Vampire sheep and hiking tour names.

In this newsletter:

• Hiking, hiking survey, hiking in denial 😂
• Tour for TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN

“Here’s where we buried the bodies!” —  Jayne

As of this moment, bestselling author friend Jayne Ann Krentz and I are winging our way to England where we’ll join our other bestselling author friend Susan Elizabeth Phillips for a hiking tour through the Cotswolds. (Scratching your head? Read here and giggle.)

I gave you a dozen suggestions for the tour name and begged you for other suggestions, and oh my, you came through beautifully! Here’s only a few of your tour name suggestions (so far:)

The “We really are between a rock and a hard place” Tour
The “It Never Rains In England, It Pours, Man It Pours” Tour
The “How do I keep the wine bottles in my cargo pants pockets from clinking together?” Tour
The “Baa, Baa, wet sheep! Have you any tea?” Tour
The “I thought the world was flat” Tour
The “3 Author Amigas Boots, Dirt & Liquid Sunshine” Tour
The “Two suckers and an instigator tour – movie to follow” Tour
The “I’m going on an Adventure. During which I will complain Every Step of the way and have a Marvelous Time” Tour

Heh. To that last — yes, probably.

Here’s Susan’s favorite:

The “Susan tells Jayne and Christina to suck it up” tour.

You all are so funny! I laughed myself silly reading all your clever suggestions and shared them with my hiking buds. As of this moment, the winner tour name on the survey is:
The “They Told Me It was a Pub Crawl” Tour. Although “My Name is Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Prepare to Die” continues to fight for first place.

An early photo of the three of us on a hike and not lost. Nope. Not lost.

Feel free to vote and suggest your alternatives.

After my letter announcing the Cotswolds tour and Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s coercing Jayne and I on this trip, Susan posted videos on social media declaring her indignation about me saying stuff that was merely the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Then Susan sent out a letter giving an alternative history with again, many protestations of innocence.

This is, as Jayne Ann Krentz says, an iconic photo of Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

I present you this evidence of Susan’s “innocence” in the form of texts between us:

Susan: Our app is fantastic! You’ll always know what we’re doing each day, time, etc. Also a trail map as you’re hiking so, in case you separate from the group, the guides can find you. Or your body.

Jayne: I downloaded the app. Good to know someone will find me if I get lost.

Susan: Or dead. Remember the vampire sheep!

Me: We’ll get lost together. ALL THREE OF US! No fair ditching me, Susan.

Susan: I forgot to mention that I generally isolate myself along the trail so I can be one with nature.

Me: Jayne, is she pulling our legs?

Jayne: She’s joking. When have you ever known Susan to NOT chat when she’s got a captive audience?

Yes, this is why we’re friends. Susan knows everything (or so she tells us; vampire sheep???) Jayne is always right (it’s really annoying because she actually is always right,) and I’m the bratty little sister. 😇 We entertain each other, and I’ll bet you have friends who make you laugh until you cry, too.

What we do when we’re not hiking.

Stay tuned for more reports from the front. And photos. From Susan’s newsletter: “I will post the most unflattering trail photos I can find of both of them on my Instagram and Facebook pages.”

Gee, thanks, Susan. Remember, payback is hell.

Um…book 📚 news?
Yes, of course! 😁

Prince Escalus.

What to say about him?

He’s a good man. A noble man. A man of Verona who would give his life to protect his city, and during the Acquasasso rebellion he nearly did, and for that, he’s scarred and he limps. He needs a wife and, after making a pro and con list about me, decided I would do.

Be still my heart. — TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN, June 30 in audiobook, eBook and hardcover. Read an excerpt here and please pre-order!)

I’d love to meet you!

Come to chat with me, buy TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN, A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA and THUS WITH A KISS I DIE, get them signed, and have a bookish good time at these great bookstores!

Not in the area for any of these? All information is here to pre-order and have them autographed and shipped. Although I’d rather meet you in person 💕, I’m always glad to personalize books to you, your friends and your relatives. Books make great gifts.

Finally, I’m not going to be writing newsletters much this week (obviously,) but I will send photos and notes to Assistant Jill who’ll gather them into some sort of report. I suspect Susan and Jayne will be doing likewise. If you want to see the horror on Jayne Ann Krentz’s face when she realizes that’s not smelly dirt she stepped in…

I’m just sayin’ this is a hiking adventure worth enjoying vicariously.

Remember:

• Get an autographed book and
• Enjoy a great week of reading and laughing at the photos from the Cotswolds.

Your intrepid reporter,

Christina Dodd
New York Times bestselling author 

Printable/downloadable booklist sorted by genre, series and in order.

Books by Series with covers and links.

P. S. The autographing in San Diego, CA is in conjunction with a local Shakespearean theater group at the Coronado Public Library. Details to come, and it sounds amazing, and there’s another autographing still to be scheduled. Watch this space!

Hiking wisdom: It’s all fun and games until you hear a twig snap behind you. 😳