Where did I go?

Life saving station at Lobster Cove, Monhegan Island, Maine

Hello Again! Even my neighbors have been asking where I've been this summer.

At Burnt Head, Monhegan Island in May. Photo by a fellow hiker.

I've been revising a young adult novel. Although it required a week on a remote island, 

I didn't have to travel far for research.

Most of the time, I have been holed up in my home office, overlooking a riot of clematis.

Sometimes I revised en plein air. Every day was a work day. 

I was rushing to finish so that my teenaged beta testers could read over summer vacation.

Fish Beach, Monhegan Island

My 17-year-old daughter read in June, offering invaluable criticism. She would make a fine editor one day.

Monhegan Harbor at dusk

Now a girl in a harbor town, similar to my fictional one, is reading. I also asked for feedback 

from a Californian girl who knows nothing about Maine. There are a few adult readers too. 

A local police officer will fact check a crime scene. It's fiction, but I want to get it right.

Above and below: the pond on my daily walk at home.

With the manuscript gone for a few weeks, I'm finally free to catch up on life and on artwork. There's neglected housework too so I'm staying close to home. Luckily, no place is nicer than Maine in summer. 

What I'm reading now:
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier