I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
One of my favorite places on my trip was wandering the grounds of Lord Byron’s estate, Newstead Abbey. It was amazing! The grounds are very extensive but also there’s a real sense of peace there. I would love to live on the grounds and wander around with my laptop to write in various places of the estate. I’m so glad my friend, author Liz Babbs , took me here. The grounds aren’t as extensive as Chatsworth, but Newstead Abbey had by far my favorite grounds and gardens on my trip. I couldn’t go inside the abbey because the house wasn’t open on the day I visited--it’s only open one day a week to visitors. I’d love to go back to England to go inside the abbey, too, and also revisit the grounds. There’s a little information about Newstead Abbey here on wikipedia and here’s the official website of Newstead Abbey , which is owned by the city of Nottingham. If I ever become a famous New York Times bestselling author, I am totally buying a flat or condo on the Newstead Abbey grounds! ...