

For now, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite recipes.  I first had museli in Australia, where I could never seem to eat enough.  Then I discovered that muesli is a European delicacy–originally Swiss–and I ate it everywhere I traveled.  Unfortunately the commercial version in the U.S. is terribly sweet, nothing like the version we’d learned to love.  So little by little, my husband and I have developed our own.  We eat it every morning with fresh fruit.  I use it in bread.  I roll bread dough in it before I bake it.  Note that it has the three sacred ingredients we hear so much about these days: oats, blueberries and walnuts.

So eat along with me as I cruise through European waters.  I can’t imagine anything healthier than this recipe or more delightful.  You  might get hooked, too. 

Michael’s Museli

• 10 cups of regular rolled oats, lightly toasted on cookie sheet or jelly roll pan for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
• 1 cup each: Dried blueberries, untoasted and unsalted sunflower seeds, untoasted and unsalted pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• Add approximately 2 to 3 cups of whole grain, high fiber cereal–we like Kashi Go Lean.

Mix together and store in moisture-proof container.  Serve with milk or use it on good, natural yogurt. Top with fruit.

Could anything be easier?  And of course, there’s lots of room to experiment. The batch in our pantry right now has pecans and dried mangos and pineapples.  Nuts, seeds, dried fruits, different flaked cereals.  You be the chef.  If you try it, tell me how you most enjoyed it and what, if anything, you changed. 

Bon appetite! Guter appetit! Goede eetlust! And happy eating! 

**Don’t forget to enter the Happiness Key Beach Bag giveaway. See Contest Page for details.

It’s truly amazing what I can find when I clean my study.  For instance, today I opened one of the many boxes that I’d piled in the middle of the floor (you think I’m kidding, don’t you?) and look what I found.

On the sixth of this month I announced a giveaway of the French version of The Parting Glass.  So imagine my surprise when I unpacked this?  Two completely different covers for The Parting Glass?  Did that make sense.

No, of course it didn’t, but here’s what does.  Turns out the book I said I would do the giveaway for is really Whiskey Island, the first book of this two book series published in English in 2000, and since reprinted.  This one is indeed The Parting Glass.  So what does this say about the author’s command of French, or perhaps her busy life?

There’s good news.  I now have five books to give away, three of  the incredibly lovely French versions of Whiskey Island, two of The Parting Glass.  So five readers can now enjoy them.  To enter the giveaway, visit my earlier blog for details. Because we now have two books you may comment on this blog or that one to enter.

Isn’t this a gorgeous cover?  Don’t you wish we were there right now?

We celebrated Labor Day in Virginia’s Piedmont, surrounded by rolling hills and mountains.  One night we sat in a screened-in pond house at sunset with wine and cheese and family, waiting for the night noises to begin.

It’s not unusual to have all manner of animals tiptoe down to the pond for their own nightly snacks and drinks, and we hoped to see and hear their exploits.

Unfortunately, the night was quieter than those in our suburban yard in Northern Virginia, which is a hop, skip and jump from the White House.  I think we were much too rowdy, and the animals much too intimidated.  My children swear there’s a beaver family enjoying life in the pond, and something is indeed felling the trees around it.  But until I see the critters myself, I’m not a believer.  Same goes for the regular bobcat visitation and the bears.  We didn’t even hear bullfrogs.

We can always count on wildlife when the family gets together, though.  This weekend we had four dogs happily in residence together.  But it was a stranger’s dog, Mouse, who drew my attention.  She like our Nemo (photo: www.tworingstudio.com), was a throwaway pup.  We came across Mouse and the man who saved her at a nearby construction site where we had stopped to see how a neighbor’s house was progressing.  Mouse and Nemo romped together as we compared stories with her new owner.  Mouse was “dropped off” near the site some months ago, and by the time the contractor found her, she was nearly starved.  She was obviously a throwaway since she’d had a litter of pups recently, apparently a good enough reason to get rid of her.  Having experienced an identical scenario once with one of our dogs–only SHE was tossed out of a car on the Interstate–we were familiar with this story.

Mouse now has a wonderful home and she’s a corker.  And our Nemo, is beloved, after nearly dying as an abandoned puppy before my son happened upon him in tall grass beside a country road.  The contractor told us about another dog he’d rescued, who, like Nemo, was barely weaned and found not far from Nemo’s rescue site.

