Four More Years...

...of first days of school. Actually, only three after today. My son started his second year of high school, and my daughter started her final year of junior high (she plans to finish high school in three years).

I love the first day of school, with all its expectancy and newness. Shiny lunchboxes. (Okay, so they were shiny when I was in school because they were metal!) Unscuffed shoes and new, unfaded outfits. Haircuts and smiles and a bundle of nerves. And maybe a tinge of queasy in the pit of the stomach, too.

Since my last post, a month has gone by in all its summer slowness. I don't know how many days it's been over 100 here. The heat has dulled my senses and I want to curl up and sleep. Only it's too hot.

We decided we wanted to flip for a pool with part of my book advance. Not a fancy pool, but something durable enough to enjoy for a few years. The pool man came, and we showed him our prime spot in the backyard.

Sigh. No pool. It turns out we fell for the classic bait 'n switch. "Oh yes, this pool is only $299. But it's only as durable as the one you'd get a Wal-Mart, and setting it up is on your own. But we can put you in this one for a cool $7,000." I told the man we weren't interested in purchasing the equivalent of a used car that day, so he politely left.

So we still have the dry spot in the backyard and we long for cooler temperatures and lower electric bills.

Today, just for fun, I cooked an egg on a ceramic tile I laid on the grass out front, but I don't know how long it took. Tomorrow I'll try again and time it. Maybe I can invent a new cooking trend: outdoor tile cooking.

The cover flats for Bayou Brides came in the mail today, and that was the only other highlight besides the first day of school routine. I think I like the cover art at the web site better than the actual cover. The trees look darker and more dramatic, and more eye-catching. But I love the story and I hope that's what the readers enjoy, too.

I'm trying to slog through the first few chapters of The Wiles of Watermelon, book two in my cozy mystery series. This is a new experience for me because I've never written a series before, and I have the same main characters from A Suspicion of Strawberries. While I have the advantage of knowing the characters, I face the challenge of introducing new readers to them, while still showing growth so the readers who are familiar with book one see the characters grow.