After over four weeks of travel research with only a carry-on suitcase, we’ve landed in our winter home in lovely San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. (I’m leaving my suitcase out: in exactly two weeks we’ll be going to California for U.S. Thanksgiving with my soon-to-be 95-year-old dad and the rest of my family there.)
Today I’ll tackle getting my office set up so that I can Get To Work. It’s urgent! I’ve “the last revision” to make on The Next Novel for my wonderful editor Melissa Danaczko at Doubleday before it goes into copy and line editing. Deadline: early January, but best before if I can manage it, well knowing how little gets done over the holidays.
And also knowing that I have two Young Adult novels about Josephine’s daughter Hortense to get to work on!
We had a wonderful trip to England, France and Switzerland. One of the highlights was going to Arenenberg, Switzerland, to see Hortense’s last home and the Napoleonic museum there.
{Arenenberg, Hortense’s last home overlooking beautiful Lake Constance in Switzerland, now a wonderful museum.}
I got an enthusiastic welcome! Everyone had read the Trilogy and loved it. They sell quite a few of the German edition in their gift shop and I signed many, many copies for them.
The museum was astonishing. I got a wonderful tour from Christina Egli, Deputy to Dominik Gügel, the Director. I will have details to report on my research blog, but for now I’ll just leave you with a photo of the lovely statue of Hortense that’s in the chapel there:
Hortense is gorgeous! Sounds like you had an amazing trip – a pilgrimage of sorts, Sandra! Thanks for giving us these beautiful images.
Stephanie Bennett Vogt
http://www.spaceclear.com
Pilgrimages are the best!
Beautiful! How exciting to hear about the young adult novels, too.
I also think you’re getting younger each year. You just glow! Clearly, you’re a happy lady doing what you love. You’re very inspiring to many!
jools
Gee, Jools, that makes me feel almost spry! Very sweet of you. ???
Hi Sandra,
That is lovely statue indeed. I see you are settling in San Miguel de Allende. It seems I will be following in your footsteps as I too am planning to spend half the year in a town not too far away, which you might know too, Ajijic on Lake Chapala. In December I will be spending most of the month there this year and will make a side trip to San Miguel to explore that lovely place. Then in a couple of years I will retire from my day job, spend the cold months in Ajijic and write full time. I wonder how many publishers you queried before you got published? Any tips?
Johanna van Zanten
http://www.babyboomerwrites.com
Hi Johanna,
Ajijic is lovely!
You asked: “I wonder how many publishers you queried before you got published? Any tips?”
I’ll answer this in a blog, if you don’t mind. I think others might be interested. But in a word: MANY. And as for tips? One word again: PERSISTANCE.