Labor Day looms, and we Chicks are bidding our sad good-byes to Summer. (Except for Lisa, because that’s her sleuth’s name.) So it’s time for that September ritual: the back-to-school vacay recap, in 250 words or less. Here are the Chicks’ essays (and no, our parents don’t have to sign them)…
Marla Cooper
I can’t believe it’s September already. Where did the summer go? Actually, I can tell you where most of mine went: edits. I spent a good chunk of the summer revising the second book in my destination wedding planner series, Dying on the Vine. Then came the developmental edits, which I just turned in earlier this week before collapsing into an exhausted heap. I’ve finally looked up from my laptop, ready for swimming and picnics and maybe a visit to an amusement park, and everybody’s ready for back to school. I also made time somewhere in there to visit Oklahoma, where my stepfather turned 88, my aunt turned 87, and my sister and I got together to sort through two generations of family crap heirlooms at a ranch house that’s been in the family for about 60 years. I got to visit Cinco and Red Wing, rescued my grandmother’s deviled egg plate, and watched fireflies every night at dusk. (Boy, do I miss fireflies. That was probably the most summery thing I did all summer!)
What???! Summer is over? That is very bad news for me, because my next ms. is due to my publisher and I am still writing. But I’m close to the end…soooo close! I spent most of my summer in book jail, tapping away on the keyboard. I also got my real estate license, which entailed a LOT of studying. As I type this, though, I am sitting in a Miami Beach Starbucks with the Ladies Smythe & Westin, who are filling me in on the details of their latest case. Of course, Summer is a little tired after hitting the clubs on Ocean Drive last night, and not very happy there’s a hurricane on the way and she is not poolside at the Delano. Dorothy, bless her heart, is trying to be helpful with the story while surreptitiously applying another layer of anti-Zika bug balm. Bet you guys are all jealous of my summer vacay!!
Kellye Garrett
Hmmm. Let’s see. I hosted two of my best friends for Fourth of July. I got a book deal. I went down to St. Petersburg, Florida to help my family celebrate my great aunt’s 95th birthday. I got a book deal. I discovered an amazing (probably man-made) lake just 15 minutes from my house that has a two-mile running trail. I got a book deal. I had an hour-long phone conversation with an amazing psychic who told me a few things that may actually come true. I got a book deal. I fan-girled over the 2016 Rio Olympics. I got a book deal. I discovered nude nail polish and how amazing it looks on my hands. And did I mention that I got a book deal? Because I got a book deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ellen Byron
Wait, summer happened already? I missed it! Well, it felt like I missed it because we never took a family vacation. My husband, teen, and I all worked. The teen went to Mexico for two weeks with a friend. Then the husband and teen went to Spokane to visit her BFF who moved unexpectedly, breaking her heart. Meanwhile, I flew to NYC for a long weekend to visit my mom, whom I don’t see nearly enough. That was a delight, but I have to say that the highlight of my summer may have been a one-woman overnight vacay I was lucky enough to enjoy. I took the train down to San Diego because PLANTATION SHUDDERS was nominated for a Daphne Award at the RWA convention. All I can say is that when they call a Hyatt a Grand Hyatt, they ain’t kiddin’.
Readers, what did you do on your summer vacations? Your comments will not be graded, we promise!
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