I'm having a week that I'm pretending that there ISN'T a file in my computer called "A Wild Tiger's Heart". It's not that the characters aren't still showing me the images, nor that I'm not putting notes into a separate file to remind me of the scenes at a later time, but this is NOT the time that I want to do serious work on the project.
Why?
Because my son works nights, usually getting home from work around 2 a.m., his lovely lady is away for a ten day special assignment, and, since they can't afford such a thing as a live-in nanny for her six-year-old and their 20-month-old, Yamma is doing a lot of babysitting this week. On nights when the older child doesn't need to go to school the next morning, they're spending the night at our house - which means the children are awake later than normal because they have a hard time falling asleep in a strange place - and because I can't sleep until the children are both out for the night, that means a little sleep deprivation for yours truly.....
And because I've had some interesting editing experiences when I've written things with this much sleep deprivation in the past - or when interrupted by my husband or children in the middle of a hot and heavy scene in which whatever they came into the room saying ended up having to be taken out of the scene - I've promised myself that I won't continue the serious work until I've managed to get my synapses firing in the right order again.
In the meantime, the research has taken on a new direction with a simple status on Facebook in which I've asked any of my friends and family who've traveled to the places that Chase, Ree and Kelly are currently going to please give me their thoughts and impressions. (I only asked them for the first three destinations, so you're getting more than they did.) In the interest of giving my Constant Readers here on the blog the same opportunity, I'm going to do a little SPOILER ALERT here and ask some specific questions of any of you who live in or have traveled to the following places, where the characters are spending three weeks per country, beginning just after Christmas at the top of the list:
Ireland - specifically Derry (correction: Dublin - I told you I was tired), Cork (focusing on Blarney Castle and the Rock Close) and Belfast (celebrating New Years Day in Derry and moving south before going to Northern Ireland to transfer onward via ferry)
Scotland - Glasgow, Edinburgh (focusing on Mary King's Close) and the Isle of Skye (late January to mid February)
England - driving from Scotland to such iconic things as Stonehenge, London, and any other places of interest you think might need to be included as part of Kelly's "Bucket List" (Heathrow is featured briefly, as Kelly sends Chase and Ree back to America before continuing the trip solo in early March)
France - Kelly meets a friend in Paris, but has also hinted of some time in the countryside, so where would YOU suggest she go? (March into early April)
Italy - Rome, Capri and Venice are Kelly's top three destinations, but Kyle runs into a couple of minor issues that cause him to ask her to extend her trip by a couple of weeks. Where would you go in late April/early May if you unexpectedly had to extend your vacation?
Now, the main questions I have about such spots are:
1) What are the homes and countryside like? I've seen some photos of most of these places, but people tend to only take the most picturesque shots, so what would you note about the area NOT captured by touristy web sites?
2) Are there specific restaurants or shops that might be "off the grid" as far as the tour guides that you would recommend? We ARE talking a mother and daughter who get uncomfortable in large crowds due to being able to feel the emotions around them, so the trio would tend to want to go to less crowded spots.
3) And naturally, I'm looking for personal descriptions of some of the tourist traps. How crowded might they be in the off season period when Kelly specifically planned her trip to avoid crowds? What are the people in these places like when approached by Americans?
Thank you for any feedback you feel compelled to provide. And now if you'll excuse me, I need to brew a second pot of coffee if I'm going to make it through until 1 a.m. - or possibly later, as my son is like me and will stay late to complete any tasks before he signs out of work.......
And one last note: A MAJOR thank you to all my visitors here! I'm only 5 visits short of 1000 views as of this morning - less than a full year after starting this blog on the suggestion of some friends. The thought that there have been that many clicks on this one humble spot on the internet staggers my mind - and I will be forever grateful.
Why?
Because my son works nights, usually getting home from work around 2 a.m., his lovely lady is away for a ten day special assignment, and, since they can't afford such a thing as a live-in nanny for her six-year-old and their 20-month-old, Yamma is doing a lot of babysitting this week. On nights when the older child doesn't need to go to school the next morning, they're spending the night at our house - which means the children are awake later than normal because they have a hard time falling asleep in a strange place - and because I can't sleep until the children are both out for the night, that means a little sleep deprivation for yours truly.....
And because I've had some interesting editing experiences when I've written things with this much sleep deprivation in the past - or when interrupted by my husband or children in the middle of a hot and heavy scene in which whatever they came into the room saying ended up having to be taken out of the scene - I've promised myself that I won't continue the serious work until I've managed to get my synapses firing in the right order again.
In the meantime, the research has taken on a new direction with a simple status on Facebook in which I've asked any of my friends and family who've traveled to the places that Chase, Ree and Kelly are currently going to please give me their thoughts and impressions. (I only asked them for the first three destinations, so you're getting more than they did.) In the interest of giving my Constant Readers here on the blog the same opportunity, I'm going to do a little SPOILER ALERT here and ask some specific questions of any of you who live in or have traveled to the following places, where the characters are spending three weeks per country, beginning just after Christmas at the top of the list:
Ireland - specifically Derry (correction: Dublin - I told you I was tired), Cork (focusing on Blarney Castle and the Rock Close) and Belfast (celebrating New Years Day in Derry and moving south before going to Northern Ireland to transfer onward via ferry)
Scotland - Glasgow, Edinburgh (focusing on Mary King's Close) and the Isle of Skye (late January to mid February)
England - driving from Scotland to such iconic things as Stonehenge, London, and any other places of interest you think might need to be included as part of Kelly's "Bucket List" (Heathrow is featured briefly, as Kelly sends Chase and Ree back to America before continuing the trip solo in early March)
France - Kelly meets a friend in Paris, but has also hinted of some time in the countryside, so where would YOU suggest she go? (March into early April)
Italy - Rome, Capri and Venice are Kelly's top three destinations, but Kyle runs into a couple of minor issues that cause him to ask her to extend her trip by a couple of weeks. Where would you go in late April/early May if you unexpectedly had to extend your vacation?
Now, the main questions I have about such spots are:
1) What are the homes and countryside like? I've seen some photos of most of these places, but people tend to only take the most picturesque shots, so what would you note about the area NOT captured by touristy web sites?
2) Are there specific restaurants or shops that might be "off the grid" as far as the tour guides that you would recommend? We ARE talking a mother and daughter who get uncomfortable in large crowds due to being able to feel the emotions around them, so the trio would tend to want to go to less crowded spots.
3) And naturally, I'm looking for personal descriptions of some of the tourist traps. How crowded might they be in the off season period when Kelly specifically planned her trip to avoid crowds? What are the people in these places like when approached by Americans?
Thank you for any feedback you feel compelled to provide. And now if you'll excuse me, I need to brew a second pot of coffee if I'm going to make it through until 1 a.m. - or possibly later, as my son is like me and will stay late to complete any tasks before he signs out of work.......
And one last note: A MAJOR thank you to all my visitors here! I'm only 5 visits short of 1000 views as of this morning - less than a full year after starting this blog on the suggestion of some friends. The thought that there have been that many clicks on this one humble spot on the internet staggers my mind - and I will be forever grateful.
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