I'LL FLY AWAY

SIEZE THE MOMENT--WRITING ON A CRUISE SHIP OR ON AN AIRPLANE 

            On a recent cruise to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cozumel, I spent several days on the seas. There were many opportunities for entertainment, listening to music, gambling, dancing, eating, miniature golfing, swimming--but there was also time to sit at a window or on a deck chair looking out at the ocean and writing. (My friend, Margaret Carson, a artist, used the same time to create lovely water color paintings.) This is also a good way to meet people and talk about our work.

       The flight from New York to San Francisco takes over six hours. It's a trip I take several times a year to see my family. I could sleep or watch a movie and I might take a break to do that, but I've found that being trapped in an airplane seat for those hours is very good for focusing my mind on my current writing project. 

       On my last flight I sat next to a young father with a three- year-old boy who was adorable with big blue eyes and a sweet grin, but also very rambunctious. The father leaned over to apologize for his son's activity and then noticed that I was writing. 

      "You're writing a novel?" he asked. "What genre?" I confessed that I was writing a mystery. He launched into a detailed report of the various mystery writers whose books he and his wife enjoyed. I gave him my card and he promised to give it to his wife (who was sitting several seats ahead with their baby) who later contacted me. I gained a new reader and a great review on Amazon.

So I'm ready to fly--my computer is packed. I hope my muse will be flying along with me.