Saturday, July 2, 2016

The Good and the Bad of Summer by Jannine Gallant

There's a lot to love about summer. Our oldest is home from college, and it's nice to have her around again. The youngest is no longer counting the days until school gets out... But both girls in short doses is better for everyone concerned, so it's good they have summer jobs.




Walks in the woods with Ginger are amazing. Flowers are blooming like crazy, and the creek is flowing after a decent winter. All good, very good.



Fire danger is extreme. Bad, very bad. There's a forest fire burning down near Auburn, which is 100 miles away from Tahoe, but I can still smell the smoke. Ugh. Crossing my fingers we survive the summer...

Then there's the road construction. Yep, the bane of summer. I'm on a first name basis with the flag woman at the bottom of my street. There are two long stretches of construction, complete with guide cars, on the West Shore in the three miles between our house and town. They work mostly at night, which would be great if I didn't have to be at work at 5am. Whine. Whine Whine. Road work gets a big, fat BAD.



On the writing front, the good news is I finished my final round of edits on Book 3 in the Born To Be Wilde series. Yipee! The bad news is, my editor sent me the galley to proof TWO HOURS later. Not even a single day off. Sigh. Does anyone else completely despise reading their own book for the millionth time? Surely I'm not alone on this one.

So, let's hear it. What do you love and hate about summer?



Oh, more good news. Every Move She Makes is still 99 cents. The bad news is, tomorrow is the final day of the sale. So, it's now or never to get this one at a rockin' deal, peeps! Buy it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Or, check out my website for info on all my books.

Happy reading!

13 comments:

Vonnie Davis, Author said...

I like having air conditioning. Summer humidity and I are not friends. I love the flowers, hate the weeding. I worry about all the fires and the writer friends I have who live out in that area. Are they safe? Are their homes still intact? Those fires are so huge and powerful, switching directions on a dime.

Rolynn Anderson said...

I live in the Golden State...now the orange, flaming state. Fire makes us very nervous here in California. Here on the coast, we have morning fog/mist while east of us, people swelter in 100 plus degree heat. We'll get sun by around noon, and then it's rarely over 80 degrees. So hot, we're not.

Jannine, I do abhor reading my novel for the 100th time. By then, I'm thinking 'Is this swill?" Truly, all I want to do is move on and still hope I have a decent book left in me. But we all bear up with the weather, the fires, the road construction, and the rewrites as long as a glass of wine or a G&T comes at the end of the day!

Jannine Gallant said...

Vonnie, no air conditioning needed in Tahoe. Summer highs are never out of the 80's. Another thing I like about where I live. My flowers are all out in the woods so no weeding necessary. LOL

Rolynn, fire season freaks me out a little. We've had horrible ones not too far away. So far, we've escaped. (Knocking on wood here!) As for re-reading my book over and over, looking for a missed comma or quote mark. Ugh. Painful!

Brenda Whiteside said...

In spite of road construction, your summers in Tahoe look lovely. I hate having to move in the AZ summer. And add monsoon season to that.

Jannine Gallant said...

I don't blame you, Brenda! Hope your move goes smoothly--or as smoothly as moves ever go...

Alison Henderson said...

Love you pictures, hate the fire threat. After the big fire in our valley last fall, I have a much more personal fear of fires. I hope they stay far away from us both. And summer road construction - ugh. We don't have it here, but for the 25 years we lived in Minnesota, it was an annual ritual. Enjoy your summer with your girls (in small doses).

Jannine Gallant said...

Alison, they're putting in curbs and drains all down the west shore to control runoff for lake clarity. Before that it was replacing all the natural gas lines under the road. Uh, they couldn't do this at the same time? This is the 4th straight summer of non-stop road work. It's making me a little crazy...or maybe I should say crazier!

Leah St. James said...

Gorgeous photos! (Although the thought of wildfires is terrifying.) I wish I had somewhere beautiful like that to take a walk. I have to get in my car and drive five minutes to a pretty nearby park. Whine, whine, whine. :-) Can't wait to read the Wilde books!

Jannine Gallant said...

You can whine, Leah. LOL I'm so lucky to be able to walk out of my house straight into the woods. As long as said woods don't attract any firebugs, all is good.

Margo Hoornstra said...

How about I go love and hate? Love summer, hate the heat. Kind of an oxymoron, right? I'd feel sorry for you having to read your own books again if they weren't so darned enjoyable. They are replacing sewers and water lines, putting in curbs etc. in our little town too. We live on the very end of a dead end street. Love it traffic wise, hate it construction wise. Last time they tore up our road, we had to park about a quarter of a mile a way and walk in. Whine. Whine. Whine. Never again. This year when it starts, I'm parking the fifth wheel somewhere and moving into it!

Jannine Gallant said...

Margo, my eyes are glazing over with this round of edits, which is why I'm playing hooky on the internet at the end of each chapter. I would happily live without curbs and roadwork, both. Just saying.

Diane Burton said...

I worry about you, Jannine, Alison, & Rolynn, and everyone affected by the wildfires. The heat out west has been horrible, esp. in Phoenix (where my son lives). We're enjoying some mild weather. high 70s, low humidity. It will probably change tomorrow. LOL It's orange cone season here, too. What's worse than highway construction? The main road leading past your house is the alternate route. Congrats on the progress on Book 3. Happy Summer, everyone.

Jannine Gallant said...

I feel for you, Diane. I can sometimes avoid one section of road work by taking the locals' backstreet route. I always feel sorry for the people who live in that neighborhood!