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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Our trip to Sonoma

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.18.2008

A few weekends ago, Captain Caffeine's parents and my parents flew into San Jose. We took them to Sonoma to two of our favorite wineries.

Update: I set my romantic suspense, Deadly Intent, in Sonoma and based the architecture of the Joy Luck Life day spa on the Kendall Jackson winery building below!

Our first stop was the Kendall Jackson winery. They have the most gorgeous gardens!

Here's my father in law making friends with a statue.

More gardens
A closer view of the building

Inside the tasting room

Some wine grapes


Next stop was Rodney Strong winery. They have a Reserve Zinfandel that I absolutely adore.


Dad and I drink, but my mom and my in laws do not. However, everyone enjoyed the day. Both wineries have non-wine things to buy like sauces, oils, and vinegars, so my mom and mother in law bought some interesting things. My in laws also enjoyed walking around the wineries and gardens.

And Captain Caffeine? Poor guy deserves a medal because he was the designated driver.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Boy, with all your traveling, I'm living vicariously through your pictures! It's nice that you share this with your readers. So many authors feel so distant. Thanks for this. Have a great day!
Mon Aug 18, 07:12:00 AM 2008
Camy Tang said…
Thanks so much, Sheri!
Camy
Mon Aug 18, 09:40:00 AM 2008
lace said…
Very beautiful grounds. I'd go just for that.
Wed Aug 20, 07:47:00 PM 2008
Danica Favorite said…
That looks more fun than the alpacas. Can we do that?
Tue Jul 28, 02:30:00 PM 2009
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