Tropical Tuesday

(L to R) Me, Yelena, Tina

What a great week I've had! Broadway plays, jazz clubs, shopping, visits...New York was a blast. Still thrilled to have met Jennifer and Fran, and also got to meet writer friends Tina Moss and Yelena Casale, as well as my amazing cousins Robin and Corey. So fun! My feet are still complaining, and I might have put on a few travel pounds sampling restaurants with my hubby (Spanish Tapas on the last night just about did me in), but I had a great time. Can't wait to go back again.



After an amazing, if somewhat chilly, trip to New York City, I've returned to even chillier Canada. It's COLD here. And Spring is months away, *sad face* so I've been day-dreaming and looking at more tropical beaches just for fun. I thought I'd post a wee Tropical Tuesday to tease you...and torment me!


 

Picture from Wikipedia

One of the most amazing places I've been fortunate enough to visit (other than New York City this past week...) was the tiny island of Rarotonga, in the warm and beautiful south Pacific. Part of the Cook Islands, it is almost completely surrounded by beaches, and at the time (a, ah-hem, few years ago) it was relatively unspoiled. We stayed in what was then called the Rarotongan Resort Hotel, but from what I can see, it's now called the Rarotongan Beach Resort and Spa. (click on the link for more pictures of the beaches and water...)It was a simple place, but the beaches were clean, clear and gorgeous. We ate octopus (ick), fresh coconut (yum) and explored the island on scooters.

Picture from Cook Islands Discovery Tours

And it was WARM. So amazingly warm. Wouldn't you like to go there? I think it has great potential for my next writer's retreat. Who's in? Maybe if we sign enough of us up, they'll give us a discount?

Brenda

Hello from New York!

New York City skyline

Thanks to a wonderful combination of circumstances, I'm blogging from the Big Apple this morning! What an awesome adventure! I'm here for a few days, mostly sight-seeing but also fitting in a few visits and writing related things. I've even conquered the NY Subway system, and managed to get myself downtown without incident. I walked...and walked...and walked, and I am very, very grateful for a good pair of shoes and a good sense of direction.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to meet the fabulous Jennifer Mishler and Frances Black of Literary Counsel...AKA my agents! 



L to R: Jennifer, Me, Fran

We had a great chat, inhaled some caffeine, discussed the virtues of coffee over tea (sorry Fran) and talked a teensy tiny bit of shop. I am so fortunate to have these two amazing ladies on my side, helping me navigate the winding but very rewarding road of publishing. They are exactly the fit I was looking for--proof that good things come to those who wait! I am so looking forward to working together and turning our challenges into successes! Go Team LC!

Brenda





Where Were You?

On this day, eleven years ago, the world stopped. We watched in horror as thousands of people--who had gotten up, gone to work and sipped their coffee on the morning train--lost their lives. It was a horrible, heart-aching day.

My husband and I watched from a sunny room on the Pasquatank River in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I was pregnant with our third child and we lived, quite literally, at the end of the Air Station runway. He put on his uniform and drove to work. I sat in shock in the sunny silence. Even our toddlers were quiet that day. No planes flew over our house.

Where were you that life-changing day? I would love to hear your story. In telling our stories we remember the feeling of the day, the gut-deep fear that we all felt. In telling our stories the memory of those who lost their lives, and the way they lost them, lives on.

Share in the comments below. I'd love to hear.

Never forget. 9-11-01.