Vacation Re-Cap . . . and the winners!

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Hello! I've missed you! Absence makes the heart grow fonder . . .

I had a week full of non-stop action, adventure and sunny days with my family and my BFF and her family. I've proven to myself that I need to unplug more often. I need to frequently change directions, and look at things from new angles. Isn't that true of everything? Especially with writing?

My best vacations are with my BFF. She was the one I went to Moab with in 1996. (Pre husband and kids) And we all know what happened after that, don't we? I moved there!

(What happened while I was "gone"? Cynthia Leitich Smith featured me as a "new" author on Cynsations! Check it out - I answer two interview questions about character development and the beast of marketing . . .)

I have several ideal vacations, and this was one of them, although I didn't plan it myself. (My BFF surprised me by making the arrangements over a year in advance, because she knew that I wouldn't do it otherwise. As a writer without a steady income, I am always worrying about money!  My BFF was surprised herself when my husband and I agreed to her extravagant plan . . . but we were moving out of the city, and the kids would have a long time to look forward to it, which is always a great part of vacation - the anticipation! And nobody is getting any younger, yada, yada, yada . . .)

I didn't have time to think about myself as an "author" and all of the marketing trials and tribulations that come along with that. I was a mom, a friend, a wife and a writer: my imagination was doing triple time. I have the seed for a new book. I had a hard time reading other fiction, because all I wanted to do was read the book I haven't written! (So yes, I guess there is a slight danger of me moving to a cruise ship. It's going on my Bucket List!)

Our group was four adults and five children. We took a 4 night Disney cruise to the Bahamas, and then spent 3 ten hour days in the parks in Orlando: Magic Kingdom, Universal's Islands of Adventure, and Animal Kingdom. The kids were in heaven. Our girls are two months apart, and they had a blast meeting princesses, swimming and playing in Pixie Hollow. The boys are 9, 10, and 11 and they were happy to be free-range on the boat, two of them becoming pin nerds. (What a great marketing idea from Disney - pin collecting/ trading - and the staff HAVE to trade!)

We took the parks by storm and were able to do everything we wanted. We even saw a space missile launch whilst we stood in front of Cinderella's Castle! Harry Potter World was AMAZING, although it would have been better if they made all us visitors wear robes. (There was quite a crowd as you can imagine!) We stayed "off campus" and were grateful that the hotel pool was open until 10PM, as our feet needed the downtime! I would have liked just one more day to do "nothing", but I am thrilled with the whole experience!

Now, the trick is, to keep this vibe until the next vacation, right?

 And the vacation winners are . . . Victorija and Wonderwegian! Email your addresses to: lena.roy@gmail.com and I will snail mail the audio CD's to you tomorrow!

Happy last day of February! It's raining . . . do I smell spring?