
Our Travel Route. We arrive in Madrid and depart from Lisbon.
Let this be said about Pat Potter. She is an intrepid woman. Precisely a year ago, we were cruising the Adriatic along the Dalmatian Coast. I had booked the trip for myself, and when she learned about it, she immediately signed onto join me. We had a fabulous time.
Since then, except for a writers conference in St. Petersburg (Florida, not Russia) I have been precisely nowhere. Pat the Overachiever has taken two more trips with Grand Circle Travel, which places her among the members of The Inner Circle. She loses no opportunity to remind me of that. I, on the other hand, am a member of The Outer Fringes, meaning A Travel Slacker. But I’m on my way to improving my credentials with a trip to Spain and Portugal. Not that it will help me catch up with Ms. Inner Circle. She’s coming with me.
This is truly an impulse trip. A week ago today, we were on the phone considering where we might want to go in 1012. The early spring Italy trips were already sold out, and we’d sorta settled on a Danube River Cruise. But the next morning, I proposed Spain and Portugal, and she was all over it like a dog on a bone. By the afternoon, we’d booked and paid for an early March departure.

The Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid. We'll have a couple days to explore this remarkable city.
I do know a little Spanish. I can say please and thank you, “where is the toilet?” and “what is your name?” Also “please speak more slowly.” I can order beer, tacos, churros, sangria, and a margarita without salt. What more do I need?

A wonderfully historical town perched on a hill that's mostly surrounded by water.

The interior of a centuries-old mosque in Cordoba.
For centuries, much of Spain was occupied by the Moors, and their legacy is to be seen in wonderful mosques and palaces. The Romans were there as well and, master-builders that they were, created stone aqueducts to carry water along the sometimes arid landscapes of the country. Many are still there, strong and firm and beautiful. I can’t wait to see all these wondrous places.
As if the mad rush to choose and arrange a trip weren’t enough to make 2012 shine for me, I received other good news as well. My new publisher, Bell Bridge Books, has scheduled the re-release of my own favorite books. Starting in July, the “Big Cat” trilogy (The Golden Leopard, Heart of the Tiger, and The Silver Lion) will prowl the reading world yet again as e-books and in trade paperback (the “large” paperbacks). I am very excited about having these books available again.
But wait, there’s more! The publisher wants me to write the third book of my unfinished “Dangerous” trilogy, abandoned by my previous publisher. I had decided to write it anyway and self-publish if need be, but now I know it has a home. And!! As I began plotting the story several weeks ago, I decided the main characters, an estranged duke and duchess, would go together to the place where the duke’s brother was killed under mysterious circumstances.That mystery is at the core of the trilogy, so high drama will ensue.
You’ve already guessed! Or knew, if you read the first two books. Yup, they are going to Spain! A chance to do on-site research is a gift for any writer, and I am sooo grateful.
Sometimes the stars align. Sometimes, good things gather themselves and shower down on us. Not real often for most of us, but when it happens, it is truly glorious. Even Thea, my wonderful friend and cat-tender, will be in town to make sure Lymond is fed and petted and scooped-up after. It’s not a glamorous job, so I’m really lucky that she volunteers to do take it on.
This has been a really good week. Here’s hoping we all have a terrific 2012!