Darlings, can I share a funny story? I’m not really much of an outdoorsy kind of girl. I adore nature, gardening, a good lounge chair on the beach, of course, but I will confess that I think I may be allergic to camping, hiking and all things woodsy. We have a funny saying in our family, plucked from the classic movie “The Parent Trap” (the original one with Hayley Mills), where the would-be stepmom, actress Joanna Barnes, in a fit of rage on a camping trip, screams “GET ME OUT OF THIS STINKING FRESH AIR!” 
Am I that horrid? Oh gosh, I hope not. But I can relate. I do get a little irritable out there. I once saw a mouse scurry around our camp site (the time my husband convinced me to go camping shortly after we were married) and let’s just say, I was a hot mess and a half.
That said, nature and the outdoors do play an important role in my fiction. I was thinking about this recently while on a jog (see, I do love to get outdoors!), passing all the gorgeous spring flowers and buds in my neighborhood, and I realized that there is a botanical theme to all of my books. In The Violets of March, violets are an important symbol in the story. And in The Bungalow, hibiscus represents something key. And in my third novel (keeping under wraps for now—can’t wait to share!!), there is also a botanical/nature theme thread throughout.
So, there you have it: The writer who loves the great outdoors … from the comfort of her porch. 🙂
Are you outdoorsy? Do you like novels that make nods to nature? Do you hold it against me that I despise camping? Please say no.
xo, Sarah
I love to read about the outdoors and farms, but neither one is for me. I think we may be soul sisters – I despise camping, too.
I love camping and hiking and a good day in the woods, but lest you think I am hardier than I am, I go car camping (where you drive up to the campsite), and I have been known to leave a trip a day early because the bugs were so awful.
But I like that your novels have those symbols – it doesn’t matter how they got there.
Only a few weeks! Hurray!
I do not hold it against you. I tend to use the outdoors a lot in my novels. I love settings in the open air as opposed to those in the confines of a room. Perhaps I’m like the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” who goes mad shut inside all day.
Then again, I can go days without wanting to go outside, as long as I have a lot of windows so that I can still see the trees. And since we’ve moved to Georgia, I’ve made friends with the lizards, frogs and toads that inhabit our little plot of land. We had one living in our fireplace (a lizard we named Bingo), but I took him outside when he began to look sick.
Often, through our writing, we enjoy vicariously what we do not enjoy in real life, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Oh well that’s just TOP DRAWER! That’s Gloria Upson from the Rosalind Russell version of the movie MAME. My agent wrote a book about Mame – and it’s one of my fav movies. Until two days ago my Twitter icon was MAME! That actress played an equally wrteched character in The Parent Trap – loved it!
Great honest post – you’re more of an indoor cat than a cougar – wait….. LOL! K
LOL! I’m totally in the non-camper…er, camp. I love the great outdoors, in concept. I love reading about it, and looking at pictures of it, and even experiencing it–in small doses–when the weather is spectacular. It’s just that I find some things are better experienced vicariously. 😉
I’m probably the total opposite here 🙂
I loooove camping, hiking, kayaking, snowshoeing…pretty much anything I can do to be outside. When the weather’s nice, I’m pretty much always either outside or sitting in my office with all the doors to the house flung wide open.
Tawna
A walk in the park is lovely, sleeping in the woods is not. Besides I have allergies — a great excuse BUT true!
And I LOVED seeing/reading THE VIOLETS OF MARCH on Shelf Awareness today!
I’m medium outdoorsy. I love hikes, bike rides, standup paddle boarding, long runs… Nothing makes me feel more alive. BUT I crave comfort. No camping for me. My dream vacation is one of those sport-all-day, luxury hotel all night deals. There are many tours like this. Any debs care to join me?