9/18/25 – Trains, planes, and automobiles. Add a few boats, and you’ve got the idea…

Hey there happy reader!

I’m writing this on the last leg of my journey, sitting in the lounge in Heathrow airport, waiting for my flight home. This trip all started in Carmel, California at a wedding. It hopefully ends tonight as I make my way back to New York.

At the start — a beautiful weekend in wine country. It was the first time I’d ever attended an Indian wedding, and the ceremony was beautiful. The bride wore red! Absolutely stunning…

From there, I was meant to fly to LA to connect in the airport with my son, daughter-in-law and grandson (often referred to as my assistant #1), but the airlines had other plans for me. My flight out of Monterey was greatly delayed, so I hopped into an Uber, made my way to San Francisco’s international airport and found a different flight through Toronto to Athens, Greece.

(More on Toronto in a later newsletter. I hadn’t been in that airport since the early 1980’s, when I spent one week a month in the home office of Harlequin Romance, back in the days when I worked for them as an editor.)

As luck would have it, my son’s connecting flight to Athens was delayed, so I landed there before he did! But once we all reunited, the real fun began.

Seeing the ancient ruins of the Acropolis was mind-blowing, and it was only the beginning of immersing myself in a time gone by.

Greece is old… it truly made me think about the people who lived there and built this ancient citadel. Much like the builders of Stonehenge, they had rudimentary tools, yet they crafted something that has stood the test of time. Truly stunning to see!

 

After Athens, we took the first of our ferry rides, this time to Milos.

The beaches are incredible! As you can see, assistant #1 took some “me” time by the water. It was hard to get him back to work after a day at the seaside, lol…

 

One more ferry ride, and we were in Santorini. Visually stunning, it didn’t disappoint.

But truly, the thing that struck me most was the winding stone streets and the vendor stalls. I could imagine that they were like the ones that surrounded Stonehenge at the time that “Below the Horizon” takes place.

 

In my mind, I replaced the modern shops with the types of merchandise a resident of Stonehenge might have found.

Simple leather sandals, spices of every color, and foods that filled the air with the smoky scent of meat cooked over an open fire. All in all, this trip refined some details that had been floating around in my mind. Travel always sparks my imagination…

And now, home. I’m tired, but I’m glad I went! How about you? Even if it’s to a local destination you’ve never been to before, seeing something new can be inspiring. Where will you travel next?

As always, let me know what you think!

xoxo,
Hilari

9/4/25 – I’m packing my bags again… time to hit the road!

Hey there happy reader!

Summer may be winding down, but my travel life is revving up! I’m on my way to Carmel, California for the wedding of my BFF from childhood’s son. It’s a whole weekend of festivities and I’m sure it will be absolutely beautiful – how could it not be with these vineyards as a setting!

And to top it off, there are two ceremonies, one Indian and one American. 

It’s a wonderful blending of cultures and I can’t wait to experience all of it!

 

The above picture is what I’m wearing to the Indian wedding – it’s a lehenga. 

I had so much fun shopping for this gorgeous outfit. Some of the lehengas I saw were studded with beads, rhinestones and sequins, and they were quite heavy and because I knew that I had to fly this across the country, I picked one as simple as possible.

It still has three wide can-cans, or stiff petticoats under the skirt, making it quite difficult to pack. Let’s just hope that my hotel room has a steamer to undo any damage to it from being squished in my luggage on a long flight…

 

Then, early Sunday morning, I’ll be heading to Greece! 

I’m very excited because I’ve never been there, and even more thrilled to be sharing the experience with our oldest son, our daughter-in-law, and their two-and-a-half-year-old.

My grandson is looking forward to swimming and eating olives and hummus (favorite foods of his.) I’m curious as to what he’ll take away from this trip. He’s been to New York, Boston, Oregon and Vermont, but has never taken a plane ride quite this long. Let’s hope the crayons and coloring books I’ve packed help keep him occupied. If not, there’s always the episodes of “Bluey” his dad has downloaded to the iPad for this eventuality.

My goal for this adventure is to write as much as I can. 

I’m pretty good about using my time on long haul flights for work. I just hope that the overnight ride to Athens is smooth and uneventful. If it is, I might just have an almost completed novel by the time I stand in the shadow of the Parthenon. Or at least, I sincerely hope so!!

There won’t be a newsletter next week because I’ll be island hopping in Greece. (I know. Tough work, but someone’s gotta do it!) I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures that I can share with you once I’m back in New York.

For today, enjoy the last of the lingering warm weather. It’s already chilly here at night… fall is almost upon us!

As always, let me know what you think!

xoxo,
Hilari

8/28/25 – Hurry up and wait… I’m learning about the ins and outs of having a publisher!

Hey there happy reader!

As you know, I’ve signed on with the indie publishing house, Vinci Books. 

I’m very excited to let someone take over the marketing and sales aspects of my job, leaving me more time to write, but the downside is that IT TAKES FOREVER!

I’m so used to pushing the “publish” button myself that I’m more than a little bit frustrated that I can’t move this process along faster for you and just put my Stonehenge book out as soon as it’s ready. But I’m sure that the cover will be spectacular… as soon as I have an approved design, I’ll share it here first!

And I just also found out that master storyteller Ken Follett has written a book about Stonehenge, and it’s coming out on September 23rd!!! 

In his novel, a woman has a vision of a circle of stones, and the monument is built in the aftermath of her premonition. My book takes place a thousand years later than that, so I feel confident that we’re not writing about the same thing.

Not that I’m comparing myself to Ken Follett – he’s an amazing historian. But sometimes I wish that male authors would stay in their lane and not write novels with a woman as their main protagonist. I mean, really? What does he truly know about the way a woman thinks or feels? I get the sense that there will be some “mansplaining” along the way – wouldn’t you agree?

I guess that it really doesn’t matter. I’ve always believed that good ideas are in the air, and some of us pull them down to earth and work with them, crafting stories out of the smallest details. I think it will be interesting to see if our books turn out to be companion pieces of sorts… you never know!

It’s truly the unofficial end of summer as we celebrate Labor Day. 

We’ve been blessed here in the northeast with beautiful cool days and crystal-clear blue skies, and that lovely forecast stretches through the holiday. I do hope you will take the opportunity to get outdoors over the weekend. I plan on taking my Kindle with me so that I can have the best of both worlds; to be immersed in a great book that I sit and read in a shady spot by the pool!

What will you do?

As always, let me know what you think!

xoxo,
Hilari

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