Bumps and Thumps in the Night

So, we're at the lake house ... again. I hope you don't mind me mentioning my new "toy." I'm a bit obsessed, trying to get the house ready for Christmas company. Here's a photo from this morning, facing west, about a half hour after sunrise.

The thing is, we've lived in the same house in Richardson, TX for 32 years. Now we've owned this place only five weeks and I've been here about seven times, some visits for the day only. I haven't gotten accustomed to it yet. There are different sounds to the blowing of the heating and air conditioning, the dull, slight roar of the hot tub, the steady hum of the heater on the porch. The mattresses are different and the furniture makes one pause when navigating in the middle of the night. The upstairs ceiling slopes and if you're not careful, you'll bang your head hard enough to see stars. And not those endless stars in the night sky outside, without the city lights.

These differences seemed minor at first, but this morning, I started to realize that they are shaking up my creativity. (At least, I think they are; we'll have to see when I write the next book.) I've started whole new "what if" scenarios in my head. My imagination runs amok when I hear noises in the night. While soundly sleeping I swear I felt the bed frame get bumped. Two night ago I thought I heard my car door open and close, but of course, no one was outside and the car was locked. Last night there was a mysterious low beeping noise coming from downstairs. I couldn't locate it or see any blinking lights, like a fire alarm battery going bad or some small appliance left on too long. When I finally turned on the overhead light, the beeping stopped. I still have no idea where that sound was coming from, but I'm fairly sure I'll hear it again.

Is my lake house haunted? I don't think so, but I can see where people come up with the idea that a house could contain mischievious or evil spirits. Since I've written paranormal romances before, I can certainly imagine all types of situations where my heroine (or hero) might feel irritated or in danger. I never felt that way in my own familiar home in the city, where the concrete slab doesn't shift and there are no footsteps overhead. (Just the occasional raccoon or cat running across the roof, taking a shortcut from one food dish to another.) In the city there are no pine cones falling from the huge tree outside, landing on the deck or roof, and there are no birds that sound like strange creatures wailing.

I went into the city of Mineola a few days ago, right around sunset. Many of the businesses were closing for the day. The darkening clear blue sky still held an orange glow. Christmas music played from speakers along the main street. Twinkling lights and decorated trees glowed warm in the flower shop nearby. All this atmosphere, and yet, I saw no other people around me for several minutes. I was only one street away from Broad, which is also US 80, but no car doors slammed or tires hummed on the pavement. I felt almost as if I were in a episode of "Twilight Zone," for those of us old enough to remember that series. I experienced a vivid reminder of how my heroine might feel when she arrives in Brody's Crossing, searching for her family.

So, I'm embracing these new experiences as much as I'm loving the lake and the trees. I think they will make me a better writer. At least, I hope they will. You'll have to let me know when the book finally comes out in 2011, tentatively titled Texan in Her Heart. I'll start writing it after Christmas. Have a very happy holiday. I hope you find joy in simple things and experience all the warmth of the season. I'll post a new recipe on January 4th, and when I do my next blog, I'll be well into the book and will probably have more updates from the lake. Best wishes for a wonderful new year!

Things I'm Learning in Mineola, TX

Good morning from Lake Holbrook, where the weather has finally cleared. We've had rain and drizzle for several days, keeping us indoors and keeping some furniture deliveries away. We moved into the lake house last weekend and now we're looking forward to Thanksgiving here next week. Happy holidays to you and your family wherever you are spending turkey day. It is my most fervent wish that you do not spend the holiday at an airport!

I wanted to share a few things I've learned over the past two weeks. Keeping in mind that I'm a city girl and I only had what other people told me and my experience at our primary house, I was a little surprised.

1. If local people tell you they'll be here, they'll be here. (People from other communities may not be so reliable.) If they tell you they'll be here at 9:00 a.m., be ready at 8:00; they may well be early.
2. Give away plenty of autographed books, especially if the person you are giving them to has some knowledge of the area where they are set. Almost everyone is from someplace else.
3. Do not expect city amenities at restaurants, and do not expect to find a nice bar where you can go for a glass of wine with friends. If the VFW doesn't serve it, it doesn't get served.
4. Expect lots of stories about the origins of things and the histories of neighbors. This may not necessarily match the other histories you've heard or the legal records you've seen.
5. If they don't sell it at Wal-Mart, you probably aren't going to get it (new.)
6. Don't expect to go shopping anywhere but Wal-Mart after 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.
7. Don't expect to go out to a restaurant with dim lighting except on Friday or Saturday night, if then.
8. Ask if people will deliver large purchases, especially after explaining that you do no own a pick up truck. (Expect some looks of pity or disbelief.)
9. If something needs to be done, you can probably find someone's brother, cousin, neighbor or friend who will do it gladly for a reasonable price (unlike in a large city, where apparently no one really needs to work.)
And finally, on a personal note ...
10. Carefully consider what you need to take upstairs and what you need to retrieve from upstairs before running up and down the steps a dozen times in a row. At some point, you will lose the desire for mascara, clean socks and that magazine you were reading.

Happy Thanksgiving! Have a great week.

Victoria

Small Town Here We Come!

After living in large cities all my life, I'm finally going to be a small town girl! We look the plunge and bought a lake house in Mineola, Texas, which is about an hour and a half from Dallas. The house we found is a Victorian farmhouse style, two story home on Lake Holbrooke. Yes, it's peach, but it kind of works! Even my husband likes the color. There are big trees all around it. The house looks old, but it was built in 1994 and is modern where it counts - central A/C!

Living in Mineola, at least on the weekends, will be a real treat for me. It was one of the first places I visited when I was going to set a book (The Bachelor Project, HAR#844, Sept 2000) in a fictional small town. As program director of Dallas Area Romance Authors, I organized retreats to a wonderful bed and breakfast there in Mineola. We would sit out on the second floor balcony and talk writing (and maybe drink some wine) until we were all so sleepy we couldn't keep our eyes open. We usually went during the Iron Horse Fall Festival, the first weekend in November. The weather was cool and crisp and I think everyone had a great time. For me, though, the small town atmosphere of parades, local restaurants and stores, families and friends, really made an impression. I interviewed the chief of police in Mineola to get a feeling for law enforcement in a more rural area. Mineola had about 5000 people then and 5600 now.

The kitchen in the lake house is so cute. There are white cabinets with glass fronts, curtains instead of bottom cabinet doors, a gas stove (I haven't cooked on gas since 1971!) and a screen door that goes out to the back porch. The porch stretches the entire back of the house and is one of my favorite features. I can imagine sitting out there, much like we used to sit on the balcony of the B & B. I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at the lake. It's just beautiful. We went there on Sunday and the water just glistened from the autumn sunlight. There is a small dock for fishing or to tie up a boat, which we don't have. My son-in-law is in charge of getting a boat! My husband and I know nothing about boats. But then, I don't know a lot about country living, either, and I'm willing to learn. Maybe I'll turn into a small town girl yet. After all, Mineola does have at least one coffee shop that sells books, and I'll bet I can order up some good local gossip with my latte.