June is here!

Wow. June!

Oregon berries have arrived, which to me has always felt like Nature's reward for making it through the long, cold winter and the usual gray, rainy spring. This year, we had a mild winter and a pretty nice spring, but I still felt myself let out a big, happy sigh when I bit into the first sweet berry. Summer is my favorite. And it's basically here.

Next week, my youngest son graduates from high school. It doesn't take much to cause the water works to start these days, let me tell you. I try to not let him see it. After all, he's thrilled to be done. He's worked hard, and there is much to celebrate, and much to look forward to. But for me, it's the end of an era. And it's hard to say good-bye to something I've loved so very much. Okay, well, I haven't loved all of the homework and projects and testing stress and all of that, but being his mom for the past 18 years? Yeah. I've really, really loved that. And I know that won't change - I'll always be his mom. But it feels like things are changing. Shifting. As they should, I suppose. But it doesn't mean it's easy.

Tomorrow, he and his dad will be jumping out of an airplane to celebrate the fact that he's 18 now, and on to college next year.

I'll be curled up in my comfy chair, telling myself it will be okay, that they'll come home for dinner, and the four of us will sit down and eat together, and the other son and I can hear all about it.

June is here. Unlike most years, I have mixed feelings about that. But like every June, I'll eat the sweet berries and try to savor every moment of summer. Every moment with the boy who will be off to college next year.

Wow.

Back from Vacation

Hey there! Happy summer!! Hope you are having a good one.

We went on a little vacation to central Oregon last week and stayed in a house at Sunriver Resort where we went on lots of bike rides, walked and hiked along the Deschutes River, ate delicious ice cream, and stood on a bridge in awe of the beautiful sunsets. Oh, and at the end of the trip, we drove to Crater Lake to see that gorgeous piece of work.

I'm busy with revisions on my 2015 YA novel right now, but after that I will have some fun posts to share as we move closer to the release date of THE BRIDGE FROM ME TO YOU!

For now, a few pretty pictures.

Ha, had to sneak that last one in there. Came home to a finished copy my editor had sent me. Nice way to end a vacation. :)

Vacation's all I've ever wanted (thanks to The Go-Go's)

Last night I was reading this post by my friend, Rachel Hawkins, and her plan to June Sploon. And then I was reading this post by my friend, Kate Messner, about her plans to help librarians and teachers write this summer. And I was like, oh, that would be fun to get in on that June Sploon action. And yeah, I should totally ask Kate what I can do to help her, because that's an awesome idea.

And then I was like - cool your jets, Lisa. Yo, this is supposed to be the summer of some much-needed R&R!

There is a part of me that wants to jump in to every cool thing offered if it could potentially mean a) an opportunity to spend time with people around the blogosphere who I think are cool, b) more exposure for me and my books or c) something that motivates me to get more books written.

But the thing is, I have been at this writing thing a long time now, and I no longer want to do it 24/7. There was a time when I lived and breathed writing and promoting and everything in between, and I don't want to do that anymore. First of all, I don't think it's healthy for me and second of all, this is now my job, and how many times have we heard, you won't be on your death bed, looking back at your life, wishing you worked more? I'm really trying to treat it more like a job.

Because I've been at this a long time now, I know I can write a book in 2-3 months with my tried and true 1,000 words a day. And I also know that summer is my most favorite time of the year. Rachel and I have actually talked about this, and summer is NOT fun where she lives, (down south y'all) so it's logical, I suppose, that summer rolls around and she's ready to stay inside with the glorious A/C and write. Okay, so deadlines help with that decision too, of course.

Summer is when I want to PLAY, as much as possible. I'll have to work some too. I will most likely have two editorial letters this summer, on two different middle grade novels. I don't really need to write anything new on top of that, when there are hikes to go on and berries to pick and pools to swim in and beaches to comb.

For about nine months of the year, give or take three days, Oregon is dreary and gray. Perfect writing weather, really. And during those eight to nine months, I'm usually working in the early mornings on weekends too, because I don't want to lose any momentum I have in either drafting or revising. So I'm working a LOT during those months. It's taken a long time for me to get to this place where I tell myself it's okay to take a break (as much as possible) during the summer.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about writing and breaks. How do you decide when it's time to take a break? Do you schedule them, or take them as they come? Do you have a favorite time of the year when you want to be playing more than working, like me? Do you think I'm crazy, wanting to try and step away from the writing world this summer?