I leave TOMORROW!
Apr 20, 2025 4:41 pm
I'm leaving on a jet plane.
Squee!!! I signed up for this trip in June last year. And now it is here. I'm sending this on April 20th, and I will be in the air by 10:35 AM EST on Monday. I'm darn near giddy.
I'm trying to be realistic and just go with the flow, but seriously, animals! I'm going to go to tea with giraffes and get to see meerkats. While I'm very certain I will get to see lions and elephants, my bucket list dream is a caracal and a leopard. Can you tell I'm a cat girl? But it does mean my next two newsletters will be a bit different.
Basically I'm going to give you pictures of what I see. Assuming I can take some that don't suck. But I'll also be riding in a helicopter, seeing Victoria Falls, and so much more. For the details, I start out in Windhoek, Namibia, and then we will go through Namibia down to Swakopmund then back up toward Windhoek. Then a short flight to Victoria Falls. After that we will be headed through Chobe, then back down toward Maun, Botswana, stopping at lodges along the way. I'm actively doing the safari for 17 days and another 4 days of travel and recovery. But I have always wanted to see Africa and now I will. So yeah, I'm excited.
On the part I've had the worst time paying attention to this week, Exile's Refrain is with the editor. I'm slogging through book 2 of Cori at Large. And I'm still world building for a new series. But hopefully I'll have a book to you around June.
Book Recommendations!
Three of my friends, and awesome authors, have had book launches recently. One is Kacey Ezell with her book Shadow Card Guardian that looks amazing. I have it on my kindle to read on the plane. You can check it out here.
The other is by the amazing Shami Stovall. It is book three in her Time-Marked Warlock series. I really need more time to read cause I'm behind in this series, but everyone loves it. If you need a new UF series, check this out.
And then my darling KT Hanna has book 4 out in her Library Reset series. This is waiting for me on my kindle too. Maybe I need more than 24 and 39 hours of travel. I have too many books to read. If you want a relatable heroine and a magical library, check it out here.
Weekly Micro Story
Stupid American
I stared through my camera at the cheetah, and even through I was using a monocular, I swear it looked back at me. I took a bunch of pictures with my phone, then sat back and smiled. Africa, animals, and the experience I would never be able to repeat.
So lost in the wonder, and the pictures of animals over a mile away, it was too late before I noticed that the animal noises around me had stopped and all I could hear was a dull 'crunch, crunch' that seemed to be coming from everywhere.
I looked around and wondered what happened to the ground. When I'd taken my 'unauthorized' hike, it had been tan with grass. Now it was reddish brown and moving. My eyes finally refocused on the things close to me and my heart lodged in my throat.
All around me, and the small hassock I had been sitting on, was surrounded by ants. Army ants. I looked at my phone frantically, if I used WhatsApp they could get here to save me. But there was no signal in the national park.
I turned back to look at my approaching doom. Really, if I was going to die, why wasn't it a leopard eating me?
~*~
I absolutely promise, no 'unauthorized' hikes. I'm not stupid and army ants scare me. For reals, I'd rather be eaten by the lion. For those keeping track I'm at 228k so far this year. As you can tell I've had the WORST time focusing. But I've also gotten the blueberry cage built, the raspberries dealt with, all the raised beds done, and trash in a big pile. Now cross your fingers that it isn't too horrible by the time I get back.
Mel
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