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17 July

BLINK BLOG: Summer Plans and Memories

Summer may be halfway over but we’re having a little fun on the Blink Blog! Keep reading to see what some of our authors are reading this summer, their vacation plans, and more!

Any summer vacation plans?

Alison Gervais: Work, work, and more work! Writing and reading every chance I get. One weekend camping trip with the family. Mostly work though.

Christina June: We’re going to Disney World for my daughter’s 7th birthday (shhh, she has no idea) and then I’m joining fellow author Katy Upperman on our Kissing Summer Goodbye book tour through VA, NC, SC and GA, in August.

Jonathan Friesen: My son told me yesterday that I was no longer a spring chicken. He said I was now a summer chicken, and that I better take him white water rafting before I turn into a fall chicken. So, we’re heading to Colorado in August.

Lorie Langdon: I’m going to Ireland in July for a writer’s conference and tour! Part of the time, I’ll be teaching writing to aspiring authors and the rest of the time we’ll be visiting standing stones, ancient castles, villages, and the majestic Cliffs of Moher!

McCall Hoyle: We moved this summer, so our vacation plans involve packing and unpacking and entertaining ourselves by trying to guess where to find some random kitchen utensil or guessing what’s in a box before we open it—anything to keep from getting discouraged about all the hard work that goes into moving.
We’re super excited about our new house though. And I have an office now like a real, grown-up writer!

Stefne Miller: No summer plans this year. 🙁 But, I have two sons in college and they both moved home for the summer which I loved. If I’m with my family, I’m content – even if we’re just sitting at home binge watching television shows together.

Stephanie Morrill: Yes! In August, my family and I are heading to Fort Collins, Colorado just a few weeks after my sister-in-law’s due date. We’re so excited to meet our nephew!

Favorite summer vacation memory?

Alison Gervais: Two years ago I had the amazing opportunity to go to England and France. It was absolutely amazing. 10 out of 10, would do again.

Christina June: Definitely studying abroad in the UK when I was 20 – so much fun and I made amazing friends.

Lorie Langdon: One of my favorite vacation memories is when we went to Universal Studios as a family. A bad storm moved through late in the day and after most people left, we had Harry Potter World almost to ourselves! We rode the Hogwarts ride three times in a row with no wait!

McCall Hoyle: My favorite summer vacation memories are definitely beach trips to Pawley’s Island, South Carolina with my family. My sister, brother, and I spent countless days burying each other in the sand, building epic sand castles, and playing in the ocean. We had sand dollar, starfish, and sharks’ teeth hunting contests and spent nights gorging on boiled shrimp, corn on the cob, and fresh crab legs. We listened to thunderstorms on the porch and slept to the rhythmic pounding of the ocean. Those were definitely weeks worth looking forward to and remembering.

Stephanie Morrill: My husband and I got engaged just after high school when on a summer vacation with my parents. And then two summers ago, we took our kids back to where it happened—on a dinner cruise in Lake Tahoe—and had a fun, fancy night with them. Both of those rank pretty high in my vacation memories!

Stefne Miller:  I now have two boys in college and another who is about to be a senior in high school. Last year we had the opportunity to spend a week in Florida together. We weren’t rushing around to amusement parks or anything exciting, we simply spent great quality time together in our rental house, at the beach and eating at wonderful restaurants. I loved every second of it. Vacation time with nearly grown children is a very different, but beautiful experience and I am so grateful for the memories we created.

What is on your summer reading list?

Alison Gervais: COLD SUMMER by Gwen Cole, FOLLOW ME BACK by AV Geiger, WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI by Sandhya Menon, and of course LOSING BRAVE by fellow Blink authors Bailee Madison and Stefne Miller.

Christina June: I’m looking forward to HUNGER by Roxane Gay and THE LAST MAGICIAN by my dear friend Lisa Maxwell.

Jonathan Friesen: A Torch Against the Night, by Sabaa Tahir. It’s not the type of series I usually read, but it’s a nice diversion.

Lorie Langdon: The two books I’m taking with me to Ireland are: UNRAVELING by Sara Ella and BIG MAGIC by Elizabeth Gilbert.

McCall Hoyle: My to-be-read stack is always overflowing. There’s so much young adult fiction I want to read and a decent amount of adult fiction and even some nonfiction—not to mention the books I’d like to reread like Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. What’s on my nightstand is All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, Once and for All by Sarah Dessen, and Solo by fellow Blink authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess.

Stephanie Morrill: Lots of research books! I’m working on a WWII era book, so I’m reading a lot of nonfiction. I’m squeezing in some fiction too, though. I just finished Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, which I loved.

Stefne Miller:  I don’t do a lot of reading when I’m in the midst of writing, but I came home from ALA with several novels by Blink YA authors. I plan to consume them over the next several weeks and know that I will love every single second of it.

What are YOU reading this summer? Share with us on Facebook and Twitter!