It was the best week of my life!

No, I didn't sail around Greece on a yacht,

I didn't spend it at a fitness camp finally losing that last pesky ten pounds, 

and I didn't win a lifetime supply of Milk Duds.

I spent an entire seven days in a hotel room

WRITING EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

When I first started writing, my husband got lonely. He was used to spending his evenings with me watching our favorite TV shows - we're major TV addicts! But once I discovered my writing passion, I began locking myself in my office every night after dinner. Sometimes I wouldn't emerge until the sun came up the next morning.

One night he apparently got tired of watching NCIS: Los Angeles by himself and showed up in my office. "How you can stay up here every night all by yourself? Don't you get bored?"
 
"I'm not alone," I responded. "I'm with all my friends!"

And that's exactly how I felt for seven days while holed up in a hotel room finishing my second Niki Brooks mystery, Beach House. I played with Niki and Rico every day and I created new friends who will be introduced in Beach House.

I accompanied my daughter to LA while she attended a week-long prep class for attending law school, planning to use the time she spent in class all day, as uninterrupted writing time. Our daily routine was about as perfect as I could imagine: we got up at seven, had breakfast, walked to my daughter's classroom on the gorgeous USC campus, I would then clock 6,000-7,000 more steps walking campus for another hour, before returning to the room to write, write and write some more!

 

I'm sure the maid thought I was nuts as she cleaned around me every morning, listening to me laugh and giggle while I frantically pounded on my computer keyboard, knowing there was no one else in the room. She never did ask me what I was doing every day and I never offered. I did, however, leave her an autographed copy of my first book the morning I checked out - along with a cash tip.

I averaged about 7,500 words a day which I had never done before - simply because I had never had that kind of time available before! The ideas flowed freely and constantly. The advantage of being able to shut out real life for seven days made all the difference.

While that is not possible very often, I will now make every effort to spend a week-long writing retreat by myself at least once a year! Well, I won't ever be all by myself. I can take my friends along with me whenever and wherever I go!!

Stay tuned for the unveiling of the first chapter of Beach House!