Hi friends,
I’m so excited to be guest blogging and spending the rest of the year with you. For those who aren’t familiar with me, I thought I’d share a little about myself before I jump into this post’s focus. My husband and I just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. Here’s a picture of Mike and me at Topsail Beach in North Carolina.
We spend a couple weeks each summer visiting there, and today’s post will be about my writing and the inspiration I find at the beach, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
We have two grown daughters, a wonderful son-in-law, and two adorable grandsons—affectionally known as Little Man and Little Dude, though Little Man isn’t so little anymore. They grow up so fast…
My older daughter is about to enter a Ph.D. program in neuro or bioinformatics (don’t ask me—I’m the history and English buff in the family. My hubby is the math/science guy). My younger daughter is majoring in Marketing (and adores history and creative writing like me).
We live just outside of Baltimore, which has a wide variety of rich, cultural neighborhoods such as Little Italy and Greektown. It also has Fells Point, which is where my Chesapeake Valor series take place.
I’ve been writing for 15 years and published for 6. Yep, I wrote for 7 years before I signed my first contract on my third manuscript, which became my debt novel—Submerged about the McKenna family’s adventures in rugged, coastal Alaska.
Now, I mentioned this post was about the beach, which is far from the cold Alaskan Waters, thankfully for swimming. Currently we are in Topsail, NC where I’m working on finishing up the first book in my upcoming Coastal Guardian series.
I find the beach such a soothing place to write. Being so close to God’s majestic creation just sends waves of inspiration rolling over me. I write about four times faster at the beach. Must be the feel of my toes buried in the granular sand with the rhythmic sound of waves crashing a few feet from me. Here’s a short clip so you can get a glimpse of my happy place.
Your turn:
I’d love to know where your happy writing or reading spot is?
If you could be anywhere either writing or reading a book, where would you choose to be?
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Hey Dani,
So I did not mind reading at the beach but she end most days my beach time supervising my children. My favorite place to be is in the mountains. I have such a clear sense of God’s majesty there and that inspires me.
That said, parenting life means I’m probably most productive at a soft play place we use in a nearby town. The youngest bounces and slides and I type!
Thanks so much for stopping by! The mountains are so inspiring too! I’m so glad that you also found a great place where you can be productive while your youngest has a fun time, so smart!
So great to have you blogging here, Dani! I loved getting to “meet” your beautiful family. I hope you’re safe in Topsail! That hurricane sounds terrifying, so prayers for all in its path!
My favorite reading and writing spot is the back deck at our house. It feels like I’m perched in a tree house out there, and even though we have neighbors on either side, the all the trees, a big market umbrella, and strategically placed flowerpots make it a private haven where I can listen to the birds sing, and watch the geese and ducks that come up from the ponds and creek behind us.
Deborah, Thanks so much for your concern. We were evacuated but found another great spot to spend the week while I write, write, write!
Welcome Dani. I’m looking forward to reading your blogs and getting to know you better. I also love the beach, in all seasons. I live a short walk from Lake Michigan and go there often to relax.
Thanks for your comment Lynn, I’ve heard Lake Michigan is beautiful!
Hooray! I’m so pleased that you’ll be blogging here through the remainder of 2018. Welcome, Dani!
My happiest writing spot: outdoors, in beautiful weather, with a view of any kind. I try to approximate that setting the best I can when I’m at home. I write as near as I can get to the windows. Or in my backyard. 🙂
Thanks Becky! I’m so thrilled to have been invited to join you and the other great authors here. 🙂
Yay! So excited to have you join us, Dani! Loved seeing the family pics. I’m more of a mountain than a beach girl, but I’m a bit of a homebody, too, so my happy place would have to be sitting around a card table playing board games with all my family. Now that two of the three are off at college, those times where we are all together are even more rare and precious.
Hey Karen,
Those moments are so special! Sending hugs your way.
So happy to see you on this blog, Dani. It’s Amy from CFRR 🙂 Thank you for giving us a peek into your family life and sharing pictures of them. They are all so lovely and those grandboys are A.Dor.Able! I’m in 100% agreement with you about the beach being inspirational. It’s my favorite place to read with my toes in the sand, sound of the waves and the never ending horizon. Can’t wait to get back there in October. Hoping you aren’t in the path of the Florence. We readers need you safe! Look forward to more blogs from you.
Hey Amy! So good to ‘see’ you here. Hope you’re doing well. Yep. We’re safe. We were evacuated and have relocated to Williamsburg where I”m busy writing away.
Welcome, Dani! So good to have you here! My happy place is anywhere I can read undisturbed–mountains, beach, doesn’t much matter.
I know what you mean about not understand what those science daughters do! Mine is almost done with her PhD in experimental pathology. I’ve tried to read the papers and articles she writes, but it’s like a different language to this history and literature girl!
Hey Anne,
So excited to be part of this blog you awesome ladies have going! Thank so much to you all for the invitation.
Wow. That’s impressive, and it would definitely be a different language to me too. LOL!
Ah, the beach/shore is my happy place also! We are fortunate enough to live about 15 minutes from the South Jersey Shore, and I wouldn’t live anywhere else for all the money in the world. Just makes my heart happy!
There is just something about being by the water! I completely understand!
I would be on the beach reading, unfortunately, here in Florida, the west coast from Sarastota to St. Petersburg is dealing with Red Tide.
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with red tide in Florida, I’ve heard it can be such a headache. Hoping it clears soon so you can go back to enjoying your favorite spot.
Dear Dani,
So do I.
Unfortunately, I have respiratory problems and have to stay away, or spend my time at the beach in the hospital.
Even those people who don’t have problems can’t stand to be out on the beach.
Usually, Red Tide, comes and goes. This time it has stayed and has since March of this year.
Thanks for responding to my question.
I like to be warm so in the summer, probably the beach or and enclosed porch and in the winter curled up by the fire.
Curled up by the fire sounds lovely too, Naomi!
Hi Dani,
Thank you for sharing about your family. I’m a huge fan and your books, especially the Alaskan series, has been a huge inspiration for me in my own writing. They help me to get unstuck. We live in VT and really, when I sit down in my house and just listen to the silence, I can write and write for hours and days without interruption. It’s when I have to get on the Internet, cook dinner, interact with my family (the horror, right) it’s when the writing stops for a while. It makes me kind of cranky, to tell you the truth.
Awww. Thanks so much, Anne. I appreciate you stopping by. I know. It’s so easy to get distracted. The internet is a big one for me and just noise in general. I need silence as well to really get in the flow and concentrate.
Hi Dani, it was fun to learn a little more about you and your books. That was fun to hear you have a series set in Fells Point, Baltimore. My son and his family live there and are planting Haven City Church there. They just started a few months ago.
https://www.baltimorechurch.com/
Oh, wow. That is so cool. We live near Fells and visit there often. Hope his church plant goes wonderful and they are able to reach a lot of people. Hugs!
I pray you are at home now. NC is no place to be.
I enjoyed about your family and the time you were at the beach.
Grandchildren are wonderful. Now I have a 20 month old
great granddaughter. I call her mamaw’s pretty girl, she has
set my world awhirl, she is mamaw’s sweetie pie, she is the
apple of my eye. She calls herself dancing, when I sing it to her. lol
Your grandsons are so precious. I know exactly how you feel.
The red woods on Eel River in Northern California. It’s one of the most beautiful spots in all of CA. It’s so green, and the huge redwoods remind me of God’s grandeur. It’s just wonderful!
I can and will read anywhere… but I just spent two weeks (also in NC) reading by the pool and by the ocean. I think the sound of water helps draw me into a book somehow… sitting by water in the warmer months and by a fire in the cooler months!