Writing...Just because!

So, it’s finally here!  My publisher ( Summertime Publishing ) and I have chosen a launch date for my book, @Home in Dubai… Getting Connected Online and on the Ground .  We’re fleshing out the marketing plan, which includes (drumroll, please) a Virtual Book and Blog Tour!  It’s all very exciting as I enter this realm with wide-eyed, newbie wonder. I’m lucky to be following in Jo Parfitt’s very successful footsteps (she is my publisher and a prolific author as well). She just completed a successful blog tour for her first work of fiction, Sunshine Soup - nourishing the global soul ,which I watched in admiration and took lots of notes. Learning and Sharing I’m learning so many amazing new things in this process.  What blows me away is how helpful other authors are who have gone before and how willing they are to share their experiences to give you a hand up.  Jo’s expertise is invaluable and I’ve been following others as well. I happened on a grea...

I’ve been reading a lot lately about transitioning from one genre of writing to another.  Seems that there are those out there who feel like it’s either or.  What if, in the middle of a transition, you find that halfway through is a great place to be?  I’ve found a very happy place part way between corporate copy writing and book writing (both fiction and non-fiction). The latter is a very new development for me (my first book is coming out in December) and I’ve found the process very stimulating. I was preparing for a blog interview with my publisher (who wrote a great blog recently about Crossing Genres) and she asked if the process of writing a book had helped with my business. Well, since my ‘business’ is copy writing my answer was a resounding YES! It’s okay to have a niche, or an area of expertise but I am finding that breaking out of that mould every once in a while energises the creative juices and injects a whole new perspective into your writing ...

I’m happy to say that we are getting nicely settled into our lives in Thailand.    We miss our friends in Dubai but it’s on to another adventure, right?   I’m still happily writing away – copy writing for clients, getting ready to launch my first book, @Home in Dubai… Getting Connected Online and on the Ground , AND participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time (yes, I’m a little crazy but happy – I’m writing! And that’s what counts). So, back to the topic of this post… we had visited Thailand several times while we were living in Dubai and fell in love with it on the first landing.   It was decided early on that it would be where Doug would like to retire.   Our comfort level with the place was truly at a 10 out of 10. Any of the small irritants of settling into a new place were easily overcome because of the huge number of positives – like the food, the amazing people, the gorgeous beach, lush greenery, cheap cost of living and so on....

I’ve just finished reading Jimmy Buffet’s A Pirate Looks at Fifty and I want to read it all over again!  I don’t say that about too many books but this one had me grinning, nodding and laughing out loud from the first page.  I’ve always been a Jimmy Buffet fan and have listened to his music for hours on end on many a sailing trip and while sipping Margaritas in so many Tiki bars throughout the Caribbean, I’ve lost count.  After reading this book (he has others but this is the first one I’ve read), his Joie de Vivre is palpable.  It’s no wonder he writes such wonderful music.  He’s had a life full of crazy adventure and experiences that are hard to believe (some of them aren’t so hard to believe for me as many of his stories of flying into remote island airports and dropping anchor in beautiful bays brought back some great memories of our travels). Story Telling Wrapped in Good Advice If you like to get lost in stories of adventure, with colorful ch...