Summer

Well, it’s after Memorial Day here in the United States, and that means Summer has unofficially begun. Cookouts have been had. Pools have been opened. Flowers have been planted, and for the next three months, shorts, flip-flops, and tank tops will be out in full blast. Soon, students in New England where I live will be done with school, and there will be much rejoicing across the land. Teachers will be among the noisiest rejoicers. I know this from personal experience. I have been teaching for thirteen years and though I enjoy it, there’s nothing like the carefree months of July and August.  
In those months, I live like a writer…or a hobo. It’s hard to tell.

I get up when my internal clock says so, not when my alarm clock deems it necessary.

I eat breakfast when I feel like it, often skip lunch, and dinner usually has the word “grilled” in it somewhere.

I wear the clothes mentioned above and don’t care if any of it matches.

I spend the mornings doing household chores/errands/working in the yard.

I spend the afternoons out on the patio, writing until my characters are satisfied.

I scribble out poems about the beauty of nature as they pop into my head.

I birdwatch.

I craft.

I stay up late to watch movies, which I consider research into storytelling.

I lather, rinse, repeat it all the next day.

Now, I’ll of course break from this grueling schedule to have a lunch date here and there, to beach it, to work on preparing for the new school year, but for the most part, this is my Summer life and with this format comes Summer Chris.

 
I love Summer Chris.

She is so easy-going, letting her chronic Type A-ness slip away. Summer Chris almost never gets a headache, sleeps like a corpse, and is wicked creative. She is an open channel to another level of innovation. She doesn’t sigh, grind her teeth, or worry about tomorrow. Summer Chris enjoys each moment, is open to anything, and doesn’t care what time it is.

I can’t wait to greet her with open arms in just a few short weeks.

Summer Chris has plans to self-publish a book, work on something a little different from her usual romance novels, and explore some new possibilities. Stay tuned to see how it all turns out.

In the meantime, you can enjoy some free poetry at NightEternal, a new website I co-host with author Joseph Mazzenga. It showcases poems/love letters between a vampire, Drake, and a werewolf, Arielle. This is a unique venture because I’m the voice of the male vampire, and Joe is the voice of the female werewolf. Some poems are biographical for the characters, some are reflections of their loneliness, and some are downright steamy.

Do join Drake and Arielle at Night Eternal and see how their relationship works…or doesn’t. Can love last an eternity? We shall see.

What are your Summer plans?

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com