Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Summer Dreaming


By Martha Reed

As I’ve said before, there’s nothing better than a three-day weekend. That extra day helps me get all my chores done; it’s like having an extra Saturday to do the things I want to do, and mostly what I want to do is to find a comfortable spot and read.

My to-be-read pile is usually stacked about fifteen books high. I get a lot of books passed to me by friends and folks at work who have found something interesting and want to share. It’s a very friendly communal thing and I enjoy the insight into the person who is giving the book to me – after I’ve read what they liked I feel like I know about them a little bit better, too.

I also like the range of topics that get handed to me because normally, when I’m picking out my own good reads, I tend to fall into the same pattern: mystery, biography, archaeology. Getting something unexpected from someone else opens up a whole new world. Free gifting is how I got to explore Dana Stabenow’s Alaska and Julia Spencer-Fleming’s small town Millers Kill. A friend of mine at work just turned me on to Randy Wayne White’s Sanibel series and that’s the one that’s got me in trouble because now I want to move to Florida.

I know I’m in trouble when instead of taking a brisk walk to PCN Park at lunchtime I decide to surf Trulia looking for homes with pools in Ft. Myers. I’m really in trouble when I start to fantasize about working on my latest manuscript from the deck of a houseboat or two-bedroom beachfront condo. But then, when I investigate the lives of other authors, I see that some of them are doing just that: living the dream and I wonder: why not me?

What is your dream location? If you could pick the ‘perfect’ setting for crafting your work, where would you set up your laptop?



5 comments:

Ramona said...

I'm a beach person so my dream home would be ocean side. I'm not sure how much work I'd get done, however, as I'd be constantly drawn to walking in the sand.

So, being practical, my dream work station is my parents' home. They don't have Internet access, they live in the country surround by cane fields, my mother cooks fabulous meals and they nap for 3 hours every afternoon. It's like a retreat--nothing to do but eat and write!

Martha Reed said...

Hi, Ramona. It sounds wonderful and it reminds me of a cottage where I found a nice little desk tucked in a corner of an upstairs bedroom. I could hide up there and write without anyone knowing where I was. It was heaven!

Joyce Tremel said...

I would love to run a bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, but I'd probably never have time to get any writing done.

My true dream home will be our log cabin on top of a mountain near Somerset, PA. We're hoping to build next year.

Patg said...

I liked the first books in Randy Wayne White's Sannibel series. But I like Sannibel too.
Living "in" the water doesn't attract me to it elsewhere, but I'd love to be a snowbird and live in the South January thru April.
Just back from Alaska. NOT!
Running a B&B would be right up my alley, not that I'd ever stay at one. So that's weird.
Patg

Jenna said...

Sanibel Island is lovely. For Florida, though, I'd have to say St. Augustine. Then there's Ireland, Edinburgh, Norway... even where I am isn't bad, although there's not quite enough water. But I'm really not picky; I can write anywhere!