Writing While Traveling

This week, our family spent four fun-filled days in Las Vegas to get away from the winter cold and the rain that was drenching the pacific northwest. My son and husband had never been there before, so it was a treat to show them sights that literally had their jaws dropping. As we strolled through the enormous over-the-top themed hotels and along the strip’s flashing, brilliant lights, and noise, I tried to come up with words that might best describe this overload—if not downright assault—on the senses, but I fell short. Maybe it’s just difficult to put some sights and sounds into words. My husband, who’d seen Vegas on TV and in movies and had heard about it countless times from friends, thought he had a pretty good idea of what to expect, but even he was flabbergasted by the place. I’m not a travel writer and haven’t read much about Vegas, so I’m not sure how other authors have fared, but I suspect that Las Vegas is one of those places one has to experience to truly understand what the writer is talking about.

So, I stuck to my own writing, which is always a bit of a challenge when you’re with others all day long, and faced with many attractions and distractions. The question is always what do I bring with me? When I left on Monday, I was in the midst of a final edit and proofing of the second novel in my Casey series. This requires concentration, so that book stayed home. I’d also finished the first draft of my fourth Casey, and the whole novel needed to be read again slowly and carefully to begin the second draft. That book stayed home, too.

Waiting in airports and flying offers plenty of time to think about works in progress, so I brought a short story I’d started in the summer, but hadn’t finished, and began plotting my fifth novel. They turned out to be good choices. The short story is almost finished, and I’ve outlined half of the book.

It takes some thought to figure out which writing projects will best fit your traveling schedule, but once you do, those airport waits and long hours of flying could turn out to be one of your most productive times of the year. Good luck, and bon voyage!

Coming in March 2011, THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, http://tinyurl.com/2frw58u

My Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl

TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

The Sex Scene Fountains

So, did you miss me? I bet you didn’t even know I was gone. I went to Las Vegas to a surprise birthday party for my brother, and I couldn’t talk about it beforehand since I didn’t want to be the one to un-surprise him. It was fun, though the town is wasted on me — I forgot to gamble. I guess I’ll have to find another way to get rich. I know! I’ll write a book, become a bestselling author, and make millions. Are you laughing, too? It would have been better for me to be a bettor.

I was hoping that by leaving the promotion conundrum behind perhaps my subconscious would work out the problem for me, and I would suddenly know how to sell tons of books, but no enlightenment came my way. I did discover that I’m not as addicted to the internet as I thought I was. I didn’t even miss it.

What I didn’t miss this time were the sex scene fountains — I finally got a chance to see them. It was like meeting a celebrity since I’d seen them many times . . . in movies. (What Planet Are You From is the only one that comes to mind at the moment.) During the sex scenes, the director showed the fountains at the Bellagio climaxing instead of the couple, so I call them the sex scene fountains, though I don’t imagine the Bellagio publicity department would appreciate the moniker.

What else happened? I met some online friends, which was a kick. After about thirty seconds to readjust the mental image, it was as if we’d known each other for years. Which we had.

I also got reacquainted with a nephew who is studying visual arts, and we decided to collaborate on a graphic novel. I’ll do the writing, he’ll do the art. He doesn’t want me to research how to write a graphic novel because he says that way I’ll write something totally new and redefine the genre. We’ll see. Should be interesting since I’ve never even seen a graphic novel.

So now I have two writing projects that I’m not working on -- this graphic novel and my poor moribun WIP. One of these days I’ll get busy. I promise.