I am writing this note sitting on the curved windowseat in my room at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Outside I can see the hustle and bustle of the city, but here it's wonderfully quiet, save for the sound of the cable cars and the hum of the traffic. My sons, Greg and Cory, are out exploring the city while I work. I have seen the two blocks between here and the Romance Writers of America convention hotel; they have been all over town. Clearly all those hours of watching "Flipper" and learning how to be good brothers that I mentioned last week worked since "Sandy and Bud" have been having a grand old time together this week, with maybe one or two meltdowns.

I think if my summer has a theme song, “California, Here I Come” is going to be it. Yes folks, once again I am going to be racing my way over the amber waves of grain and purple mountains majesty to the left coast. I seriously think that if this keeps up, I am going to be sending holiday cards with a freeway return address, and Larry Kellner, the CEO of Continental Airlines, is going to be on my holiday card list. His face pops up on the monitor before the safety lecture that I seem to view once a week these days. Once again I am writing this newsletter on Wednesday as I know the end of the week is going to be hectic.