SUMMER'S END

We sat out on our balcony yesterday evening, enjoying our dinner and watching the sunset with a glass of wine.  Often quite beautiful from our cottage, the sunset last night was unusually spectacular...

It was the last evening of our summer in Laguna Beach.  Today, we pack our things and head back up the freeway to Los Angeles.  The sunsets there from our west-facing deck can be equally spectacular, but I'll be sad to leave this quiet corner of a small town that feels once more, now that the tourists have departed, like a community.

I'm grateful for the summer retreat, which allowed me to revisit the novel I have been working on and get it ready for publication.  I had printed out a hard copy before leaving Los Angeles in July, anticipating no more than a quick read-through to spot minor typographical errors, along with a few inconsistencies and repetitions.  Once here, I discovered that the job was much bigger than I had imagined, and spent the better part of my time reworking it in several important ways.  I think it's much better as a result.  I sent it off for proof-reading at the beginning of last week, and by the end of the week I had it back in my hands for the fast final edit.  Friday, the last "working day" of the summer, I sent it off to a friend who designs books professionally, in order to begin the publication process.  This coming week, in Los Angeles, I'll be starting to plan out a strategy for release and distribution.

So there's much to look forward to in the fall, including a week-long visit to New York in October.  Still, I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic already for Laguna...