What does a writer do in between books? The summer is such a hard time to sit in front of a computer and attempt to create a story when the sunlight flickers on the blinds, the birds are chirping and the garden is beckoning you from beyond the window! So now that my studio/writing den is completed, I decided to give myself several weeks off to empty the tired brain, ease up on the eyestrain and enjoy the remaining weeks of summer. Here in New England it's just a matter of time before the weather may take a turn for the worse. This is my Cape Cod bowl of broken sea shells -- I call them my writing worry beads. Whenever I get in a jam for just the right word or phrase or a particular scene, I dip in and find a shell I can rub as I ponder. It also reminds me of my time on the beach at the Cape earlier this summer -- peaceful, relaxing, marvelous! Another way to turn off the writing brain is crafting. I've been a crafter for years -- knitting, quilting, crochet, col