I took the summer off.

I did.

And you know what? It was a wise choice, although not one I made deliberately.

I started a new job (subbing) in April, re-released a book in June, all the while working my way out of a (painful) writing freeze probably due to stress.

I was, indeed, stressed. New job. The search for a good school for my boy. Stumbling my way into a new (loved) genre only to find it destabilizing to the point where I had to go back and start re-studying the basics of writing. Structure, pacing, and all the things I took for granted in my comfy contemporary suspense home.

Then the end of the school year hit.

My husband and I decided to keep our 5-year-old boy at home, no camps, no childcare, nothing. It’s his last summer as a small kid and we wanted to simply wait it out together. We also wanted him to feel the change, live it with all the wonder and the expectation a little boy has toward the Big Kids School. Silly things like driving to the new school, or shopping for supplies, or just take some time to fantasize together about all the things he will learn. Getting bored.

Basically, and I can see that now that we’re over the midpoint, I wanted time with him. The last stretch of an era where he’s mine only. He won’t be my little boy anymore coming August, not in the same way he’s been up to now. School will turn my little boy into a big boy and if he will always need me, he won’t need me in the same way.

But all that meant zero writing.

Like, nothing.

Does it give me anxiety, thinking about the day when I’ll sit at the desk, in less than a month, and reopen all those files?

Yessir.

And yet…

I needed that. I needed a pause. Not to forget everything, but to let settle what I’ve learned. Surely, to let clear all the dust my anxiety kicked up while I was frantically looking for my way back.

So here I am, with nothing accomplished other than being a bit more peaceful.

Next month I’ll restart brand new. “Whatever happens, happens” to use my buddy Jake Owen’s words (Beachin’).

I guess I’ll see you guys in a few weeks when I’ll start going around as a blog guest, writing, and generally resurface from this Summer Bubble.

Until then, good tanning, my friends!

Blurb: Guns For Angels

Ann
My sister was all the family I had. She was taken from me and now, someone wants me dead, too. Not sure why. I’m sure I’m not going to give my life up, though. I’m not going to let them get away with my sister’s murder. The new me will try, anyway. You see, when she was alive I could live in brightness and peace. Now I have to accept the darkness within me. After all, isn’t life about balance? Ironically, the man who can teach me how to embrace the shadows is broken, hopeless, and angry. Mark is also the only one I trust to lead me through my heart’s night, and back into the light. The one I trust to keep us alive.

Mark
A favor to a teammate: pick up two girls in trouble, take them to the Team’s safehouse. Should have been easy. It was not. Then someone killed one of my team, one of my brothers. Now it’s personal.
They want me, too. They want me, too. I can deal with that. But they want Ann. The only person who cut through me, who woke me, who grabbed my hand and guided me back into life one smile at the time. I’ll be damned if I let them have anything. Not. One. Damned. Thing.

From NY to sunny Miami, Ann and Mark run into a maze of lie, betrayal, and death, where love is the only, terrifying certainty. And when truth unravels, they will have to risk all to survive.

Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RYY569C

About the Author:

Beach bum and country music addicted, Viviana lives in a small Floridian town with her husband and her son, her die-hard fans and personal cheer squad. She spends her days between typing on her beloved keyboard, playing in the pool with her boy, and eating whatever her husband puts on her plate (the guy is that good, and she really loves eating). Besides beaching, she enjoys long walks, horse-riding, hiking, and pretty much whatever she can do outside with her family.

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