I can’t help but think anybody who takes the time to read my blogs is not a person who would ever dispense with a dog the way some people choose to.  I’m sure every one of you neuters your pets, loves them, cares for them. You’re richer for the experience, and happier.  You’ve told me as much.

Mouse and Nemo and all the other rescue dogs out there, just want you to know they are among the lucky ones, as are their owners.  There are people who toss dogs out of cars and people who save their lives.  If there’s a moral to this story, I’m still working on it.  But for Mouse and Nemo, happy endings are alive and well.  

 ****Don’t forget to enter the Happiness Key Beach Bag giveaway. See Contest Page for details

Contests, we have contests, we have lots and lots of contests. . .

Before I launch into the newest one, let’s review.

As always, if you sign up for my mailing list, you’re automatically entered in my monthly autographed book giveaway.  You never need to do another thing.

Next you have until the end of September to comment on any of my blogs with the word “Happiness” in the title.  Once you do you’ll be entered in the Happiness Key Beach Bag Giveaway.  All details are on the contest page of my website.  The beach bag is stuffed full of goodies selected by the four women of Happiness Key, my latest novel.

As if that isn’t enough, you also have until October 1st to take the Happiness Key Facebook quiz and find out which of the four main characters in Happiness Key you have the most in common with.  Then email me your results.  Each character will be giving away a signed copy of the novel to a reader who is most like her, plus a key lime candle to go with it.  Again, details on the contest page.

And the newest giveaway?  Recently I was presented with three gorgeous copies of The Parting Glass in French, and I’ve decided they are much too lovely to just give to the library or my church for their book sales.  Neither did I want to toss them, as I’ve had to do in the past when I realized that I had enough foreign copies of my novels to insulate my entire attic. (The last time I counted I had been published in twenty-one countries and sixteen languages–and I think that was before the Polish and Hungarian copies began to arrive.) 

Whatever the count, a lot of foreign language editions come my way . Now I want to find good homes for Le Refuge Irlandais.  Tell me why you’d like to have one.  Do you want to practice your college French?  Do you have a relative who speaks it and would enjoy the novel?  A high school student who needs motivation?  Comment here, on this blog, and I will choose three eligible winners using the random number generator provided by the good folks at www.random.org.   Sadly, because of shipping costs, only US addresses will be considered for this giveaway.  Once again, you have until the end of September to comment here.

Parlez-vous français?  Bonne chance!

I love vacation.  The chance to read all the novels that have piled high beside my bed or cluttered my eReader.  The long walks with no real destination in mind.  The fabulous farm stand with fresh corn and juicy ripe tomatoes that’s five minutes from our rental cottage.

Before leaving home this summer I told my husband that our month in Chautauqua, New York would be the perfect time to lose a little weight.  After all when we’re there, we walk miles every day .  Chautauqua is a pedestrian community, and since I take my pedometer, I know it’s not unusual to log seven miles in a day walking Nemo and going to programs.  What an easy way to lose those sneaky pounds I’ve added during the year.  What a cinch.

Having lots of time to read has its downside, too.  During our second week I read a Time magazine article online that gave me pause–but apparently not enough.  Exercise, it claims, does not necessarily help us lose weight.  In fact exercise is sometimes the culprit in weight gain.  Turns out that three things can happen after a strenuous workout.  One, we believe that since we’re exercising more, we can eat whatever we want.  Two, exercise makes us hungry and therefore more likely to consume calories.  Three, after a long, exhausting activity, we’re less likely to move around for the rest of the day.

But that’s other people.  Certainly not me or you, right?  And those homemade cinnamon rolls, maple spread and fruit pies from the farmstand that came home with the corn and tomatoes and zucchini?  Those wine and appetizer moments on our front porch with new friends and old?  When you walk seven miles a day, do you really need to worry?

In a word?  Yes.

My husband and I arrived home last night with everything we’d taken on vacation with us.  We also arrived with about four new pounds, unwelcome hitchhikers we were not prepared for.

So, how about you?  Did all those swims in the ocean, those hikes in the mountain, those hours of riding your bikes on country roads this summer help or hinder?  Have you stepped on the scales?  Are you afraid to?

Would I do the past month differently?  Maybe not.  Will I do the next month differently?  That’s a solid yes. 

Are we in this together?  Let me know.  Pounds shed with friends slip away faster.  In fact one of the characters in Fortunate Harbor, next summer’s sequel to Happiness Key, discovers that very thing.

Now, if only the author had paid more attention as she typed.