What I Read on my Summer Vacation

Okay, I'm back from three weeks of sailing, a vacation for the most part taken up with research on the Island Mystery Series Book #3, editing of the upcoming Reese's Leap, and lots of reading. We sailed hundreds of miles and had far too much fun--well, except for the part where I broke my nose (whole other story).

This time out I read mostly mysteries as that's what I'm writing just now, though I also picked up Mark Wisniewski's Show up, Look Good--the story of a twenty-something girl from the Midwest who relocates to Manhattan on a whim after breaking up with a fiance who prefers sex with power tools. Chapter One begins "I know of a secret murder and I've loved a speechless man...," and if that doesn't get your attention, I don't know what will.

Next on the list was Broken Harbor by Tana French, an excellent writer with a terrific series based in Dublin whose protagonist, Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, is the brash, love'm/hate'm cop from her bestselling Faithful Place.

And right now I'm about halfway through the British author Elizabeth George's Believing the Lie--the latest in her Detective Inspector Lynley mystery series. I love this author and these characters, never mind this is #17 in the series. Very much worth a try if you're not familiar with her.

Next up will be Jen Blood's Sins of the Father, the 2nd in her Erin Soloman series, and look for a review on this blog soon. I loved the first book, All the Blue-Eyed Angels, so am really looking forward to this!

Moving Aboard

Okay so we're in the process of moving back on-board our sailboat--a lifestyle full of complication and compromise--and things are basically unpacked. It's been a long morning. A break here as I pause for breakfast.

Okay, I'm back. Making up the bunk in the forepeak (forward cabin where we sleep), I find myself distracted by last summer's as yet unread novels tucked in the bookshelf. Cutting for Stone grabs my eye, and then there's Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects--both of which I bought before getting really addicted to my Kindle. Plus, I just downloaded her new one, Gone Girl and I can't wait to get to both of those!

I've finally finished with the enormous early marketing push for Matinicus and have the rest of it down to a schedule now (2 requests for review and following up leads for on-air interviews each day; the requisite guest posts and posting to various FB pages, Tweeting, etc.). I'm really antsy to get back to the final edits on Reese's Leap, and get on to the as yet unnamed Book 3! Plan is to take a few days to catch my breath, clean the house--something I haven't done in months-- and then hunker own with Leap.

In my next post, I'll show you the newly set up writing cabin aboard "Skater." By then I'll have finished Jen Blood's terrific mystery, All the Blue-Eyed Angels and will give you a full report.