Hi ,

If you’ve opened this email right away, look to the sky and wave. I’ll be with my siblings in a plane (NOT Flight 444) somewhere between the snowy Canadian prairies and the sandy paradise of Mexico for some eagerly awaited fun in the sun.

Thus, because I’ve been so busy preparing for this trip and writing my next novel and getting my website revamped (thanks, Digital Rose Design for the dynamic new look!), I have just a couple of things to share with you this month.

First up is a recommendation for an Apple TV series my hubby and I just powered through in record time.

Long Way Up is a travel documentary that follows actor Ewan McGregor and his long-time buddy Charley Boorman on a 100-day motorcycle expedition through thirteen countries beginning at the tip of Argentina all the way up to Los Angeles, California.

That’s not even the extraordinary part.

In a bid to reduce their carbon footprint and to prove it could be done, they teamed up with Harley-Davidson to build two zero-emission prototype bikes for the express purpose of the trip, 

It was no light and breezy Sunday ride, either. The footage of the extreme weather and treacherous road conditions frequently had me burying my head in a pillow for reprieve.

On top of the physical danger was the issue of keeping the bikes sufficiently charged. Before this trip, electric-vehicle infrastructure simply didn't exist in some of the more remote areas they would be traveling through, meaning that 120 charging stations had to be installed all along the route (spoiler: there were never enough).

And it wasn’t just the bikes that needed charging.

In preparation for their eco-friendly trip, McGregor and his team turned to electric-car company Rivian for two more purpose-built vehicles—specifically, pickup trucks with the kahunas to transport the camera equipment, crew, and their personal supplies over some of the most challenging terrain on the planet. I'll never complain about the potholes in my city again.

🏍️ 🏍️

Now, if you’re like me and normally wouldn’t give a rip about 13,000-mile motorcycle adventure, it’s Ewan McGregor, folks, the most adorable—and apparently most rugged—Scotsman alive. Granted, I’d probably watch a series about him eating a sandwich, so take this for what it's worth.

That said, I have three complaints about Long Way Up:

1) Eco friendly, you say? You'll have to ignore the contradiction of them flying all the vehicles and equipment down to Argentina to begin their "environmentally sustainable" journey.

2) Editing. Even though the cinematography was stunning, I would’ve preferred to see more of the places they visited rather than the extensive drone footage of the terrain along the way. I realize they wanted to showcase the ever-changing landscape, but the editing could’ve been much tighter. That said, they did a great job of the Machu Picchu segment, and now I'm compelled to visit Peru someday, considering it's where Syd's talisman in my TimeBlink series originated.

3) The cliff-hangers in several episodes. Don’t be fooled! These pseudo cliff-hangers amounted to nothing more than a casual mention in the next episode–if they were mentioned at all. Not that I wanted to see these guys suffer, but if you're going to tease a possible disaster, you'd better deliver that disaster.

Oh! One more thing just came to mind...

4) Communication. One of the first episodes showed the team learning some basic Spanish, but on the trip they largely relied on their translation apps and local producers who joined them for various legs of the journey. Call me old fashioned, but if I knew was about to spend three months in Latin America, I'd be motivated to learn how to ask someone their name and how they were doing. (Says the high and mighty Canadian with a handful of beginner Spanish courses under her belt and an on-and-off relationship with Duolingo...still not confident, but trying at least!).

Okay, rant over.

So, if you can overlook a few minor flaws, you’ll probably really enjoy this series, which, incidentally, is the third adventure-doc for these guys. I'd like to watch their previous two, Long Way Round (a trip around the world) and Long Way Down (mostly Africa), which were shot in 2004 and 2007 respectively.

Please share your thoughts if you do end up watching any of them. I reply to all subscriber mail.

Which brings me to the second part of this email.

To prove that I in fact do respond to my readers’ questions and comments, I wanted to share this lovely, encouraging email I received from Edith C. recently:

"I am a big fan of time travel series. The whole idea of slipping out of the present and into the past or future fascinates me. And now I have discovered the TimeBlink books and eagerly await book number three. Loved the ending of book two. Any idea when the further adventures of Syd and Morley might be ready for publication? I wish you continued success in your writing career."

Oh, my heart! There is nothing more motivating than a reader asking about my next book.

I told Edith that I'd planned to have TimeBlink: Dragonfly ready for launch this summer but that I’d stumbled on a plot hole that set me back a few weeks. Fortunately, it was an easy fix. I've heard stories from fellow writers who had to completely abandon their works-in-progress due to irreparable plot blunders.

So, if the stars align and I don’t encounter any more pitfalls, I would love to bring you Dragonfly this summer as planned, though it's looking more like late summer now. Stay tuned for further updates.

And thanks again to Edith for reminding me what this big, crazy writing adventure is all about! 🥰

Thrilling reads that will keep you turning pages.
Click images for details.

Thanks for spending time with me today, . I appreciate your interest in my work.

To ensure you don't miss any future updates, click here for Whitelisting Instructions. This quick and easy step will help direct my emails to your inbox instead of your promotions tab.