Thursday, June 10, 2010

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?

4 comments:

Tracy said...

Great post Becky! I'm not a huge fan of hot steamy nights - humidity, yuck! lol But when the nights are hot here in So. Cal then we just hit the pool which is lovely. Then we sit on the back patio with our drinks and just relax. Very nice.

Anonymous said...

I am a Northerner completely and HATE the heat and humidity of summer. I want winter!! *grin* I think Alaska would be great for me.
The only thing I enjoy about summer is evenings by a bon fire watching lighting bug (fire flies) flickering at the edge of the woods. There's something very relaxing about that and it's something I look forward to in the summer.

:o)

MsM <-cranking the AC up to Artic Zone from June to September.

Anonymous said...

Great to get to know more about new favorite authors. I'm from the south also and I know all about those hot steamy nights. Your words create a great visual image. Can you ask for anything more?

Lea said...

Welcome to the Island Becky!

Congratulations on the sale of your first book!

My favorite thing to do on a hot steamy night is curl up inside in the air conditioning with a good book to read. I'm right there with Ms. M. I'm afraid.. lol

Thanks for visiting the Island!

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