Other than taking a few weekend getaways this summer, I didn’t go anywhere. Actually, I haven’t been away for a while. This is partly because of work and deadlines, and partly because I have two dogs and I take them with me everywhere I go. I don’t like leaving them at a kennel, I don’t like leaving anyone alone in my home, and I just don’t feel comfortable leaving them in someone else’s home. Last summer I picked up a puppy from the side of the road, took her to the SPCA where they contacted her owners, and was shocked to find out the owners were away on vacation and they’d left the puppy with a dog-sitter. This freaked me out, so I take my dogs everywhere.

Right now I’m in gorgeous Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, and my dogs are with me. Carmel is the most pet-friendly place in the world. I can take my dogs anywhere and no one even looks twice. I’ve been here before because it’s so pet friendly, and I’ve even set one of my books here. It’s a short story stand alone, titled, BILLABONG BANG, that will be released soon. I’ll be here until Friday. I’m visiting old friends I haven’t seen in ages from Monday until Thursday, and then I’m driving up to San Francisco to visit a few more good friends. Then it’s back home again on Saturday.

But I’ll still be working and checking e-mails at least three hours every morning from Carmel, and I’ll be posting regularly. That’s the great thing about working from home in the digital age. You can work anywhere, at any time, and you don’t have to feel guilty about going away.