Greetings, Friends,
Seems that spring made an overnight visit before summer arrived in full force in South Texas. On a recent trip to Chicago, our hosts apologized for the cool, rainy weather. We laughed, practically ready to dance in the streets just to feel the rain.

Having two books released this year has kept me busy editing. And I have been working to meet the September deadline for the second book in the Rockwater Suite which will be released next spring. So, sitting in my favorite chair to write has kept me from experiencing the parching heat.

Bill and I just returned from a beautiful trip to Europe where the weather was cool. This adventure was for work and pleasure as it afforded me an opportunity to do some research for another book in the Rockwater Suite. One needs to walk around and see, truly see, and smell the bakeries and coffee shops, and hear the sounds and walk the cobblestone streets to be able to write about them. Gretchen, the character that sent me on this eleven thousand mile journey over nine days and five countries, seemed to perch herself on my shoulder, guiding me to what I needed to experience while I was there. Our friends who accompanied us asked me on occasion if I were the one taking the trip or if it was Gretchen. 

Cathedrals and castles, narrow streets and flower-filled window boxes, the meandering Danube and terraced hillside vineyards. . . I imagined the windows and shops and the hillsides in every season of the year. Oh, did I mention the chocolate? I tried it all, and I'm in total agreement with Baron Justus von Liebig, a German chemist of days gone by, who said, "Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power. It is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits." You can tell from my pictures, food and music are two of my favorite things, and I got to experience them both on this marvelous trip. And if you read my blogs or books, you know that food and music play heavily in them as well.

After the September release of RETURN OF THE SONG will come the October release of SILENT DAYS, HOLY NIGHT. When I started to write, it was not my intention to write Christmas books, but come to think of it, what better time to write about than Christmas? And what better time to spread a bit of light and hope? That's what I get to do, and it's the best job in the world.

"Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning . . . make some light." Kate DiCamillo from THE TALE OF DESPERAUX.

I hope you'll take a moment to visit my website and noodle around. I'd love to hear from you. www.phyllisclarknichols.com
 
Phyllis