Christmas in July, July in CT, & how to be a better writer

Welcome to my July author newsletter, babes!

Greetings from yr friendly neighborhood novelist.

Monthly writing tips, pop culture recs, and secret peeks into the publishing process. Let’s go!

Every July, our lil’ family switches up city life for lake life. Our very generous friends, the Zwicksons, offer up their palatial home in Fairfield, Connecticut, while they travel abroad. For a handful of weeks, my wife and I wake to buckets of sun drenching the endless square footage that one is afforded outside NYC! This year was particularly lovely, as our daughter, Rozella, is old enough to enjoy the beach and backyard trampoline, and picking peaches at a nearby fruit farm. The seaside is fun, but I love nearby Lake Mohegan, a small freshwater lake circled by trees. We bring our rainbow umbrella and books and some cold watermelon and let our cares float away.

After we get our tiny boss off to bed, I pour a glass of rosé, make up a snack plate, and sit on the back patio, tinkering around my work-in-progress as the fireflies float around the…