travel – Jennifer Lane Books

Writers, join our monthly blog **hop**, started by author **Alex Cavanaugh**.

Thank you to this month’s gracious cohosts: Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray!

January 7 question – Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn’t get done in 2025?

At the moment, I’m feeling rather discouraged about writing due to anemic reader response to my latest novel. Sales have been pathetic despite the wonderful support of this group. I wish reader response didn’t affect my motivation as much as it does, but that’s my reality.

I am enjoying a break from writing including the freedom to travel, entertain, and catch up on streaming TV over the weekends.

First was a drive to Orlando to meet my friends’ poodle Franklin, then to Key Largo to join my bestie on her college swim team’s training trip, where we swam with manatees.

Then my sister, niece, and I traveled to nearby Charleston, SC to visit the aquarium.

Back home, I always have fun assembling breakfast for my niece!

Finally, I’ll host book club to discuss Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere, a story about female astronauts, and I found this hilarious Space Cats wine from a book club guide:

Here’s to a great 2026, writers!

Happy July to All Writers! Hop on the Insecure Writers Support Group train HERE.

How is your writing? Mine has grown less and less frequent over the years. But I AM still writing! I’m excited about my romantic suspense WIP–it’s just that my day job has grown in scope and I don’t write if I travel on the weekends.

As I write this post, I’m in Nashville, visiting a good friend who moved here recently. We cooked quite a few dishes for his brother’s July 4th party, including spicy grits, pimento dip, banana pudding, spiked lemonade, and red velvet brownie stars.

IWSG Question: What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned since you started writing?

I could fill pages with all I’ve learned since I started writing ten years ago, but I’ll narrow it down to this:

Use punchy action verbs instead of adverbs.

Instead of Joe ran quickly … Joe dashed.

Instead of She looked frantically through her purse … She rummaged through her purse.

My debut novel, With Good Behavior, was full of adverbs and bloated writing. I sliced 30,000 words and my publisher will re-release the tighter version soon. I cut the book down to its fighting weight!

Check out this pdf by Deanna Carlyle, 1000 Verbs to Write By.

Thank you to Alex Cavanaugh and this month’s Co-Hosts: