Life of leisure

My new friends, blogger extraordinaire Kim and fantasy writer Renee, and I drove over to Kaneohe Marine Corps Base this morning. Our goal: to show Renee who is new to Oahu the sights and talk “shop.” It probably wasn’t the best day to appreciate the Koolau Mountain Range, because low hanging clouds shrouded everything in a haze, but the beaches on Kaneohe were still impressive. The surf was a bit rough – not good for swimming – but at least one beach-going creature seemed to have had a good time.

Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, but that doesn’t keep them from coming ashore for a sunbath. You don’t see them very often, so it’s a big deal when you spot one. If you do see one, please give it room. Harassing them can get you in big trouble with the locals (and the law). The same goes for green sea turtles by the way, though they can be found on the beaches with far greater frequency.

Naturally I got wet while snapping these pictures. (Beach safety says not to turn your back to the ocean for good reason.)

After our sightseeing adventure we had lunch at the K’Bay O’Club. Yummy. On the way home, Ivy slept blissfully in her carseat and Kim told us about meeting the cast of Hawaii 5-0 (they visited “her” elementary school, sigh, but not “mine.”)

No adventures are planned for next week, Thanksgiving and all, but we’ll do more exploring the week after. Stay tuned.

And in case, you wondered, no I got no writing done yet this week. My goal was to finish the break-in scene and have Mason explain to Soren how his military career ended. I may have to stay up a bit later this weekend to get it all done.

SinC & RWA Christmas luncheon

I had the pleasure of attending the Sisters in Crime & Romance Writers of America combined Christmas luncheon this last Saturday. It is always good to get together with others who enjoy books and writing as much as I do. Conversation around my table dealt almost exclusively with the many ways to promote self-published books and how to make them available to e-readers. On more than one occasion I had to admit that my wonderful publisher, Seventh Window Publications, and the unstoppable Ken Harrison take care of all those electronic issues for me. (THANK YOU, Ken.)

Jennifer Woods, author of LOTTERY, delighted us with a funny speech about the secrets of writing and success. Mostly it came down to “sit butt in chair and write.” She was funny and irreverent and I’m hoping she’ll have the chance to offer a writing workshop through RWA, because I’ll try my best to attend.

I’ve felt very isolated, creatively, in Kansas, so it was a wonderful chance to get out of the house and meet a bunch of book-loving writers and readers in person. And the best part, I learned there are writing military spouses right here on base … here’s me looking forward to meeting with them over a cup of coffee :-)