A couple weeks ago, I visited Fripp Island, South Carolina with a friend for a writing retreat. We watched
sunsets, ate seafood, and brainstormed new ideas for books. Oh, and we wrote. The Atlantic coastal barrier islands are like no place else. Trees dripping with moss, the marsh, and so many creatures, as where we went was a wildlife sanctuary.
The book I'm currently writing is set on Fripp Island, so this was a research trip as well as a really fun week. Being immersed in such a beautiful setting that happens to also be my book setting is powerful stuff for a writer. The descriptions come easily and there's a sense of rightness from knowing that everything I'm putting on the page is a hundred percent accurate. All I need to do is look around to nail the scenes and setting.
Sharing this special place where I've gone almost every summer for years was fun. Watching the deer that visited our yard daily, the many birds, the extreme tide, and yes, those incredible sunsets through someone else's eyes was especially rewarding.
I'm back home writing again. Well, mostly I'm editing right now. I've just completed the line edits for book one in my upcoming Louisiana series, I'm working on peer edits for my current novel, and I've just received my developmental edits from my editor for book number two of the La. series. So much editing...
I hope you all are enjoying this final month of summer. I can't believe the kids here in Georgia are headed back to school already. My daughter left this weekend to return for her senior year of college. They begin rush a week before the semester starts, so it's a good transition to getting up early and keeping to a schedule now that summer break is officially over.
Stay cool, everyone!
Best,
Susan
