When I “can’t” write:

Elbow–‘New York Morning’ and ‘The Take Off And Landing Of Everything Good’ on my Elbow Pandora station, courteously provided by Alexa/Echo Dot when I talk to her like Kirk talking to COMPUTER in ‘Star Trek’.

My grandmother’s piano + Clementi’s Sonatina in C Major, op. 36, no. 1. Oh. Heck. Yes. Gives me chills. The music, not my playing.

Jackson Browne–on my Jackson Browne Pandora station, see Elbow above.

Acacia Chardonnay–2.75 glasses (possibly 2.99 especially if TGIF). Acacia can be paired with My Grandmother’s Piano bit nicely. And with cooking dinner–yet another distraction, but so necessary.

First Pages: i.e. ransacking my middle-grade-only bookshelves and reading all first pages of all books on shelves. Of course I want the first page of any novel I write to be interesting–but the commercial focus these days is hooking readers within a sentence or two. I get it. I do. I have a 9yo. I get it. However…Okay, is Acacia handy? No? Right. Moving on.

Venting to my son’s school’s librarian, who happens to be a middle-grade author and  so down-to-earth and marvelous and listens and knows and is happy to share wisdom and information. I am a lucky writer to know her. And I don’t vent EVERY time I see her. Do not! Mostly we talk books. Or, books I peskily ask her about. I repeat: I am lucky and grateful and learning. When I speak to my son’s librarian, I want to return home and write/revise.

Zuma Beach: It’s closest to me (half an hour+!!!) and being an ocean fanatic? Well. Hard to make the trek on a weekday. But that’s all right. Hopefully it will never go away: Zuma. Wide open beaches. Ocean.

Yours in sonatinas and oceans,

PB.