Hot Southern Nights

I've lived in the south all my life ... and one of the best things to anticipate here in zone seven--as I'm so duly reminded this afternoon, rocking in the shade of the lush Crepe Myrtles shielding the view from my front porch, and just far enough out of the breeze that a fine sheen of perspiration is forming on my forehead--is the hot, steamy weather.

Yes, I love the hot summertime. The hotter, the better. Because hot, steamy days lead to hot, steamy nights. My husband and I just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary last week, and the years have been really, really good to us. We're great friends; great partners; great parents; great lovers; great adventurers. There isn't anything that we won't try at least once, and if it doesn't kill us, we'll add it to the repertoire.

One of my favorite pastimes on a hot southern day is waiting with baited breath for the inevitable hot southern night. In the evenings when the world around us is at rest, my husband and I sit in the shadow of the porch, swinging in our old wooden swing, surrounded by the rich scent of the camellias and gardenias, and the beauty of the hydrangea and azaleas filling our garden. My legs are curled up in his lap he pushes off on the wooden slats of the porch with his long legs. The stars are brighter with the lights off, the lightening bugs more abundant, and the breeze cooler on my bare legs ... although in the last few years, as I've started to play my hand at writing romance, the stories have made for much hotter, steamier southern nights.

My husband's a big fan of mine, in more ways than one. But he's also as thrilled as I am with the sale of my first book, The Right Words. And I read alout from my stories. He loves to ask questions, as you can imagine, and is completely fine with working through scenes with him. Hot southern nights are what we live for at my house. Whether it's the dead of winter or just on the cusp of summer ... we know that hot southern nights are merely a state of mind.

I hope you'll read more about me at http://www.beckymoore.net/, or drop by the XOXO Publishing Online Shop to pick up a copy of The Right Words.

• What's your favorite thing to do on a hot southen night?