Category: ThrowbackThursday

My daughter and I took a research trip to Korea last October and it was amazing! We were accompanied by two of her friends who also love all things Korean. Our trip started with a 16-hour plane ride to Seoul and nearly hour-long taxi ride to our Airbnb in Itaewon, one of Seoul’s neighborhoods. Despite it being quite late when we got settled, we were raring to go in the morning.

My daughter had set up a nice itinerary for our first day and it was packed with visits to an eclectic mix of sites throughout Seoul. We started with a walk from our apartment through the streets of Itaewon to the subway station where we purchased a T-money card to pay for our rides. So efficient and the subway ride was a dream. Clean, on time, and very easy to navigate. Even though my daughter taught herself Korean, all the station names were also in English.

Our first stop was the Namsangol Hanok Village which has a number of lovely Joseon period buildings, a tranquil traditional garden, and Time Capsule Square which, as you might guess, holds 600 items showcasing Seoul’s lifestyle and culture to celebrate Seoul’s 600th anniversary.

Afterward we walked to a nearby shopping area to check out where we would have an extra-special nail design and encountered a store for all things K-pop. My daughter and her friend couldn’t resist and it turned out we were there just after a big celebration for one of the K-pop stars birthdays! We had to join in by leaving a birthday message.

Then we were off to Gyeonghuigung Palace which was right near the Seoul Museum of History. Much of this palace was destroyed by a combination of fires and the Japanese during their occupation of Korea. But a portion of it was restored and when we visited, more restoration work was being done.

We went from the palace to the Seoul Museum of History which had a number of interesting exhibits about Seoul’s history. The one thing that captured all of our attentions was a huge miniature reconstruction of the entire city of Seoul. It was located under glass and was visible from a glass walkway above it. AMAZING! It was interesting to see the city in its current state but also learn about its growth and the history of the Japanese occupation. For a country that has suffered from that kind of occupation and the threat of communism, it’s amazing what’s been accomplished in Korea!

You might wonder if we were done by now. Nope. After going back to Itaewon to regroup and get a delicious fried chicken and kimbab takeout dinner, we headed to Banpodaegyo Bridge to see the amazing light display.

You may be wondering what I was researching. Well, a new romantic suspense set in Korea which features CIA Agents and stolen technologies! Still working on that one but in the meantime, you can grab copies of the books in the South Beach Security series to whet your appetite.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with my daughter lately. As you might know, she’s expecting a baby soon so we’ve been happily watching that journey as it happens. But she also picked up the writing bug and we’ve been enjoying sharing that love as well. We’ve done several conferences and book events together and are planning more for after the baby is born! This photo was from a Liberty States Fiction Writers conference in 2022, I believe. MATCHING SET is the second book in her Korean-inspired romances. Samantha Ann has a new novella that just came out – FAN SERVICE – which is #2 in a spicy K-pop inspired romance series that I’m not allowed to read. LOL! Hope you enjoyed today’s Throwback!

Like so many, I couldn’t wait to see the eclipse! I decided to head down to the beach to get a clear view and I wasn’t disappointed. But it was very windy on the beach that made it really cold even though the temperature a block away was a much warmer 50 degrees. I braved it out to the full eclipse though. I was only at 90% totality so it never get very dark. More like dusk. We also had a few clouds around full totality time but that didn’t keep us from seeing it. I managed to get some photos at our 90& totality but the sun was too strong during the earlier stages. A weird thing happened in the photos: You could see the phases of the eclipse in various reflections in the photos. I understand that shadows cast by the eclipse will create a similar phenomenon. If you have any eclipse photos, I’d love to see them! Please drop them in the comments. P.S. – This beach is in one of the towns that was an inspiration for Sea Kiss from the At the Shore Series.

Look carefully into that middle section of bright blue and you’ll see the eclipse at 90% totality!

One of the side trips that we took after the fabulous Coastal Magic Conference was to the fascinating Navy Seal Museum in Fort Pierce. It was absolutely amazing and filled with the history of the Seals, their various missions, equipment, and the sacrifices made by the Seals on behalf of this country and all of us. It was moving at times, especially since I’ve written so many books with military men, including some Navy Seals. One of those stories with a Navy Seal is Stay the Night, my military romance about a hero who has come home after six years of being deployed to a wife he doesn’t recognize anymore. It’s one of my fav stories because it’s not only sexy, it’s emotional and thought-provoking. That’s why I contributed that story to the Strength & Honor charity anthology which is raising money for the Stop Soldier Suicide organization. Before I share my photos from the Seal Museum, here’s a little blurb for the anthology!

Join 11 NYT, USA Today, and award-winning authors in helping to stop soldier suicide by picking up your copy of this uplifting and emotional anthology. The Strength & Honor anthology contains 11 short stories featuring military heroes battling their inner demons and finding their happily ever after. The anthology releases on 5/7/2024.

You can pre-order the anthology at https://books2read.com/StrengthAndHonor.

Several years ago my daughter and I did a girls’ trip to Salem. We stayed at the lovely Merchant Hotel and had a lovely time exploring the town and the various historical sites related to the Salem Witch Trials. One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the Peabody Essex Museum which had a number of very interesting exhibits. I love old furniture and there were many examples of early American pieces but there was also a fun interactive exhibit with lights that created art based on your movements through the exhibit. We ate at several well-known restaurants but what we didn’t know was that a few of them were supposedly haunted. Honestly, I was too busy chowing down on my delicious lobster bisque to notice if any spirits were lurking! LOL! If you ever get a chance, head up to Salem for a few days of exploring the various witch trial sights, the Peabody, House of the Seven Gables, and just exploring all the historical homes and buildings. P.S. If you love stories with ghosts, check out Ghost of a Chance, my novella set on the Jersey Shore involving a million-dollar mystery and a bootlegger’s murder during prohibition! You can download it at https://amzn.to/4cACumA.