Midwinter Break

Every once in awhile,  I think it's important to stick one's head out of the Writer Cave. I've been in the Cave most of fall and winter, working on edits for THE HALLOWED ONES and getting the sequel in for my January deadline.

I like to be busy in winter. It's not my favorite season. Lack of sunlight makes me want to hibernate, and I would sleep through it, if I could. But juggling projects has made it go quickly. I did manage to waddle to the front of the cave in mid-January, blink at the cold sun, look around...

...and amble out of the cave, through the snow, to go spend some time with the other bears.

The lovely Jeffe Kennedy invited Marcella Burnard and I out to New Mexico for a weekend at her lovely home. I love any opportunity to get together with my crit partners, though it always seems to be during the hectic days of conventions. A winter gathering would be quiet, a good time for reflection and goal-setting for the new year.

And also a chance to see a part of the country I hadn't seen before. We went to Bandolier National Monument to climb around the Anasazi ruins. We puttered around Los Alamos and went through the art galleries. We soaked in a Japanese tub at the spa. The food was amazing.

But it was good to reconnect with the tribe, to come out of the isolating sleep of winter and talk about goals. Winter tends to be very still and solitary. It was good to take the time to think about moving forward, planning how to get there.

Thinking about spring makes the Writing Cave that much warmer.