Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone and summer is here. And here in Las Vegas, that means a very hot summer. Thinking about that gets me to thinking about what I want to do this summer.

When I was writing fiction full-time, some of my writing friends who were moms were busy taking their kids to the pool, the beach, and other fun summer activities. I was so envious – they had excuses to get out and have some fun and there I was sitting in my office writing away just like I did any time of year.

So starting with the summer of 2015, I decided to change it up and give myself a summer vacation. I read outside on the chaise lounge chair, took a dip, went for long walks, ate picnic food, listened to music, watched General  Hospital, spent weekends at the beach, cruised to Mexico (where I was inspired to write “Palm Fever”) and tried my best to stay off the internet – at least, for long periods of time.

This year I’m going to continue this. I just returned from another cruise to Mexico and I’d like to keep up the moment. So to start with, I’ve created a “Summer of 2016” playlist of 5 of my original songs (see playlist in sidebar). These are either about the beach or drinks or bad boys or cruising to Mexico.

I’ve also uploaded a few of my songs to YouTube for the “Summer of 2016 Tour” – you can check out the Stories Behind the Songs.

And, If you’re in the mood for a fun beach read, check out my first published novel, Real Women Wear Red, set on a Caribbean cruise, followed by the sequel Real Women Sing the Blues set on a cruise to Hawaii.

There’s also The Tom Jones Club set in Las Vegas, just to name a few of my novels.

But if you prepare short stories or novellas, well, check out my other titles such as  Cougars in Cabo, Viva Las Vegas or Dear Kitten.

Screamie Birds may be out on tour, but I’m keeping cool, doing a little writing counting down to my next cruise.

Have a great summer!