BSP warning. (You get a free pass for promotion the week a new book’s out, right? I hope so.) Well, SCOT FREE, came out on Sunday. It’s the first book I’ve written set in California and the jacket is . . . sunny, to say the least.
It’s got me thinking about egg yolks sunshine. It used to be so elusive, when I lived in Scotland. So constantly hoped for, so vanishingly unlikely, so fleeting when it did come.
We moved to California in the month of June (2010) and, every morning, Neil got up, looked outside and reported that it was a lovely day. It took to halfway through July before it occurred to either of us that it wasn’t worth a daily bulletin.
I stopped taking a cardi out with me “just in case” sometime in August, started leaving cushions on the rocking chair out on the porch, decided not to bother replacing the umbrella I’d left in the hire car on that trip to Monterey. (Yeah, I took an umbrella to Monterey.) Then, one morning in mid-September, when I noticed a little bit of water in the plastic basket under the washing line, I thought a cat had peed in it. I’d forgotten about rain. I’d forgotten about rain!
We were camped in a friend’s granny flat that first summer (thank you, most excellent Rizzos) and, as we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner outside every day, making the most of it while it lasted, we sometimes discussed how weird it was that our hosts were inside the house. What were they doing in there, wasting this glorious spell of weather?
Fast forward a couple of years to a visit from my oldest friend. (We met when we were babies, when her mum carried her across the road to meet me when I’d just been born.) One January morning, in California, Neil asked “Where’s Catherine?”. Good question. Where was Catherine? We looked all over the house. Gone. Then we spotted her sitting on a kitchen chair in the garden with her eyes closed. “What’s she doing?” I asked. Good question. What was she doing? Of course, she was doing exactly what we’d done, that first summer. She was “being outside not wasting this glorious spell of weather”. Now I understood why the Rizzos had always looked so amused.
My sister and niece and baby great-nephew are on a plane today, headed west to stay with me for two weeks. I’m ready for them. There are sunny seats under the budding mulberry tree, shady seats on the porch and evening seats just where we can watch the sun go down over the hills. And if I can’t find one of them at any point in the next fortnight, I’ll know where to look.
Congratulations on the launch of the new book. You already know how much I love it and I know that readers everywhere will be taken with Lexy.
See you soon!
Posted by: Kristopher | April 10, 2018 at 05:03 AM
I'm a CA native, so I probably don't appreciate the wonderful weather we have like I should. But I do so love our lovely weather. About this time of year, when it is sunny and warm, I want to be outside during the day soaking it up. Unfortunately, my boss seems to think I need to be inside working.
Looking forward to reading this book.
Posted by: Mark | April 10, 2018 at 08:30 AM
I’m in the midst of a great book, Scot something or other, so I’ll keep this short. I’ve lived in SF and LA, and I never left the house without a jacket. Those coast cities get cold at night, no matter how gorgeous the day. Perfect weather in my estimation.
Posted by: Ann Mason. | April 10, 2018 at 11:09 AM
Thank you, Kris, Mark and Ann. Your good wishes - before, during or after the read - mean a lot. Cx
Posted by: Catriona | April 10, 2018 at 02:43 PM
But what do you all TALK to each other about???
Look forward to reading the book :)
Posted by: Helen Taylor | April 10, 2018 at 02:43 PM
Hurray hurray hurray!!!! NEW BOOK! Tell us about the book! Or at least give us a link.
Yay! (From Boston where I saw a weird thing yesterday.. I said to Jonathan--wait, what's that on the side of the building? It was the sun.)
Posted by: Hank Phillippi Ryan | April 11, 2018 at 08:03 AM