Catskills where our summer cabin is. I just got back from
the Jersey shore—Ocean Grove and Asbury Park, that perennially edgy beach town, clawing its way back to respectability. The creepy old
Howard Johnson restaurant, built in the early 60’s and made to look like a hokey spaceship, has been renovated with an open bar and palm trees in elephantine-sized wicker pots. The once-abandoned boardwalk that used to have one lone saltwater taffy store is brimming with surf shops and Cuban
restaurants. Stay slightly edgy, is my advice!
Things change—except the need to get away from it all in the pit of steamy summer. Attention to television series,
classes, the hustle in general, turns to nature, sea breezes, fizzy and cold concoctions that can quickly cool. The photos at Idea Farm show our first peaches and Winesaps. Also, my potbellied pig, Thistle, who is an ancient 15 years old and plucky as ever!Are you still trying to write through it all? Or do you tend to take a break from that too—in order to regroup and rekindle? I finished a 2nd polish on a manuscript in the first week of August, including a cut of 31 pages—no small feat. And I’m almost finished manuscript evaluation #2 for my clients. And soon, it’ll be time to call a halt for the last two weeks—to everything but reading and conceptualizing (which looks like loafing). So far, I've read two eye-opening books for a course I'm proposing: POINT OMEGA by Don Delillo and THE COLLECTOR by John Fowles (very disturbing but powerful).
How about you? What are your deep Summerland pleasures?
I'm deep into my WIP. I've written 25K in four days. Crazy. I've never written like this before. I'm also enjoying Famished by Lauren Hammond and Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. No vacation plans this year. Too many projects around the house.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter asked me to read the Harry Potter series, and I am loving it! (Then Jess Row's recent short story collection as I plan to interview him for my blog (Yay!)) I'm going to lug HP book # 6 on a plane to Orlando tomorrow. Also brought my characterization outlines (in progress) for my novel. Maybe while I'm on the Simpsons Ride at Universal Orlando...
ReplyDeleteGood to take time off, deliberately, from work. It makes the work time more focused.
Your summer sounds exciting. Mine has been about the same as winter and spring. I have one story in search of an agent or publisher and two works-in-progress. And reading, I'm doing quite a bit. Just reviewed Firemen by Gary R. Ryman for his virtual tour and am reading The Pineville Heist by Lee Chambers for review.
ReplyDeleteHave several books I've won recently and am looking forward to reading them. No vacation plans until maybe the fall.
Kelly, you are supersonic! And Helen, yes the Simpson ride, or perhaps the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Beverley, good luck with the search, and I look forward to reading the reviews you write.
ReplyDeleteOh that place looks amazing, Catherine! What a wonderfully refreshing place! I tend to take a month or two off after each story's first draft and first rounds of edits. My brain needs rejuvenating... which I usually find in the form of reading, movies, and nature. Isn't it amazing how beautiful the world all seems after pulling your head up from the depths of your laptop??? :)
ReplyDeleteCatherine, Oh my! You've had a rich summer already! You must have a notebook brimming with notes / characters / setting ideas. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy summer has been productive on the writing scene. Still shopping my first PB, finished w/edits my second PB, in May completed 1st draft of YA novel, written 2 short stories--one was accepted in a magazine!, and I'm currently pounding the keyboard in attempt to finish my non-fiction wip.
Our central Texas summer has been the most brutal I've ever experienced in my 39 years here. We are nearly 20 inches of rain below our annual average. We've hit 100+ so many days now, since mid-May, I've lost count. Our res. lakes are drying up, and the city of Brenham is concerned about the town's water source. I've never wished for a hurricane, but I'm considering.
Congrats on your 2nd polish, and the big cut!
PK, yesss, the world is, indeed, quite awesome beyond the parameters of the laptop. And Candy, you sound so busy! I've heard about the great drying out of the Lone Star state. I'll do a rain dance for you. I think your move to try a non-fiction project is wise. No matter how much in a tizzy the publishing industry gets, there is always a call for good non-fiction for kids.
ReplyDeleteAlas, summer has again had its way with me and though I love the ease of the season, the writer in me longs for the focusing energy of autumn which helps me pull together my impressions and ideas and, like the harvest season, preserve these ideas and write write write...
ReplyDeleteYes, Cathy, I'm with you on that. I always feel slightly guilty when I take a break--and lazy too...
ReplyDeleteI'm drooling over those peaches right now...mmmmmmmmm...
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine. I'm just stopping by to let you know that I elected you for a blog award. You can check my blog for details.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I just harvested our peach crop. Every time I inhale the scent or bite into a juicy mouthful, I feel the essence of summer. I’m glad I discovered your blog through Julia Hones’ and am delighted to be a new follower.
ReplyDeleteGreat, Michelle! Peaches seem to be the star of August.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julia! My second Liebster. I am honored. I will link back to you in a post asap!
ReplyDeleteThat wonderful Thistle, those Winesaps and peaches would stir a lot writing in me. This summer on the west coast, it's been some travel and then the roses that are thick and bloomy that have trigger some prose to come onto my pages.
ReplyDeleteNice, C Lee. Yes, I will have to write about Thistle!
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