It’s funny how the places you imagine are, in reality, so much like the place where you live. What I mean by this is that I had always envisioned the state of New York to be this big, urban expanse and I really hadn’t thought that there would be parts of the state that looked so much like my hometown.

I recently visited the city of Waterville, NY to present one of my Tea & Mystery discussions at their public library. As usual, the presentation went well and I met some very nice people there. I was surprised that the scenery didn’t actually change between where I live in Ohio and there. In fact, had I not missed my daughter so much, I wouldn’t have even known I’d left town. Although the foliage is beautiful this time of year, after about three or four hundred miles of the same landscape, you start to wonder if you’re actually moving forward. The drive did give me a chance to start working on my next Rona Shively novel. I got my first three chapters drafted on the way to Waterville.

I’ve always loved visiting new places and this road trip proved to be all too short. Since I recently started a new job, I wasn’t able to stay as long as I would have liked to check out the rest of the area. Perhaps next time I’ll have a couple of days to spare. Until then, I’ll just have to look at my own trees.

If your library would like to have me come out and do a Tea & Mystery presentation, please contact me here. I’m still booking these events and would love to visit as many libraries across the United States as possible.

Until next time…

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