An Unexpected Escape: From Winter Blues to a Delightful Writing Retreat
Life, like my favorite mysteries, is full of surprises.
I’m surprised that I’m writing to you today from a beautiful beach near Las Tablas, Panama, where my husband and I lived a decade ago.
I love doing the snowbird thing and heading south for the winter, but I didn’t think it would be possible this year. My friend Bonnie owns the AirBnB where I like to stay, and she was already booked when I contacted her for a reservation. So I resigned myself to staying in Tallahassee and shivering.
I know, I know, all you people who live where it’s truly cold. I can hear you muttering. But I do know what you’re going through. I was born in Colorado, grew up in New England, and spent 12 years in Vermont. Compared to that, Tallahassee isn’t cold, but it’s colder than I like. After so many years living in tropical and subtropical climates, my blood has thinned and my tolerance has waned. Hence, Panama in the winter.
So there I was, bundled up, when out of the blue I got a message. “My January people just had to cancel, are you still interested?”
My immediate reaction was, “hell, yeah!”
My second reaction was, “OMG, airfares will be thousands of dollars. I can’t afford it.”
Much to my surprise and delight, I discovered that, by flying on January 1, I could get a really affordable flight. Then the hotel where I usually stay in Panama City had rooms, so I booked my reservation with them, and arranged for transportation from the airport. The pieces were falling into place.
On January 1, I arrived in Panama City, and on January 3 I made the 4-hour trip to my AirBnB. Hard to believe that I pulled the whole thing together in less than two weeks, and I’ve already been in the country for a week. Last week I was in rest and recover mode, but on Monday I plunged back into my manuscript, and I’ve been beavering away.
This place is the perfect writing retreat. I just picked up my phone and snapped a picture so you can see my current view.
I’m busily plotting out my second book in the series while I polish the first. . . I’ll let you know how it goes.
What I’m Reading
Monsieur Moonlight by Lise McLendon
This is the 19th in the Bennett Sisters books. It’s a fun series. (Blackbird Fly is the first.)
The series starts when Merle Bennett, widowed lawyer and mother of a teenage son, finds out that her husband left her some property in France. Of course, she goes there and finds lots of surprises, as well as some solid friends in the tiny village of Malcouziac.
She also meets Pascal D’Onscon, an attractive police officer charged with uncovering wine fraud. They become romantically involved, and eventually Pascal buys his own vineyard.
When Monsieur Moonlight begins, they’re living amongst the vines when, one day, Merle is home alone (Pascal is at work) and a dirty vagabond shows up and introduces himself as Pascal’s long-lost brother (half brother, Pascal always corrects him) Ruben.
Lots of intrigue and local color.
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Notable Quotes
He had not known such a bad start to a Christmas Day since at the age of six, over-enthusiastic to see what presents lay at the foot of the family Christmas tree, he had tripped in the pre-dawn darkness and arrived at the bottom of the stairs with a broken ankle. Now the memory filled him with deep nostalgia.
- Red Christmas by Reginald Hill
I know I’m a little late with this, since Christmas is over, but if you’re looking for holiday intrigue, it’s worth a read. I’m a big Reginald Hill fan, and this is not his best work but still enjoyable.
As he walked across the room, he shook hands with friends and waved at others like a film star. I almost expected him to spin his hat through the air, tap his cane on the floor and break into song. Instead, and far more wisely considering his age, he made his way to the small stage where the band were playing and waited for them to finish a speedy one-step.
- Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown
This series by Benedict Brown is interesting because the narrator is a teenage boy. In the passage above, he’s describing his elderly grandfather, whom he very much admires.
Last but Not Least
For the past year, I’ve been sharing my reading on Goodreads. It’s convenient, and pretty seamless for me since I do so much reading on my Kindle.
The other day, though, an article came to my attention. (Sadly, it’s behind a paywall, but if you have a Medium subscription you’ll be able to read it.) Basically it’s laying out the ways authors are used and abused on Goodreads. So I’m considering whether to switch to another platform.
So here’s my question:
That’s all for this week. Next week I’m going to share my new, favorite writing tool, so stay tuned!