A gray rainy day here in Summerhaven. Good day to get caught up on all those indoor chores. Better, however, than the snow I'd have been shoveling if I still lived in New England. Some of those folk are still without power and the kids are going to be trick or treating in the snow.

 
Spent a delightful evening at la Taberna del Gallo in old St Augustine listening to the Bilge Rats practice for the upcoming Pirate Gathering on Sunday.  You should stop by la Taberna some evening. They serve up a dynamite sangria in red, rose and white, some great on tap beer, ale and ciders and the ambiance simply can't be beat. Entirely lit with candles and lamps, la Taberna represents what it would have been like to visit the local tavern back in the mid 1700s when the Spanish here here. Come on down and check it out. You might even get lucky and hear a great group like last night. They will be at la Taberna del Gallo on both Friday and Saturday nights this week.

Ancient City Romance Authors' Fiction Writer's Boot Camp at the Beach 2011 was a wonderful event. We had terrific speakers, great company, awesome food, a terrific venue and  everyone came home excited to get back to writing. The workshops were full of good information and inspiring ideas. The agent, Lois Winston, of Ashley Grayson Literary Agency gave a wonderful keynote address and our featured speaker, Florida author, Karen Rose, conjured up some really great workshops on Chilling Villains, Colorful Secondary Characters, and Dialog that brings your manuscript to life. Two of our own chapter put on great workshops, too. Summer Stephens gave us an insight on the new digital publishing medium and how to get it done, and Elizabeth Sinclair got us fired up with a workshop on creating great hooks in the first line, the first paragraph and throughout the book. A side trip on a Ghost Tour of old St Augustine was enjoyed by many of our participants on Friday night, as well. I could have gone along, but decided to soak in the hot tub instead which was wonderfully relaxing. Thanks to all our speakers and a wonderful supporting committee (You know who you are, but for the benefit of those who don't-- Vickie King, Dolores Wilson, Marge Smith, Kellie Sharpe and Kathy Bain)- I couldn't have done it without you. Love you all, and I can't wait for next year.

Yesterday I opted not to go to work at la Taberna because nasty weather was predicted with a nearly 100% chance of rain, flooding and possibly even a tornado watch. But nothing came of it after all, just a few sprinkles. Gave me extra time to work on my book which I am so close to finishing and hope to get to THE END before I have to put it aside to run the conference this weekend. Today's weather report had an ominous little cloud with 20 mph winds. Well it is windy, from the west and blowing the tops of the breaking waves into a fine mist. But no ominous clouds. I think I'll take it!

Sunset last night - looking east! Who says all the color is in the west when the sun goes down? 

And here it is, Saturday again. I had a really interesting meeting scheduled for this morning, but made the mistake of picking up my book as I slid into bed last night. It's my habit to read a bit before falling asleep and it's usually just that, a page or three, maybe even a whole chapter. But alas, that was not the case last night. The plot thickened and before I knew it, the clock read 1:45 am. I turned my Kindle off and settled in to sleep. But turning off the Kindle proved a lot easier than turning off my brain which insisted on churning away in half a dozen directions. Gary Ponzo has a lost night of sleep to answer for, or rather his character, Nick Bracco does. The last time I looked at the clock it was after 4 am.  I woke with just barely time to get to the meeting had I hustled a bit, but my brain was so drugged, I wouldn't have retained anything I heard so I soaked for way too long in the shower and chugged about a quart of caffeine instead. Now I'm wondering what project I should get focused on - sewing? My table has a whole pile of material waiting to be transformed into garments. Organizing? I have stacks of stuff to get ready for the conference I'm running next weekend. Writing? My hero and heroine are anxious for me to fix their problems. Or I could just go for a walk on the beach. It's a gorgeous fall day out there! Have a good one . . .whatever you choose to do. As for me, I think I'll check out the beach, then work on the book.

Earlier Duffy and I went for a walk on the beach at low tide - not nearly as much beach as usual with the 3 foot higher than normal tides! After a one mile walk, it felt like I'd walked five miles being buffeted by the wind. We are in the middle of a big nor-easter that has already been pretty wet and windy and according to the news it's just cranking up! I took my camera out to see if I could catch a good photo, but the above is the best I got before a huge wave broke on the seawall and soaked me with spray. And it's still  an hour until high tide! I'm sure every wave will be sending sheets of spray well over the road when high tide arrives - just praying it's only spray and the breakers themselves don't come rushing in!

So, where did September go? I didn't think I was all that busy. Although I was distracted a lot. To start with my time at the Spanish Quarter was suddenly ending. In spite of all the great ideas to make things work, the city fathers decided to close the living history museum. It makes no sense considering there are huge plans afoot to celebrate the 450th birthday of the city in 2015. It makes even less sense when St Augustine's claim to fame is that it's the oldest city in the US. They promise it will reopen, but my fear is that they will turn it into a totally unauthentic amusement attraction. They've fired all the artisans with their years of knowledge about the crafts of the era and for some reason seem to think that a few new part time people will be able to take over. That's a joke, but not a very funny one. So, I spent as much time there as I could while all the people I'd gotten to know and admire were still there and on the last day, we all went to Anne O'Malley's Irish Pub to raise a few in honor of the era as we had known it.

In addition to that distraction, the day is fast approaching for the Fiction Writer's Boot Camp (a two day conference) that I am organizing. So, lots of email and phone calls, decisions and printing and purchasing and checking on others who have a part in it. As much as I've looked forward to this event, I will be very happy on October 22 at 5:30 when it is all over but the shouting. I'd like a few rave reviews of course, but just pulling it off with some kind of success will be nice. Then I can relax again. And get back to my writing without constant interruptions.

To all my family and friends in the north - I wish you a lovely colorful fall. I'm going to continue enjoying the warmth of sun and the allure of the beach.