April In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Coloring = procrastination + creativity; (2) Exactly how big is an 8.5 x 5.5 paperback book?; (3) Dave from s/v Toucan showing off his grilling skills; (4) Dave and Linda from m/v Lady Gus patiently waiting for the towboat at the St. Lucie Lock; (5) the Boat US towboat to the rescue; and (6) our new-to-us bikes.

To be honest, there isn't too much interesting to report about last month. I was pretty much focused on getting >>Murder at the Marina<< ready for publication. While I knew there would be a lot involved and that it would take a lot of time, I seriously underestimated how time-consuming the process would be. But, on the plus side, it's been really interesting to learn about things like international pricing, formatting, uploading to various e-retail sites etc. I'm kind of a nerd that way. And, because Scott is still toiling away in Scotland, things are quiet around here and it's a good opportunity to get everything squared away.

Anyhoo, here's the usual random recap of last month in numbers:

• 7 - How many hours it took to help some friends move their boat from Manatee Pocket to Indiantown Marina. We had a little bit of drama when their boat wouldn't start in the St. Lucie Lock. They had to shut down the lock while we waited for the towboat. There were some less than pleased boats waiting on either side of the lock impatiently asking for updates on the VHF.

• 2 - How many folding bikes we were gifted. So totally unexpected and so welcome. Some folks are selling their boat and were giving away their bikes, so of course I said, "Yes, please!"

• Not Enough - How many words I wrote during April. Some were for this blog and my author blog, others were for the first draft of >>Bodies in the Boatyard<<. Not as many as I had hoped, but I guess to be expected as I was knee-deep in all of my publishing-related tasks.

• 26 - How many posts I wrote for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. It was a fun way to learn a little bit of Spanish. But I got seriously behind with replying to comments and visiting other blogs. Sorry about that, fellow challenge people.

• $2.99 - How much the ebook version of >>Murder at the Marina<< will cost you in US dollars. Pre-order links below. {Sorry about the shameless plug for my book. I finding it really weird to do this self-promotion stuff.}

• 3 - How many pictures I colored. It's been a while since I've pulled out my adult coloring books. I had forgotten how relaxing it is.

• 347 - How many boats came back to Indiantown to haul-out for hurricane season. Seriously, I have no idea how many boats arrived last month, but it was a lot. Hurricane season starts on June 1st and the snow is finally starting to melt up north so the snowbirds are heading back home. It's been fun to catch up with friends and hear about their adventures, but also a little sad as we didn't get out this season.

• 9 - How many food and beverage items I was gifted by people heading back home. I wonder if a lot of the Canadians have hangovers the day they leave Indiantown because they're trying to finish off their booze before they head to the border.

• 7 - How many books I read. Faves include A. Ware's >>Les Stone Cold Killers<< (more on that later this month) and Stephen King's memoir >>On Writing<<.

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite posts from last month:

P is for "Pinguino" (Penguin)
G is for "Gato" (Cat)
J is for "Jefe" (Boss)

How did last month go for you? What are you looking forward to this month?

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Murder at the Marina available for pre-order at:

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