I’d like to say I’m glad to be back in the city of desert and debauchery….but I can’t. If you’ve been a loyal follower of my blog you might have noticed my absence, if not, I’ve been away….frolicking in a far, foreign land..called So I spent roughly 7 days enjoying a couple of the finest parts of the East coast. Ariana lives in Newport, RI, an island of lush greenery and beautiful harbors. She's an attorney for the state's legal services devision and can literally walk to work. If she has a case, she hops next door to the court. Isn't that amazing!? As a guest there in mid-summer, I was part of a larger crowd of tourists who flock from all over to enjoy the warmth and sunshine amidst the salty ocean air. Of course, my first couple of days there it rained cats and dogs, but I didn't mind. Living in a desert, I hadn't felt rain in ages.
Ariana and I packed in a hell of a lot of stuff in my seven days, despite her working in the mornings. Most of my days began waking up late, getting dressed and sauntering along the main street, Thames. Here were a throng of shops selling everything from souvenirs to ship parts. Admiring the colonial architecture and the homey feel of the beach town, I'd eventually hit the corner Starbucks for a soy latte before I'd meet Ariana at her office in Washington Square. How quaint.
Then we'd plan our day depending on the weather. We were able to drive through along the ostentatious Ocean Drive, breath in the sea air along Cliff Walk, tour two historic and magnificent mansions along Bellevue, visit the informational Newport Historical Museum, explore Rose Island and its cute lighthouse, go boating with friends at dusk in the harbor, take a road trip to Cape Cod's city of glass, Sandwich, watch the fireworks at Mashpee, ponder at Edward Gorey's house, and tromp around General Nathaniel Greene's homestead in Coventry. Are you tired yet?
It was beyond fun and I realized how much I missed my best friend! I love the area and am seriously thinking of moving there next year. I could live there for a year and then go for my Master's Degree in History at the University of Rhode Island. Then, I could study for a couple months at a time in England, since my concentration would be Regency England.
Anyway, that's one dream. The other is finishing my novel ASAP! I'm getting there and plan to kick it into gear this month. I'm officially aging this month and I hate it. Finishing my novel would be a great birthday gift to myself. It's back to business as usual.
I also started an online class this month through the KOD, RWA's suspense/thriller chapter that I joined. The class is taught by Angela Knight (a great writer) and is how to put the heat into your romantic suspense. It's a subject I'd like to know more about and I think Angela is just the person to help me out.
Still to come this month is the continuation of my gothic reviews and some reviews on romance websites.
Yay! It's great to be back blogging!
grand total: 50653
Quote of the Day: Ink and paper are sometimes passionate lovers, oftentimes brother and sister, and occasionally mortal enemies. ~Emme Woodhull-Bäche
2 comments:
Yeah, I definitely have to go back for a weekend or so in Newport. I have been there before for work functions so we hung out mostly around the hotel. We did go to a bar one night that had this really good one-man band. But didn't get to do very much touristy stuff. I would love to tour the mansions.
Well it sounds like you had a great time and it's terrific that you got to spend some quality time with your friend. Be sure to let me know if you decide to move there. We could definitely get together once in a while for writing sessions, etc.
Studying in England sounds awesome. If you can work it out you should absolutely go for it. You would definitely be able to add a more authentic voice to your regency writing.
And speaking of adding heat to your romantic suspense, did you get this link from crimescenewriter? It was in an email from them yesterday or today and it covers some conclusions from a panel about Sex and the Single Title at this week's RWA conference. http://murderati.typepad.com/murderati/2008/08/sex-action-conf.html
Nice to have you back, Dyann! Good luck getting back into the swing of things!
Ah, Rhode Island sounds wonderful!
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