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SUPER POWER

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SUPER POWER

My son asks about my super power. I don't really think of it as a super power, just the ability to hit a deadline. I got too precious/ambitious with the first two books in the Taking series. Delivered late. First time in my writing career that I missed deadlines and I blew through them pretty hard.

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THE OFFICE

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THE OFFICE

I just finished writing two books at the same time. . . . The motivation was to hit the deadlines but the caveat was that the quality couldn't suffer. By the time both books were delivered a few months ago, I thought my head would explode. In a strange way, metaphorically speaking, it did.

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LISTEN CLOSE

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LISTEN CLOSE

I am twelve days into what I am euphemistically calling a "vacation." This is not a research trip or a short getaway, but a planned and prolonged two months of getting my mojo back. In the thirty-plus years of my writing career I've never taken downtime, always motivated by this debt or that mortgage payment. . . .

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TWO STEPS FORWARD

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TWO STEPS FORWARD

Every couple weeks, Boston Marathon champion Des Linden sends me my training plan for this year's marathon. She is a generous coach, quick to respond to texts and extremely encouraging. There are wrinkles in the training I did not foresee, but those secrets are hers and not for me to share. Suffice to say there's variety in the work.

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TRAINING

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TRAINING

For a great number of years, more than I care to count, I filled my down time with training. I was always training for some new grail: marathons, triathlons, adventure races, mud runs, and on. I wasn't a professional, so the hours couldn't always be justified and more than once led to a major-major-major fight with Callie. But training was my jam.

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SAILING

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SAILING

I don't know any black sailors. I'm not talking historically, when man o' wars were regularly crewed by men of many races. I'm talking about your average posh marina crowd. Not saying there are no such men or women, because I'm sure there are die-hard black sailors here in America who can't wait to unfurl the spinnaker. I salute all of you.