This past week was my monthly writing group, one night I look forward to every single month. There are five of us who regularly get together at a restaurant to have dinner and spend the evening writing, or talking shop. Some months there are only a couple of us, other months, we're all there. We come prepared to write each time, though some nights the best we do is open our laptops while we're talking shop, which is what happened this month. And it's okay. Those three or four hours every month are a great way for us to 'fill the well' so to speak. We get to hang out with people who understand us, who are doing or trying to do the same sorts of things we are. Some months, we don't even get our laptops out, depending on what's happening in our worlds. We might have so much to talk about, we don't get past that. Some months we brainstorm ideas for someone in the group who's hung up. Some months, we get lots of words written or edited.
And it's okay, no matter which way it goes. The thing is we need that time together with friends, whatever the outcome of the evening. Last weekend was the outing to Longwood with another friend. Those breaks are necessary for all of us, and I think we sometimes forget that.
I won't have one of those breaks in the week ahead, there's too much to do this week, but that's okay. I have next month's writing group night to look forward to, and hopefully can sneak in another break or two before then.
Before I get to the rest of today's to-do list, I have a quick snippet for you from Freeing Medusa. (No, I'm sorry, I don't have a release date yet. When I get my reader notes back, I can polish one more time and then get release prep underway. I really can't wait for you to see the pretty cover!)
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Katharine had had enough. Her skin tingled with need again, and her heart beat too fast. But she hadn’t seen any likely candidates–even a desperate Medusa had standards.
Which meant it was time to go home and break out a couple more vibrators to get through tonight. Dammit.
She took another sip from her glass, smiling at Ramona from her post on the deck. Her friend danced with someone she’d greeted enthusiastically half an hour ago. She hated to interrupt, but it was time to go home.
Katharine sighed and shifted her shoulders, trying to loosen the tight muscles there. She turned her gaze over the crowd one last time, and her breath caught in her chest.
He was gorgeous, in a rugged sort of way. His nose had been broken at least once, a dimple dented his chin, and he had the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen, black hair dipping over one of them. His green shirt stretched taut over strong shoulders and a wide chest, then tucked into a pair of jeans that fit nicely on narrow hips.
Her heartbeat quickened in anticipation.
Then he glanced away from his conversation with a shorter man and caught her eye. A slow smile curved his mouth as his gaze slid down the front of her, making her skin heat, then back up, lingering on her mouth.
Her lips tingled hopefully.
She took a drink from the cup she held. Whatever frozen thing Ramona had given her was melting and slushy, but she still tasted the bite of alcohol as it hit her tongue.
He moved away from the couple he was with, toward her, and her temperature rose a few more degrees. His long-legged stride was confident and unhurried.
No, damn him, he made her wait, pausing once to greet someone along the way.
She tightened her grip on the stem of the plastic cup and took a quick breath.
He finally stopped about two steps away, and she got a whiff of cologne, something musky that made her mouth water.
Her nipples tightened inside her vest.
“Hi.” His low tone raised goosebumps on her arms despite the warm evening.
“Hi.” She put out her right hand. “I’m Katharine Vardos.”
He smiled again, a slow curve of his lips that made heat spread in her belly, from the inside out, until her panties were damp when she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
He finally wrapped his long, strong fingers around hers. “Hunter Phelps. Nice to meet you.”
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And since I can't share the cover yet, but I can still share the cover model for the hero...
Do you get regular 'friend breaks' in your schedule? Or are you trying to make more of them happen? I'd love to hear how you get your friend time in with your 'tribe'.