I am writing this from Punta Cana in the Dominican republic, where I have come for a few days of vacation with what I think of as my "German family"...my daughter-in-law (my son's widow), Margret; her partner, Jürgen; and my 18-year-old granddaughter, Nadine. If you live in Germany...which has had a hard winter this year...you really welcome a warm beach by April. And we have certainly found that here.

Here are Margret and Nadine at the beach yesterday. This morning Margret is by the pool; Nadine and Jürgen are off snorkeling; and me..I am at my laptop, and actually, amazingly, working! On a new Gooney Bird book...the month is March, now in her second grade classroom. I had not intended to work during this vacation...but the room is air conditioned..the weather is hot outside...I can only take so much sun....and it is quite comfy in here feeling slightly productive. Nadine is a good roommate...she reads instead of watching TV!...we realized this morning that we have not turned the TV on since we got here.

It is particularly fun to start a new book in a series because you already know the characters (though it is usually a good idea to introduce a new one, or two) and at its best it is like moving back in with a familiar family.  Then, of course, you have to set a plot in motion; that's what I have been doing this morning. And for the first time I am using a formatting program called "SCRIVENER"...this is a test run for me and I have not figured out all the ins and outs...but so far, I like it.

Next weekend I will be headed to Spokane, for a conference called GET LIT! And the last weekend in April, in Minneapolis/St Paul for THE GIVER opera.

One more photo:

Me and my roomie.