Hi all!

First of all, I wanted to let you know that Tracking the Tempest has already been spotted in the wild, in a Borders in North Carolina! So at least one person has read it out there. 😉

In the meantime, for those waiting, I’ve done an interview with Tynga’s Reviews, replete with a giveaway for a copy of Tempest Rising. And don’t forget you can always email me at iheartselkies(at)gmail(dot)com for signed bookplates for either or both books.

I’m writing this from O’Hare, again. I’m flying out to Pittsburgh to look for a place to live as well as take part in my first MFA residency at Seton Hill. It feels as if we just left O’Hare as we just returned from Maine, and what an amazing trip! I went with my mom, Rella; my former English teacher, Mrs. Bunch; and a very good friend, Loren. I liked to think of it as an intergenerational girls gone wild trip. Here are the ladies, all lined up!

Our first port of call was Eastport, which you may remember from the books. It’s right on the Old Sow, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

We stayed at a lovely little Bed and Breakfast, called Chadbourne House. The owners were lovely, the house was lovely, and the breakfasts were to die for:

It was super fun being in Eastport, not least because the Old Sow is a huge presence–at least in the town, itself.

Both of the above pictures were taken at a fantastic restaurant, right on the water in Eastport, that sports its own Old Sow pub. We at there the first night, and the first of many, many lobsters was consumed:

Although this lobster, in St. Andrew, nearly ate us . . .

While in Eastport, we wandered around, taking pictures. The town itself is very small, but gorgeous:

And I found the perfect representative of the sort of building that might house Iris’s shop:

And here’s a picture of the Sow! Unfortunately, you can’t see diddly. The Sow is only visible for moments, when the tide is just right. And even then, you’re probably only seeing her piglets. But underneath that apparently placid water, she’s raging away, waiting to tear up any passing boats.

As stated earlier, we were also wicked international on this trip. One day, we drove up to St. Andrew, a Canadian vacation spot. It was absolutely adorable:

After which we visited two of my favorite friends in the whole world: The Honorable Dr. Reverend Andrew O’Neill and his gorgeous wife, Jenny. They made us dinner and made us welcome, and I can’t tell you how much I love these two. They’re some of the most intelligent, generous, open-minded, and hilarious people I know.

They also have a baby who is such a nugget even I had to give a wee coo. Here he is practicing his bounce:

From St. Andrew, we brought him a stuffed toy of a beaver or, as I introduced it, “Baby’s First Beaver.”

We all had an inappropriate giggle, and then had a gorgeous dinner.

We were only in Eastport for two days, then we went to Bar Harbor, which I’ll blog separately.

But I would highly, highly recommend a trip to Eastport if you’re in Maine. The people are awesome–we may have gotten a little drunk with the locals one night–and the scenery is just to die for. I always have insane fantasies of summer homes. Pretty much every time I visit somewhere I’m like, “OMG I’m gonna buy a summer home here.” It’s usually completely inappropriate (if gorgeous) places like Istanbul or Barcelona. But I’m serious about the summer home in Maine thing. The temperature and the weather were just so beautiful after growing up in the torturous heat of the Midwestern summer, on top of everything else that made the place lovely.

So who knows, Maine might get another writer, one of these days. At least for the summers. 😉

All rightie, I gotta go find something to gnaw on during my flight to Pittsburgh. Wish me luck finding a place to live! In a city again, finally! SO EXCITING!