When I'm not writing.

There are times when I don't write. I know, it's shocking that an author doesn't write at times. Like when I'm sleeping or eating. I'm human not just a writing machine, lol.
​But seriously, When I'm not writing I like to do stuff with my kids and friends.

Like this past week. I got all dressed up and went to lunch with an author friend. I can't tell you how happy I am to have an author friend. It may sound childish, but I was always jealous of other authors when they talked about messaging or hanging out with another author.
It's a very lonely business being an author. There's no watercooler or office kitchen to discuss work or personal stuff with other co-workers. Being social for an author usually happens only online or at the occasional conference (if you can afford to attend).
The general day-to-day work happens alone surrounded either by pets or a cup of coffee.
That might seem like a dream to some people. And it would have to me a decade ago when I worked a crappy job with some people that would be considered toxic (and I'm being nice here). And it's still a job that I would fight to the death to keep doing. But, it does get lonely.
When I met Elizabeth O'Roark several months ago at an author meetup where no one showed but us, I was nervous. But then we realized we had soooo much in common. Not just about our author career, but personal life too.
We made plans to meet up again and it kept getting pushed due to writing deadlines. We finally got together this past Wednesday. We had a blast and thought Steve Carell sat in the booth behind me. It really did look like him but we have no idea as we were both too nervous to get a better look or ask.
But I like to think he was there enjoying overhearing our conversation and all the juicy details of our fabulous author lives, lol.
Over the weekend I took my boys to a few parks. It was really nice out and we took advantage.

That's a picture of my oldest throwing rocks into the water. I live near the Chesapeake Bay and there are many waterways that flow into it. That's where we are in this photo. We could have taken a pedal boat out (they were renting them further down, but it was raining off an on. Not a lot of rain but enough that I didn't want to be in the water.
The trees covered us enough that we didn't get wet.
​This weeks personal indulgence is another book. I may be an author but I love to read too.
And yes, I'm going to recommend one of Elizabeth O'Roark's books because not only am I her friend, I'm also her fan. If you like steamy contemporary romance then you NEED to check out her latest release:   

I have been reading it and it's sooo good. Oh, and it's kinda angsty, so if you like that type of book then you drool over The Summer We Fell.